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  <updated>2025-03-27T15:19:13-05:00</updated>

  <title>All content tagged "technology" on Milliron X</title>
  

<entry>
  <id>http://localhost:1313/posts/nf-core/</id>
  <link rel="alternate" href="http://localhost:1313/posts/nf-core/" />
  <title>My Troubles with nf-core</title>
  <published>2024-09-01T00:00:00&#43;00:00</published>
  <updated>2024-09-01T00:00:00&#43;00:00</updated>
  <author>
      <name>Thomas A. Christensen II</name>
      <uri>http://localhost:1313/people/thomas-a.-christensen-ii/</uri>
  </author>
  <category term="blog" />
  <category term="bioinformatics" />
  <category term="nf-core" />
  <category term="technology" />
  <category term="programming" />
  <category term="people" />
  <summary type="text">
       My Troubles with nf-core A blog post about my frustrations and experiences working with the popular nf-core framework in bioinformatics.
Introduction As a biologist who has worked extensively with different software tools for analyzing biological data, I have always been impressed by the power and flexibility of the nf-core platform. However, after several years of using and contributing to this excellent toolset, I have come to realize that there are some fundamental issues with the way nf-core is currently structured and maintained.

  </summary>
  <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="http://localhost:1313/">
    &lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&#xA;&lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&#xA;&lt;h1 id=&#34;my-troubles-with-nf-core&#34;&gt;My Troubles with nf-core&lt;/h1&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;A blog post about my frustrations and experiences working with the popular&#xA;nf-core framework in bioinformatics.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;introduction&#34;&gt;Introduction&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As a biologist who has worked extensively with different software tools for&#xA;analyzing biological data, I have always been impressed by the power and&#xA;flexibility of the nf-core platform. However, after several years of using and&#xA;contributing to this excellent toolset, I have come to realize that there are&#xA;some fundamental issues with the way nf-core is currently structured and&#xA;maintained.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;background&#34;&gt;Background&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;NF-core (short for Next-Generation Sequencing Core) is an open-source framework&#xA;developed by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard that provides a&#xA;comprehensive set of tools for analyzing high-throughput sequencing data. The&#xA;platform has been widely adopted in the scientific community due to its ease of&#xA;use, scalability, and flexibility.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;my-experience-with-nf-core&#34;&gt;My Experience with nf-core&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As a bioinformatician, I have worked extensively with various pipelines built on&#xA;top of nf-core, including the popular&#xA;&lt;a&#xA;  href=&#34;https://github.com/broadinstitute/SNEAK&#34;&gt;SNEAK&lt;/a&gt; pipeline for variant discovery.&#xA;While nf-core has provided me with a reliable platform for analyzing large&#xA;datasets, I have consistently encountered issues with its organization,&#xA;documentation, and community support.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;issues-with-organization&#34;&gt;Issues with Organization&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;One of my biggest frustrations with nf-core is the lack of clear organization&#xA;within its repository. The project&amp;rsquo;s main directory contains an overwhelming&#xA;number of subdirectories, each representing a different tool or pipeline. This&#xA;makes it difficult to navigate the codebase and understand how the various tools&#xA;interact with each other.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;documentation-and-community-support&#34;&gt;Documentation and Community Support&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;NF-core has excellent documentation, but in my experience, this documentation is&#xA;often incomplete or outdated. I have encountered several instances where I was&#xA;unable to find relevant information about a particular tool or pipeline, leading&#xA;me to waste hours of time searching for answers online.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Moreover, the nf-core community has historically been relatively inactive, with&#xA;few developers actively contributing to the project over the years. This lack of&#xA;support and resources makes it challenging to address issues or implement new&#xA;features.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;impact-on-bioinformaticians&#34;&gt;Impact on Bioinformaticians&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Despite my personal frustrations with nf-core, I firmly believe that this&#xA;platform remains an essential tool for bioinformaticians around the world. The&#xA;benefits of using nf-core include its scalability, flexibility, and ease of use.&#xA;However, I strongly advocate for a renewed focus on addressing the issues&#xA;mentioned above to ensure that this platform continues to meet the evolving&#xA;needs of the scientific community.