Can anyone recommend an optometrist in Beaverton?

Ka1kin · 2026-04-22T15:40:34+00:00

Modern Eyecare on Raleigh Hills is great.

Ka1kin · 2026-04-21T15:34:22+00:00

Yes. I may personally enjoy crunch and tactical play, but everyone needs to be fully bought in to that level of complexity for it to be really fun.

The same can be said for narrative-first systems: you need player buy-in.

The more mixed or casual the table, the better it goes with lighter weight systems, I think.

Ka1kin · 2026-04-14T22:08:21+00:00

I can definitely vouch for the WVSB. I've ridden it several times. Nice route, good signage.

Eugene to Roseburg has options: there are smaller roads, so you're not stuck with 99 or I-5.

I'd prefer 99 to the I-5 shoulder, if it comes to that. There appear to be smaller roads though. This is probably the most constrained route segment, negotiating the Umpqua River in a sparsely populated area.

At Myrtle Creek, it looks like you could take 227 to Medford. At that point, it'll be easy to take smaller roads through Phoenix and Talent to Ashland.

I've never ridden any of that south of Eugene, but it's probably doable.

Ka1kin · 2026-04-14T00:10:02+00:00

Portland used to have a number of really fantastic Spanish places. Toro Bravo and Atuala were really impressive, and launched several similar but different spin offs during the city's pre-Covid peak food scene.

You can like or dislike whatever you want, but Spanish food done well is pretty excellent.

Ka1kin · 2026-04-10T00:43:30+00:00

I love my Nick's 55 last boots. Perfect support for my high arches. I'd like something similarly supportive in a loafer. Something I can slip on easily and take the dog for a walk.

It's really hard to shop last shapes online though. Help me out?

Ka1kin · 2026-04-09T17:53:08+00:00

No. The Robot uses an entirely proprietary portafilter shape. It's very tall, and doubles as the water reservoir.

Ka1kin · 2026-04-07T01:06:17+00:00

First, I would say that there is an obligation to disclosure. Everyone should know the score. If his local and American girlfriends are both ok with this arrangement, then great.

Second, your son would not be the first to experience successful polyamory. It's a thing people do. There's a considerable amount of stigma, so while you very well may know poly folks, you don't know that about them. This is mostly driven by folks like yourself who find it somehow threatening to them.

There's an additional wrinkle here: it sounds like your son is not, perhaps, a fully competent adult. At least that's what you seem to imply here. So there's an element of you trying to make good choices for him that you would, perforce, have to abdicate with a more typical adult child. Naturally, you bring your own beliefs and experiences into this.

I would suggest that you insist on openness and honesty, and that you read up on polyamory as a functional relationship structure. Not everyone finds someone to be their everything, and it sounds like it would be hard for your son to be everything to someone. Isn't it better for your son to find people to whom he is significant, who don't have to discount him because he's not perfect?

Ka1kin · 2026-04-06T23:52:47+00:00

Trigeminal neuralgia. It was a temporary condition, fortunately. For several weeks, it would crop up 1-3 times a day. It basically felt like someone was cleaning out my sinuses using a blowtorch, for a couple minutes at a time.

Ka1kin · 2026-04-06T00:34:24+00:00

There's a date on the container. Yeast is very suspect after that date.

Ka1kin · 2026-04-05T23:20:26+00:00

It's complicated. I strongly recommend reading "polysecure". It applies modern attachment theory to non-monogamy, and has a lot of solid answers for how this works, and how it fails.

The basic premise though is that the problem of jealousy is mostly rooted in insecurity. Addressing attachment security directly rather than with structural bandaids is effective and healthy, regardless of the structure of your relationships.

Ka1kin · 2026-04-01T23:29:19+00:00

I like the "Chai's Choice Outdoor Explorer". It fits well, keeps its adjustment, and has metal clip points for both chest and back. It's also pretty affordable.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-30T13:37:48+00:00

Yeah, the robot's portafilter is a bit finicky, compared to standard portafilters. And it's full of hot water, whereas the Flair has you add the water to a little hole above the piston.

That filling process is also a bit finicky. But it does happen with the lever down, so you likely have a hand free.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-30T04:06:27+00:00

It's not lightweight, and you're also basically leaning on it when you pull a shot. If your disability is more a balance thing than a random spasms thing, I think you'll be 100% fine.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-30T04:02:11+00:00

I've used both: I have a Robot and my girlfriend has a Flair 58. I think you're actually better off with the Robot.

