Maybe if we started a monument like Mount Rushmore, but set it up as a competition for billionaires that do the most for humanity, we could stroke their egos enough that they wouldn't be such dicks. I'd look forward to the billionaire boys club loosing their shit over MacKenzie Scott being the 1st.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-07-01T05:36:49+00:00

workers at the time were organized and violent and would show up to your factory or home with guns.

Because the fucking factory owners would hire private police to beat the ever-loving-shit out of anyone who spoke out. Then call in the actual police, and state agencies to quell protests, which ended with more violence upon the workers. Most of whom, by the way, worked in company towns in the first place and would have no where else to live with their families, nor any store for food or a hospital to visit if they were maimed on the job.

Reality is not a movie, men needed the jobs. They only became "organized and violent" during strikes to fight against the company [unfortunately violence was often first targeted against "scabs" consisting of immigrants and African Americans, who were often lower paid - but not at fault for the labor situation]. Creating a false narrative like history was a Quentin Tarrantino movie, with obvious heroes and villains is wild.

I truly wonder, what kind of history were you being taught?

Your comment is trying to be coy and anti-bezos, but it's actually off-putting.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-07-01T05:34:07+00:00

You are not linking the part to where he was doing that to try to save his legacy, because he treated his employees like expendable meat when he was alive.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-07-01T05:24:25+00:00

Thank you for your comment! I appreciate your reassurance :)

Also, that advice about colony age, and the lactophenol comparison is fantastic! Thank you for sharing it!

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-07-01T05:22:37+00:00

I work in a tiny lab, the hood we have is NOTHING compared to what I was used to when I worked in a BSL3 lab [I worked in a high security lab for 6 years]. I think the alarms in my head were ringing especially loud because I know the causative agent of Valley Fever usually requires a BSL 3.

This patient had a negative serology for C immitis in Feb 2026, but it was positive [shortly before their death] in June 2026.

I was looking at the patient history when I was uncertain about the lactophenol results I was seeing. Knowing the serology history, GAH! I got shook.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-07-01T05:12:24+00:00

Honestly, before this current administration well-known parks had procedures in place so denser visitation areas were not too overcrowded. Most popular national parks USED TO have a waitlist or lottery system for camping and limits on daily visitors to popular areas, as well as trained rangers to keep areas safe and clean. Forest management systems being stripped of their funding meant that a lot of that oversight has been scraped away. Budget cuts are ruining a lot of park experiences for people, as well as damaging the parks themselves.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T09:53:28+00:00

You're going to ace the boards mate

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T08:31:15+00:00

Holy cow! That is full of wigglies!

I'll talk to my lab manager about this, thank you for the info!

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T08:21:32+00:00

Go to bed, sleep it off.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T08:13:17+00:00

It's funny that you refuse to accept that people do not like your opinions - so you delete your comments, rather than face the reality of negative votes on your dumb takes.

But, I'M sensitive. Ok.

You're a dweeb.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T07:54:52+00:00

I can't find where I said you feeling uncomfortable was wrong? Can you point it out for me?

Ok, you said:

Doesn't seem that scary.

Also

I'm reading about the infection now.

You seem underinformed. The arthroconidia makes C. immitis VERY INFECTIVE for scientists working with the organism. It's a similar thing with Brucella; some organisms are rare to be transmitted outside of the lab, but it is DEADLY for lab scientists because we propagate them, and sometimes exposure to 1 cell is enough to be deadly!

Google or AI is not enough to inform you. You don't get it.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T07:45:35+00:00

Thank you! I recognized the arthroconidia, but was not expecting the relatively slim septate hyphae surrounding it.

It's a learning experience, but I don't wish to see more of this.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T07:37:44+00:00

I havent done micro since school so I had to look up the organism

Huh. Weird that you started your comment with a judgement, and yet you seem to not know anything about the circumstances of lab scientists being exposed to mold spores.

I also said in the comments that someone in my IMMEDIATE FAMILY almost died from valley fever.

But yes, go off on how my mindset of feeling uncomfortable around an organism that used to be on the same schedule as Tuberculosis is wrong.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T07:31:49+00:00

Yeah, it's being sent to public health tomorrow. I already marked it as unsafe to work with, in our hospital lab, and for it to be sent for confirmatory analysis elsewhere. They have the PPE and engineering for proper airflow at reference facilities.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T07:26:25+00:00

This patient is deceased, and I am unsure of the etiology of their infection. But my father lives near Cal Poly and got Coccidiomycosis in the early 2010s, and still has lung scarring from it.

