patience_limited's recent activity
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Comment on I ate the Subway Footlong Cookie so you don’t have to in ~food
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Comment on Weighing in on "Man or Bear" - from a woman that left society to the Alaskan wilderness in ~life.women
patience_limited (edited )Link ParentAs in, I learned to be more cautious in my activities. For example, I went to a festival and took an oversized dose of 'shrooms without anyone I knew there to keep me safe. I was having a bad...As in, I learned to be more cautious in my activities. For example, I went to a festival and took an oversized dose of 'shrooms without anyone I knew there to keep me safe. I was having a bad time, a stranger invited me into his tent. I was just barely aware enough to run away yelling when he tried to rape me. I learned that going places alone can be safe, but getting too intoxicated to take care of myself should always be avoided.
Funny adventure, in context: Not long after getting married, I went on a solo hiking trip in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I stopped at a state park campground for the night, on the way to Copper Harbor. Before pitching my tent, I used the camp's payphone to give my spouse a call (no cell service back then). While I was speaking with him, a large bear ambled up to the trash cans by the phone stand... Not wanting to worry my spouse or draw the bear's attention, I chattered pleasant loving nonsense until the bear got bored and wandered off.
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Comment on Weighing in on "Man or Bear" - from a woman that left society to the Alaskan wilderness in ~life.women
patience_limited (edited )Link ParentTry substituting genders in that recital and see if it feels any less condescending. And I realize that's confrontational and brusque - my apologies for the rudeness. However, I was a "Sol", at...Try substituting genders in that recital and see if it feels any less condescending.
And I realize that's confrontational and brusque - my apologies for the rudeness.
However, I was a "Sol", at least within the bounds of the U.S., without the public persona. I didn't stop being an independent traveler and self-managed adult after I married. Maybe fewer wild escapades, but that was more a matter of age and learned caution than choosing to be bound to my spouse's immediate vicinity.
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Comment on Just wanna talk about drinking less in ~talk
patience_limited (edited )LinkI don't know if daily stresses are a contributor, but I never drank regularly until I was under constant work stress. I'd steeped in Florida drinking culture long enough that it came to seem...I don't know if daily stresses are a contributor, but I never drank regularly until I was under constant work stress. I'd steeped in Florida drinking culture long enough that it came to seem natural to have a glass (or two) of wine at the end of every working day to unwind and sleep. We'd been collecting wine for a long time, and there was always alcohol in the house. It rewarded both through the ease of tension and by tasting good. I never drank for the express purpose of getting drunk, trying to savor what was in the glass.
By the time I got out of that environment I was going through two or three bottles of wine a week. I knew it wasn't doing my health or my waistline any good. I cut back to a few glasses during the week, but then the weekends opened up to social drinking - again, still around 8 - 9 servings of alcohol per week. By then, I was struggling with chronic arthritis pain, and started to substitute drinking with cannabis for pain relief. I didn't like the intoxication from combining THC and alcohol, so started to drink less. I also noticed that I slept better without alcohol. I don't enjoy THC highs - it just makes me sleepy or irritable, so it wasn't a case of substitution.
However, taking a job in local wine industry meant that I was still exposed to social drinking triggers all the time, even without any work stress. I'd cut my intake to 1 glass most days, but never stopped altogether. Finally, I held back to weekends only. I still managed to put away a bottle of wine and more a week. I've paid attention to all of the public health studies on drinking and knew that it wasn't doing my cancer risks any good, but still couldn't reduce my alcohol consumption the way I wanted to.
So I paid for a subscription to Sunnyside, a coaching app for encouraging more mindfulness about drinking. I dropped to a well-considered 3 - 4 servings of alcohol/week, only on days I chose, and that seemed easy enough.
