ApathyTree

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

Middle age white chick here - might depend on the crowd you are around. I have a lot of friends who wear kilts (as in most of the men I consider friends, including the 6.5ft 400lb giant of a man. Just totally happens to be that way, they don’t know each other for the most part, and I find out years after becoming friends) and they don’t seem to have any trouble getting laid (not all of them are strictly into women, but they get teh secs so whatever floats their goats). But kilts aren’t the only counter-culture they actively and clearly participate in, both aesthetically and personally. That might make the difference; that’s just who they are and they are comfortable with themselves enough to do whatever.

If I saw some dude in a kilt and leggings I’d be super amused and chat with them, but I’m asexual so I also wouldn’t be interested, but I’d be interested in you, the person. The same way I’d be interested to talk to a dude in a prom dress or whatever. If their spine is so shiny they can rock that shit in public, I probably want to know them.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

I come from a semi-rural midwestern area, and my first experience with a subway system (or really, any public transit that ran more than once every 3 hours) was in Boston.

Granted, we flew in, so other than renting a car or ridesharing, we didn’t have a choice, but other than needing to plan for the walk rather than the drive, and one very scary bridge we had to cross many times due to where the hotel was (I struggle walking on surfaces I can see through, regardless how far the drop), there was absolutely no need for a car, and indeed it would have been much worse (I dislike all driving and city driving is absolutely horrible - used to live in Houston - plus finding and paying for parking blah blah blah. No.). It was glorious to wait 5 minutes for the next train, then do whatever while getting there.

If my area even had a decent bus, I’d use it, but we don’t. In the 10 years I’ve lived in this town I’ve seen a bus a handful of times, and frankly that’s not often enough to consider relying on unless you have no choice. I do have a bike but I need an e-bike because everything is fairly distant and steeply downhill from my house (seriously, I can go further uphill, but there’s nothing there worth going for, unless you enjoy cemeteries and farm fields) and I’m not even close to in shape enough to bike it. I did get a stationary bike with the goal of getting in shape enough to bike around town, but that’s not going well at all 😅. But I could see a bike in a city. I’d even be fine with mopeds in city limits (not really that different from e-bikes, just ICE instead of battery) as long as there’s no cars. Waste of space and dangerous in cities. Plus all those heavy boxes moving single humans is horrible for air quality which primarily impacts those walking… so it’s dangerous even if you are the absolute best driver in the world.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

lol at the thought of “this part of your body that you use multiple times every day for vital survival functions and various other functions like communication is mostly cosmetic, you’ll do just fine without!”

Teeth bleaching is cosmetic, crowns and fillings and whatever are restoration of normal functioning.

If we were meant to be ok without properly functioning teeth, we wouldn’t have teeth in the first place. That’s a stupid argument biologically speaking. (No offense intended to you personally, ofc)

I understand that Americans have a disproportionate focus on the -specifically cosmetic- aspects of oral hygiene, whiteness and straightness, primarily, but to say that most oral care is unnecessary and purely cosmetic is just absolute hogwash.

Mind you this is from someone who intends to get all her teeth ripped out and replaced with implants because no matter what I do, I average a cavity every 2-4 years. It’s cheaper in the long run to get implanted dentures than to fight my genes. So I understand entirely the being toothless by 30 (tho I’m 36 and still have all of them, I think I have more fillings than teeth at this point, and if most of those weren’t done free in the military I’d just have no teeth) but I disagree vehemently with the idea that that’s totally fine and won’t cause problems.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

Is that actually a thing people say? I live in the north woods and I’ve not heard that…particular logic… then again I tend to avoid hunters…

But omg purposely letting something starve because of its biological shortcomings is not the way. I’d for sure be dead in that world.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

Everyone in my family is highly allergic to bee stings, but you need to be exposed to it once to develop an allergy.

I haven’t been stung, so that’s my free bee.

I’m going to try to avoid using that one, though. 36 years and counting!

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

What does this mean a mouthpiece? I assume something to adjust the way they talk vs the output but can someone give me some sort of example of a difference of like… what does it do?

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

Oh really? It makes that big a difference?

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

Have not watched Buffy, no. But I believe you fully. Just didn’t think it was a big deal for voice but… at the same time I’m quite face blind so muffling and costumes don’t usually impact my ability to recognize someone. So it’s low-key amazing to me the lengths some people go to

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

Why do I relate to this so much despite only barely knowing what Manjaro is….? Hmm…

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

Finally someone who notices the effort!

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

I have a camera from… before that era (a cannon retina II from 1937-1939 that my grandfather used during the war), it has a textured film advance knob that’s super easy to use quickly. Someone skilled with their camera could probably get 3-4+ shots if they were prepared for it. If they had a camera with a film advance with the flip-up swivel knob, it could be considerably more.

