@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.

GottaLaff, (edited ) to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

UnF'ingBelievable!!

Via Frank G. Runyeon

Breaking: Associate Justice David Friedman temporarily lifted Justice Engoron's on Donald and his attorneys in the AG's civil fraud case.

ADDED: "until the issue can be heard on the full merits"

& for those asking: "appointed by Governor George E. Pataki. David Friedman was born in 1950 and is a Democrat."

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@GottaLaff It isn't as easy as "lock him up" but he will make it easy to lock his enemies up.

Everything I hear that note of caution I want to scream. The rule of law will end if he gets power.

We will caution our way into loosing democracy.

It isn't that easy, but the stakes are waaay to high to be dismissive.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@GottaLaff Thank you for being reasonable.

I get that "lock him up" isn't realistic, but I just don't see the level of urgency regarding what will happen if Trump wins. My husband is Mexican, born here, but I don't trust that to matter when it comes to skin color. My family may well be broken up.

What can stop Nazi Germany's race courts from becoming a thing here? That corruption has been planned for years. It is already in progress. It wasn't even planned in Germany like it is here.

We are expecting the law to protect us now when it will not protect us 18 months from now if the worst happens.

That is what I am angry about - trusting a system that can be corrupted to save us from corruption.

While "lock them up" may be simplistic the fear is not. Too much confidence in the system can be risky. A human based system.

I'm an engineer who studies risk and major public safety issues. The confidence, the trust, the overconfidence is what leads to fatal mistakes. I never trust a system can hold.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@GottaLaff apologies, I did not know your background as I've not been following you for long.

Everyone is so upset, myself included, that it is tough to speak without someone feeling attacked. That was not my intent.

Again, apologies.

ProPublica, to Insurance
@ProPublica@newsie.social avatar

Big #Insurance Met Its Match When It Turned Down a Top Trial Lawyer’s Request for #Cancer Treatment

Blue Cross and Blue Shield denied payment for the proton therapy Robert “Skeeter” Salim’s doctor ordered to fight his throat cancer.

But he was no ordinary #patient. He was a celebrated litigator.

And he was ready to fight.

#Health #HealthCare #BCBS #HealthInsurance #Patients #Doctors #News #Louisiana #Texas #Lawyers #Lawyer

https://www.propublica.org/article/blue-cross-proton-therapy-cancer-lawyer-denial?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@ProPublica Good for him. Excellent story.

As the press you are celebrating an child freed of the orphan killing machine, yet never questioning why an orphan killing machine exists as other children are thrown into it. But this child lived!

Couldn't even find someone to talk to who was killed or maimed by this practice, just the person who had the means to save themselves and fight.

It's a tragedy presented as a success story.

helenczerski, to science

The key point that I think a lot of engineers still don't get is that their job is not about making widgets that get plonked on top of the world. This is about changing the shape of things inside a working system (Planet Earth) to shift how it operates. Those widgets become part of that system - it's like operating on a living human. The engineers of the future mustn't see their job as creating things external to the world.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@helenczerski The problem is an economic one, not an engineering one. Am a mechanical engineer.

Engineers have that particular arrogance certainty because everything they work on or build was built with human hands using human ideas. They do not have the skill set to work on broader systems they can't control, because it isn't a controlled human construct.

Engineers doing stuff like geo engineering scare me, because they are applying that certainty to systems no one actually understands in full. Or that it isn't their bosses making the scoping decisions, because accounting of system impacts costs money.

Don't confuse arrogance with capability. Engineering tasks are expensive, and who is funding what makes more of a difference than an engineer's awful ability to take system impacts into account.

sewblue, to Cats
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

Getting yelled at this morning by a cat who is mad that it is very wet out. The rain stopped not to long ago.

You expect me to go out in this? Get my paws wet?

EricCarroll, to random

Study reveals how alters mitochondria, leading to energy outages and organ failure

> An interdisciplinary International Research Team found that SARS-CoV-2 alters mitochondria on a genetic level, leading to widespread "energy outages" throughout the body and its major organs.

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20231031/Study-reveals-how-SARS-CoV-2-alters-mitochondria-leading-to-energy-outages-and-organ-failure.aspx

Core mitochondrial genes are down-regulated during SARS-CoV-2 infection of rodent and human hosts

https://science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abq1533

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@EricCarroll interesting. My long covid turns off like a switch when I go into ketosis, and my body stops burning glucose (sugars) for fuel. I dont get sick after exercising then either.