Trying to go a week without wasn't in reach, though. Finally, I wound up on an arthritis medication with strict alcohol restrictions. Anything more than a serving or two (i.e. one ounce of alcohol = 1 serving) per week definitely causes enough liver damage to show up on lab tests... And that's where I've been able to draw the line. Not quitting altogether, I can still enjoy a drink, but it's not a regular part of my life anymore. My spouse still drinks, and I can drink or not as I please when we're out socially. It's surprising how much socializing revolves around drinking, and it's just easier to politely refuse alcohol on medical grounds.
I did have a chance to try Athletic Brewing Company's NA Hazy IPA at a party last weekend. While it doesn't taste exactly like beer, it's very satisfying and refreshing. Caveat: I'd been gardening all day in hot sun, so anything might have tasted good. Mostly, I drink plain well water, coffee, or tea whenever I'm thirsty. Sometimes I'll add citrus-flavored electrolyte powder, but I'll say that my body is happiest when I'm ensuring that I drink enough unflavored, uncarbonated, uncaffeinated water.
I've never gotten into mocktails for the same reason I didn't care for cocktails - they're almost universally too sweet. Sour shrubs and unsweetened sumac tea (tastes like lemon without as much acidity) can be very good for my taste. I haven't yet found an NA wine that tastes as I expect, and stopped trying.
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Comment on Webcomics recommendations in ~comics
patience_limited Link ParentTIL there is an Oglaf search engine. "Croquembouche" is a favorite Oglaf comic, at least in part because I've had to make croquembouche and it's such a PITA that it deserves what happens in the...TIL there is an Oglaf search engine.
"Croquembouche" is a favorite Oglaf comic, at least in part because I've had to make croquembouche and it's such a PITA that it deserves what happens in the NSFW panel. Send this to your friends for the holidays!
Also, the "Hoopla!" series, with the memorable line, "Clearly fun is not for you."
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Comment on How 3M covered up "forever chemicals" in ~enviro
patience_limited (edited )LinkSo back when I took toxicology coursework in the 1990's, it was very well known that halogenated organic compounds [paywall, but read the abstract], as a class, are toxic, bioaccumulative, and...So back when I took toxicology coursework in the 1990's, it was very well known that halogenated organic compounds [paywall, but read the abstract], as a class, are toxic, bioaccumulative, and environmentally persistent.
Given prior incidents with DDT, Agent Orange/dioxin, vinyl chloride, perchloroethylene, PCBs, PBBs, and CFCs, you'd think the EPA, REACH, WHO, or some regulatory body somewhere would have deduced that PFAS could be hazardous. But 3M, Dupont, and other manufacturers used strategies similar to the fossil fuel and tobacco industies to manipulate research results, muddy public perception, and influence regulators and policymakers.
There is such a long-standing pattern of greed, wilful blindness, recklessness, and disregard for future generations that it's an easy way for me to sink into despair.
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Comment on The Controversialist: Marty Peretz and the travails of American liberalism in ~books
patience_limited LinkFrom the article: Marty Peretz was a Harvard University professor of government, and the owner of the influential political journal, The New Republic from 1974 to 2009, and Editor-in-Chief until...From the article:
In The Controversialist, Peretz recounts his ups and downs with a certain knowingness that can be, at times, candid or evasive, boastful or apologetic. Peretz tells his story in the irascible, self-pitying, blunt voice of an octogenarian gearing up for the Seinfeld-ian ritual of Festivus, where he can shout out all his grievances. Beginning with his hothouse upbringing in an argumentative and often abusive household in the Bronx in the 1940s, and continuing with his emergence as a wealthy supporter of radical causes during the heady 1960s and his political U-turn toward neoliberal disillusionment in the last quarter of the 20th century, The Controversialist offers a portrait not just of Peretz’s own ideological and social trajectory but also of the long shadow he cast over American political culture as one of the most pivotal liberal figures in the second half of the 20th century. For better and (often) for worse, Peretz has been a force in American life for decades, and his story is not just of one man but of a politics, and an elite, that has never quite been able to come to terms with its culpability for triggering the ever-widening crises of the 21st century.
