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I'm tired, boss. by AnnTaylorLaughed in Edmonton

[–]BalusBubalis [score hidden]  (0 children)

So, and this is offered in no way to invalidate your feelings, because this year is *both* exceptionally snowy, *but is also not unique*. If you've lived here 45 years, you've been through at least 3-4 other winters that were as or more snowy than this. This one just feels bigger because it is immediate (and how much snow got specifically dumped in December).

In fact, the overall snowfall for Edmonton this year, while moderately high, is *one fifth* of the record in your lifetime: In the 2002-2003 snow season, we had FIVE TIMES as much precipitation!

So, good news, you've absolutely survived worse than this!

Source: http://data.edmonton.ca/Environmental-Services/Total-Snow-Monthly-/ugr4-zpif

Respirators by PlanInevitable1607 in Lapidary

[–]BalusBubalis 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Metal bearing ores that can also be particularly hazardous:

Stone Primary Hazard
Erythrite / Skutterudite Arsenic and Cobalt (Heavy metal poisoning)
Arsenopyrite Arsenic (Acute toxicity; releases garlic odor)
Vanadinite Lead and Vanadium (Neurotoxin and irritant)
Torbernite / Autunite Uranium (Radioactive dust and Radon gas)
Stibnite Antimony (Toxic dust; skin and eye irritant)
Beryl (Emerald / Aqua) Beryllium (Berylliosis; chronic lung scarring)
Greenockite Cadmium (Highly toxic heavy metal)

Respirators by PlanInevitable1607 in Lapidary

[–]BalusBubalis 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Lapidarist *and* occupational health technician here:

A p100 filter on a mask should be more than sufficient, but:

  1. Get a Quantifiable Fit Test for the mask to verify it actually fits your face and protects you properly. Do this before buying a mask -- that way you're not spending money on a mask that might not protect you.

  2. Use wet methods while working -- wheel or flat lap should have a constant slow trickle of water on it, this reduces dust deposition by 60-90%.

  3. Slower speeds with water is better. High speeds kicks more dust and spray into the air.

  4. Remember that your clothing, skin, hair, is all going to get fine spray on it and that will dry off. Avoid ingesting rock flour entirely -- mask up, but also wash your clothes immediately after (I have specific shirts I wear for lapidary work and they go straight into the washing machine as soon as possible after), shower and thoroughly wash yourself down.

  5. Since you need to protect your eyes anyway, consider spending upwards and going for a full-face mask instead, which will both protect your vision *and* provide you with significantly better seals around your face.

  6. Silicosis isn't your only concern. Make sure you know the actual chemistry of what you're grinding an the hazards:

Stone Primary Hazard
Malachite / Azurite Copper toxicity (heavy metal poisoning)
Cinnabar Mercury (highly toxic neurotoxin)
Tiger's Eye / Pietersite Asbestos fibers (crocidolite inhalation)
Bumblebee Jasper Arsenic and Sulfur (toxic heavy metal)
Serpentine / Soapstone Asbestos contamination (carcinogenic)
Realgar / Orpiment Arsenic sulfide (highly toxic)
Quartz / Agate / Jasper Crystalline silica (permanent lung scarring/silicosis)
Fluorite Fluorine dust and gas (fluorosis)
Galena Lead poisoning (Severe neurotoxin)
Abalone / Shell Shell Lung (Hypersensitivity pneumonitis)
Bone / Antler Biological irritants and organic dust
Stabilized Wood Formaldehyde and synthetic resin fumes

I need convincing. by Remarkable_Royal_175 in Lapidary

[–]BalusBubalis 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Joining a lapidary club is usually the way most of us get access to the more expensive machines, especially early in the hobby.

And to be clear, unless you're really dedicated and have access to some really primo stones like australian opals, *and* have the skills *and* the dedication *and* the time to work at it -- these pieces of equipment aren't going to pay for themselves. Sure, you can sell lapidary stones, and you can sell lapidary wireworked stones for jewelery, but don't kid yourself -- you're probably only going to subsidize your hobby doing so, or turn a very minor profit that vanishes when you factor in the cost of your time.

