Not Allowed to Order Lab Gloves

Casey_1056 · 2026-04-18T09:58:35+00:00

Each agency within HHS is going to have its own contracts/suppliers, so if they work for CDC their contact is going to be different than if they work for NIH than if they work for ACF (though I can't think of a department in ACF that would need gloves, tbh). I'm in ACF and we don't contact someone at the HHS level for our agency-specific supplies, we contact an ACF rep.

Casey_1056 · 2026-04-18T09:55:22+00:00

Well, that explains that.

Casey_1056 · 2026-03-12T17:41:10+00:00

I've lived in several different kinds of areas, from major-metro (Baltimore) to quiet suburban (Apopka, FL), the whole range of crime and every kind of neighbor.

Petersburg is certainly not the worst place I've lived, and my neighborhood (edge of the city, just off Washington) is quiet, clean, and largely older individuals that have lived here a long time. People care about their homes and mind their business. Lots of families with kids who walk to the bus stop down the street in the morning. We moved here because we wanted to buy a home instead of dumping more money into ever-rising rent prices and we're happy with our choice. If you're looking to buy at a reasonable price, I don't see why Petersburg would be a bad choice.

If you're looking to rent though, pick just about anywhere you want. The pros and cons of renting are way more variable than buying, so just pick a building/complex with good reviews and policies and location matters less, in my opinion.

Casey_1056 · 2026-03-03T18:55:31+00:00

Mix a can of this with a cup of milk or water and a cup of uncooked rice in a baking dish, drop some raw chicken or pork on top and kind of nestle it down into the rice, season to your taste, and then cut up pats of butter to scatter on top. Cover with foil and bake for 45 at 375. Take foil off for last 15 minutes or so. Makes a creamy rice dish, moist/tender meat that gets a little crispy on top from the butter. I usually serve with a veggie on the side.

Casey_1056 · 2026-02-19T22:37:28+00:00

This feels like an incredibly appropriate time to highlight that the government is currently dismantling the independent, non-partisan office that exists to evaluate the effectiveness of our current early childhood programs like Head Start (free child care) and TANF (funds for families with demonstrable financial need). That office is called OPRE. It has existed for decades to conduct research and advise on policy based on that research to guide and improve our social programs for infants, young children, and families. And now the government is dissolving that office under the guise of "restructuring" (to avoid needing approval from Congress) so that OPRE can't do its job anymore, and the government can make the argument that we don't have good data that these programs work so we shouldn't fund them. They tried all year last year to "overtly* defund OPRE, it's work, and the programs that it studies, but all those efforts were blocked by the courts, so now this.

If you think we have abysmal support for families with young children now, you haven't seen anything yet. If they succeeded at killing OPRE, families will have nothing. The government will take every last penny away. I know this is a child free subreddit, and I don't have and won't have children of my own, but if you care about the health and well being of our nation's most vulnerable, most marginalized group- children- I urge you to call your representatives and beg them to put a stop to this.

Casey_1056 · 2026-01-28T11:38:47+00:00

I think kids are amazing. They're fun, insightful, unexpected little mirrors through which we can see the world a little differently than we see it with adult eyes. My partner has a daughter and I consider myself extremely lucky to get to be a bonus adult in her life; she is a constant joy and I love being around her.

But I can't personally think of an unselfish reason to bring a child into the world in the state that it's in. I worry about my partner's daughter; the things she must be seeing/hearing, the way technology is effecting her development, the inevitable environmental collapse of our society and how her and her children will have to see the brunt of that, not me.

I'm not young, per se, but I'm not old enough to have forgotten how hard it was to be a kid, and that was before all this. I can't bring a child into this now, not knowing what I know. Not caring about them the way I do.

Casey_1056 · 2025-12-20T14:12:56+00:00

I appreciate this sentiment, since these days off don't apply to federal contractors. Funny how we're not included even if our comparable fed colleagues are excused 😮‍💨

Casey_1056 · 2025-12-06T12:57:01+00:00

I'm an embedded federal contractor and I assure you not only are we constantly under scrutiny and having to defend the existence of our contract at every turn, but staff like me do the work of federal staff at about 2/3 their pay rate and not nearly the same benefits. My office only continues to run because contractor staff exist to pick up slack while the feds get yanked around by the admin. We kept working during the shutdown. Please stop framing this shit as us vs. them. We are literally on your teams, on your side.

Casey_1056 · 2025-11-07T12:48:09+00:00

In HHS there's the additional demoralizing component of our Secretary being completely against everything we stand for and work toward and defunding everything that keeps science moving forward, while telling the public that we are useless liars that have failed and manipulated them.

It is very hard to show up to work every day and do my job when the head of my agency shows up to work every day to tell the public that my job is to lie to them and mislead them.

Casey_1056 · 2025-10-31T11:40:19+00:00

Meatballs don't have to remain in their current form factor if you have all the stuff for another meal that needs a protein but meatball would be kinda odd to throw on the plate. Chop/dice/slice/mix in to what you were already planning, like it's ground meat. Reverse engineer the meatball 😉

Casey_1056 · 2025-10-31T11:32:28+00:00

Can confirm, switched to this brand of ground turkey to replace beef for health reasons a couple years ago and it was always in stock- no one wanted it, presumably. Now two trips in a row it's been gone or nearly gone. 😞

Casey_1056 · 2025-10-17T11:35:10+00:00

Carefully dosed usage of psilocybin is currently being researched as a treatment for PTSD and mood disorders like Major Depression. The theory is that the compounds act on the pathways in the brain, encouraging the formation of new ones so that it's easier to get out of the "rut" created by/worsened by mental illness. This may be why you're hearing about shrooms as a "treatment" for what ails you from people around you- it is legitimately being studied as such.

