@sewblue@sfba.social
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

sewblue

@sewblue@sfba.social

My life and interests in bullet points.

  • mother to a severely dyslexic kid. I do a lot of advocating, as severe dyslexics get shut out of the written internet so you do not see their viewpoints expressed.
  • long covid suffer, but able to manage it
  • Engineer, except math and science jokes.
  • Crafter, mainly sewing. Love any kind craft and art.
  • Lover of history and architecture
  • old house lover, love my 90 year old house.
  • black cat affectionado. So cats.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Would it really be so bad to be a Borg?

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@RickiTarr Also, no mortgages or student loans.

sewblue, to animals
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

I am all things darkness, not a cuddle bug.

sewblue, to animals
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

The cat has 2 modes - asshole or melted.

Melted mode has been engaged. Only time he will pose for pictures.

He's deep asleep, dreaming and twitching right now.

sewblue, to FiberArts
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

One last Christmas ornament, this time for my mother.

18 count Aida cloth, beads so tiny I need to use a beading needle rather than an embroidery needle.

Just free handing it, doing whatever design strikes my fancy.

GovTrack, to random
@GovTrack@mastodon.social avatar

The Civil War was about "states' rights". Specifically, the claim by some states that they had the right to enslave other human beings and the other states saying "you absolutely do not". The slaveholding states felt so strongly about their "right" to enslave other humans that they went to war over it. This is not complicated and anyone, politician or otherwise, who can't or won't say this explicitly should not be in office or elected to one.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@GovTrack The "state's rights" mantra was always a lie.

When California entered the union in 1850, it was technically a southern state. But Californians didn't want slavery, because they were afraid of slave worked gold mines concentrating wealth and power, crowding out the individual prospectors.

So southern states argued that Californians didn't have the right to reject slavery. No state rights!

10 years later the excuse was states rights.

It was always about slavery, and never about freedom. What ever argument furthered slavery was a good argument.

quixoticgeek, to random
@quixoticgeek@v.st avatar

Wow. According to the hydrogen industry lobbyist in my mentions I've gaslit you all by suggesting that heat pumps are great.

Which is weird. Cos heat pumps are an amazing technology. There's even moves to develop air/air heat pumps they use propane as the refrigerant, so DIY installers can easily install them. But what's truly amazing about heat pumps is how they can scale. In the city of London they've installed a big ground source heat pump to drive district heating. It's awesome.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@Porcia @quixoticgeek Leaks aren't the only thing.

Natural gas is flammable between 5-15% gas in air. It is actually rather challenging to get uncontrolled concentrations to ignite, if you remember those episodes of Mybusters. It certainly can ignite but is fairly limited in practice.

Hydrogen has a flammable limit of 4-74%. You also can't scent it like you can natural gas because of that tiny molecule issue, so leaks are incredibly hazardous and difficult to detect.

Outside of industrial applications hydrogen is just too dangerous. The best I've heard of is mixing with natural gas, but that doesn't actually solve the problem.

Right now there is a huge split between gas only utilities and joint gas and electric companies. Gas only companies are hoping for a hail mary with hydrogen and funding scare tactics around keeping gas ranges, while joint utilities are exploring electric conversions.

Eventually electric utilities will need to buy out the gas ones and convert the customer be to full electric.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@mackaj @andrewprice @Hypx @Porcia @quixoticgeek Interesting read. Scary that they kept the study quiet.

And why in the US this should be a non-starter - the utility has no obligation to check your house for leaks unless you call them. In other counties gas companies have a responsibility toward any gas deaths.

I do agree on this - detonations are rare for natural gas, but in a real world sense you are just as dead from defragration. How it happens is meaningless if you are in that kitchen. It is the collateral damage and the likelihood that changes. Not a reason to suppress, but yes people will take it out of context.

Catch the Mybusters episode Manhole Mayham, as they do testing between the two types of explosions.

The detonation in that study happened at 30%, past the point that natural gas can burn. The likelihood of an explosion is far higher for that reason alone, but I didn't need a study to tell me that. 5-15% vs 4-75% explosive range.

mrundkvist, to random Swedish
@mrundkvist@archaeo.social avatar

Thinking about the difference between and . At the moment, rare items of 1980s popular culture are catching wild prices from nostalgic 50-y-os. I got $40 for a pewter miniature the other day. But 50 years from now, I don't really see anyone caring that much about an unopened 1979 Han Solo action figure. While exclusive 18th century furniture just keeps getting more expensive.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@mrundkvist Cars go through a similar arch. They only hold high value while the people who experienced them in their youth are alive.

