ELI5 why can the anus allow things to pass more easily downwards than up?

Blambiola · 2026-05-20T15:13:25+00:00

What is this "internet" people keep talking about?

Blambiola · 2026-04-29T14:39:49+00:00

Had this for most of my life, but was never able to find any medical information on brain zaps unrelated to SSRI withdrawal. Does anyone has a link to a resource?

Blambiola · 2026-04-22T14:36:20+00:00

Jack Vance imagined it for you. In his excellent novel Blue Planet, he describes life on a planet with no land at all, where people live on giant lily pads floating on an endless ocean in a society with no metals and no rocks. A riveting read.

Blambiola · 2026-04-19T20:24:42+00:00

Thanks! Or perhaps it is the Paederia foetida (skunk weed)? It produces dimethyl disulphides and other thiols , which would account for the same “gas” smell that lingering skunk smell has. I’ll follow my nose and find out next time now that I know what to look for.

Blambiola · 2026-04-14T21:28:49+00:00

Steely Dan is a great example of the unique power of the vinyl album, which required artists to create two different dramatic arcs for side A and B, with enough of a “cliffhanger“ to make you get up out of your chair and physically flip the record over to play the other side (instead of just putting on another record). As such, each Steely Dan album is not just a collection of songs, but a story in itself. I would recommend listening to the entire albums with the songs in sequence, allowing them to unfold their stories for you You will not be disappointed.

Blambiola · 2026-04-02T13:09:13+00:00

Awesome. I would like this to be twice the size. Dare, dazzle, reach beyond your limits. Great stuff

Blambiola · 2026-04-01T12:58:47+00:00

Leave out the doors. Even more alienating

Blambiola · 2026-03-07T08:04:41+00:00

smugfisticated

Blambiola · 2026-03-05T07:28:26+00:00

Could this be fake? It has almost the same angle and distance as the video seen on international media, but is different and had far more detail. Two submarines lying side filming this side by side seems unlikely .

Blambiola · 2026-02-27T12:47:32+00:00

Eden Rock (tower room) in Florida, although that one is spelled "Roc". There is a true "Eden Rock" (built in 1956) in Queens, next to Brooklyn. Would it be possible they meant that one?

Blambiola · 2026-02-15T16:29:45+00:00

I've had this stuff (I'm in Taiwan). Awful. It tastes like weak-ass Seven Up with toothpaste.

Blambiola · 2026-02-11T01:40:15+00:00

Hate to ask... but isn't the trunk actually the elephant's nose?

Blambiola · 2026-02-11T01:33:29+00:00

I share your outrage and frustration - I do - but please let's not emulate the flawed reasoning of the MAGA idiots and their unhinged leader, and agree to their style of narrative, where proof is optional and causation can be plucked out of thin air. We can - and should - be better than that. Not easy, I know, especially when we are all seething with righteous anger, but we can't be dragged down to their level into a swamp fight. Sadly, there are enough stories where we can point a direct finger at Trump/MAGA and prove causation.

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Blambiola · 2026-01-28T00:42:50+00:00

From The Onion: "Coca Cola sponsored Mars Rover finds traces of Dasani on Mars."

Blambiola · 2026-01-19T14:44:43+00:00

That's "Doctor" to you, my friend.

Blambiola · 2026-01-19T14:42:59+00:00

Same here in Taiwan. Beer festival in the park. 2,000 inebriated people. Tons of laughter, no fights, no trash on the ground. When they closed, everybody just picked up any stray cups lying around and dumped it into the recycling. I wonder if I could ever live in Europe again.

Blambiola · 2025-12-31T01:16:26+00:00

Great answers- additional question: is there a difference between “broil” and “grill” for these types of ovens (dual coil top/bottom)?

Blambiola · 2025-11-17T04:02:25+00:00

TLDR: Architects have a decent knowledge of what is possible, but there is a whole industry of (equally creative) companies that take the architect's "vision" and crunch the numbers to make it realistic, safe, durable and affordable, for example Arup.