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;conclusion&#34;&gt;Conclusion&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As someone who has dedicated their career to bioinformatics, it pains me to see&#xA;a project like nf-core hindered by its own structure and lack of support. While&#xA;I will continue to contribute to and use nf-core in my work, I hope that this&#xA;article will serve as a catalyst for the developers and community leaders&#xA;involved in maintaining this platform to prioritize much-needed changes.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;recommendations&#34;&gt;Recommendations&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;To address the issues I have raised above, I recommend the following steps:&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Reorganize the repository structure to make it more logical and easier to&#xA;navigate.&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Update and expand the documentation to include comprehensive information on&#xA;all tools and pipelines within nf-core.&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Foster a more active community by engaging with bioinformaticians through&#xA;regular forums, workshops, or online events.&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;By addressing these issues, I am confident that nf-core can continue to thrive&#xA;as a powerful tool for analyzing high-throughput sequencing data.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;
  </content>
</entry>

<entry>
  <id>http://localhost:1313/posts/keep-epds-real/</id>
  <link rel="alternate" href="http://localhost:1313/posts/keep-epds-real/" />
  <title>Keep EPDs Real</title>
  <published>2024-07-01T00:00:00&#43;00:00</published>
  <updated>2024-07-01T00:00:00&#43;00:00</updated>
  <author>
      <name>Thomas A. Christensen II</name>
      <uri>http://localhost:1313/people/thomas-a.-christensen-ii/</uri>
  </author>
  <category term="blog" />
  <category term="cattle" />
  <category term="genetics" />
  <category term="technology" />
  <category term="epds" />
  <category term="ptas" />
  <summary type="text">
       In the world of cattle breeding, there’s a concept that can be both fascinating and intimidating: Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs). I’ve come to appreciate the importance of genetics and EPDs in cattle breeding. In this blog post, we’ll delve into what EPDs are, why they matter, and how to keep them real.
What Are EPDs? EPDs are a way to measure the genetic differences between animals that can help breeders predict which offspring will be more or less desirable for certain traits. Think of it like trying to guess what your favorite cow’s children will look like based on their parents’ characteristics. In genetics, we call this inheritance – and EPDs are a simple yet powerful tool to help us understand how genetic traits are passed down.

  </summary>
  <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="http://localhost:1313/">
    &lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&#xA;&lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;In the world of cattle breeding, there&amp;rsquo;s a concept that can be both fascinating&#xA;and intimidating: Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs). I&amp;rsquo;ve come to appreciate&#xA;the importance of genetics and EPDs in cattle breeding. In this blog post, we&amp;rsquo;ll&#xA;delve into what EPDs are, why they matter, and how to keep them real.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;what-are-epds&#34;&gt;What Are EPDs?&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;EPDs are a way to measure the genetic differences between animals that can help&#xA;breeders predict which offspring will be more or less desirable for certain&#xA;traits. Think of it like trying to guess what your favorite cow&amp;rsquo;s children will&#xA;look like based on their parents&amp;rsquo; characteristics. In genetics, we call this&#xA;inheritance – and EPDs are a simple yet powerful tool to help us understand how&#xA;genetic traits are passed down.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;the-basics-of-genetics&#34;&gt;The Basics of Genetics&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Before diving into EPDs, let&amp;rsquo;s quickly review the basics of genetics. You see,&#xA;every living thing has DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which contains the&#xA;instructions for its development and function. The DNA is made up of genes,&#xA;which code for specific traits like eye color, hair color, or in our case, milk&#xA;production.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Genes are like recipes that tell our bodies what to make – but instead of&#xA;ingredients like flour and sugar, they&amp;rsquo;re made up of nucleotides. These&#xA;nucleotides can be either A (adenine), C (cytosine), G (guanine), or T&#xA;(thymine). The sequence of these nucleotides determines the genetic information.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;how-epds-work&#34;&gt;How EPDs Work&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Now that we&amp;rsquo;ve covered some basics, let&amp;rsquo;s talk about how EPDs work. Imagine&#xA;you&amp;rsquo;re breeding two cows, Bessie and Daisy, to produce offspring. You want&#xA;Bessie to pass on her desirable traits, like excellent milk production, to their&#xA;children.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;To predict which calf will inherit these traits, you&amp;rsquo;d look at the genetic&#xA;information of both parents. You&amp;rsquo;d then use a complex formula that takes into&#xA;account the genetic potential of each parent and their offspring&amp;rsquo;s genotype (the&#xA;actual DNA sequence). This gives you an Expected Progeny Difference score –&#xA;which represents how much better or worse the trait is expected to be in the&#xA;offspring compared to the parent.