I used mine for a photography course (everything about it still works flawlessly, just missing some powder coat paint from a couple places) and without much skill I could have managed maybe 2 myself - but analogue cameras were dying when I was growing up, the closest you’d usually come is those disposables or cheap plastic shell cameras, and you couldn’t do much with those. So totally different skillset than I was exposed to.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

I wish that worked for me. I’d love to have someone give me a BS miracle drug sugar pill and actually be able to believe them. Even subconsciously. But subconsciously, I automatically disbelieve miracle claims (and even most efficacy claims) until looking at the clinical trial data.

Years of chronic pain and gobs of different meds to control it, most entirely ineffective but with side effects, does things to a person already inclined toward doubt. I’m also prone to nocibo responses, like the guy in the comic, but I think it’s sensations that are always there, I’m just being asked not to ignore the state of my body like I usually do, so I actually notice them.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

As a woman with that level of enthusiasm about niche science info (I got a degree as a science communicator, because I literally can’t help myself sharing interesting info when it seems a good time to do so)…

It’s very very difficult to find people who aren’t intimidated by it, or put off by the enthusiasm about something they don’t begin to understand/care about. Of all the people I talk to randomly, maybe 1 out of 30 people actually likes the enthusiasm past the first 5 min. And even that 5 min can be a stretch. That is to say, they tolerate it, they don’t tend to engage with it or encourage it. Mostly you get “oh, that’s neat”. Which is a great way to shut the entire conversation down, cuz where do you go from there?

I tend to agree that enthusiasm is interpersonally attractive, it’s why I make small talk by asking what thing the other person finds interesting that they learned recently. (Not something they think I want to know, something they are interested in). I don’t think the majority of the population views it that way, though. They only think enthusiasm is good if it’s a subject they already care about in some way. And they don’t want to share theirs in case it’s not something you are interested in, even if all you actually are interested in is whatever sparks their passion.

I guess it could be my area, but I’ve been a lot of places (mostly within the same country ofc) and found about the same whether rural or urban, north or south. Also I don’t think my observation is because I’m a woman, but it could be a contributing factor, idk.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago (edited 1 year ago)

You misunderstand my understanding that most people don’t care, for being deterred from doing it.

No no. It’s a compulsion. I don’t have a choice but to share things, even at my own social detriment. I mean obviously I could subvert who I am fundamentally for the comfort of society, but that’s a lot of work I’m not willing to do when sharing is more fun, and more rewarding when it does hit. That’s why I got the science communication degree. To facilitate sharing whatever I know with whomever I meet in a way they can relate to. I take that skill very seriously. I was good at it before I got the degree.

I know some people stop sharing when beaten down by society, but I’m not one. When things get awkward I say “my bad I’m a science communicator by trait and training and have trouble not sharing cool stuff as a result” to diffuse the social pressure to conform. It works well enough.

It makes building real relationships more challenging than I assume your average individual has, but the connections that are made under those conditions tend to be really good ones so tradeoff I guess.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

All good friend. I wouldn’t call myself an intellectual, though… I’m just a person with specific interests like everyone else. Separating people by, essentially, educational attainment… is a mistake. I barely learned shit in college, I just got a piece of paper saying I was good at what I was already good at so I could get a job (which I haven’t yet, and it’s been a solid while becaue corporate bs is bs and heaven forbid you have gaps! but I can tell people what my degree is for and that’s enough for conversation).

My life has been a series of traumatic events that forcibly removed most of my blinders, and I see things as clearly as anyone really can, washed with propaganda as we all are… and it’s fucking miserable enough to wish I was entirely ignorant. So much easier.

But the rock has been the scientific method, it’s an amazing thing that gives us the tools to share things confidently! And I love telling people about the most recent thing I learned that was based on it. It is so helpful to say “hey what about this cool thing!” And when they go “hmm idk” you can describe the study and results, like being a living scicomm book, and then show them the actual study.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

Clearly so, as you taught me a new definition - vulgarization - the act or process of making something, or of something becoming, better known and understood by ordinary people.

I appreciate that. Thanks! :) in that definition (and the more traditionally used one) I’m a vulgar mf!

Unless you want to know about like magnetic tornadoes on the sun or how sponges are colonies of cells often using glass/silicate compounds in various shapes as a common skeleton (wouldn’t want to bathe with those!! But each species has their own unique structure!), I haven’t much off the top of my head without a good conversation to spark some back-of-the brain latent info that’s stored and conversationally relevant. I’m a steel trap for niche science stuff, and it often takes a good conversation to bring it out. How else do you know what info is worth sharing?

^_^

ApathyTree, 1 year ago (edited 1 year ago)

They aren’t uncommon persey, it’s just another form of solar prominance, or material lifted above the surface by magnetic field liness. However, the tornado-like appearance rather than a full arc of material that connects to the surface in 2 places is rather uncommon, and it’s even possible that it’s an artifact of the way the sun is photographed (the lenses filter based on temperature, essentially, and material further from the surface may cool to the point it doesn’t get picked up with any of the filters, making it effectively invisible), or the angle at which the photos are taken in relation to the prominence (if we are looking at it head on, we wouldn’t see the second anchor point).