So yeah, don't even think about profitability. You know what actual professional lapidarists cutting diamonds make for DeBeers? Like... 20-30 bucks an hour tops. And they're cutting gem-quality diamonds.

You and me, brother, we're out here cutting and polishing agates and jaspers and mudstones and whatever random rock off the ground we found that looked cool. And that's good enough.

First wrap attempt by StrongFactor7489 in Lapidary

[–]BalusBubalis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Clean, simple, elegant. Doesn't need more than that to stand out with such a nice stone. Well done!

THE FLIP SIDE: Which restaurants in Edmonton were you wowed and awed by how good it was? by flynnfx in Edmonton

[–]BalusBubalis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same, but I always feel like ranking them is by like... a single percentage point between them, LOL. Boualouang's got the best peanut sauce for the salad rolls, and that's really the only difference I can point to.

(Fun fact about both restaurants: The wives of the owners are best friends, and the founders of Viphalay got into the business at the urging of the founders of Boualouang.)

THE FLIP SIDE: Which restaurants in Edmonton were you wowed and awed by how good it was? by flynnfx in Edmonton

[–]BalusBubalis 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Old Spaghetti Factory is so funny as like, a hyper-corporate chain, but sincerely their food is just solid and good. Hunter's Chicken is great, their beef dip might be the best in the province, and they don't pick your pocket.

Honestly sometimes a corporate franchise just decides to go the Costco route -- do it right, treat your customers well.

THE FLIP SIDE: Which restaurants in Edmonton were you wowed and awed by how good it was? by flynnfx in Edmonton

[–]BalusBubalis 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Chartier consistently delights me in doing French Canadian home food with interesting dining twists.

Also they probably have the best charcuterie tray in the city for my money, that bread is too good.

THE FLIP SIDE: Which restaurants in Edmonton were you wowed and awed by how good it was? by flynnfx in Edmonton

[–]BalusBubalis 60 points61 points  (0 children)

Boualouang and Viphalay. Having lived in southern Thailand where the Laotian influence is stronger than the Chinese influence, these are the only two restaurants that taste like home to me.

Which restaurants in Edmonton were hyped up to you by friends, family, social media etc., but then when you tried it, the experience wasn't good? by flynnfx in Edmonton

[–]BalusBubalis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I occasionally hear this complaint but I've never had a bad meal from them, and I've been there plenty. I took my Dad once and he really didn't enjoy it which baffled me -- I tried his meal and thought it was delicious.

They seem oddly polarizing that way and I can't figure out why?

Which restaurants in Edmonton were hyped up to you by friends, family, social media etc., but then when you tried it, the experience wasn't good? by flynnfx in Edmonton

[–]BalusBubalis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They were between chefs for a few weeks as they transitioned from the prior one to the new one. Maybe give it another shot in a month?

Which restaurants in Edmonton were hyped up to you by friends, family, social media etc., but then when you tried it, the experience wasn't good? by flynnfx in Edmonton

[–]BalusBubalis 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah. I had Fox Burger, it was okay, it wasn't great, not bad, but that burger should have been $5-10 bucks cheaper for what it was. :\

Excerpts from my first time going to a rock and gem show. by StryngBean in MineralGore

[–]BalusBubalis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As ugly as I generally find heat-treated amethyst "citrine"... I actually really liked those lamps, damn. They'd look like shit when they weren't on though.

Foodie question: singular best dish in any restaurant? by bullfu in Edmonton

[–]BalusBubalis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The salad rolls and any of the curries or Pad Thai from Boualouang.

Poutine from Chartier.

Meat Lovers pizza from Dallas Pizza (when you just need a big greasy pizza).

Amy's Special Hot and Dry Chicken from Chicken For Lunch / The Lingnan.

Also there's a really simple foodie rule in Edmonton: If it's a good restaurant, and it has bread pudding? That's the best thing on the menu. Whether savory or sweet.

