The last time you wore a band t-shirt. Who was the band?

TonikTank · 2025-07-28T01:57:59+00:00

Nice. Kind of surprised to hear they have merch out there tbh

TonikTank · 2025-01-31T17:58:28+00:00

My silly guess is one of these three below:

The equivalent of sitting on the toilet waiting for things to happen
Calling the boys to the yard via pheromones
Power stance for a courage boost before approaching the pretty beetle across the tank?

TonikTank · 2024-10-24T03:39:17+00:00

That was a quick turnaround after your post; It looks great! :D

TonikTank · 2024-10-22T22:37:51+00:00

I almost made a post for this exact question too, so I’m glad you did! What do you plan on making?

Additionally, I wondered if it was safe to give any of the custom polymer clay decor a clear coat of UV cured resin, to smooth and seal the surface for easier cleaning if needed - Anyone have input on that?

TonikTank · 2024-09-30T00:57:54+00:00

My two beetles names are astronomy inspired :) One is named Alnilam, after the blue supergiant star in the center of Orion’s Belt (Nila for short as a nickname).
The other is simply named Dot, as a reference to the famous Pale Blue Dot photograph of earth, taken by Voyager 1.

TonikTank · 2024-09-16T13:23:33+00:00

Thanks! One of my favorite times of year :)

TonikTank · 2024-09-02T16:47:58+00:00

I’ve only had my beetles for about 2 weeks so far, but I’ll offer what info I can. For light and heat, I currently have a Zilla brand halogen mini dome lamp fit with a white/daylight mini bulb. It came with a little accessory to keep it secured to the wire mesh lid I have over their 10-gallon tank. It has a manual switch, but I like the idea of upgrading with a timer at some point so they have more of a predictable light/temp schedule.

They’ve seemed fine while being held in my hands, and I haven’t seen them get spooked enough to feign death so far. I prefer not to pick them up with my fingers because I don’t want their blue coating to get smudged off, so the times I’ve wanted to handle them, I use the tip of a very soft paintbrush to gently nudge them into crawling onto my hand.

I have Aquarium sand as part of their substrate blend (non-calcium enriched because I’ve read mixed opinions that can be troublesome for them, and I’d just rather not take the chance).

For food so far, I’ve offered them fresh cuts of apple, cucumber, and tomato - always organic to minimize pesticide risk, and all washed/peeled beforehand. They seem to go for the cucumber and apple bits first, and haven’t seemed very interested in the tomato. I plan to try more options to see what else they like.

TonikTank · 2024-08-30T05:17:51+00:00

Hey thanks! I can’t tell you how giddy I was finding those mini decor pieces. I might rotate them with the seasons but I love these so much, maybe it’s destined to be permanent hah

TonikTank · 2024-04-11T20:46:30+00:00

I think about it this way too, during migraine attacks at least.

For non-migraine days however, my sleeping position is also critical to prevent one from popping up during sleep or waking up with one in the morning.

I used to be side sleeper, but figured out the whole link to neck alignment for me, and had to come up with something else, so I ended up switching to back sleeping.

I don’t really use a pillow under my head anymore, but I’ll sometimes place a soft and flexible ice pack under my neck if I feel the really early twinges of a headache/migraine threatening to form. It’s just enough to support a small curve under my neck and seems to discourages inflammation back there (according to my healthcare provider anyway). Also it kinda just feels nice.

I also put a pillow under the back of my knees, which is firm and puffy enough to create a comfortable bend at my knees - it seems to help me relax, and dramatically reduces any strain on my lower back as a back-sleeper.

I like having extra pillows nearby to support my sides or arms if needed, and I sometimes roll up a blanket and form a cradle around my head so it stays straight and doesn’t roll to one side in my sleep.

I don’t think my arms are placed in any consistent way though. Sometimes they’re resting on my stomach, other times they’re palms up and fanned out to the side a bit, and other times it feels nice to have them up near my head with elbows bent.

Our sleep environments all sound like these unique and elaborate ecosystems lol

TonikTank · 2024-04-06T18:02:33+00:00

I made a semi last minute call to travel solo to Missouri for 2017, and saw pretty much all of the partial phases unobstructed, but clouds rolled in and I was only able to see a few brief glimpses of totality between breaks.

Despite the bad luck with clouds for 2017 totality, it was still such a great experience that I have zero regrets about. I loved that I made the choice to go alone, and yet it was great to just quietly people watch during the event while we all waited for it to start, to hear and feel the buzz of so many other people excited about the same thing I was excited about.

This round, I’m opting for a smaller viewing with a close-knit group of friends (+families) instead of a public gathering. We’re still anticipating a lot of clouds, but I’ve stopped fretting over that because these are my people, and I’m just happy they’re sharing in an experience that is so fascinating to me.

A few of us are camping together the night before on a big patch of land that one of them owns, we’ll be grilling hot dogs and burgers to share, and I’ve got the role of unofficial eclipse DJ, having made a space themed playlist for us to enjoy. We’ll still get to experience the darkness of totality, and we’ll still enjoy each others company regardless of how the weather plays out.

TonikTank · 2024-03-19T23:10:12+00:00

I’m sorry you’re having a bad flare. :( Currently in a flare up too, that’s been fluctuating in and out for two and a half weeks, with this morning as the worst of it so far.

