
Saying Thank You to the NHS, Using Clojure - DaveWM
https://clojure-conundrums.co.uk/posts/saying-thank-you-to-the-nhs/
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ddavis
This was a nice timely read, I just starting learning Clojure because I want
to dive a bit deeper into Lisp. Thanks for posting, and best wishes to the UK
NHS.

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DaveWM
Thanks very much! Best of luck with your Clojure journey

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rvz
Or you could donate directly [0] to the NHS instead:

[0]
[https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ClapForOurCarers](https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ClapForOurCarers)

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Symbiote
There's some irony in doing so through Virgin Money.

Virgin is seeking to privatize the NHS, and the group has Virgin Care, which
is one of the largest private care providers contracted by the NHS. Naturally,
Virgin Care pays no corporation tax -- Richard Branson has an allergy to tax,
and doctors and politicians have so far not found a cure.

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switch007
Hilarious fact: a doctor at a Bradford hospital reckons there is an increase
in A&E admissions on Thursdays due to the clapping. I mean, if that's true...I
have no words.

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DanBC
Here's a news report about it:
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52506114](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52506114)

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slifin
Nice use of Clojure hiccup is such a joy

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dimitar
Indeed, it is a cool idea to generate an SVG using it.

Hiccup is one of these cool 'complete' libraries that continue to be used and
inspire (like the reagent syntax).

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dkmn
To the OP: Your write-up (nicely done) is particularly interesting to me in
that I'm using this unplanned furlough to work on diving back into Clojure and
coincidentally was wanting to set up some static personal sites. Thanks for
sharing the write-up and sentiments.

May I ask: \- Do you use this approach more generally in your work? At first
glance, it feels heavyweight for something like a blog (e.g. the intention
site), but after perusal I appreciated the clarity of the Clojure code. Just
curious if you've been doing this a lot and whether you find it efficient in
the longer-term. \- Do you have any opinions regarding the more "framework
like" static generation tools for Clojure (misaki, etc)?

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DaveWM
Thanks very much! I've made a few small static sites this way, and it's worked
really well. However, it is missing several features that you need for larger
(or more frequently changing) sites: asset minification, markdown compilation,
etc.. Once these things become a pain, I'd either bring in a library like
Misaki or Stasis (although I haven't actually tried either of these myself),
or move to Hugo/Gatsby.

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esotericn
The NHS needs funding, not our "thanks".

The Government's current drive to propagandise their ongoing failure to fund
essential public service should not be tolerated.

(For those who are unaware, in the UK we are currently being asked by the
powers that be to take part in a "clapping session" on the streets weekly).

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netsharc
I've been wondering how much they "exploited" the recently-turned-100 Captain
who was walking up and down his garden 100 times to raise money for the NHS.
He or his family probably came up with the idea themselves, but I wonder if
some individuals working in the government helped it "go viral". The same
government that's been slowly stripping the NHS, when suddenly, a free 100
million pounds (and counting) to spend! And a nice old man that the nation can
cheer on. Feel good story, distraction, etc, etc.

Another cynical look about the hero worship of the NHS is that heroes often
die, if I were running a government that failed to supply PPE to doctors and
nurses, I'd cheer on the idea of making them heroes because then their deaths
would become something honourable and somewhat acceptable...

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RobertKerans
_The money goes to charities associated with the NHS, not the NHS itself._
This isn't a subtle difference, it completely torpedoes everything in your
comment.

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netsharc
"completely torpedoes everything". From a man talking about subtleties.

I had to look up if the charities came because of Tory austerity, they aren't.
But well, please read this article:
[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/22/giving...](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/22/giving-
nhs-charity-fundraising-coronavirus-state-taxes)

This is like saying donating to teachers so they can buy school supplies
doesn't mean it's helping fund the school...

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RobertKerans
Sorry, that was hyperbole. But I am fully aware of what the NHS associated
charities are, I don't need to look them up or read about them. Yes, in some
cases they have been abused. In some cases I'm sure some percentages of the
money raised here will each cause small financial abuses by _an_ administrator
of _a_ trust which has been _one_ of the beneficiaries. And I live in the
north of England, you don't have to explain what the Tories are like, what
they've done. _But not everything is a conspiracy._ It's a common thing to
donate money to NHS charities. This went viral for really obvious reasons.
There's a bad all over the government response to the crisis, but hey, let's
make up a conspiracy theory and focus on that instead -- people are idiots
aren't they, look at the idiots buying into this whereas you're so smart for
realising that it's a conspiracy.

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DerDangDerDang
Did anyone hear of this rainbow = NHS thing before the Queen’s speech?

I ask because surely most of the country knows the existing connection between
the rainbow symbol and LGBT issues.

Like, areas of my city painted roads in rainbow colours several years running
to show welcome and support.

I’m vaguely wondering whether the rainbow was deliberately hijacked, in the
same way as the phrase ‘postcode lottery’ was repurposed by the right.

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RobertKerans
Yes, they'd been in windows for a couple weeks before that in the UK. It's a
nice thing for kids to make, with the original aim of being something to spot
when being taken on walks. Kids like drawing rainbows, they get to use all the
colours in the box. Loads of the rainbow pictures have extra messages written
on them. NHS support messages are most common. Hence why they are partly
associated to the NHS

People can do nice things, you don't need to attach conspiracy theories to
them.

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DerDangDerDang
It is nice. Thanks, I was genuinely curious - I hadn’t seen or heard of it
before the Queen mentioned it. Rainbows seem a slightly naive choice in that
case but if it’s an organic grass roots thing that’s pure chance, of course.

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RobertKerans
If you don't have kids, and even then if {you|partner|other person involved in
caring for kids} aren't on social media (afaik FB was where it gained traction
initially, on parent groups, though it was already being reported on), then it
was kinda easy to miss -- I didn't know about it when my partner said she was
going to help daughter make one, and I think that was a week or so after
started popping up (they'd already been appearing across Italy at that point,
possibly Spain as well?)

