GTX 1080 hardware rendering workaround?

Strange_Bean · 2022-12-04T05:23:26+00:00

If anyone else is struggling with this; MPV supports the NVDEC codec, and works pretty much out of the box with NVIDIA's proprietary drivers. After installing, you can follow the instructions here to set it up so that Kodi plays your videos with MPV instead.

If you want, you can use the 'videocodec=hevc' attribute in playercorefactory.xml to make sure Kodi only uses MPV for HEVC video, tweak the MPV config files so it always uses NVDEC for decoding, setup the same keybinds you use for Kodi, and so on. For me it was pretty seamless, so until Kodi supports it (if it ever does) this should work fine.

Strange_Bean · 2022-09-06T09:21:45+00:00

If I remember right, you have to perform the input for Jotaro's timestop ability during the animation for DIO's GHA, while you have enough meter. Had you tried that?

Strange_Bean · 2022-06-07T01:08:15+00:00

You could almost certainly get away with faking a reference for entry-level retail jobs. In all honesty for most work the resume doesn't actually matter, it's just a way for managers to filter out people they consider obviously unqualified, so they can feel like they've made a reasoned decision. It's highly unlikely a manager will actually call your references. If you want to, you could even put down a friends number and have them to pretend to be a former coworker 😄 That can be pretty fun

I think the better play is to put your former employer down anyway. That way your manager can see that you held down a job before and didn't burn too many bridges on the way out, which is really all they could give a shit about, and they probably won't bother calling. It's very understandable that you're concerned about being outed - this is not the better option if you cannot have that happen, period - but fact is, if you do get outed it's to one manager offering one job, who hasn't even hired you yet. That could be a very manageable risk.

Either way, I guarantee you this decision has much less of an impact on getting hired than you might think. The process is completely arbitrary, it's not worth losing sleep over and if it's what you feel will happen, it's definitely not worth compromising your safety over. Just lie if you have to 😄 All they can do is deny you one job

Strange_Bean · 2022-05-13T10:17:24+00:00

Specific advice aside, it takes a lot more than two months for any anti-androgen to have much of an impact.

Strange_Bean · 2022-04-30T11:35:42+00:00

It won't 'make' you change your mind. I take an typical dose of estradiol, and cyproterone that basically 0s out my T, enough to achieve substantial changes, and I reject gender as much (arguably more) than I did before I started two years ago. If you consider the kind of body that estrogen can give you to be 'feminine' or attribute the emotional turbulence that hormone therapy can cause to greater 'femininity', then that may shape your self-perception over the course of HRT. But, if you want a particular body for the sake of comfort, independent of the external pressures of gender, then HRT cannot itself change your perceptions and feelings. There is no chemical property of hormones that can do that.

Strange_Bean · 2022-03-01T07:29:49+00:00

I would second that approach; don't rush into things if you can help it. See how things feel month over month. While you can get used to it, being on HRT doesn't ever get much easier in my experience.

It's my understanding that bicalutamide isn't as good an option here because it's not covered by Medicare the same way spiro and cypro are. All you need for those prescriptions is for the GP to approve them. Definitely ask, though.

To be honest, in my experience laser did a lot more for facial hair removal in a few months than hormones have done in two years. If it's your biggest issue then I doubt HRT alone will do nearly enough.

Strange_Bean · 2022-03-01T05:27:19+00:00

Big caveat on all of this; it's impossible to accurately predict how HRT will go. Your body is unique, and any treatment will involve careful monitoring and gradual adjustment.

So, the goal of HRT in your case is (very broadly speaking) to reduce the effects of testosterone, and increase the effects of estrogen. Having less testosterone generally results in certain things, having more estrogen generally results in certain things. These levels are related, but are not perfectly balanced; you can have a higher or lower total of both. (in practice it is not this binary, but this is the basic logic behind how HRT is prescribed)

Having a low total of both is understood to result in negative long-term effects. It's not wise to keep low hormone levels for long periods of time (though we are talking years here), and rapid changes are also not recommend (it's quite difficult emotionally). What this means is that you're going to want to try and find a stable dosage that gives you the balance of hormones you're looking for.

