Toilets have lids because when you flush a toilet it creates a torrent of micro droplets that settle on all of the surfaces in the bathroom. It's important to shut the lid before flushing.
Many people are unaware of this.
(I'm all for trying new and different things, but sometimes "you never see x" because x is a terrible idea.)
@futurebird Even when you close the lid each time you flush, there is enough that gets out to fertilize the orchids on the toilet tank in perpetuity (but it doesn't travel far enough to fertilize the ones in the shower).
@futurebird You forgot the people who would use only equations (or maybe a form of cryptography) for the poster so only the mathematically minded can read it. (They would totally find that an effective advertisement).🤣
Remnant of summer and harbinger of autumn.
Usually by now, the leaves on the trees have begun to turn into their autumn colors. This year, they remain stubbornly green or turn brown and fall. It's very strange. #Bloomscrolling#Berkshires#Massachusetts #ClimateDiary
@davidho You are lucky if the motor vehicle is only using it as parking. More often, it becomes an additional lane of traffic for the "special" drivers who don't want to use the same lanes as everyone else.
@moira@futurebird There is a famous French variety (the Parisian) that makes carrot balls instead of the long, tapered roots. Maybe you planted that kind?
@arstechnica This is apparently what I saw launch last night over a crowded urban population center. I guess we will be getting more secret rocket launches.
NSF is encouraging the submission of proposals on the fundamental understanding and assessment of environmental processes, and/or social, cultural, and ethical impacts of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation modification (SRM). 👀
Remember when over the air digital TV came in and unless you had a new TV you needed a converter box to watch the digital channels as analog channels went dark? Did you know it's happening again? But worse.
While the FCC just recently extended (to 2026 I believe) the required time for the existing (ATSC 1.0) system to stay operational, the new ATSC 3.0 system is loaded with encrypted DRM even on basic channels in many cases.
And get this, it appears that the external converter boxes currently available for this that can actually deal with that DRM reportedly require an Internet connection to work!
You read that right. To receive an over the air ATSC encrypted channel -- even a basic broadcast channel -- reportedly appears to currently require an Internet connection.
Now you might be asking, what the bloody hell is the point of over the air TV if you need a damned Internet connection to watch it?
And the answer is: I don't have a clue.
I'm trying to learn more. Stay tuned. No pun intended.
@lauren That is bad. So many people got generators to watch over the air TV for emergency updates after the hurricane when I was in Texas. If you need Internet for it to work, it ceases to be effective for emergency communications purposes. (Yes, all cables tend to go down in a disaster, along with cellphones/wireless Internet--radio & TV signals travel further & are usually not affected).
It is a cold, wet day in LA today. It is normally hot & dry until October. At least the rain will help suppress fire season until next year. #ClimateDiary
Both my #SugarBush and #LemonadeBerry (not shown) are getting ready to flower. Traditional it blooms March to May. It just bloomed this past spring during that time. #ClimateDiary
Serious question: The cycle advocates/urbanists who jet around between Europe and North America, are they independently wealthy? Given immigration laws in the EU being pretty tight (and also in US and Canada), how are they accomplishing this living in at least two countries feat?
@glightly Some people have dual citizenship. If you have a US citizen parent, you can get a "US citizen born abroad" birth certificate regardless of what county you were actually born in.
I finally understand what "CVS Caremark" is-- (it's not CVS stores) basically it's a service used by a number of huge healthcare plans to manage approved drugs and secure prices. It has its own network of pharmacies that goes way beyond just CVS.
This is why no one at your health insurance knows anything about why X drug wasn't approved.
I thought it was CVS stalking me trying to get me to go there for years, but my charmingly dysfunctional pharmacy is a "caremark" pharmacy.
