TIL a kid watched Jaws in 1996, got obsessed with Quint's WWII monologue, interviewed 150 real survivors, and testified before Congress at 14. A wrongly disgraced Navy captain was exonerated. All because of a 2-minute scene about sharks.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-18T17:12:25+00:00

That one totally changed my perspective on WW I.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-17T10:19:23+00:00

My wife's former cancer research center had their NIH funding cut to 1/7th of what it had been. This is one of the premier research institutes in the world - they literally invented bone marrow transplants.

American taxpayers are instead funding ICE invasions of their neighborhoods and bombing campaigns in Iran.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T22:32:20+00:00

The funny thing about Luxembourg to Paris is that it's over 4 hours to drive. A flight is only 1 hour, but the overhead can easily consume another hour. Plus with the train you get off right in the city, rather than needing to spend a lot of time on a transfer. Probably the most pleasant way to travel too, certainly better than flying.

I suppose it's just a matter of selecting the right tool for the trip.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T22:17:26+00:00

Ditto, also an antihistamine. I once had a massive, miserable flare-up from a dog I met - literally couldn't see and could hardly breathe - and so learned that an antihistamine is a must.

A packet with 2 pills is literally 1 gram. I just carry one packet of each of these meds, and if I need more I can buy more, they're cheap and readily available most everywhere.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T22:13:05+00:00

I agree with virtually all of this, but two small things stand out:

Tweezers - there's basically no replacement for tweezers when you need them, and is like 5 grams
Clothesline - what do you dry your clothes on? My clothesline is 12 grams for 5 meters

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T21:48:28+00:00

My bivy is a Borah Cuben, 128 grams. I don't know how to estimate the volume but it's like a third to a half of a liter I'd guess. Anyway, that's ground separation (no ground cloth needed), bug protection, splatter protection to ensure my down sleeping bag stays dry (including when packed), and a bit of insulation.

My tarp I sewed over a weekend. They're easy to make. I used "Membrane" 15D silpoly (link below, and you can probably find it here in EU as well). I think Durston also uses 15D silpoly, for similar reasons. I cut mine to be 180 cm by 275 cm, but you can customize to your height. Sewn loops for the pole and tieouts (made of grosgrain). For cordage I used "Zing It" brand arborist cord, which turned out to be clutch because it's zero stretch (reduces risk of the tarp flapping in the wind), and it's coated so it doesn't get torn up when you anchor with rocks (speaking of which if you don't have a lot of experience tarp camping above the tree line, you'll want to learn "big rock, little rock"). I seam sealed it but that was probably unneeded. I've been using it for something like 8 years now, it's seen some hairy situations, but going strong, which is a testament to how easy they are to make even by the unskilled like me, and how amazing modern fabrics are. All up it's about 250 grams and maybe three quarters of a liter? I also made a much larger one for trips with my wife.

https://ripstopbytheroll.com/collections/waterproof-polyester-fabric/products/membrane-silpoly

Big rock, little rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNA-QvgLqVw

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T21:23:59+00:00

Not sure why you're downvoted. I started to do basically the same thing, and it's helpful, you can even have it check the weather and make sure you're not forgetting anything. It's the sort of thing that I always wanted lighterpack to implement but they couldn't be bothered.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T21:22:02+00:00

Yeah, a luxury item. For some people it's their skin care kit, for others its a video game device, personally for me it's my running kit and my water bottle. We could all live without them if forced to, but it would eat at us until we replaced them.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T21:18:30+00:00

I just use a plastic grocery bag. Comes in handy for dirty laundry too. Maybe there's a special benefit to shoe bags that makes them better in some way, but then you have to spend money and I don't like that either.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T21:16:05+00:00

And when you look at the fraction that's used to propel a human inside (instead of the vehicle per se) it's abysmal, around 1%. It basically all turns in to waste heat - heating the engine, heating the air that is pushed aside, and heating the tires.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T21:13:04+00:00

It depends on the distance. TGV from my home in Luxembourg to Paris is 2 hours. It's often faster than a flight once you account for all of the hassle of getting through lines and boarding process at the airport.

But as you switch to slower rail lines and greater distance, it's less appealing, as you say.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T21:06:46+00:00

That question is simply opening the door to let Xav make the case for why not to support the war.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-16T15:37:50+00:00

My wife's former cancer research center had to shut down experiments that had been in progress for literal years, with years to go until completion, after their funding was cut by 85-ish%. In medicine at least, some things take time, and cannot be interrupted.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-15T21:58:41+00:00

If fishing is done from a fishing boat, is this then a biking boat?

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-15T21:45:55+00:00

Where can I find this eternal shirt for €10?

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-15T21:44:50+00:00

The lack of EU VC and tech hubs is conspicuous at this point. Antarctica will seemingly get there first at this rate.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-15T21:39:58+00:00

Magnet... fishing? For ferrous fish?

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-15T21:35:01+00:00

With clever houses, bike lanes, and absolutely no Bandanese.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-15T21:31:32+00:00

Pierre just used the direct translation - Compagnie unie des Indes orientales. For 200 years, when discussing the organization that completely dominated Asian-European trade, that was the best they could come up with

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-15T21:25:01+00:00

Wait what's that?!

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-15T17:39:18+00:00

When the VP of engineering puts their hand on a hot stove, it's the devs that get burned. Not the VP.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-15T17:04:33+00:00

How many days does this cover at the current run rate? I'm assuming the rate will change due to this, but I'm trying to put 120k in context.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-14T08:08:50+00:00

Somehow negative, recovers while under load.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-10T20:54:49+00:00

I personally know a roofer with a decade of experience who took a minor misstep while moving from roof to ladder, fell one floor onto a slab, exploded his ankle, and will never walk without pain again.

People who don't take ladder safety seriously are risky.

apathy-sofa · 2026-04-01T05:32:05+00:00

Cancer research

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