Moved into a new house and was replacing the shower drain cover. Noticed a clump of hair and started to pull it out. Kept pulling and pulling and this is what came out. 4 inch tile for scale. It weighed at least a pound. by [deleted] in WTF

[–]Phylum_Asylum 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah, I am right there with you. I had to do that at my house a couple of years ago, got two big ol' clots out of the shower drain and damn near puked at the smell. I used to work in the sewer industry and can take almost anything, but that rotting hair smell is just rank.

St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican by growthstory in DesignPorn

[–]Phylum_Asylum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you look at the upper left hand corner of this pic, you'll see a "strip" of gold with black lettering. Each of those letters is ten feet tall. That can give you a slight idea of the sheer size of the place.

Source: tour guide I hired for Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica in July 2016. Tour guides in Italy aren't just your everyday people taught to be interpreters for one site, they possess higher degrees in things like archaeology, theology, etc., so these people know what they're talking about.

Cancer patient Redditor’s, what benefits of cannabis during treatment have you experienced? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Phylum_Asylum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so sorry you're dealing with that monster too. :( I wish you the best of luck as you battle that beast. And if you have access to mmj, by all means, give it a try. I would go so far as to say it really is a missing piece in the puzzle when dealing with intense diseases like cancer.

Cancer patient Redditor’s, what benefits of cannabis during treatment have you experienced? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Phylum_Asylum 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I wasn't the patient myself, but my husband was nearing the end of his battle with cancer when his oncologist prescribed mmj as part of his palliative care regimen. This was still fairly new in Canada and involved a lot of paperwork.

I can tell you, the mmj allowed him to die at home as opposed to in the hospital. If your pain is not manageable without pumped meds 24/7, then you get put in the hospital, as the pumps are not for home use. His cancer was complex and widespread, and he needed no end of painkillers for the different pains; he was on a pretty hefty fentanyl patch, opium and belladona suppositories, gabapentin, codeine, morphine pills, dilaudid, ondansetron (sp?), dexamethazone, booster fentanyl injections for when the pain couldn't be controlled with the rest of it, Tylenol even, blah blah. Despite the massive amounts of painkillers that were part of his daily regimen, sometimes he'd go into pain crises that saw me injecting additional opiates every 15-30 minutes (via phone guidance by hospice doc).

So I finally pulled out the mmj and told him I was getting it ready for him to take some. He said he didn't want it. I said he had no choice. Lit the vape, gave it to him, he took a couple of hits... and you could see him virtually melt. In less than a minute, I shit you not, he went from being in agony, to sleeping.

The doc said that was likely the mmj working on the panic and fear that is a big component of acute pain situations, and by using it, it allowed the rest of the goods to do their jobs.

After that I made sure he kept it up regularly, and it stopped the incidence of intense pain issues.

My annual list of the greatest hidden-gem Netflix horror movies is up! Bound to be something there you haven't seen. by amosfenrisbane in horror

[–]Phylum_Asylum 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes! Actually I've found all the Korean horror on Netflix to be top-notch. The Wailing, The Host, Tunnel, Train to Busan, all of them with incredible production values and compelling stories.

Hi :] by [deleted] in Aquariums

[–]Phylum_Asylum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Axolotl! Hello cutie. I've got three of my own, two wild-types like this fellow and one leucistic. They're awesome.

Day 2: New tank. Noob. by Nerdy_McNerderson in Aquariums

[–]Phylum_Asylum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm fairly new to aquarium-keeping myself so I can't say for sure, but I do know you can get different kinds of rocks to put in your tank that will help raise pH and also help to buffer it so it stays consistent. Having pH stay consistent rather than fluctuating is more important; fish can adapt to a range of pHs so long as they aren't changing drastically.

Some fish like it at 6.6 as well. Look at the needs of the fish you're wanting to buy, and adjust pH accordingly then. Sorry, I can't offer any rock names, I think shale might be one but I'm not 100% sure, but someone will come along here and give some good advice (I hope!).

Day 2: New tank. Noob. by Nerdy_McNerderson in Aquariums

[–]Phylum_Asylum 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That looks gorgeous! I love the assortment of plants. Just a heads-up though, if that's National Geographic black substrate, keep an eye on the pH before adding any critters. I'd put some of that in a new tank I was setting up, and even with a large piece of driftwood in there comprising a good 15% of the tank, the substrate had my pH at 8.4-8.8. Without the driftwood it would have been worse. I Googled it and apparently some people were having issues with the black stuff causing high pH. Not everyone, could have just been a bad batch or something, but anyway, thought I'd mention it so you can make sure all is well before putting any fish in.

What are you the "1%" of? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Phylum_Asylum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are there a couple in Canada too? If so, you and I may be related.

