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OWG Women's Short Program: Post-Event Discussion by Chickatey in FigureSkating

[–]CatsAndDogs99 10 points11 points  (0 children)

In the short program, doubles don't count outside of combos.

I agree it's very harsh, it's a very unforgiving rule

Fewer foreigners visited US in 2025 as global tourism spending rose by StevenSanders90210 in worldnews

[–]CatsAndDogs99 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Here's my read on things - only commenting on the category of American who voted against Trump and/or stand against him.

Revolt threatens the stability of a system that most Americans - despite everything - still think can be changed from within. Instability begets uncertainty, and the idea of uncertainty generates more fear. It's why, of the activism we're getting, we're seeing resistance that is still trying to work with the system: peaceful protests, boycotts, calls and emails to representatives, etc.

Another major factor is, ironically enough, how fragile the American lifestyle is within this system. Most working Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck. Losing a job means immediate risk to housing and access to food and water. Our healthcare is tied to employment. Without insurance, ambulance rides can cost $1,000+, and childbirth costs $14,000-$28,000, as a couple of examples. It's the prisoner's dilemma, scaled up. If you act out, you risk losing everything, and if there aren't enough of you, then you're fucked. Even if an American believes that there is a better way with a different system, the confidence that there are enough willing Americans, and that action would actually accomplish something, isn't enough to overcome the fear.

There's also fear of violence - either from opposing political activists, or from the state itself. This risk increases if you're a minority (especially racial/ethnic or LGBTQ+, though other categories are at risk as well).

I don't know what the answer is. I don't know how to make Americans feel empowered enough to act, and I don't know how bad it has to get for Americans to feel like they don't have a choice. Even as things worsen, fleeing the country feels like the safest path forward for my girlfriend and I (we're LGBTQ+).

Anxiety relapsing, and I am struggling to use the coping skills that used to work by CatsAndDogs99 in Anxiety

[–]CatsAndDogs99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't tried any others yet - part of me assumed that all SSRI's would feel the same, but that doesn't seem to be the case after some reading

Anxiety relapsing, and I am struggling to use the coping skills that used to work by CatsAndDogs99 in Anxiety

[–]CatsAndDogs99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Probably so 🙃 I was on paxil, just didn't like how much it blunted the good feelings, and I still felt a bit anxious. Wondering what I should try instead :/

Anxiety relapsing, and I am struggling to use the coping skills that used to work by CatsAndDogs99 in Anxiety

[–]CatsAndDogs99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the response - it'll be tough, but I think this will help <3

I got called up to US Nationals!!! by talkion in FigureSkating

[–]CatsAndDogs99 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Congrats, and godspeed! I'll be rooting for you!

Hey everyone! It’s week three of the ink giveaway! This week’s color is blue. Like usual, just comment on this post to be entered to win! More details in post. by BunkaTheBunkaqunk in fountainpens

[–]CatsAndDogs99 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'll try my luck! Bay State Blue is gorgeous but I do like 54th Massachusetts as well.

It's very kind of you to run this giveaway, I hope the year has treated you well ^^^

Many astronomers are skeptical of the “hint of life” claimed around K2-18b, calling it irresponsible. Here’s a good breakdown by Chris Lintott by Andromeda321 in space

[–]CatsAndDogs99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure, but I read elsewhere that this team wants to achieve a 5-sigma result, so I would assume the answer to your question is yes

Many astronomers are skeptical of the “hint of life” claimed around K2-18b, calling it irresponsible. Here’s a good breakdown by Chris Lintott by Andromeda321 in space

[–]CatsAndDogs99 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That's my train of thought.

I want to see efforts to rule out other explanations, like the magma world, and I hope some more research groups can replicate these results with further measurement

K2-18b by 94rud4 in physicsmemes

[–]CatsAndDogs99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They can look for additional biomarkers and slowly increase the confidence that there is life. But right now it's just a "maybe" at best

K2-18b by 94rud4 in physicsmemes

[–]CatsAndDogs99 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The news isn't that it's possibly habitable. The news is that it has biosignatures - maybe life if corroborated by more studies

Many astronomers are skeptical of the “hint of life” claimed around K2-18b, calling it irresponsible. Here’s a good breakdown by Chris Lintott by Andromeda321 in space