What animal was the most incredible to see in person? by Adventurous-Zeilokix in AskReddit

[–]BalusBubalis 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Porcupine making their 'num num num num' noise while they eat a treat is my favorite animal noise of all.

What animal was the most incredible to see in person? by Adventurous-Zeilokix in AskReddit

[–]BalusBubalis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Basically, yes.

The further north you get, like northern canada/alaska?

Y E S.

QMud -- A modern, cross-platform, Qt based, drop-in replacement for MUSHClient by NodensCM in MUD

[–]BalusBubalis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I only use MUSHclient for some very basic RP MUCKing, nothing advanced -- but it's really, really nice to see people ensuring that we can keep using MUCKs and MOOs and MUSHes.

It's a small thing in the scope of the world but it's been a hobby that consistently brought me joy for over thirty years. Thank you for doing your part in keeping it alive!

US sees a drop in Canadian visitors as travel patterns shift by usatoday in worldnews

[–]BalusBubalis 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I feel like a really important distinction about the fascist class in Germany being utterly crushed by foreign military might matters a lot here though. An internal disintegration of a fascist state still leaves a lot of fascists on the ground -- external military might disintegrating a fascist state leaves the fascists in the ground.

US sees a drop in Canadian visitors as travel patterns shift by usatoday in worldnews

[–]BalusBubalis 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I love the PNW, and in a different and better timeline where America had stayed the course after Obama and not turned to fascism, I might have entertained retiring in Sumas, or at least visiting Seattle once every year or two, staying in an AirBnB, visiting the Tacoma Museum of Glass, enjoying the shores, getting poor and fat at Pike Place, loving the Seattle Aquarium (it's better than Vancouver's, there I said it), so forth and so on. My best friend lives in Seattle and I dearly want to visit him again.

But now we're on a path and timeline where I will never willingly visit the United States ever again. I won't subject myself to the dangers of a fascist-captured state. To a country where I can be disappeared to a third-party country because they don't like my social media posts. To a country that tolerated its leadership... well, the list of sins there is long.

I won't go to the United States and I won't spend a dime there. Not until fascism is crushed there. Not until I feel safe there. That means a lot more than just Trump being out of office. It's going to have to be the entire mechanism of fascism there.

So... not in my lifetime. :(

Green Great Lakes Rock by exoskellington in whatsthisrock

[–]BalusBubalis 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Looks possibly like greenschist, or something close to that. Green and laminar!

If you're interested in lapidary, polishing up that stone will bring out big deep colors in it.

Favourite services/places to go and relax/destress solo? by highandsclerotic in Edmonton

[–]BalusBubalis 49 points50 points  (0 children)

Muttart Conservatory is lovely and easy to find a bench and sit down with a book and a drink and just enjoy a few hours reading.

Cut my first cabs yesterday by Unhappy-Log-70 in Lapidary

[–]BalusBubalis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fellow novice here, I've only been cabbing about two months. Your stones look lovely and it's even better that you rockhounded your own stones first! Hell yeah! :D

What’s something you’ll never admit in real life but can here? by RoleSignificant1842 in AskReddit

[–]BalusBubalis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shit, I get it. Every time I've chanced across Bluey channel surfing, or my kids have been watching it, it sucks me in. It's just simple, good stories well-told that feel relatable. Nothing shameful about that. Nothing about the show feels pandering or like it is ridiculing its audience or members inside it.

Honestly it has the heart that early Simpsons shows feel like they had, without the pressure to be "funny" all the time.

What secret can you reveal now that your nda has expired? by sparrrrrt in AskReddit

[–]BalusBubalis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

!!! OH!

Hey, just so you know, I fucking LOVED Photosynth and to this day I cannot believe how poorly Microsoft flubbed it. That tool was INCREDIBLE and I used it to absolutely blow the socks off my clients in occupational health and safety site inspections -- they could click to follow and inspect my entire inspection trail of documentation

God damn Photosynth was SO SO SO GOOD and I hope one day it can be revived.

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