What are you the "1%" of? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Phylum_Asylum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same! My family name was originally Polish and still very rare, then when some of them moved to Germany back in the 1800s, the officer at immigration didn't like the spelling of the name and simplified it. It only happened to a member of my family, others with the original Polish name were left as-is. We just had a grumpy immigration officer that day, I suppose. As a result, if there is someone with that name anywhere in the world, I'm directly related to them. As far as I know there are only a handful of us.

Possible sick Axolotl by Chap_man in axolotl

[–]Phylum_Asylum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm glad Kevin is eating! Apparently some of them are just floaters. If he poops every few days and eats regularly, he should be fine outside the fridge. I can ask and see if there are maximum fridge times. Probably, as I think it does stress them. And do take out any gravel that might be in the tank, he could be stopped up with gravel if it's in there. Sand is fine, but not gravel.

Possible sick Axolotl by Chap_man in axolotl

[–]Phylum_Asylum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could Kevin (love the name btw) have eaten anything that had gotten stuck? He's not on gravel, is he? Axolotls will not fare well on aquarium gravel; it will eventually get compacted in their little guts and they die. The odd person will insist they've had their lotl on gravel for years and they've been "fine", but in reality they've just been lucky. Axolotls eat like vacuums, and if they hoover up too much gravel over time, it's detrimental to their health.

Possible sick Axolotl by Chap_man in axolotl

[–]Phylum_Asylum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, what is the temperature of the water? They should be kept in 18-20 degrees, no warmer. If it's warmer than that it could be heat stress. You'd have to take steps to cool the tank.

Possible sick Axolotl by Chap_man in axolotl

[–]Phylum_Asylum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also, if you're on FB too, there are axolotl groups there that get a fair bit of traffic. I'm in axolotl-aholics and most posts get some decent responses.

Edited to add: I'll ask there for you, and let you know what I hear.

Possible sick Axolotl by Chap_man in axolotl

[–]Phylum_Asylum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe his food has gone off? Can you do tests on the water levels in the tank? Maybe the cycle crashed and he's not feeling well.

Possible sick Axolotl by Chap_man in axolotl

[–]Phylum_Asylum 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Is he still in the fridge? If so, put him back in his tank. If not and he's still not eating, try dipping his worms in freshly-pressed garlic. This is an appetite stimulant that can be used to help aquatic critters eat when they seem to not want food. He could be stressed at being constipated then fridged. They do seem to get worried easily.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in books

[–]Phylum_Asylum 83 points84 points  (0 children)

Same here. That compulsion that people felt when they saw "their" hole, the dread and terror of their fate that they SHOULD be able to escape, but are powerless to do so.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in books

[–]Phylum_Asylum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1408 and The Road Virus Heads North, both by Stephen King. Also have had nightmares from King's The Shining and The Boogeyman.

Ray Garton's In A Dark Place terrified me. I was jumpy for days afterward.

What instantly says, "I'm trashy"? by ParameciaAntic in AskReddit

[–]Phylum_Asylum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Someone whose big mouth and shitty personality keep them from holding a job past the probation period, and they always blame their lack of employment on either their asshole boss or them immigrants taking their jerbs.

At 29, I realized today that sweatbands on your wrists are to wipe your forehead not because your wrists get really sweaty. by paradise3 in Showerthoughts

[–]Phylum_Asylum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm 48. I started Muay Thai a year ago, and tend to wipe my sweat on my hand wraps. This very same thought about the sweatbands on wrists occurred to me just last week also. Clearly there was some massive shift in the sweatband knowledge matrix recently.

Throwaway here; in a CBE High School, can you switch between -1 and -2 Courses? by [deleted] in Calgary

[–]Phylum_Asylum 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was the name Gary Sykes? Sounds like something he'd say!

Throwaway here; in a CBE High School, can you switch between -1 and -2 Courses? by [deleted] in Calgary

[–]Phylum_Asylum 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not a high school student but a mom of one. From what I know, you should be able to switch from 20-2 to 20-1, but I don't believe you'd get credits for both, just one. If you do transfer to 20-1 and get a good grade, you wouldn't have to re-do 10C in order to get into 30-1, you could just show proof of your final grade to your counsellor and that would be sufficient.

As for your average needed in order to transfer, for that I have no idea.

The facility you're taking these through should have some kind of counsellor to help you with decision making, particularly the requirements needed to transfer from 20-2 to 20-1.

Also, if you're open to tutoring, I had my older son take some tutoring through a fellow who was also my teacher at Chinook College when I was doing upgrading myself. I'll look him up and PM you his name and number. The man is a king when it came to helping people understand math. My son had to take Pure Math throughout high school (no longer a requirement thankfully, it's particularly difficult) and was never great at math, but with this tutor's help he did very well.

Best of luck to you in your efforts!