Eat carbs, and it comes roaring back, and aerobic exercise makes me sick.

For me at least something is broken with oxygen and glucose.

hrefna, to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

"Raising awareness" without connecting to a concrete action is one of the ways that vicarious trauma occurs.

Telling people that they can't look away from it when they feel helpless is more likely to traumatize people than it is to bring any concrete help to anyone.

"But people need to know" is all fine and good and also true, and also telling people who are already traumatized that they can't or shouldn't regulate is… not the win some people seem to think it is.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@hrefna For me it depends.

My 13 year old suffers from the avoidance thing kids do. If it is remotely distressing she just turns it off. Which means she isn't willing to watch a huge number of historic dramas, even Titanic. Let alone distressing news, like natural disasters.

I get the profusion of empathy, but shut shutting down basic knowledge is a path to ignorance. If you are ever stuck in that sort of situation you are in worse shape. I'm terrified of driving in floods because I've learned that kills.

I'm an engineer, and have to deal high risk stuff. You have to learn to compartmentalize, what you can control. Focus not just on the harm, but what can be done to help or save people. There is always people to help, and focusing on that reduces anxiety.

This war is hard because neither side is sympathetic. They are both committing awful things, making it hard to find the light in the conflict.

archaeohistories, to random
@archaeohistories@ohai.social avatar

In 2016; Roman-era Treasure found in Israel :

The beautiful sculptures, ancient coins and marine artifacts were found in the Caesarea National Park.

Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced finds on May 16, 2016 saying the cargo haul dating back 1600 years includes a figurine of moon goddess Luna, a bronze lamp decorated with the image of the sun god Sol, a figurine of Dionysus, god of wine, an ancient balance scale and lumps of coins that were discovered at sea, weighing a total of 20kg.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@archaeohistories What makes them Luna and Sol but not Artemis and Apollo?

gutenberg_org, to science
@gutenberg_org@mastodon.social avatar

English inventor Edmund Cartwright died in 1823.

In 1789 he had patented a wool-combing machine; although it lowered manufacturing costs, it did not benefit Cartwright financially. In 1809, however, the House of Commons voted Cartwright £10,000 in recognition of benefits conferred on the nation through his power loom. His other inventions included a cordelier (machine for making rope; 1792) and a steam engine that used alcohol instead of water.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@gutenberg_org Oh, the steam engine that used alcohol caught my attention. I'm a mechanical engineer and know a bit about steam engines, though no expert.

I can see how alcohol would make a great medium for th thermodynamic process. Would require less heat to attain the proper pressures, a huge gain for efficiency. Wonder what the technical problems were, as this could have allowed smaller steam engines much earlier.

The distillation process is only lacking in a pressure vessel and piston. You turn a liquid into a higher pressure steam, use that pressure to push a piston, let it condense back to liquid and start over.

Thermodynamics and mechanics.

Click! Early engines did not recycle water like modern ones. It would have required ungodly amounts of alcohol to run.

archaeohistories, to random
@archaeohistories@ohai.social avatar

A lead tank (1st Century AD), found in Pompeii in Villa Arianna, to which water was supplied via a single pipe, and from there it was directed to different parts of the house through two other pipes, capacity of which could be regulated using valves.

The tank was above ground level, so it was visible. That's why it gained decoration. Even technical devices had to have an appropriate appearance back then.

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@archaeohistories The technical term is called a header. A fat pipe with smaller connecting pipes ensures even flow to both connectors.

They would decorate this kind of thing as recently as the Victorian era. Things ceased to be decorative when they weren't something for rich people only, like this header was.

For me it is the valve head. We still use similar designs. Are those handles up top? If didn't know any better I would assume quarter turn ball valves, which also indicate if the water is on or off by handle position.

sewblue, to random
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

Kiddo's 13th birthday party is today. A) how the heck do I have a teenager and B) sleepovers with a bunch of pre-teen and teen girls tonight.

Wish me luck and wine. Going to be a looooong night.

sewblue, to Black_cats
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

I am darkness. I am stealth. I am one with the box. Fear me in my flower print stealth.

helenczerski, to climate

It is completely ludicrous that anyone is still talking about hydrogen for home heating - it’s far less efficient, less safe, more expensive and less flexible than heat pumps. This report is the last nail in a coffin that is already more nail than coffin.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/21/hydrogen-boiler-home-heating-uk?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

sewblue,
@sewblue@sfba.social avatar

@helenczerski I'm an engineer in one of these industries. California, so we are trying to figure out how to retire the natural gas with its Victorian era roots. Homes were plumbed for gas because it was used for lighting. Other used came later.