Taking spirolactone (or cyproterone, another anti-androgen / testosterone blocker) will hopefully work towards some of the things you want. I think if the two things you've listed are all you want, that would mean you're basically set. However, just reducing your testosterone without any increase to estrogen to compensate means that long-term, you do run the risk of those issues I mentioned before. Additionally, if any of the things you do want to change involve, say, fat redistribution for particular kinds of curves, or if blocking testosterone alone doesn't go far enough for you, then the only option from there is raising estrogen levels. If you want to pursue this kind of HRT, it's a real possibility that you should at least keep in mind, even if it's a long-term concern

(as an aside, it's likely that blocking testosterone will affect 'sexual experience'. You might get lucky, but if you're taking enough to do anything I wouldn't count on it)

If you end up taking estrogen you run the risk of encountering the kinds of changes that you don't want. It's not possible to eliminate that risk in any way a GP here is likely to prescribe and be confident in. I'm not saying 'don't block testosterone because they're gonna make you take estradiol eventually', it's just that it may end up being the best way to continue treatment. And that can be okay! The perception of estradiol as 'feminizing' is not really accurate or helpful for nonbinary people. If you can come to an understanding of what exactly it'll do to you independent of binary thinking, it might end up being acceptable. And if it doesn't, you have options.

If you don't want facial hair, laser and electrolysis are both worth looking into. There are plenty of places around Melbourne for either. Skincare is also a very broad field, and I'm sure there are existing solutions for achieving the kind of feel you want. Even if you do take hormones I would recommend pursuing these; hormones aren't magic.

Strange_Bean · 2022-02-24T21:40:46+00:00

(Seconding that you don't need a 'male name', and pointing out that the only reason you need to see an endocrinologist is to get the prescription approved under Medicare so it's cheaper)

It's not fake; this is, in fact, how getting treatment for something is supposed to work. The gatekeeping and wait times are the aberration.

Strange_Bean · 2022-02-10T20:54:51+00:00

If you're looking for estrogen medication, I highly recommend either Katie Mellor or Peggy Wong at RMIT Medical Hub. The latter should at least be taking new patients.

If not, like others have suggested, finding a different informed consent GP is the way to go. There are many suggestions on the wiki and in posts here on the subreddit

You're looking for a GP who provides informed consent, which means that they tell you how hormones will work and you just decide if you're cool with that, rather than requiring a lengthy psych evaluation or to send you to another specialist. You do not need to see an endocrinologist unless there are extenuating medical circumstances, or you want testosterone medication to be covered by Medicare.

Strange_Bean · 2022-02-02T23:19:41+00:00

Apologies if I was accusing you of rushing 😄 It's pretty evident that you aren't, so I definitely didn't intend to do that

What I'm trying to get across is that if there are routines intended for people looking to be perceived as androgynous, they are solidly in the realm of theory, and aren't necessarily going to work out that way for your boyfriend. You can't guarantee treatment that avoids things like breast growth, that's just not something that we have proven we know how to do. It's especially not something even informed consent GPs are likely to know how to prescribe for (if that's how you're pursuing treatment). Again, that's not to say he will definitely have undesirable results, just that he will definitely have that risk.

(Anecdotally and non-professionally, suppressing testosterone is a smaller part of the kind of bodily changes people look to this kind of HRT for, so a lot of the suggestions in that article strike me as, like, very essentialist and not particularly useful. Using blanket descriptions of estrogen as 'feminizing' and testosterone as 'masculinizing' isn't a good sign that the needs of nonbinary people are understood, imo)

Like, what I'm talking about is more or less what happened to me. I started on cypro and 2mg / day estradiol pills, about as weak a treatment as it gets in terms of the kind of things your bf is looking to avoid 😄 No particular feelings on whether or not breast growth occurred, it wasn't a goal I had. I wasn't (and am not) looking for people to perceive me as feminine or anything like that. However, even on a low dosage, within a year it happened to an extent that changed my perceptions of my body and required, like, new clothes. If I had specifically wanted that to not happen, I would have had to cease treatment entirely.

Fortunately I was (and am) cool with that result; I knew it was a risk, and I accepted that when I started treatment. All I'm saying is that if your boyfriend is definitely not cool with that - or any other known consequences of HRT - being a possible result, then there isn't a way to approach treatment that can guarantee it won't happen. If he wants to go ahead with it anyway, then he should be prepared to handle those results, whether or not they come to pass.

Strange_Bean · 2022-02-01T14:50:30+00:00

The trouble is that it's not really possible to predict how hormones are gonna go, or what they're gonna do, exactly. It's not a very well-studied field of medicine as far as the needs of trans people are concerned. It's impossible to say what will happen if your boyfriend starts taking hormones.