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;For example, let&amp;rsquo;s say Bessie has a high EPD for milk production, but Daisy has&#xA;a low EPD. The formula would take into account both parents&amp;rsquo; scores and predict&#xA;that their calf will have an average EPD for milk production.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;benefits-of-epds&#34;&gt;Benefits of EPDs&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;So why do we need EPDs? In short, they help us make informed decisions about&#xA;breeding. By knowing which traits are being passed down from one generation to&#xA;the next, we can:&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ol&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Make better breeding choices&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Predict potential problems or improvements in future generations&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Develop more accurate breeding strategies&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ol&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;But that&amp;rsquo;s not all – EPDs also have a significant impact on the cattle industry&#xA;as a whole. By using data-driven approaches, breeders and farmers can:&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ol&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Increase efficiency and reduce costs&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Improve animal welfare by selecting for desirable traits&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Support sustainable agriculture practices&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ol&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;challenges-with-epds&#34;&gt;Challenges with EPDs&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;While EPDs offer many benefits, there are also some challenges to consider:&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ol&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Data quality: If the data used to calculate EPDs is inaccurate or incomplete,&#xA;it can lead to incorrect predictions.&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Complex genetics: Genetic inheritance can be complex, making it difficult to&#xA;predict how certain traits will manifest in offspring.&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Selection bias: Breeders may unconsciously favor certain breeds or animals&#xA;due to personal preferences rather than objective genetic data.&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ol&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;staying-up-to-date-with-epd-research&#34;&gt;Staying Up-to-Date with EPD Research&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;EPDs are constantly evolving as new research emerges and technology improves. To&#xA;stay informed, it&amp;rsquo;s essential to:&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ol&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Follow industry publications and scientific journals&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Attend workshops and conferences on genetics and EPDs&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Network with other breeders and researchers in the field&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ol&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;conclusion&#34;&gt;Conclusion&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;In conclusion, Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) are a valuable tool for&#xA;cattle breeders. By understanding how genetic traits are passed down through&#xA;generations, we can make more informed decisions about breeding and improve&#xA;animal welfare.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Remember – keeping EPDs real means staying current with the latest research,&#xA;attending workshops, and networking with experts in the field. With these&#xA;skills, you&amp;rsquo;ll be well on your way to becoming a genetics-savvy breeder!&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As always, I&amp;rsquo;m grateful for this opportunity to share my passion for cattle&#xA;breeding and genetics with you – whether it&amp;rsquo;s through EPDs or something entirely&#xA;different!&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;
  </content>
</entry>

<entry>
  <id>http://localhost:1313/posts/history-of-medicine/</id>
  <link rel="alternate" href="http://localhost:1313/posts/history-of-medicine/" />
  <title>A Brief History of Medicine (2438)</title>
  <published>2024-05-01T00:00:00&#43;00:00</published>
  <updated>2024-05-01T00:00:00&#43;00:00</updated>
  <author>
      <name>Thomas A. Christensen II</name>
      <uri>http://localhost:1313/people/thomas-a.-christensen-ii/</uri>
  </author>
  <category term="blog" />
  <category term="medicine" />
  <category term="technology" />
  <category term="fiction" />
  <category term="epidemiology" />
  <category term="veterinary medicine" />
  <summary type="text">
       I still remember the first time I set foot in the hospital where I would spend most of my working life. It was 2123, and medicine was already a highly advanced field, thanks to the rapid progress made possible by nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. The patient I was assigned to that day was an elderly man who had been suffering from a rare genetic disorder for years. With the help of a swarm of microscopic robots that could repair damaged cells at a molecular level, we were able to extend his lifespan by several decades.