That is why a vintage 1970's muscle car or what ever is currently hit is worth more than a rarer Model T. No one alive today grew up early Model T's around, so they are cheaper. Even though far more historically important and rare.

If you inherit a vintage car, sell it immediately. The longer you wait, the less it will be worth. Most of them will only have value to the dying generation that gave you the car.

NatureMC, to random
@NatureMC@mastodon.online avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @NatureMC I've naturally got a good sense of direction. I am able to orient myself in space easily, but I also have a strong 3D oriented brain.

    Not everyone can do that I've found.

    tomkindlon, to mecfs
    @tomkindlon@disabled.social avatar

    Systems thinking, subjective findings and diagnostic "pigeonholing" in ME/CFS: A mainly qualitative public health study from a patient perspective

    Full text (in German)
    https://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-2197-6479

    Based on a survey (n=544)

    @mecfs @mecfs_de

    1/

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @tomkindlon @mecfs @mecfs_de This was the biggest shock to me when my long covid was very bad. Between what ever, can't do anything attitude once the test results came back, the rigidity in thinking was surprising.

    I'm an engineer, and have to be able to walk into a situation I don't understand and make it safe. I was shocked when I realized doctors can't do that. They have been so drilled in their thinking they can't extrapolate concepts. Entirely reliant on the work of others to find a safe path forward, or rooted to the old path.

    There is no path yet for long covid. Pretending the old trails work is just as dangerous as believing superstitions.

    quixoticgeek, to random
    @quixoticgeek@v.st avatar

    We have an utterly fucked up idea of what counts as technology. Something that projects many of our biases including gender, and race.

    To many these days it's only technology if it's electronic, and used by western men. But to take such a narrow definition is to ignore the amazing technology that surrounds us, and upon which our society is built. As such. It's time for a thread. I'm gonna talk about two different items you use every day, and the technology that goes into them.

    1/n

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @quixoticgeek dear god this thread has captured my interest in a nutshell.

    I'm a mechanical engineer and seamstress. Thread n steel.

    What is crazy to me is that progress in sewing basically just stopped after the invention of the bobbin. 170 years later and a (female) human earning near slave wages still sits at a sewing machine feeding fabric to a needle. We got to that point and just stopped progressing. It is still incredibly difficult to do what human hands can do at that machine.

    And most men are completely ignorant of the skill necessary to do it. Dressmakers outperform surgeons in their level of visual acuity and depth perception.

    The shock to the world economy when the next stage of automation is reached is hard to comprehend.

    Using a stainless steel needle.

    sewblue, to FiberArts
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    Last of SE Christmas ornaments. Today was my group party so they have all been delivered.

    I used a smaller diameter blue bead on this one, but compensated by doing 3 rows of blue in the S target than 2. The overlaping plaid design was fun, even if the overlaps were a bit of a pain.

    I embroidered the year and my initials on the ribbon.

    Very happy with how this came out.

    Ornament back. Chains of blue and white beads form a plaid pattern, forming a series of squares and rectangles in negative white space.

    visionsofnapa, to random
    @visionsofnapa@sfba.social avatar

    Karl the Fog has eaten downtown Napa.

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @visionsofnapa I read that as Karl the Frog and was very confused.

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @visionsofnapa I'm just above the fog line here in Vallejo this morning. You can see Mt Tam in between the trees on the right.

    On a clear day you can see the Bay through the trees, but on just.

    sewblue, to diy
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    In a week's time I will a dirt back yard instead of this mosquito generating monstrosity. I will have a usable (if just dirt) back yard rather a field of concrete and cinderblock, with a gaping 12 ft drop. The natural slope of the landscape will be restored.

    By then though, I will be out of money to hire it out. I will have to phase new landscapingfrom scratch, DIY.

    I'm weird that the hardscaping and drainage don't really worry me. Used to dealing with construction.

    But not killing every plant I put in? That is the challenge. There isn't even irrigation here right now.

    Any tips for helping me learn to have a green thumb?

    View of the deep end of the pool, with bathtub rings of pond scum and leaf litter. The pool is surrounded by white cinder block retaining walls. A pump sits at the bottom to keep drained of water.

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @mammut Yes and no. Am in California, but in an area that doesn't get super hot. Mid 80's in the summer mostly. Our water is entirely dependent on rainfall (not snowfall) so drought is a concern.