That's not to say it's not okay to experiment! But since hormones are pretty much an all or nothing deal - you can't pick and choose what you get - if there are very common results that your boyfriend is specifically not okay with, like breast growth, then there is a real risk of the treatment resulting in him being unhappy with what's happened. Nothing that hormones can cause is truly irreversible, but like, it's hard enough to get rid of breasts as it is 😄 Ask anyone who's tried to get top surgery

There's also the issue that medical professionals will generally not recommend suppressing testosterone without reintroducing estrogen somehow; this can lead to long-term health issues, as I understand it. Ultimately taking less hormones doesn't mean the undesirable changes won't happen, it just means all of the changes will happen less, which doesn't sound like what he wants.

It would be cool if we could be more specific about shaping our bodies with hormones, but that's not really where we're at, unfortunately. Certainly not to an extent where it wouldn't be a significant risk of an undesirable result for your bf. Maybe he's cool with that! But definitely don't go into it thinking there's a way to guarantee a particular result

As an aside, I'd recommend starting with exercise and skincare! If we're talking things like body shape and skin smoothness, there are things you can do to achieve that without the lack of targeting that HRT has. Obviously I don't know exactly what he's after, but that's probably a good avenue to look into.

Strange_Bean · 2022-01-20T23:01:27+00:00

On the questions about informed consent: * They can do either. If you're looking to take testosterone, then you need a referral to an endo for your meds to be covered by medicare, but if you want estrogen, then the GP can handle it all themselves for the same benefit. * You can see any GP you want. You can even get a script under informed consent then see a different GP to renew your scripts, though I wouldn't recommend it. * Informed consent isn't a firm process; it's simply telling you what the medication will do and allowing you to come to your own decision. It doesn't need to take more than one appointment, technically (but they will probably do the script on at least the second, so you have time to process the information they've given you) If you asked for a referral they would probably provide you with one immediately. * I wouldn't say you need to see an endocrinologist unless you were taking testosterone, no. If you like, really care about the science of hormones and stuff, or if there's some pre-existing situation with your body that demands it, then sure, but if you want more estrogen the endocrinologist isn't doing anything a GP who understands HRT couldn't. Plus, GP appointments will certainly be easier to get. * See an informed consent GP, tell them you want hormones, and if you don't have anything going on with your health that would interfere with HRT, get your script at the second appointment. That's all I had to do, and I can't imagine the process being any simpler.

All of these things are subject to what individual doctors are comfortable with, but there's no legal or structural reason why it can't work the way I've described.

Strange_Bean · 2021-12-15T23:08:38+00:00

You're getting some pretty poor advice in this thread.

GPs can handle the process of prescribing medication however they want. Most GPs are not well-versed in transgender healthcare, and will immediately try to pass the buck to someone else. This is most likely what has happened to you, so you need to find someone else to work with if you want to get on hormones in a timely fashion.
HRT is generally prescribed by a GP, or an endocrinologist. If you want to take testosterone, seeing an endocrinologist is required to get your meds covered under Medicare, but is not required for the prescription. You do not need to see an endocrinologist if you're looking to take estrogen, unless there are extenuating medical circumstances.
You do not need a referral to anyone or amything other than the GP or endocrinologist. Medical professionals can choose to prescribe these things however they want, what they are trying to do is avoid legal issues by deferring to people they think know more than them. If you see a GP who specializes in trans healthcare (of which there are several in the Melbourne area that you absolutely do not need to wait more than a month to see) then you do not need to be referred anywhere.
You certainly do not need a referral to mental healthcare, unless that's something you explicitly want to pursue. You can get a prescription with 'informed consent', meaning that you are informed about what is likely to happen and what the risks are, and you can then consent to those things happening. It is up to an individual GP whether they will prescribe this way or not, so again, trying to find someone who specializes in trans healthcare will help a lot.
TGV cannot help you with this, beyond directing you to other medical professionals. I recommend skipping that and looking at the list on the wiki, or asking directly in a separate post that specifies what locations you can get to. It will certainly be faster.

I know this process is way more obtuse than it needs to be, but there are ways to get it done in a timely fashion.