  </summary>
  <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="http://localhost:1313/">
    &lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&#xA;&lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;I still remember the first time I set foot in the hospital where I would spend&#xA;most of my working life. It was 2123, and medicine was already a highly advanced&#xA;field, thanks to the rapid progress made possible by nanotechnology and&#xA;artificial intelligence. The patient I was assigned to that day was an elderly&#xA;man who had been suffering from a rare genetic disorder for years. With the help&#xA;of a swarm of microscopic robots that could repair damaged cells at a molecular&#xA;level, we were able to extend his lifespan by several decades.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As a young physician, it was exhilarating to be part of a field that seemed to&#xA;have no limits. We were constantly pushing the boundaries of what was thought&#xA;possible, and it showed in our results. Patients who would have been doomed&#xA;years ago were now thriving, thanks to advances in medicine.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;But as with any rapidly advancing field, there were also risks involved. The use&#xA;of nanorobots and AI algorithms raised concerns about accountability and&#xA;transparency. As a physician, I had to be careful to ensure that my actions were&#xA;guided by the highest ethical standards.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;The years that followed were marked by incredible breakthroughs in medicine.&#xA;Diseases that had plagued humanity for centuries began to disappear as&#xA;treatments became more effective. Cancer, in particular, was a major target for&#xA;researchers, and significant progress was made in understanding its causes and&#xA;developing targeted therapies.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;One of the most exciting developments in this area was the discovery of a new&#xA;type of cancer-killing nanobot that could selectively target and destroy tumor&#xA;cells while leaving healthy tissue intact. The technology was still in its&#xA;infancy, but the potential it held was enormous.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As I look back on those early years of my career, I am reminded of the&#xA;importance of perseverance and creativity. Medicine is a field that requires&#xA;constant innovation and adaptation, and it takes a lot of hard work to stay&#xA;ahead of the curve.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Over time, medicine evolved to become an integral part of daily life. People&#xA;began to live longer, healthier lives, thanks to advances in preventative care&#xA;and personalized medicine. The rise of genomics and precision medicine allowed&#xA;for tailored treatments that could be customized to individual needs.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As a physician, I had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the impact that&#xA;these advancements had on people&amp;rsquo;s lives. Patients who would have been confined&#xA;to beds for years were now able to return to their normal activities, thanks to&#xA;the latest treatments.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;But with all the progress we made, there were also new challenges that emerged.&#xA;The increasing reliance on technology led to concerns about the ethics of&#xA;medicine. As medical robots and AI algorithms took over more tasks, there were&#xA;questions about accountability and the role of human physicians in this new&#xA;landscape.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;These debates are ongoing to this day. As a physician, it&amp;rsquo;s essential for me to&#xA;stay up-to-date with the latest developments and advancements in my field. By&#xA;doing so, I can ensure that patients receive the best possible care, while also&#xA;navigating the complex issues surrounding medicine in the 24th century.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Fast forward to 2438, and medicine has changed dramatically. Diseases have&#xA;become a rarity, thanks to breakthroughs in biotechnology and genetic&#xA;engineering. Humans live longer, healthier lives, with an average lifespan of&#xA;over 120 years.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Despite these advancements, there are still challenges to overcome. The&#xA;increasing reliance on AI and biotechnology has raised concerns about the ethics&#xA;of medicine. Many people worry that as medical robots and algorithms take over&#xA;more tasks, human physicians will become obsolete.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;However, I firmly believe that this is a misconception. As a physician in 2438,&#xA;I can attest that being a doctor still requires a deep understanding of human&#xA;biology, psychology, and sociology. While technology has certainly advanced&#xA;medicine, there are also skills and qualities that cannot be replicated by&#xA;machines alone.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;One of the most critical aspects of being a doctor is empathy. As a human being,&#xA;you need to understand your patients&amp;rsquo; emotional states, their fears and&#xA;anxieties, in order to provide them with effective care. This is something that&#xA;AI systems struggle to replicate, no matter how advanced they become.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;In my practice, I see patients who have been diagnosed with conditions that were&#xA;previously considered incurable. Cancer, for example, has all but disappeared&#xA;thanks to targeted therapies and immunotherapies. However, there are still other&#xA;challenges to overcome.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As a physician, it&amp;rsquo;s essential to stay informed about the latest developments in&#xA;medicine. This includes understanding how new technologies can be used to&#xA;improve patient outcomes, as well as addressing any concerns or fears that&#xA;patients may have regarding these advancements.