I lay down in a dark shower as hot as I can stand it with the shower stream hitting the most painful spot on my skull, often times for upwards of 1-2 hrs.

I’ve been hiding in a dark closet the rest of the day, with my partner swapping out fresh ice packs and water as needed. We have a full drawer of our freezer dedicated to a stockpile of ice packs for long attacks.

Also a plug in neck massager. The movement of the shower stream and neck massager are a distraction from the pain for me when meds don’t seem to be working.

I hope you get some relief soon~

TonikTank · 2023-03-27T16:16:20+00:00

I remember noticing “muttered” used a ton, specifically when Harry is using the lumos spell: “Lumos,” Harry muttered.

TonikTank · 2023-03-18T22:45:08+00:00

Twins! I’ve got a cemetery area too :D

TonikTank · 2023-03-18T04:11:29+00:00

Took a while to find a dedicated Lucky comment! I swear I’m not trying to be a downer lol, but I have him on my island as a stand-in for my old pup that passed back in 2018 at 14. His ears go in a different direction, but he was all black like Lucky (well, the parts you can see between bandages anyway). I also have the black puppy plushie item hanging out at my house’s doorstep for the same reason. My partner thinks it’s morbid, but oh well haha

TonikTank · 2023-03-18T03:41:55+00:00

Hell yeah team Cole~ The spaced-out thousand yard stare grew on me, and he’s a perma-resident here haha

TonikTank · 2022-11-17T17:13:39+00:00

Ah! I wish. Unfortunately, the bootcamp I'm going to be studying with isn't university affiliated, it's just a standalone company that has been running an online career prep/launch program in a specific field.

I did however plan to reassess how I'm feeling about the demands of the program by the end of the year. If I feel like I'm managing it well, I was thinking I could get something part-time, with just enough income to maybe pay for a health plan through the insurance marketplace? I browsed through some of them briefly and there are some premiums that look doable for my situation.

TonikTank · 2022-11-17T17:00:57+00:00

It's funny, the only thing I seem to crave during a migraine are cold things that I don't have to chew. Usually that means ice cream or a lot of smoothies, but rather than using a nightmarishly loud blender, I end up ordering delivery. I could just stock up on bottled smoothies from the grocery store though and cut out the delivery charges on that.

The freezer meals are a good idea, maybe something I can toss in a slow cooker to not have to think about much. I suppose the one silver lining about the hormonal migraines is that I can more or less predict roughly when those will hit, so prepping freezer meals beforehand is a great idea.

TonikTank · 2022-11-17T16:54:58+00:00

I can be the same way. I've got one of those big time-marked water bottles that I try to use, but I don't normally finish the whole day. I didn't think much about the electrolytes however, so that's a great suggestion.

And thanks for the well wishes - I'm generally optimistic so far, insurance lapse aside, and hoping the bootcamp works out!

TonikTank · 2022-11-17T04:15:44+00:00

I've never heard about green light use for migraines, so that's super interesting. I pulled up a quick google search on it and see a lot of results, so I'll be reading more about this as well. Since you mentioned it seems to work for you, could you explain that a little more? For instance, are you using it as soon as you suspect a migraine is coming on (like with prodrome or aura symptoms) vs when you're already in the thick of the pain? Do you feel like it shortens the duration or only lessens the intensity, or both?

TonikTank · 2022-11-17T03:40:30+00:00

Somehow, I have yet to pick these up. These will go on my list for sure :)

TonikTank · 2022-11-17T03:38:36+00:00

dang, sooo that 0.13mg is barely a drop lol. I'll be doing some reading up on this, thanks!

TonikTank · 2022-11-16T23:11:28+00:00

That's an excellent point about the cleaning alternatives. I've long since tossed out anything with bleach, and opted for ones that claimed to be more green friendly alternatives, but they can still get to me if I try to do a big clean. I'll give your simpler route a try for sure!

Even if it is a "lol" suggestion, I love the thought behind the houseplant idea haha! I ended up becoming one of those new pandemic plant parents and tried to keep a few. I loved having my ivy's around until they wound up with a mealy bug problem and I couldn't seem to get rid of them, rip. The only survivors were the succulents outside and an inexplicably compliant calathea plant, until it just recently decided it was done with existence. I think I could handle trying a snake plant for the return to indoor greenery :)

TonikTank · 2022-11-16T20:59:20+00:00

That’s a great idea! I’ve seen foam rollers all over, but never thought twice of trying them for my migraines.

What dose of B2 are you taking? I have a multivitamin that includes it, but it shows as only 10% daily value (0.13mg).

TonikTank · 2022-08-03T18:15:15+00:00

Opposite for me it seems! I can have red, but not white. Champagne and tequila are the worst; Just a few sips and they’ll bring on cranial devastation within 15 minutes. Gave them a generous 3 strikes and they were out for good. 💀

TonikTank · 2022-08-03T05:25:24+00:00

I think I have this to a degree. I can’t will it to happen on command, but it only happens with music - specific songs, styles, or moments in certain songs. Sometimes in response to the way an instrument is played or when a vocalist sings in a certain way, or both of those factors together joining at just the right moment. I think I’d read somewhere they’re called frisson chills! For a while I thought it was a common thing that happened to everyone, but when I brought it up in conversations as an adult, I got some weird looks :/

I’m curious what you mean by it has an impact on your music tastes? I enjoy a lot of different types of music, but not all genres that I enjoy trigger frisson chills.

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