Hydrogen is only partly compatible with existing natural gas systems. The molecules are smaller than CH4, so basically all valves, mechanical fittings and meters would need to be replaced for versions with tighter tolerances. Your screwed galvanized pipes would likely leak.

This is a huge problem for safety. Natural gas is explosive at 5-15% concentrations. Hydrogen, 18-59%. Plus you can't odorize it as easily as natural gas. The safety challenges for residential applications are huge, and would cost lives to learn in practice.

Convert to domestic electric, not hydrogen. Hydrogen is best as an industrial substitute for natural gas, where you can have hydrogen detectors and periodic maintenance of joints and valves.

Teri_Kanefield, to random

deleted_by_author

    •
    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @Teri_Kanefield "The" BART?

    Tell me aren't from the Bay Area without telling me. Overuse of the word "The" screams SoCal transplant.

    You don't take The 80. You take 80. You take BART, not The BART. Coworkers and friends will tease.

    The NorCal and SoCal language differences are hella interesting.

    sortius, to auspol

    I see the Labor supporters have moved on from calling everyone who voted "no" racist, to blaming the AEC because there isn't any 'truth in political advertising' legislation in Australia.

    taps sign that says "Labor have been in power for almost 18 months"

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @sortius I had my first real exposure to real racism while in Australia as a teenage exchange student in the late 1990's. I'm from California, so multicultural is the norm.

    I was in Melbourne with my host family (was staying in Ballarat) and the father pointed out you had to play "Pick an Australian" in Melbourne these days, while out and about. I was thoroughly confused. They all could be Australian, just like at home. Until someone opens their mouth and it is heavily accented, or tells you they are an immigrant, you assume "American." Australia is also a nation of immigrants. They should be the same right?

    White dear readers. "Pick an Australian" meant white.

    The causualness of it, that it was in front of his 2 teenage sons on a city street. That is when I understood how racism was taught. That Australia had some deep seated problems with it, that it wasn't even being hidden from guests.

    It's deep. So deep many people likely have trouble seeing.

    gutenberg_org, to books
    @gutenberg_org@mastodon.social avatar

    "Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable."
    The Writings of Oscar Wilde

    Irish poet and playwright Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was born in 1854. He was a spokesman for the late 19th-century Aesthetic movement in England, which advocated art for art’s sake, and he was the object of celebrated civil and criminal suits involving homosexuality and ending in his imprisonment.

    Books by Oscar Wilde at PG:
    https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/111

    Jokanaan and Salome. Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley for the 1893 edition of Salome.

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @gutenberg_org Love his knee breeches period!

    They were out of style by a good 60, 70 years when he wore them. Very much like an artist dressing circa 1940 or 1950 today.

    sewblue, (edited ) to random
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @vickyveritas as I followed the Mineral Cup because of you. :) Based on my very limited knowledge of geology, I may be teaching my kid to collect decent rock samples. Monterey CA.

    Was just very surprised to find this much granite this far from the Sierras. As your can see under kiddo's feet, there is a local source.

    Lots of man made stuff, lots of natural. Have a new granite door stop. :)

    mekkaokereke, to random
    @mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

    Oh what's that? San Francisco just started using bait cars to catch car break-ins crews? And they've already found that SF car break-in suspects are not homeless Black people in the Tenderloin, but professional car break-in experts that are mostly not Black that hit cars in touristy areas, to find laptops and cameras that they sell to fences that move the stolen goods to other cities?

    Like Black folk in the Bay have been trying to tell y'all for years?

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Tr3R_9ZMY

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @timo21 @mekkaokereke Or, more likely, getting paid by the org's higher ups not to investigate too hard.

    Let the guys doing the theft get knabbed once in a while but never look too far up the chain.

    Especially with catalytic converters. That is waaaay too specialized without some serious contacts to turn them over. That it hasn't been addressed reeks of corruption to me.