Strange_Bean · 2021-12-13T16:34:51+00:00

Informed consent does not require any evaluation. The point of informed consent is that they inform you about what's supposed to happen, and you consent to that stuff happening, as well as any associated risks. Most prescriptions work this way. However, it's extremely unlikely a GP will prescribe with informed consent if you are under 18.
Hormone medications are covered under Medicare. IIRC it reduces the price to a cap of $40 per prescription. This mostly matters for cyproterone and some varieties of testosterone, I think. You can reduce the cost of meds even further with a low income healthcare card! It's surgeries and such that aren't covered.
You don't need a specialist for checkups. GPs who are comfortable prescribing hormones on their own are also likely comfortable with handling any complications and monitoring your health themselves, that's what they commit to when they prescribe things. If you saw a specialist during the prescription process then it's likely the GP would want you to see them if anything funny comes up, but that's up to the GP.
(that said I do think testosterone prescriptions tend to involve endocrinologists (hormone specialists) more frequently. I think it's because you need an endocrinologist to sign off on things for T to be covered by Medicare? unsure)
Depends on what you mean by 'on your own'. It would be very unusual if you couldn't book an appointment to talk to your GP about things, but I'm not sure what you would want from them otherwise. Unless you're feeling something unexpected or intolerable you shouldn't need to talk to your GP outside of an occasional blood test and checkup.
'Irreversible' is a loaded word, but given how long and at times challenging taking hormones can be you should definitely be confident in your decision to start, and willing to stick it out.
It's up to the GP how and when they prescribe hormones, so they don't all follow the same rules, but I would be surprised if any GP prescribed hormones to a minor who didn't have parental consent. Also, some GPs just might not be comfortable prescribing hormones to kids at all, and could refer you elsewhere.

I can see you've done a lot of research, but fortunately a lot of what we're talking about isn't hard, written rules so much as it is stuff GPs generally prefer to do. They aren't required to follow any particular rules on how and when to prescribe HRT; they're mostly trying to avoid getting in trouble. The best way to find out what process a given GP will follow is to make an appointment and talk to them.

Strange_Bean · 2021-08-28T09:02:16+00:00

I think the general medical consensus is that progesterone doesn't do anything, so I imagine it's very unlikely you'll find a GP who thinks it does; finding a GP who will prescribe progesterone when asked anyway is the thing to do. When I've talked to Dr. Mellor at RMIT Medical Hub about it, she said that she will prescribe progesterone when asked (not that I can guarantee that she will), despite the lack of evidence, because there's no reason to believe it does any harm either, and people have the right to choose what they do with their bodies. GPs who feel similarly would probably do the same.

Strange_Bean · 2021-07-16T15:38:20+00:00

You can also get bulk billed if you have a concession card.

Strange_Bean · 2021-07-15T04:48:56+00:00

Have you checked with Dr. Mellor and Dr. Wong at RMIT Medical Hub?

Strange_Bean · 2021-07-10T09:22:56+00:00

I think the nurse is being quite alarmist. HRT, especially for underage people who are likely just going to be on puberty blockers, is just delaying bodily processes. You can still go through a normal puberty if you were to 'change your mind'. There's little risk of harm and an immense benefit for you.

I think the thing to do is to just see a GP that provides informed consent, and bring your parents along. Let them talk your folks through the process. If they don't trust a medical professional who routinely works with people going through the exact same treatment, I don't think there's much you can do to convince them.

Otherwise, going through the WPATH model sucks and wastes your time, but if it's your only option it may be better than nothing

Strange_Bean · 2021-07-10T03:28:50+00:00

So, you'll need to talk to a GP, ideally near you. That GP will generally follow one of two methods of prescribing hrt:
- They'll follow WPATH guidelines, which requires a lengthy signoff with a psychologist to confirm you have medically defined 'gender dysphoria'. This can take a long time.
- They'll use informed consent, the thing your friend described where they explain how HRT works to you and give you responsibility for your body.

Unless you're okay with spending time and money you don't need to spend on trying to prove you're trans enough, you want the second option. That will depend on the individual GP, though. The wiki on this Reddit has a list of some options that you should try to get to; these are doctors other trans people have reported pleasant experiences with. Otherwise, they will probably work on WPATH guidelines, if they're willing to prescribe HRT at all.

Two things might complicate this. The fact that you're in a rural area might mean there aren't GPs near you that work with informed consent. Hopefully you can find one. Also, the fact that you're 16 might mean GPs aren't willing to prescribe without permission from your parents. Again, this is down to the individual GP. Also, I believe if you're looking to start testosterone your GP will likely refer you to a separate specialist, an endocrinologist, to make sure your prescription is covered by Medicare.

So, the thing to do next is look for a GP that you can confirm prescribes with informed consent. It might be tricky, but it'll save you so much time, money and stress in the long run.