@futurebird I had government healthcare at one point in school. You walked to an office with primary care doctors, labs & pharmacy in the same building. You could just show up sick without an appointment & get care. If your issue was beyond their skills, you got a referral to specialist with appointment. No premium or out-of-pocket. But then college admin was convinced it would cost less to use a health plan. Health plan treated everything as an attempt at fraud, so no more care.😭
It's raining up by Lake Arrowhead in San Bernardino, but not at the LA/Orange county border yet. Everything looks fine so far, but the worst is still yet to come. #HurricaneHilary#ClimateDiary
All seeds harvested & some processed for storage. Now to get rain collection system set up (it is still pretty full from spring & was being relocated for fall use) & everything that might be damaged by water/wind packed away. #HurricanePrep#ClimateDiary
It is starting to get overcast with intermittent light wind, after being sunny & dry all week (which is much more normal for this time of year).
We have a category 3 (possibly soon category 4) hurricane coming to LA this weekend. It looks like it might pass directly over us with 10+ inches of rain. It is our dry summer season. #ClimateDiary#ClimateCrisis#Hurricane#LosAngeles ?!?
If the idea of violent protests don't make you at least little scared I wonder how well you know history. At the same time, real change almost never happens without people putting their bodies on the line.
The right understands this far better than your average liberal/moderate. To be a moderate is to trust that existing systems will (mostly) work.
If those systems fail? What then? To even consider this is moderate treason.
@futurebird@gocu54 They live in fear someone with more power will hold them accountable for their actions. The lynching stopped when the federal government started prosecuting (and those people started getting angry about "big government interfering in local matters"). Otherwise, without social consequences, you just have two armed parties engaging in the equivalent of a gang war, with ongoing tit-for-tat violence.
🧵 1/9 #Assomption (#Assumption of Mary) today, is a holiday here in France. In German we have the name "Kräuterweihe" that reminds much better to the #pagan history behind that date. Indeed, it was one of the most important days of agricultural calendars. Here, I talk about the #CulturalHeritage especially in #Alsace, its connection to #nature and even #climateChange - not about the Catholic idea. For #ClimateDiary it's a day which should change the date: weather #traditions don't work anymore.
@NatureMC We see this here too. There is a local berry that was collected after a snow here. We haven't had snow since the 1940s! (It needs to be frozen to bring out the best flavor).
My daughter's teacher already gave her permission to wear her N95 100% of the time while indoors. She will only eat and drink outside! She will be the only one doing it, but will be allowed to do her own thing.
I also shared articles with her and asked if I could donate an air purifier for her classroom, and she said YES!
I'm so grateful!
Strangely, I also feel guilty, because I know so many other children will not have these same protections.
@Empathy1st My son will continue to wear his elastomeric respirator to school. He is quite fond of it as he went from being sick all the time to never by wearing it (positive reinforcement). He also only eats & drinks outside.
We need to normalize wearing masks one person at a time until it becomes an expected part of your outfit when leaving the house.
@davidho Climate deniers are secret (or actual) pyromaniacs and assume that is everyone. They are often the only ones with campfires/fireworks on high fire days in our neighborhood.
Outdoor spaces without any insects (especially ants) in warm weather are creepy. I legit get an uncanny feeling wondering What Was Done to make this little park, yard, or garden so barren.
Do not ask "how do I get rid of bugs?" instead consider "which bugs would I prefer?"
Last night my husband asked "When do you think we'll see serious action on climate change in the US?"
We thought about it together & decided if we have a summer where it's hot & the power goes out for a week & in more than one major metro area that isn't in a generally hot region-- then... then maybe people will get it.
That's gonna kill a lot of people. But on the bright(???🙁?) side this will probably happen in the next few years.
We talked about how to make our neighborhood more ready.
@futurebird We will not see serious action in the US unless the stock market tanks.
Having lived without power for two weeks, you need shelf-stable snacks (crackers, jerky, dry fruit, etc) or canned goods you can eat in one sitting. Disaster food is nasty. Also BBQ & wood, or solar cooker for neighborhood potluck of fridge/freezers the first week. Heavy duty ice chest for food (can also use to clean or transporting food home from grocery) or solar backup. Gas/diesel generators are dangerous.
@futurebird@paulkater@Radical_EgoCom I've meet people in their 80s working full time & plenty 60+ that would if they could find a job. Most apartments here are more per month than the minimum Social Security retirement check (sometimes even "low income senior housing" is more than minimum retirement check). I thought the whole point of Social Security was to NOT have homeless seniors, instead of making landlords rich.