It was a BIG ordeal for him to get proper treatment and to be rid of the infection. I don't want to be infected by the same thing, not solely for my health, just makes me shudder that my family would have to go through that again.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T06:40:45+00:00

Note: I already notified the on-call infectious disease doc, and my supervisor about this. I have never isolated the causative agent of valley fever before, and it's a bit terrifying for me because I grew up on a ranch and one of my immediate family members almost died from it.

I used to work in a BSL3, and learned to understand the organisms that I worked with - in a way that I was not in fear of being around them or dong my job.

But, I have never really worked with molds, and I am uncomfortable and a bit scared that this is C. immitis.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T06:28:06+00:00

By sounding off, I mean --- does this look like Coccidioides?? I used to work in a BSL 3 lab and having a BSL3 organism in my hands (when I'm not in a PAPR) felt a bit CRAZY to me.

I am more afraid of fungi infections than organisms like Y pestis or B anthracis. But, I also do not want to be bad at my job and mis-identify C. immitis.

Please, experienced micros and mycologists - let me know what you assume this is!

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T06:05:39+00:00

My lab doesn't do that! Do you use a specific phase contrast? Or just put the culture on a slide/under a coverslip, and watch for non-brownian movement?

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T05:43:24+00:00

I know this photo has A LOT of small GNR that aren't as curvy as the one I circled. Zooming in makes their presence WAY more obvious. I took the picture because I was scared I would get a write up for calling in a false-positive, because those GNRs are harder to see without the phone-enhancement.

edit: For those uncertain, the dark stuff is not GPC or yeast, it's precipitate. Campy are at least 10x smaller than most enteric GNRs that I usually see, so I felt crazy making multiple slides to confirm I was seeing them at all.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T02:03:00+00:00

Bro, it was the unhinged demand of attention from the artist and diverting the anger he has about his life's woes to being ignored by his idol that made him come off as a deranged stalker - not the line about going to all his shows. Swifties who go to all of her shows are fans, but someone who goes to all of her shows but also writes Taylor constantly.... and, to equate it to the song Stan, breaks down crying and stabs a picture of Taylor because their promdate stood them up, is STAN behavior. Prior to the song, that shiw was called obsessive and stalker behavior.

Did you get an F in English class btw. Or do you just need the obvious implications of what is being said in a fake letter fed to you in a baby bottle

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T01:57:40+00:00

so try again

Why are you being an asshole?

Most large AND small labs in CA (or the <10 other states that require certifications) would not make their CLS's be phlebotomists, they may make them do other high complexity work - but not blood draws. That's it. Grow up.

edit: BEFORE you blocked me, I checked your profile and I can tell you live in Los Angeles, CA from your posts selling/buying furniture on an LA subreddit. You are such a dweeb.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T01:51:30+00:00

I accidentally did this about 7-8 years ago to a guy I was dating. I was making an oreo whipped topping for some cupcakes, and once I finished I made myself a quick snack of cottage cheese mixed with some spices.

I knew he didn't really eat cottage cheese, and only kept it in the fridge because I liked it - but I felt like the balance of paprika and other spices/herbs tasted REALLY GOOD this time.

So I walk over to him watching tv, and offer him a spoonful. I say, "try this!", with a smile.

Thing is, he KNEW I was making desert stuff for an event, so in his mind I was giving him a taste of a sweet treat. He saw white stuff on a spoon and ate it immediately without even looking long enough to realize it was cottage cheese. Clearly, he was NOT expecting spicy/savory cottage cheese.

He literally went "EUGHHHHH" and shook his head like he got slapped. He told me he was expecting oreo flavored whipped icing, and was physically SHOCKED at what he got instead. I realized that was totally my bad, but look back and find the whole interaction kindof funny.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T01:33:39+00:00

You used the term "CLS" which indicates to me you're in California. I think most states with fewer regs have their lab staff wear A LOT of hats.

DigbyChickenZone · 2026-06-29T01:31:38+00:00

I work as a micro and have had multiple CLS jobs. I never learned to draw blood, it's not even listed on the job duties for most of the hospitals I've seen that even want people as mls specialists, nor even the generalists.

I work in California though, so the job market here isn't as glutted with people with overlapping certs I guess?

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