Marty Peretz was a Harvard University professor of government, and the owner of the influential political journal, The New Republic from 1974 to 2009, and Editor-in-Chief until 2012. Peretz was one of the figures driving the U.S. turn towards neoliberal economics (particularly within the Democratic Party) and return to racially-biased anti-egalitarianism.
An essay in the remaining left-leaning political journal, The Nation, described The New Republic as follows:
the magazine promoted many of the worst decisions in modern American history–the killing fields in 1980s Central America, the invasion of Iraq, the downgrading of diplomacy in preference to military solutions in foreign policy, the neoliberal economics that has fueled inequality and instability, the brutalization of the Palestinians, the revival of scientific racism, and the persistent whittling-down of the welfare state.
I'm not usually a fan of autobiography, especially from rich self-promoters, but this is likely to be an interesting travelogue of left-to-right and maybe back again, too late for anything but regrets.
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The Controversialist: Marty Peretz and the travails of American liberalism
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Comment on In defense of embroidery in ~creative
patience_limited LinkI wonder at embroidery as an elite craft for noble ladies who shouldn't roughen their hands and dirty their fine clothes with grosser work like spinning, weaving, basketry, cooking, pottery,...I wonder at embroidery as an elite craft for noble ladies who shouldn't roughen their hands and dirty their fine clothes with grosser work like spinning, weaving, basketry, cooking, pottery, gardening, and so on.
Embroidery is certainly an art form and a labor-intensive means of value-added ornamentation for otherwise plain fabrics (moreso since most Western garments of the period didn't have durable printed patterns). A lady's maid might make a little income on the side embroidering handkerchiefs and linens - it's a skill that doesn't require much space or capital investment. But again, it's an ornamental privilege to avoid heavier labor.
We can now think of embroidery as a pleasurable leisure activity because so much of our material needs are meet through machine labor.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
patience_limited LinkJust got back from a truly stellar wine dinner, which feels utterly decadent for a Monday night. All the pairings and dishes were perfect, particularly when unexpected. Asparagus is notorious for...Just got back from a truly stellar wine dinner, which feels utterly decadent for a Monday night. All the pairings and dishes were perfect, particularly when unexpected.
Asparagus is notorious for being impossible to pair with wine, but the local winemaker whose wines featured had a lovely white made from Kerner grapes and it just worked. Apricot flavors and aromas with tempura asparagus, who knew?
Gewürztraminer with duck rillettes, lamb with red Blaufränkisch, and a perfect pineapple (!) panna cotta with a pineapple tepiche cider, all for a stupidly cheap price because it's the last week before the tourists arrive.
It's a restaurant we'd never visited before, with two female chefs from the local culinary college. We're already booked in for the next wine event - a battle between this place and another top restaurant, Michigan wines against French. Sometimes life is full of gifts.
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Comment on Looking for some recommendations in ~comics
patience_limited LinkYour list already hits a substantial fraction of the best non-superhero graphic novels available. Let's add a few items: Transmetropolitan, by Warren Ellis and Darick Richardson A Reddit user gave...Your list already hits a substantial fraction of the best non-superhero graphic novels available.
Let's add a few items:
Transmetropolitan, by Warren Ellis and Darick Richardson
A Reddit user gave the following thumbnail plot summary: "Future Hunter S. Thompson brings down Future Nixon Administration through the power of Gonzo journalism and hard drugs." It's got more subtlety than that, and the illustration is marvelous. The caveat I'd issue for your apparent tastes is that it's a super-antihero story.
Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories, by Gilbert Hernández
I was a huge Love and Rockets fan (Jaime and Gilbert Hernández), and the Heartbreak Soup stories are as intricate as telenovelas, but far more grounded in reality, with strong/weak characters of all genders. This is just good literature that happens to be well-illustrated.
Locas, by Jaime Hernandez
I may be biased about this one, because Maggie's story has some personal resonance. All the characters are someone you know, someone you are, or have been, or want to become, as richly written and drawn as you could hope for.
