janisf

janisf, 3 days ago

@purplepadma It's crazy, given such a huge chunk of immigration is via research schools. Top students want to come work in our fancy labs with our renowned professors, And we continue to kick out top scholars.

It's part of why US student debt and the cost of college is problematic. We are over-the-top competitive.

janisf, 4 days ago

@ernie It depends on how deeply you want to DIY. If you're going to try to make your own magnets and float your own paper, I'd buy a set. If you want to basically mix & match speakers and play with wood/material acoustics, it's pretty fun. It's not cheaper, but you learn a lot, and you save the world from some ABS plastic.

janisf, 4 days ago

@ernie If you decide to have a go at it, I'd love to see what you come up with! I'm a dabbler, not even a hobbyist, but I love to read what other people are doing.

janisf, 4 days ago

@benroyce @GraceC @mikej Yes, but it's critical to understand the purpose of democracy. Many of the non-voters clearly don't feel heard. In some respects, garnering votes is a quid-pro-quo deal. We need to turn around and represent the disaffected voters.

We also need to clearly point out that Republicans aren't just making moves to officially disenfranchise voters, they're also hiring Russian propagandists to drive potential voters out.

janisf, 8 days ago

@samhainnight

I nail 'em with 70-ish% ethyl alcohol. I got gallon jugs in 2020 when hand sanitizer ran out, figured it would make a good glass cleaner (it does!) so I put it in a spray bottle, & thought I'd try it on bugs. It doesn't kill them, but it drops 'em so you can get 'em with a tissue. It doesn't leave a mess behind, and it doesn't hurt most wood finishes, either.

janisf, 8 days ago

@Pineywoozle @samhainnight Thanks! My kid and I have been battling mold allergies, and this is by far a greener, simpler product than we've been using for that. (Besides, I'm not a huge Home Depot fan.) Perfect!

janisf, 8 days ago

@ernie This is what I already do:
0. use the product

1. Subscribe
2. (cross-) Post, with comment
3. Pay (lately, not much)
4. Join supportive groups (like, Obsidian has a Discord thread)
5. Check/hit the website, or generally participate in external-to-the-product venues
6. Tag the developer with resources they've shown interest/need in

janisf, 8 days ago

@ernie What kills me is the folks who claim to be communists or socialists while blocking ads and doing everything they can to scam free software/services. It's like the concept they have of mutual support only flows inward. (It feels like trying to drive with two cylinders, you know, with your head banging on the steering wheel with every jolt.)

janisf, 8 days ago

@Uair @actuallyautistic Dude, that was a hard read. And even if it's all true, writing like that is so self-absorbed you're not going to connect with anyone. If you can't reach out to people where they're at, you're going to keep banging your head against a wall. Maybe for now you forget the NSA and just build a life with genuine connections using the thought-language those people need.

janisf, 15 days ago

@qurlyjoe OK, wait, what? The helicopter? Was that planned ambiguity? Wait again. Of course it was. That's how the right-wing operates.

To be fair, the Iranian response to Raisi's death was also fairly ambiguous.

OK, so we get a woman into the White House, and then we get a woman into the Iranian prime minister slot. At which point we push for pacifism. 2180, here we come!

janisf, 15 days ago

@samhainnight @shoq @lorakolodny Sometimes. Sometimes it can be wiggling around on the pot so that damn thing gets out.

janisf, 17 days ago

@stux I was gonna ask, but I'm just gonna go ahead and dl this to send to my kiddo. HshtagSoryNotSorry

janisf, 21 days ago

@maddad Have you seen this, yet? https://thebulletin.org/#navbar-brand

janisf, 21 days ago

@maddad RIght? I like it because I know it's studied, and because it's a container for my existential terror. I don't touch news on the subject(s) outside of hitting that. I can be ready for it when I go there, and leave it behind. Sanity simply isn't possible of you carry that around with you all the time.

TBH, I'm not really sure sanity is possible, but I keep chasing it....

janisf, 21 days ago

@maddad

Ego is the matter with us. We are burning it down in the attempt to be the power that can implement solutions.

As far as "our" side goes, more capital isn't a solution, but we think it is. It does solve several problems, just not the big ones.

janisf, 21 days ago

@StillIRise1963 True, but we need to define "elite" quite specifically to make sure we're hitting someone, and not just putting ourselves in a general "anti-elite" bucket, which gives those elites a welcome mat to defend themselves rather absolutely.

Also, I'm pretty convinced this isn't as deliberate, either that or as populated, as most of us think. (Tossing this around in my head, tho.) People who inherit can be quite dumb about it.

IMO, capitalist propaganda. Yup.

janisf, 21 days ago

@StillIRise1963

Lots of people went to school. It doesn't prove shit except that you know how to fill out fancy forms, most of which have instructions in seemingly random places, sometimes only coming from one individual, and you usually have to use your own blank sheets.

There aren't two economists who agree on everything, either.

No, multiple PhDs probably means you know best that you don't know what you're doing. MBA's just want to pay their student loans back.

janisf, 21 days ago

@MisuseCase @StillIRise1963

Well, then, try this. https://www.capitalisnt.com/

In the mean time, try to be specific about who you're pegging.

janisf, 22 days ago

@luckytran I'm sure they calculated the numbers and probabilities of spread. It's hard to believe, but most Americans have medical coverage.

"The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has established a fee schedule for the two-dose vaccines, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, that gives providers $16.94 for the first dose and $28.39 for the second. If any single-dose vaccines are authorized, Medicare will pay providers $28.39 for that shot." https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2021/covid-vaccine-costs.html

janisf, 21 days ago

@artemesia @luckytran the Medicare/Medicaid payouts for the vaccines haven't changed since the article was published, but using my mom's Medicare Statement of Benefits for proof somehow didn't seem appropriate.

janisf, 21 days ago

@artemesia @luckytran She got her last at the end of Feb. It says $28.39, all Medicare.

That's not to say the sticker price is the same as what CMS approves, but I'm thinkin' we need to be talking medical prices at least as much as we've needed to be talking about paychecks.

janisf, 22 days ago

@btaroli @actuallyautistic I'm not sure our society encourages that, specifically, so much as it's been propagated that hard work is how you move up the hierarchy (earn money, be competitive), while not tuning into the gratis labor that parents have to do.

Back in the day, the economic model of traditional family labelled parenting a FT job, and good jobs paid for a whole family, or so the story went. It's now an antiquated model, but you can still see it on your tax forms.

janisf, 22 days ago

@btaroli @actuallyautistic Set your boundaries ahead of time if at all possible. There are also some really great tips and stories on r/SingleParents.

It's hard. Take care of your health, though, because this moment of life will pass more quickly than you can imagine, and one notable thing you'll have to show for it is the state of your body.

janisf, 22 days ago

@KatM @VirginiaMurr @StillIRise1963 I'm not sure people understand that boycotting voting isn't like boycotting a business. The political machine won't shrink for lack of participation. Quite the opposite.