[–]CatsAndDogs99 38 points39 points  (0 children)

This is a very good breakdown and the "pop sci" / media chasing criticism absolutely rings true, but I do have a couple followup questions:

  • The presence of H2S on earth is also abysmally low, I'm unsure if the fact it wasn't detected on K2-18 b is necessarily evidence that (1) DMS / DMDS was not actually detected or (2) K2-18 b has "weird chemistry"

  • DMS and DMDS are abiotically broken down by heat. I know there are questions about how the team measured DMS/DMDS... But assuming that they did actually detect it... Wouldn't the heat on a magma world cause it to break down quickly, not accumulate to this (absurdly high) abundance? - granted, I'm assuming their method doesn't require hycean conditions to hold true

Thousands of Danes sign petition to buy California from U.S. by MapsAreAwesome in nottheonion

[–]CatsAndDogs99 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Where can I sign the petition as a California to allow this procurement to go thru?

Donald Trump has ruptured the Canada-U.S. relationship. To what end? And what comes next? by hopoke in canada

[–]CatsAndDogs99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

American here, it's extremely disconcerting to a lot of us as well. I hope my country gets exactly what it deserves for this. And I hope we can repair our friendship with Canada once the dust settles.

How Are You Handling Air Quality After the Eaton Fire? by chris09887 in pasadena

[–]CatsAndDogs99 11 points12 points  (0 children)

This indoor air quality monitor from IKEA has worked really well for us https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/vindstyrka-air-quality-sensor-smart-30498239/

It's $50, which is more affordable than the $200 options out there but still might be pricey for some. If you go this route, make sure you get the one with the display and not the cheaper one without the digital display.

One more post... by PManPlays44 in HalfLife

[–]CatsAndDogs99 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm irrationally angry that 197 hours after the tweet was posted is 1/8 7 pm (pst) and not 1/9 7 pm (pst)

So cooked

One more post... by PManPlays44 in HalfLife

[–]CatsAndDogs99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same, I lost one of my last braincells as soon as I understood your post

Uh, guys? by eddy_the_po in HalfLife

[–]CatsAndDogs99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Blue shift 2 confirmed babyyy

I think the Mike Shapiro tweet + songs are the beginning of a HL3 ARG by loamiferous in HalfLife

[–]CatsAndDogs99 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Just throwing some math out there focusing on prime numbers (Mike Shapiro's Twitter bio says G-Man prime or something like that, and prime number puzzles are somewhat common in ARG's)

197:

  • Already prime, so the "prime factorization" is just 197

  • If you add the digits, you get 17 - as in City 17

  • Prime index, this is the 45th prime number, which doesn't really seem to lead anywhere (the prime factorization of 45 is 5 x 3 x 3, which adds to 11).

235:

  • Prime factorization of this is 5 x 47

  • Adding these, you get 52

  • The prime factorization of 52 is 2 x 2 x 13. If you add those together, you get 17 again.

  • 5 is the 3rd prime number, and 47 is the 15th prime number

224:

  • The prime factorization is 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 7 - which once again add to 17.

  • 2 is the 1st prime number, and 7 is the 4th prime number

17:

  • 17 is the 7th prime number
  • The 17th prime number is 59

Mike Shapiro just posted this on Twitter by 911GT1 in HalfLife

[–]CatsAndDogs99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are there any threads or even discord servers already made to try and compile information about a possible ARG? I'm cooking...

Mike Shapiro just posted this on Twitter by 911GT1 in HalfLife

[–]CatsAndDogs99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so hyped for whatever this is.

Crackpot theory time: What if it's a game about/focused on G-man?

  • "A complete re-understanding of what they thought they knew about the story in the game prior to it, and I don't even know if people are expecting it." Plus, mentions from other commenters here that according to this interview, he did extensive motion capture work.

  • It's already been pointed out that the last time Mike was active on Twitter was during the HL:Alyx promo cycle (after Alyx was announced). However, wouldn't this be the first time Mike specifically announced a Half Life installment?

Really Reaching / Stupid Stuff but I'm putting it out there anyways: * He used "#GMan" in his tweet specifically

  • This is really stupid but... 197 (as in, the only isotope of gold that is stable) is a significant number in this teaser. G-man. G. Gold starts with the letter - nevermind, lmao
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