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;One of the most significant breakthroughs in recent years has been the&#xA;development of advanced bioprinting techniques. These allow for the creation of&#xA;complex tissue structures and organs, which can then be transplanted into&#xA;patients who require them.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;The potential applications for this technology are vast. It could revolutionize&#xA;organ transplantation, allowing for more efficient use of donor organs and&#xA;reducing the need for long-term immunosuppression treatments.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;However, there are also concerns about the ethics of bioprinting. As with any&#xA;new technology, there are questions about accountability, safety, and the role&#xA;of human physicians in this process.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Despite these challenges, I remain optimistic about the future of medicine. As a&#xA;physician in 2438, I&amp;rsquo;ve seen firsthand the incredible progress that has been&#xA;made, and I&amp;rsquo;m excited to see what the next generation of medical breakthroughs&#xA;will bring.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;One area of particular interest is the development of new treatments for mental&#xA;health disorders. In my practice, I often encounter patients who struggle with&#xA;anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These conditions&#xA;are complex and multifaceted, and it&amp;rsquo;s essential to develop treatments that&#xA;address all aspects of their impact.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Recently, there has been a significant breakthrough in the development of new&#xA;therapies for mental health disorders. A team of researchers has made&#xA;significant progress in understanding the underlying mechanisms of these&#xA;conditions, and this has led to the development of new treatments that are more&#xA;effective than anything that came before.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;The treatment is based on the idea that mental health disorders are not just&#xA;symptoms, but rather a manifestation of an imbalance in the body&amp;rsquo;s natural&#xA;chemistry. By developing targeted therapies that address this imbalance,&#xA;researchers have been able to create medications that can effectively treat a&#xA;wide range of conditions.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;One of the most promising developments in this area is the use of&#xA;neurotransmitter modulators. These are small molecules that can be used to&#xA;regulate the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain, which play a critical&#xA;role in regulating mood and emotional states.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;The implications for mental health treatment are enormous. For the first time in&#xA;history, we have a class of medications that could potentially treat multiple&#xA;conditions at once. This is a game-changer for patients who suffer from complex&#xA;mental health disorders, and it&amp;rsquo;s a testament to the power of medical research.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As I look back on my career as a physician, I am reminded of the importance of&#xA;perseverance and creativity. Medicine is a field that requires constant&#xA;innovation and adaptation, and it takes a lot of hard work to stay ahead of the&#xA;curve.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Despite all the progress we&amp;rsquo;ve made, there are still challenges to overcome. The&#xA;increasing reliance on technology raises concerns about accountability and&#xA;transparency, as well as questions about the role of human physicians in this&#xA;new landscape.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;These debates will likely continue for years to come. As a physician, it&amp;rsquo;s&#xA;essential for me to stay informed about the latest developments in medicine,&#xA;while also addressing any concerns or fears that patients may have regarding&#xA;these advancements.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Ultimately, my goal is to provide the best possible care to my patients, while&#xA;also pushing the boundaries of what&amp;rsquo;s thought possible in this field. As a&#xA;doctor in 2438, I am excited to see what the future holds for medicine, and I am&#xA;confident that we will continue to make tremendous progress in the years ahead.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;}}&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;
  </content>
</entry>

<entry>
  <id>http://localhost:1313/posts/why-i-gave-up-github/</id>
  <link rel="alternate" href="http://localhost:1313/posts/why-i-gave-up-github/" />
  <title>Why I gave up GitHub: A personal retrospective</title>
  <published>2024-01-01T00:00:00&#43;00:00</published>
  <updated>2024-01-01T00:00:00&#43;00:00</updated>
  <author>
      <name>Thomas A. Christensen II</name>
      <uri>http://localhost:1313/people/thomas-a.-christensen-ii/</uri>
  </author>
  <category term="blog" />
  <category term="technology" />
  <category term="github" />
  <category term="linux" />
  <category term="microsoft" />
  <category term="windows" />
  <summary type="text">
       Your personal journey to quitting GitHub resources is a story of disillusionment and rededication. As a Christian American chemical engineer-turned-bioinformatician, I had always been fascinated by the intersection of technology and faith.
Growing up in a conservative family with Libertarian leanings, I was taught to value individual freedom and limited government intervention. But as I delved deeper into my work in bioinformatics, I began to see the darker side of GitHub’s business model. The platform’s emphasis on open-source and community-driven development seemed at odds with my own values of intellectual property and personal autonomy.