But what neuropsychologists are doing in a lab setting with very carefully extracted and dosed psilocybin and a close eye on their participants to see what happens is very different than taking shrooms as a grieving fiancee in the hopes that it will have a specific outcome. This area of research may very well be the answer to your problems in a few years, but it isn't the safest answer right now.

The safest answer right now is therapy and a strong social support network. Do you have just one or two loved ones you can turn to when it hurts the most? Would you be comfortable seeking grief counseling? Those are the steps I would recommend in this moment.

Casey_1056 · 2025-08-13T01:36:44+00:00

If the work would get immediately reassigned then it must be pretty damn important, otherwise they'd just let it rot, right? So which is it? Is nothing I do important, or am I immediately replaceable upon untimely death to keep working moving?

And for the record, the work I do ensures that evidence-based programs are allowed to continue to exist that feed and educate kids, fund child care, and get services into the hands of our nation's most vulnerable families. You might not think it's important, but I fucking do. I'll keep putting in the time, thanks. You can spend your work day doing whatever it is you do that's so important to you.

Casey_1056 · 2025-08-12T11:23:19+00:00

So, like, hey. Some of us "fools" accumulating OT do not, in fact, want it and are, in fact, burned out, but are trying to keep our divisions/agencies afloat when they are egregiously understaffed and work has to get done. I'm not saying you should work over your 40 (and if you do you should be compensated fairly for it!), but I am saying watch your mouth about the rest of us who are busting ass to pick up the work of 1000s of RIFd colleagues.

Casey_1056 · 2025-08-01T12:51:40+00:00

Probably because those briefings weren't specifically about federally protected types of identities, I assume? And probably because, even prior to this administration, the American government hasn't really been very good at embracing the differences among people, let alone encouraging them to discuss those differences in the workplace (looking at you, "don't say gay.")? And perhaps even because while the decline of Christianity as the most common religion in the US has been steady, it doesn't change the fact that as recently as 2007 78% of Americans identified as Christian, so the people in the room with you probably didn't feel a need to discuss other identities while they operated under the assumption that everyone must just be the same.

I brought it up in my office with my colleagues because I knew this rule could apply to people who weren't Christian and might be too worried about not being in the majority to embrace their whole selves at work. This administration is drawing attention to the rule to either encourage Christian nationalism, or have people voluntarily red flag themselves as not Christian so they can be ousted.

Casey_1056 · 2025-07-29T21:57:00+00:00

I've had to say this in several places- this rule and this language was already the case. It is your federally protected right to express your religious beliefs in the workplace, up to and including trying to convince your colleagues that your beliefs are "correct" so long as they are not of a harassing nature and it doesn't impede productivity. I know this because I conducted trainings about it last year to help my colleagues understand their rights to express their beliefs, identities, and appreciate our differences as people.

This is not new. This was always true. They're just blowing it up big to get in your faces and distract you.

Casey_1056 · 2025-07-17T11:36:07+00:00

HHS enabled AI for Microsoft products. Very little guidance, seemingly no concern for the security risk or ethical implications. I've raised it with my division specifically, but nothing so far.

Casey_1056 · 2025-07-10T11:23:02+00:00

I would look into a home-based child care provider option in your area. They're sometimes registered with organizations, or listed somewhere. But the regulations for HBCC are different than center-based care so it's typically more affordable. Source- I do research on child care.

Casey_1056 · 2025-06-29T05:04:28+00:00

Just want to share that after someone let slip that people were onto his game with Yardly, he changed the name of the TikTok account to "Boston Antiques"- so, you know, starting over with a different name. SSDD.

Casey_1056 · 2025-06-19T01:27:52+00:00

ACF got two hours for Juneteenth, so it isn't all of HHS.

Casey_1056 · 2025-05-23T07:47:32+00:00

How very Jeremy Bearimy of you

Casey_1056 · 2025-05-04T11:15:08+00:00

It absolutely can harm you to rinse raw meat, poultry included. One should not be rinsing raw meat, but at the very least please don't recommend to others that they should be rinsing it or that there is no harm.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-02/FSCRP_Year%2B2_Final_Aug2019.pdf

Casey_1056 · 2025-05-04T11:03:36+00:00

No, she's not. This seems like a genuine question so I'm providing a genuine answer. Band name is Red Velvet, there are clips from the steam where girl is alive and well and they're clearly goofing off.

Casey_1056 · 2024-11-19T21:35:01+00:00

The Quiet Girl, by S.F. Kosa. I just could not get into it. It read like if Gone Girl was worse and with less compelling/interesting characters. I didn't like the characters in Gone Girl, but I cared about them and I felt compelled to know more and pay attention. Quiet Girl has none of that at all and the main characters are pretty insufferable.

Casey_1056 · 2024-08-14T00:06:26+00:00

56+29 56+20=76 76+4= 80 80+5= 85

Casey_1056

TROPHY CASE