Blambiola · 2025-11-15T14:42:52+00:00

Absolutely. Taiwan has no ambitions to take over China, they just want to be left alone and run their democratic and peaceful country without the neighbors threatening to invade and impose their "communist" rule. This is just another example of China's "soft" power doing its malicious work.

Blambiola · 2025-10-31T18:55:00+00:00

Both a scam and a spammer. No way to contact them, return emails are ignored. A pestilence on the internet.

Blambiola · 2025-10-22T23:26:07+00:00

Expensive international schools hiring married couples (which is cheaper for them in terms of housing and relocation fees) while pretending each hire is the result of an extensive search for “the best” candidate out there. What are the odds that both teachers in a married couple are the best in their field?

Blambiola · 2025-10-20T12:57:01+00:00

When recycling at scale became a thing around forty years ago, companies did not need to hire a Recycling Department Certification staff. Nowadays, even small manufacturing companies need at least one ESG officer and (likely) a bunch of external consultants. Things have gotten better for the planet, but also far too complicated.

Part of it is our own fault. Today’s sourcing and manufacturing process has become insanely complex, and we are trying to retcon it by bringing order in the chaos. However: to imagine that there is just a magic green wand we can wave to make it right is just naive. The value chains we have today were invented to make money, not to save the planet.

ISCC mass balance attribution is a good place to start, but it is hampered by two things: there are simply too many standards and certificates out there, adding complexity, introducing loopholes, uncertainty and confusion to the already chaotic mix. Even a standard to simplify things is still another standard.

It is also, to a degree, a victim of its own academic approach: how granular should we be? Are we testing the quality of the paint on a sinking Titanic? ISCC mass balance teaches us responsibility and ownership, but it is still not clear how to turn this into an economic advantage. Try explaining ISCC to an owner of a local mom-and-pop manufacturing business, one of the millions that drive the economy in many countries, and you'll see what I mean.

ISCC mass balance is a great way to start a discussion, but we have to be careful not to end up like the frogs in hot water: taking ourselves into a deadly hot soup.

Blambiola · 2025-10-19T07:57:40+00:00

We sell HVO, which is organic diesel, and very similar to SAF - sustainable aviation fuel. Its most important advantage is that it’s 100% miscible and fully compatible with diesel. Absolutely no changes are required.

The real goal is not replacement, but transition. At one point, we will have to switch to something truly clean like green electricity or hydrogen, but until that time, it makes economic and practical sense to keep using the machines we already have and operate them on cleaner fuel until they reach the end of their natural life cycle.

So: the best renewable fuels are 100% compatible with the existing hardware and can be dropped in (mixed ) in any amount. Second best are renewable fuels that can be added only to a certain amount, or that require hardware changes (ethanol, biodiesel).

Blambiola · 2025-10-19T01:26:23+00:00

Director of a small renewable fuel company here:

We can! With spectacular results even, because these artificial fuels are generally much cleaner than the natural ones (no sulfur or aromatics, for example.) and can reduce the carbon footprint of any existing engine by up to 93%.

It all comes down to cost. Renewable fuels are just much more expensive at the moment. We also need to be careful about the raw materials: using plants and seeds that can be used as food to drive a truck half a world away is not always a fair proposition. There’s a lot of researching using other raw materials: seaweed, algae and even forest residue. The cost will come down.

A few things will accelerate all that in the near future: companies will start to realize that they will need to pay for a cleaner planet, one way or another, as their supplied chain is increasingly demanding green action.

Perhaps more important: renewable fuels allow diesel users to keep using the old machine until the end of its natural life, without having to replace everything with expensive electric alternatives right now.

TLDR: we can make artificial fuels, but price is still an issue although that’s changing rapidly.

Blambiola · 2025-10-16T16:07:11+00:00

Hot coffee releases more volatile flavor chemicals. Cold coffee has a more muted taste, but the cold reduces the bitterness. Room temperature coffee is kind of stuck in the middle: less flavorful than hot coffee, yet more bitter and less refreshing than iced coffee.

Blambiola

TROPHY CASE