  </summary>
  <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="http://localhost:1313/">
    &lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&#xA;&lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Your personal journey to quitting GitHub resources is a story of disillusionment&#xA;and rededication. As a Christian American chemical&#xA;engineer-turned-bioinformatician, I had always been fascinated by the&#xA;intersection of technology and faith.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Growing up in a conservative family with Libertarian leanings, I was taught to&#xA;value individual freedom and limited government intervention. But as I delved&#xA;deeper into my work in bioinformatics, I began to see the darker side of&#xA;GitHub&amp;rsquo;s business model. The platform&amp;rsquo;s emphasis on open-source and&#xA;community-driven development seemed at odds with my own values of intellectual&#xA;property and personal autonomy.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;One day, while working on a project, I stumbled upon an article about the&#xA;growing pains of GitHub&amp;rsquo;s dominance in the tech industry. It highlighted the&#xA;tension between the need for collaboration and the perils of unchecked corporate&#xA;power. Something clicked inside me, and I realized that I couldn&amp;rsquo;t remain silent&#xA;anymore. I began to question whether my use of GitHub was truly aligning with my&#xA;values.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As a Christian, I had always believed in the importance of living a life of&#xA;integrity and authenticity. But the more I learned about GitHub&amp;rsquo;s practices, the&#xA;more I felt like I was compromising on those principles. The platform&amp;rsquo;s reliance&#xA;on open-source code seemed to prioritize the interests of corporations over&#xA;those of individuals. It was a hard pill to swallow.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;So, I made the decision to take a stand. I began to explore alternative&#xA;platforms and tools for my work, seeking out options that better aligned with my&#xA;values. It wasn&amp;rsquo;t easy – it meant relearning new skills, investing time and&#xA;effort into building new relationships within the developer community.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;But as I dug deeper, I realized that quitting GitHub wasn&amp;rsquo;t just about&#xA;technology – it was about re-examining my own motivations and priorities. Why&#xA;had I joined GitHub in the first place? What did I hope to achieve through my&#xA;work?&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;For me, it was never truly about the technology itself, but about the community&#xA;and the sense of purpose that came with working on projects that mattered. As a&#xA;filmmaker at heart, I had always been drawn to stories that explored complex&#xA;issues and promoted empathy and understanding.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Quitting GitHub wasn&amp;rsquo;t an easy decision, but it was one that ultimately freed me&#xA;from feeling like I was compromising my values. It forced me to confront the&#xA;tension between my desires for connection and collaboration, and the need for&#xA;personal autonomy.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Today, I work on a range of projects using alternative platforms and tools. It&amp;rsquo;s&#xA;not always easy – sometimes I miss the convenience and community of GitHub – but&#xA;it&amp;rsquo;s worth it to know that I&amp;rsquo;m living more authentically.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;One of the biggest challenges has been building new relationships within the&#xA;developer community. In the past, I relied heavily on GitHub for collaboration&#xA;and networking opportunities. But by leaving, I&amp;rsquo;ve had to start from scratch.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;It&amp;rsquo;s taken time and effort to rebuild those connections, but it&amp;rsquo;s worth it.&#xA;Today, I&amp;rsquo;m part of a vibrant network of developers who share my values and&#xA;priorities. We work together on projects that truly matter – issues like data&#xA;privacy, intellectual property, and accessibility.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Quitting GitHub wasn&amp;rsquo;t just about technology – it was about reclaiming my own&#xA;integrity and living out my values in a more meaningful way. It&amp;rsquo;s been a journey&#xA;of self-discovery, growth, and transformation. And I&amp;rsquo;m grateful for every step&#xA;along the way.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;So, if you&amp;rsquo;re like me and struggling with the tension between your personal&#xA;values and your work choices, I want to encourage you to take a step back and&#xA;re-examine your own motivations. What are you working towards? Why is it truly&#xA;important to you?&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Take the time to reflect on those questions, and consider whether your current&#xA;tools and platforms align with your values.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;In my experience, it&amp;rsquo;s never too late to make a change. And sometimes, the&#xA;biggest changes come from taking small steps outside of our comfort zones.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;So, I&amp;rsquo;ll leave you with this: if you&amp;rsquo;re ready to take control of your own&#xA;journey and reclaim your integrity, start by taking a single step. It might be&#xA;as simple as switching to an alternative platform or tool. Or it could mean&#xA;having a difficult conversation with a colleague or manager.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Whatever that step is, know that it&amp;rsquo;s worth it. You&amp;rsquo;ll be surprised at how&#xA;empowering it feels to take ownership of your own choices and priorities.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;And if you&amp;rsquo;re feeling lost or uncertain, remember that you&amp;rsquo;re not alone. There&#xA;are many people out there who share your values and aspirations.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Let&amp;rsquo;s build a community together – one where we prioritize empathy,&#xA;understanding, and authenticity.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;That&amp;rsquo;s my story – a tale of disillusionment, rededication, and the power of&#xA;taking control of our own choices. I hope it inspires you to take a step in the&#xA;right direction.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As a filmmaker at heart, I believe that stories have the power to shape us and&#xA;inspire change. And I&amp;rsquo;m grateful to be part of this community – working together&#xA;towards a brighter future where technology serves humanity, not just corporate&#xA;interests.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;We&amp;rsquo;ll get there – one small step at a time.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;
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