How they form is an ongoing mystery with many models, like all solar prominences, and it probably isn’t disconnected on one end like a cyclone would be, but visually it resembles a tornado, and the material does seem to rotate around the magnetic field lines, much the same way a tornado rotates in air. We see the same rotation in more typical coronal loops, which are what cause coronal mass ejections when it releases. They are absolutely massive when they do form, 10+ stacked earths in size, and can last days, weeks, months.

It’s one of my go-to water-testing facts because almost everyone likes the sun, is at least vaguely familiar with tornadoes, and can envision a “10 earth tall tornado of plasma on the sun”. Which is a damned cool image to envision - the reality is also spectacular but a bit less so.

The one linked below is actually from March this year, which is neat! I didn’t even know it happened again! This one was 14 earths high and exploded at the end of its cycle! How cool! I hope they got some really good data on how it works! I’ll have to do some looking :)

businessinsider.com/nasa-video-solar-tornado-plas…

ApathyTree, 1 year ago (edited 1 year ago)

Yeah, the coolest thing about the sun, imo, is that while a particle of light only takes a few minutes to reach earth, it can take millions of years to escape the tumultuous interior of the sun to radiate in the first place. That activity is what prevents the sun from collapsing under its own gravity.

We can’t change our earthly perspective, no, but we do have numerous satellites that do have the ability to see certain angles we can’t currently on earth. We can’t see the backside of it (from our current perspective, it rotates and we orbit so we do see all of it), really, because we’d never get good signal from our craft, but we can get some decent side angles.

We just don’t necessarily have the tools to see what we want to know with those specifically, but we put out great new tools on a regular basis, so it’s very possible they will make new tools just for that purpose.

…wikipedia.org/…/Category:Artificial_satellites_a…

As for the other question about not being able to detect it - not really. The stuff we have focused on the sun mostly works with hot material, but the universe itself is very cold, and we can detect things from every wavelength we are aware of, it’s just a matter of what’s usually focused on the sun specifically to catch these things.

(Disclaimer for anyone who might read this: do not ever look at the sun through a telescope without a certified solar filter, you will burn out your eye. Guaranteed.) If you have a telescope, on a sunny day you can watch the sun indirectly by facing the eyepiece toward paper or a wall. It works like a projector. It’s black and white just because it’s bright out when you project it, but you can watch sunspots and stuff. :) and now is a great time to do it a we are approaching the solar maximum, when the most interesting things tend to happen.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

I’ve served food and it turns out it’s literally impossible to find a time when the table doesn’t have a mouthful, and actually make it to the table before one happens.

If you are by yourself sure, but 2+, can’t be done. Mostly because of conversation - one talks the other eats, then swap. I’ve tried many many times (when slow) because it bugs the shit out of me when it happens to me… which is always.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

I just say “it’s personal, and I won’t be discussing it.” If they don’t want to hire me because of it, I don’t want to work there anyway.

It’s absolutely none of their business what I was doing, especially that I went into a deep depression after my mom died and my live-in ex cheated on me while I was caring for her, and then spent a couple years selling her non-sentimental possessions to live off. And I’m not willing to make up some bullshit to hide it either, it happened and I’m not ashamed of it, but I’m not sharing it with interviewers. Meh meh.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

Unfortunately this all happened in my early 20s, I went to college after, but there’s still a big gap that can’t be explained by school alone (and it’s a gap because I had military service prior to that which I always list)

I got stuck on the tempy-go-round (only able to find contracts due to gaps, and too many contracts to land a permanent job - several employers asked why I prefer contracts… I don’t, it’s all I could get… but that answer is it’s own can of worms…). I finally found a permanent job and realized I spent so much time on contracts that I can’t do the same thing day in day out for more than a year without driving myself bonkers. Ultimate catch-22.

So I’m going back to contracts. However, not entry level desperation contracts, ones actually using my degree. Covid remote work was an absolute silver lining for my field - used to be impossible to find positions, now they are there and pay super well (6 mths to make what I make in a year now), but mostly contract.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

m.youtube.com/watch?v=KO4jaGF8eQE

(Just the first bit with the shotgun)

Also I assume some magic was involved.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

I agree, it was explicitly for the shotgun part, the rest is too cumbersome to be useful (and frankly so is the shotgun limiting your leg movement…)

None of it is a good design, but let’s be real about the intended market for it - cosplaytriots and tacticools don’t care about actual practicality :)

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

So?

Nobody ever said they are female, afaik.

Trans women are women.

ApathyTree, 1 year ago

Define “most” and cite sources.