    A friend of mine had her converter stolen a second time while her car was outside the shop waiting to be picked up after her new converter had been installed. No way that wasn't an inside job, stealing a converter with an hour of her car being ready. They installed a sheild the next time.

    nocontexttrek, to StarTrek
    @nocontexttrek@mastodon.social avatar

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @nocontexttrek https://youtu.be/5tqoHIzbneY?feature=shared

    ProPublica, to stlouis
    @ProPublica@newsie.social avatar

    A Detective Sabotaged His Own Cases Because He Didn’t Like the Prosecutor. The #Police Department Did Nothing to Stop Him.

    Across the country, police have undermined and resisted reform. To protest a prosecutor, one detective was willing to let #murder suspects walk free, even if he’d arrested them and believed that they should be behind bars.

    #StLouis #Missouri #Crime #CriminalJustice #Courts #News

    https://www.propublica.org/article/homicide-detective-st-louis-refused-testify-roger-murphey-kim-gardner?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @ProPublica I have lived in Vallejo California for 15 years.

    You can tell if the police are pissed off at the city government because they stop doing any kind of enforcement against prostitution. You get women basically walking along in their underwear in public along main streets.

    They have been complaining about not having enough cops, when it turns out the union has compete control over hiring and no standards. They are also pushing for a new, waterfront headquarters (prime real estate on the Napa river across across the street from the town square) so they can demonstrate to who owns this town. Residents do not want cops racing about where kids play and people relax. Ferry passengers having to dodge speeding cop cars that kill civilians regularly.

    And of course the badge bending scandal. Celebrating shooting civilians with a barbecue.

    They own the town. And it says something that I am literally a bit afraid to post this. It's basically a cartel that donates money to politicians to stay in power.

    sewblue, (edited ) to random
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    And so it begins.

    The toilet and the sink are gone, as well as the 1980's tile. The vintage 1935 yellow tub will be restored.

    The primary color will be jade green with accents of yellow and darker green. I had assumed the tub was a lost cause, but I found a match on my first try!

    I have spec'd 13 different types of tiles in different colors and patterns. Man, leaning hard on my engineering skills when dealing with the amount of tile in a 1930's bathroom!

    Yes, we have a contractor doing the work, thank goodness. I know my limits.

    futurebird, to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    on the one hand it's amusing to make fun of medieval drawings of cats, but on the other hand... IDK maybe they were better at drawing than we think and we just need to look at cats more carefully to understand.

    (https://www.tumblr.com/wanderrealms/730514789166678016/the-coat-of-arms-of-bartninkai-lithuania?source=share)

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @futurebird I'd you are curious this kitty, here is the reddit thread this image originally came from.

    https://reddit.com/r/blackcats/s/fhRctoItAu

    tomkindlon, (edited ) to mecfs
    @tomkindlon@disabled.social avatar

    🧵
    New:

    "Diagnosis and Management of / "

    Free full text:
    https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(23)00402-0/fulltext

    New, sympathetic guidelines. Have some status as in Mayo Clinic Proceedings & are eligible for CME

    @mecfs

    1/

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @tomkindlon @mecfs I used an exercise based method using pacing to get out of being bed bound for my long covid, before I figured out how to avoid it with diet. N=1.

    I used a rowing machine to exercise while seated to avoid triggering POTS. I started at 2 minutes daily, and worked my way to around 10 minutes over 2 months. Being careful to monitor myself and stopping if I needed to. Once I could tolerate 7 minutes I could stand long enough to do the dishes.

    Until I discovered ketosis. I am pretty much back to normal. I can exercise. The PEM just goes away. Energy begets energy. Then I eat a bowl of ice cream while out and about and i have to rest until I'm back in ketosis.

    It is like the glucose/aerobic energy process is broken, but the ketone process isn't. I can't ever risk eating without getting ill and risking PEM. The light exercise increases my anaerobic abilities if I'm eating carbs, but wasn't a solution.

    It is a super hard diet though.

    sewblue,
    @sewblue@sfba.social avatar

    @tomkindlon @mecfs 2/ to your point here, I figured out the above with pretty much no help from my doctor. Beta blockers being the major exception.

    I'm an engineer, so I read studies and tried different approaches where I could. Would check in my my doctor to avoid any rabbit holes.

    The realities of the different ethical standard between engineering and medicine shocked me, what would trigger testing and concern and what wouldn't. Medicine has gotten so constrained by science that only the routine and highly studied can get considered. No answers or help unless my symptoms triggered a diagnostic box exactly.

    We engineers have our own blind spots, but I didn't expect such rigid thinking within medicine. The lack of ability to troubleshoot without a manual was a surprise.

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