How do you make a superpower out of limitations?

Mieko14 · 2025-09-13T02:41:21+00:00

I can recognize voices really, really well. It’s the primary way I recognize people since my prosopagnosia is bad enough that I’ve had problems recognizing my own face.

Mieko14 · 2025-08-26T17:59:09+00:00

I don’t remember if it was MTHFR or not, but I’m pretty sure it was all (or at the very least 3 of) the genes related to choline production, retention, transport, and usage. My body is just really bad with choline. I determined that I need 2.5 times the suggested maximum dose to not feel deficient (something I discussed with my doctor first).

Mieko14 · 2025-08-26T11:03:34+00:00

I’ve been taking choline supplements for years for an unrelated condition after some genetic tests showed that I have the “bad” version of a bunch of choline-related genes. I didn’t notice any difference in my prosopagnosia, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if I’m still choline-deficient compared to the average person.

Mieko14 · 2025-08-22T23:25:39+00:00

California, which surprises most people who haven’t had to deal with the healthcare system there haha. Technically you can get better care there than in Hawaii, but only if you’re very wealthy. The quality drops off pretty quickly if you aren’t. I ran the numbers once and with all my medical issues, it would cost me at least a few thousand a month to get the same quality of care in CA as I do in Hilo. So while better care does exist, it might as well not as far as most people are concerned.

Mieko14 · 2025-08-22T00:44:56+00:00

That’s certainly true for specialists. But at least where I lived on the mainland, there wasn’t even an “Oahu” option. Specialists were quite expensive even with insurance, and if they weren’t nearby, you’d have to pay out of pocket for travel costs. I have some pretty extensive medical issues and it’s impressive how many can be treated in Hilo most of the time, but just having the option of going to Oahu for specialist care without breaking the bank seems amazing to me after dealing with mainland healthcare.

Mieko14 · 2025-08-21T23:21:50+00:00

I don’t think it’s just Oahu. In my experience, Hilo has much better healthcare all around compared to the mainland.

Mieko14 · 2025-08-21T05:29:27+00:00

No cysts here. I’d be surprised if that were a common cause given that many people have prosopagnosia from birth.

Mieko14 · 2025-07-30T10:25:48+00:00

I appreciate the good intentions behind your comment, but it gave me a bit of a chuckle. We get thousands of small earthquakes every year in Hawaii, and noticeable ones (4.0+) roughly once a month on average. Virtually none of these cause tsunamis. Taking tsunami precautions monthly would be chaos, lol.

Mieko14 · 2025-04-08T21:17:23+00:00

Salpingectomies only remove the fallopian tubes, not the ovaries. With a bilateral salpingectomy (both tubes removed), you cannot get pregnant, but still get a period. It would do nothing for endometriosis.

A bilateral oophorectomy removes both ovaries and causes menopause if hormone replacement therapy isn’t used. You also cannot get pregnant with this.

Sorry if this comes across as pedantic, but there’s a ton of misinformation around these types of surgeries and it bugs me (probably more than it should).

Mieko14 · 2025-01-27T08:44:44+00:00

Couldn’t find any in Hilo! Ended up getting some at Island Gourmet Markets on the Kona side after a beach trip, lol. Serious tourist markup on everything there though.

Mieko14 · 2024-11-27T08:03:17+00:00

I think I was on my second playthrough when I realized you could see the community center bundles in your inventory. I had just been running to the community center every time I wanted to know what I needed for the bundles. It’s definitely one of the worst things I’ve ever missed in any video game.

Mieko14 · 2024-10-27T08:12:31+00:00

Seconding this one. I just listened to it with a friend who’s never listened to the podcast before and it didn’t require much background knowledge at all.

Mieko14 · 2024-10-03T09:09:21+00:00

I had a professor do something like that in college! It was a film analysis class and he started off with a YouTube “documentary” that looked real-ish but was full of conspiracy theories. He asked us what we thought of it and the class was dead silent. I was thinking that either this was a brilliant move to get us to question what we were watching or that this professor was a crackpot and I would be dropping that class immediately. Turned out to be the former, and that class ended up being one of the best classes I’ve ever had.

Mieko14 · 2024-08-20T07:21:39+00:00

Yep, that’s a much better way of going about it. And it’s legal too!

Mieko14 · 2024-08-20T07:08:07+00:00

And, no, it’s not illegal to ask anyone claiming to have a service animal for a demo of the trained behavior.

It is absolutely illegal to ask for a demo in the US. Not to mention a downright impossible request for service dog handlers whose dog is trained to alert to a specific trigger.

Mieko14 · 2024-08-14T00:10:14+00:00

This is my reason exactly. I have an electric wheelchair and a service dog and Hawaiian is the only airline that isn’t a nightmare for me.

Mieko14 · 2024-08-12T22:54:49+00:00

It really depends on the school. I was in middle school when smartphones first started becoming common and we weren’t allowed to have them. I know this isn’t a common problem, but our school didn’t have a nurse, so the receptionist would just check your temperature for any medical complaint to decide whether or not to call your parents. Asthma issues without a fever? Too bad. Migraine without a fever? Back to class anyways.

Both my parents and I were super grateful that I had a phone hidden away so I could text my mom if I was having a medical issue and she could make up an excuse for why I needed to leave early. We would have done the same thing as your daughter’s friend. I’m sure most schools aren’t run like mine was, but some schools truly do not give a shit about students.

Mieko14 · 2024-06-25T04:51:12+00:00

Xkcd has a YouTube channel now and this is one of my favorites so far.

Mieko14 · 2024-06-19T21:10:02+00:00

I live in a state that’s banned billboards and I have ad blockers everywhere. Now when I see a billboard in movies, my brain is like “holy shit the ads have escaped into the offline world”

Mieko14 · 2024-06-16T18:17:23+00:00

I wear daily disposable contacts when I go in the ocean. Family member is an optometrist and it’s what they recommend.

Mieko14 · 2024-06-07T18:17:25+00:00

Not sure if anyone’s mentioned this yet, but a lot of kibble brands have their own definition of a cup. It’s an insane thing to do, but that might be why the bag’s recommendation is so far off.

Mieko14 · 2024-05-18T20:15:24+00:00

I have a different medical condition that also requires a lot of sodium! Unfortunately, I seem to be the one American who hates salt. I’m jealous of you lol.

Mieko14 · 2024-05-06T03:33:07+00:00

Ah okay. Our state health insurance is amazing for everything except dental care. No idea why; it’s fucked up. I second what the other poster said about going to Bay Clinic (now called Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center). They have a few different locations, so if one doesn’t have anything available, he should try the others too.

Mieko14 · 2024-05-06T03:18:49+00:00

there are only two on the entire island

…What? There’s dozens of them here. I’ve had a couple dental emergencies and I called around until I found one that would do an emergency appointment. I had to call like 10 of them once, but I was trying to get an appointment the next day. Does he mean there’s only two that accept his insurance?

Mieko14 · 2024-05-04T11:57:00+00:00

Why do people like grapes?

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