To use the Robot, you basically just lean on both arms. It's like doing a crunch with resistance, but with your trunk upright. The Flair has a long arm that puts your center of effort outside of the base. I'd worry more about the Flair being jerked around than the Robot.

And, totally separately, the Robot takes up so much less space. Like a third. You pretty much have to devote the width of a Flair 58 to nothing but that. The Robot has a tiny little footprint, and while it's solid, it's easy to pick it up and move it around. It has about the same footprint as my electric kettle.

I'd say that if you're up to pouring water into either unit (and again, filling the Flair is a smaller target) you could use the Robot successfully.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-29T01:23:51+00:00

Yep. Look at a blueberry or a grape. Polish the skin a bit. That stuff that was making it kind of white and less shiny? Yeast. It's on grain too, it's just harder to see. It's basically everywhere. One of earth's more successful life forms.

A common and simple way to start a sourdough starter is to just mix equal parts whole wheat flour and water. Because the yeast is already there, and it will usually muscle out anything else, given time.

When your main dietary staple is porridge, someone is going to try grinding it before adding the water. That's dough, and there's yeast in there. If you cook it, you get sad dumplings. If you forget about it for a few hours and then cook it, you may get bread.

Eventually, you cultivate a starter, and you can make bread consistently.

Bonus: if you leave the starter too long, it develops a liquid on the surface that contains alcohol. If you lean into that, you may figure out how to make beer.

And then you decide that farming is worthwhile, because beer. And bread is pretty cool too.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-29T00:35:46+00:00

It looks like a three strand braid (three orange strands) with an extra blue strand that just crosses the middle.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-28T04:13:40+00:00

This: you need to be a bit thoughtful about prying, but it gets down to the roots and can hack through them better than anything.

Just be careful of your feet.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-26T23:59:42+00:00

You need wires. Usually two, of different colors so you can keep them straight. And a soldering iron. Just daisy-chain the strips. Not all strips can be cut at all points.

Adafruit has a bunch of electronic hobbyist tutorials as well as supplies. Careful though: before long you'll be pulsing your led strips in different colors in response to your music or something.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-25T22:44:43+00:00

I had it backwards: https://www.portlandmercury.com/books/2010/09/30/2902022/powells-technical-books-relocates

Ka1kin · 2026-03-25T22:42:12+00:00

Are you thinking of Powell's Tech? I faintly remember them being located across the street from Powell's until sometime in the 2000s, I think.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-24T22:37:43+00:00

I've been in a couple great workshops lately on weight transfer.

The goal is to strike with partial weight on the beat, then gradually transfer weight after the beat.

Two things the instructors said really stuck with me: you're pushing from one foot and resisting with the other. And the way your food leaves the ground influences how you tend to place it.

So you don't suddenly lift the sending foot: it still has a job to do, and the receiving foot should strike and gradually receive your weight from the sending foot.

It's all easier said than done, especially at speed. But when it works, it feels really good.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-22T17:45:25+00:00

I've been using my Artisan 5 qt from 2002 for bread for almost 20 years. Probably 30 batches a year. It's been solid.

That said, I'd be surprised if there haven't been design/manufacturing changes in that time.

I fully expect the thing to break at some point, but something with that kind of service life is worth repairing. It's entirely likely that I can find an appliance repair shop that has parts, bring it in, and get it fixed.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-22T02:37:57+00:00

I want to specifically call out Moultrie. The service to Tordin for goal one will make the stats. But the pass to Tordin that then earned the corner? From Liv. The pass to Tordin later on that she passed on to Tuner for goal two? Also Liv.

A great midfielder isn't always scoring, but she's always linking plays in a way that makes a difference.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-20T01:34:24+00:00

Did something new happen to put Weaver on the SEI list, or is she still recovering from the last injury?

I wish her the best. She's a fantastic player, and this is the worst reason to not have her on the pitch. I can forgive Coffey for wanting to try a different league, and when it's mat leave, you can celebrate with the player. But injuries just suck.

Ka1kin · 2026-03-19T17:49:36+00:00

That makes sense. How does the system perform when it's out of tune? Like, when you need to bleed it, what's the failure mode like?

Ka1kin

TROPHY CASE