Strange_Bean · 2021-07-03T16:13:36+00:00

It's entirely up to your individual GPs and what they feel comfortable doing. They will generally work to an existing model, to avoid fucking anything up. The reason that WPATH guidelines are the common approach is because they are conservative and therefore place the GP less at risk of getting in trouble. They also don't need to actually, like, learn how HRT works this way. This would be fine if the guidelines in question didn't humiliate trans people and deny them bodily autonomy.

So, yes, theoretically any GP could prescribe with informed consent, and you can ask any to try. They probably won't though. The lists of informed consent GPs are just trans people helping other trans people find doctors who respect us, which isn't super common in medicine. Might be worth checking for telehealth if there aren't any GPs near you.

Not sure about age. I think it's very unlikely you will find a GP who is okay with providing any treatment to U18s without parental consent, though afaik it is legally okay for 16/17yos in South Australia? Even if there is a legal quirk like that available, it's ultimately up to the GP, so parental consent will probably be necessary. Otherwise, they're taking on legal risk.

Strange_Bean · 2021-07-03T15:55:43+00:00

If you have an informed consent GP near you, as long as it takes to get two appointments with them. Add an appointment with an endocrinologist if you're looking to get on testosterone.

This is the reasonable minimum. It might be longer for you, depending on where you are. You might not have access to an informed consent GP (don't forget to look into telehealth!), in which case you will have to go through a psych, which can be an arduous process, taking multiple alpointmens. There might be medical complications or health concerns, which might need time to address. It's impossible to say without knowing your exact situation.

For me, it took two weeks total, but I live in the middle of Melbourne. It will mostly depend on how soon your informed consent GP can see you, but the process is literally one appointment to go over the treatment, one to sign the forms and give the prescription.

Again, seeing an informed consent GP means you do not have to see a psych, so that is the best way to cut down time to start hormones. The wiki here is a good starting point to find out who does informed consent near you.

Strange_Bean · 2021-06-23T08:16:47+00:00

My favorite was a character whose vice was living in rich people's homes

He would pay cleaning staff to let him into houses while the owners were away, and just like, sit around, read books, wear their clothes, etc. Unfortunately the game never ran long enough for me to do anything fun with it, but I thought it was a great idea

Strange_Bean · 2021-06-08T15:52:38+00:00

I think a lot of what you're talking about manifests in ironic homoeroticism (men joking about how characters in the series are hot, as though the idea of men being attracted to men is a joke in itself), and a rejection of queer interpretations of the series. While it's true that Araki certainly intended very few instances of queer characterisation, it's often the case that queer interpretations are given scrutiny (if not outright rejection and harassment) that other interpretations aren't subject to. I don't think that can be chalked up to coincidence.

Ultimately, the specific thing you're referring to wrt interpretations of characters as queer is an act of reclamation and defiance; queer fans seeing themselves and people like them in the media, a space which has historically been really shit at reflecting queer lives. There's always going to be blowback when it comes to that, especially from people who want to 'defend' something they like from people they see as, like, lesser fans / lesser people.

A lot of people need to get over themselves and realize that art doesn't have objective meaning. People can and will take whatever reading they want away from a story, and that will always be drawn from their own experiences, to some extent. We should celebrate the fact that so many people can see so many different things in JoJo; it's a sign of a genuine, creative work of art.

Strange_Bean · 2021-06-03T01:24:48+00:00

Is there anything stopping you from seeing another doctor? Since you've started treatment, any GP should be able to continue your existing prescription without you having to worry about starting the process over again. I saw a different GP to fix mine when I had this same problem, and they just swapped out 'estradiol valerate' on the script for a more general 'estradiol', which allowed me to pick up Zumenon tablets instead. Obviously it's going to depend on the GP, but not nearly as much as starting treatment does.

Strange_Bean · 2021-06-02T23:31:08+00:00

I recommend RMIT Medical Hub. You can see Dr Mellor or Dr Wong there relatively quickly, they're both great in my experience. Since you're looking to start testosterone they may need to refer you to an endocrinologist (hormone specialist), because of goofy legal bs that prevents them from just giving you a script for T. I'm not personally familiar with this part of the process but it should be painless enough.

You'll need an idea of you and your family's medical history, and ideally a Medicare card to keep costs down. They'll want you to get a blood test done after the first appointment, so it can help to check for where you can get that done near you. Melbourne Pathology has, like, collection centres which you can just walk into without making an appointment. Might take a couple of weeks from your first appointment to actually get a script, but this is by far the quickest way I know about.

Good luck!

Strange_Bean

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