Strangers in Paradise, Terry Moore
It's part slice-of-polyamorous-life, part adventure/crime, and leavens what could be a wrenching emotional ride with just enough action. Illustration quality is excellent. This is a very long (90 issues) read with multiple collections.
Heroes of Blues, Jazz, and Country, Robert Crumb
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, Kate Beaton (of Hark! A Vagrant fame)
That's all I've got off the top of my head, I'll have to dig into the bins and bookshelves for more.
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Comment on Fecal microbiota transplant: Inside the black market for human poop in ~health
patience_limited LinkI got one of the early Clostridium difficile cases in 1996, before there was much recognition that the newer fluoroquinoline antibiotics like Cipro could cause it to flourish, and no specific...I got one of the early Clostridium difficile cases in 1996, before there was much recognition that the newer fluoroquinoline antibiotics like Cipro could cause it to flourish, and no specific tests were available. To say that it changed my life would be an understatement. I lost 40 lbs. in 30 days, becoming severely underweight and malnourished. I was too feverish and debilitated for school or work for three months, dropped out of medical school, and it took over a year for full recovery. It's amazing that it's now treatable with fecal transplants.
PSA: If you have persisent fever, painful abdominal cramps, and severe diarrhea during or after antibiotic treatment, see your doctor right away. C. diff has become increasingly common with use of more powerful antibiotics to overcome resistant bacteria. It's an endemic hospital and care facility infection because C. diff forms disinfectant-resistant spores.
I completely understand why people would try self-treatment for other bowel disorders. At the same time, using unprocessed feces really is very risky, even with good donor screening. As the article suggests, healthy people can carry dangerous pathogens that their immune systems easily control, but cause serious or fatal disease in people who already have compromised bowel integrity and immunity. This is in "kids, don't try this at home" territory.
We don't really understand what constitutes a "healthy" microbiome. It's not possible to culture many of the 3,000+ organisms whose DNA was identified by the Human Microbiome Project. Just transplanting a random selection from an apparently healthy person might work in theory, but each person has their own individual acquired immunities and tolerances. Again, as the article mentions, one of the people who ingested fecal material was sick for a few days before their new ecosystem got established. We've all heard stories about turismo, the gastrointestinal illness suffered by visitors to a new location from consuming water or food that's harmless to locals.
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Comment on The Slack controversy has opened a whole new can of worms in ~tech
patience_limited Link ParentDitto what /u/vord said, and I would personally hate to have a Slack discussion potentially exposed where there's proprietary technical data, or we couldn't expurgate a customer's HIPAA-sensitive...Ditto what /u/vord said, and I would personally hate to have a Slack discussion potentially exposed where there's proprietary technical data, or we couldn't expurgate a customer's HIPAA-sensitive data because it was needed for troubleshooting and software engineering.
It's worth protesting because of the deceitful abuse of policy gaps.
Reading the article, it's clear the data intake was initiated with actively deceptive intent, in the hope that Slack AI's training on customer data would be accepted as a fait accompli. The article notes that the way it was done is illegal under the GDPR. You can bet that Slack's lawyers knew that, and green-lighted the data taking anyway.
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Comment on Cyber security: A pre-war reality check in ~tech
patience_limited (edited )LinkThis is Bert Hubert's lightly edited transcript of his ACCSS/NCSC/Surf seminar, ‘Cyber Security and Society. It's difficult to excerpt because he gently and humorously builds a compelling case...This is Bert Hubert's lightly edited transcript of his ACCSS/NCSC/Surf seminar, ‘Cyber Security and Society.
It's difficult to excerpt because he gently and humorously builds a compelling case that Europe's digital infrastructure is fragile, devastatingly vulnerable to attack, and dependent on potential enemies.
Unlike most cyber security talks, Hubert avoids technical jargon and pitches to a more general audience. It's a great summary, and I encourage anyone with even a passing interest in security to read it.