    So yes, drought tolerant is a plus.

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @Frieke72 we have a design! I hired a local designer for that part. But knowing which plants and where they should go doesn't mean I won't kill them.

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @NatureMC oooh, I could do a California poppy field as an interim! My front side yard was all poppies when we moved in.

    Unfortunately they are weed magnets because of how they extract moisture for the air. The fern like leaves collect dew and channel it to the base of the plant, basically making them self watering. Other weeds love the extra moisture, but the poppies are so delicate you can't weed around them without harming the entire plant. They get crowded out fairly quickly.

    Other downside is that they disappear for much of the year, so you still have plain dirt outside of spring and early summer.

    danilo, to random
    @danilo@hachyderm.io avatar

    When I got to San Francisco in 2010, I really wanted to do it all

    Build a startup, create change through technology.

    But the more I learned of the culture, the less I wanted to succeed according to its rubric. The turning point for me was Airbnb

    Around 2011, Airbnb was REALLY taking off. All the benefits of a software business, none of the drawbacks of a real estate business. The best of all worlds.

    Except…

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @danilo I had a friend who started at Uber right before they took off, after doing the same with another well known start up just before they crashed. Had this 6th sense in when to jump start ups. We fell away when I realized what kind of org Uber was, how how in on it he was.

    I'm a mechanical engineer in a highly regulated, dangerous industry. Rule breaking isn't something I even think of doing. Written in blood. Literally. Was very impressed initially with that Uber did, cutting through all that red tape and getting it out to the world so quickly. Then I realize they had just ignored any regulations and just bullied their way.

    I know in very real ways what engineering arrogance can cause. I know first hand how fucking hard to is not to maim or kill when you do not have control. That this culture has been developing driverless cars is profoundly, deeply disturbing to me.

    sewblue, to random
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    Yes dear readers, I just made the worst business typo in the history of business typos.

    I wrote count. As in "can we get a count?"

    What came out of my fingers skipped the O.

    Yeah, will be replaying that one at 3 am in my head for some time.

    sewblue, to random
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    My husband has surprised me. And it is funny how we get in the way of ourselves sometimes.

    Decorating for Christmas was always my thing. He'd help and wouldn't really complain, but it was always a little clear he'd rather be doing something else. Just never really into it.

    Then my long covid hit, and for 2 years I was unable to do it. I couldn't stand long enough to decorate the tree. He had to step up.

    With stepping up he finally found the joy in it. He just spent far too much time finding the right nose for Rudolph here.

    I've since largely recovered. This year he helped me hang the garlands and put the outside lights up. Helped me plan how to make it easier next year.

    It has been rather confusing, but it is a lovely change. We can be our own worse enemy sometimes.

    • Edited to mention my recovery
    sewblue, to FiberArts
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    More Christmas ornament embroidery. Just having fun with stitch designs, what ever strikes my fancy.

    The square with a square is amazing because it almost glows with beadwork, while the grid pattern catches the light all at once and just dazzles.

    clive, to random
    @clive@saturation.social avatar

    In this paper in Nature, the researchers find that essays generated by ChatGPT were rated higher for quality than human-written ones

    Interesting on its face, but …

    … what really drew my eye was this finding: human students are more likely to use language that conveys “speaker attitude“

    I wonder how much of that is due to ChatGPT’s relatively low temperature (to minimize weird results) and/or prompting?

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-45644-9

    (Via @jasemrau)

    1/2

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @clive I'm an engineer who writes and QC's technical documents for a living, often instructions for processes that can kill if done wrong.

    I spend hours training younger engineers to cut the fluff out of their language. It can be very difficult sometimes to untrain what "write a 5 page paper" on a topic light in content has done for our collective writing styles. Verbosity is rewarded over clarity of thought. "Specific to the specified" when "use" will suffice. Clarity must win, so I teach them to play a game to see how many words they can remove from a sentence and have it make sense.

    What I see in Chat GPC is fluff manufacturing. The actual knowledge and thought goes into the prompt. The error rate in reading Chat GPC is going to be through the roof due to overly complex sentence structure, with too many concepts packed into a sentence. Or no concepts mentioned at all, just fluff to bulk up the word count.

    sewblue, to FiberArts
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    More embroidery progress.

    I went simple on the back of the blue biscornu. Love laying lattice work, you can cover big areas quickly.

    sewblue, to animals
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    No needles. Pets.

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