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Cyber security: A pre-war reality check
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Comment on What’s your method for archiving bookmarked/liked social media posts? in ~comp
patience_limited (edited )LinkA new beta just came to my attention, sublime.app. Web and IOS only for now. It's not free for practical purposes, looks like a lighter weight Evernote, and there's no information about data...A new beta just came to my attention, sublime.app. Web and IOS only for now.
It's not free for practical purposes, looks like a lighter weight Evernote, and there's no information about data portability. But if you want a usable Internet scrapbook where you can save the interesting bits independent of whether a site stays live, this might be it. File size limit of 4 MB (for the free version, at least).
There's a social aspect where you can share or follow other's collections, like Pinboard.
I've dropped my test account because it's too pricy and buggy in Android browsers, but it may develop into something interesting.
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Comment on Frozen human brain tissue was successfully revived for the first time in ~science
patience_limited (edited )Link ParentIt's become routine to do rapid hypothermia down to < 14 °C within 5 minutes for cardiac surgery. ECMO machines can achieve flow rates ~ 4 - 6 L/min, so it's reasonable to expect that you could...It's become routine to do rapid hypothermia down to < 14 °C within 5 minutes for cardiac surgery. ECMO machines can achieve flow rates ~ 4 - 6 L/min, so it's reasonable to expect that you could rapidly exchange blood for anti-freeze agents...
That being said, I agree and have doubts that you can perfuse all the human brain's microvasculature efficiently enough to preserve function in the absence of oxygen and prevent microcrystalline ice from forming. Brain ice cream?
Current state of the art, most cardiac patients on ECMO and deep hypothermia get "pump head" - transient or permanent neurological deficits after surgery, maybe due to microclots. Spouse could work after a month, but was still somewhat ditzy for 4 - 6 months.
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Comment on French post office releases scratch-and-sniff baguette stamp in ~design
patience_limited (edited )LinkWhat's funny is that I just finished re-reading Terry Pratchett's Going Postal, which features a cabbage-scented stamp [spoiler] as a minor plot point. Surprisingly, the history of...What's funny is that I just finished re-reading Terry Pratchett's Going Postal, which features a cabbage-scented stamp [spoiler] as a minor plot point.
Surprisingly, the history of officially-issued scented stamps only dates back to 1973.
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Comment on Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news in ~news
patience_limited LinkBetter late than never... "Salty Licorice" coat color mutation discovered in Finnish cats Original paperBetter late than never... "Salty Licorice" coat color mutation discovered in Finnish cats
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Comment on Privacy woes and autonomy, where do I go now? in ~tech
patience_limited LinkAt this point, as /u/krellor mentioned, you're probably going to need third-party paid removal of information from data brokers. I've been very careful about my online activity, managing my own...At this point, as /u/krellor mentioned, you're probably going to need third-party paid removal of information from data brokers.
I've been very careful about my online activity, managing my own cable modem/router, running everything through pihole and various blockers to avoid ads. On Android mobile, I'm running Blockada with various blocklists, NordVPN, Cloudflare DNS, Privacy Badger, uBlock, and Proton Mail. The smart TV is on a separate wireless VLAN with its own blocklists and filtering. This all comes at some cost in speed, functionality, money, and management time.
Nonetheless, I can't prevent data harvesting from my credit card activity, service calls, cellular provider, travel bookings, doctors' office portals, pharmacy benefit providers, grocery stores (I don't participate in store benefit tracking)... Even with regular scrubbing, I still get ads that are disturbingly personalized, including PHI that would get a health system penalized under HIPAA law in the U.S. There are already reports of horrifying abuses in relation to women's health.
We need to let our legislators know that data privacy matters, and we'll vote/donate based on this issue. I contribute to EFF and write my representatives (as well as FCC commentary) regularly about data privacy.
Spouse and I split one of those Costco cookies recently. Like a good food snob, I mostly regretted it - the chocolate wasn't even the quality of Nestlé's Tollhouse chips, and the dough was barely butter-flavored. If I'm going to eat empty calories, I want them to be excellent-tasting. The Subway ones just sound disgusting.