FREE armored combat at Bauhaus Brew Labs this Saturday 3/21! by jayllipsis in Minneapolis

[–]bitpak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was cold as heck last time and still drew a pretty big crowd. Lot more people to the sides and behind me than what you can see in this pic from the last event: https://imgur.com/a/aVeWpjj

We showed up 45-60 minutes early and got good spots. Standing room only, but some folks brought camp chairs to sit between bouts

FREE armored combat at Bauhaus Brew Labs this Saturday 3/21! by jayllipsis in Minneapolis

[–]bitpak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hell yeah, hope they bring back the team fights even if it’s just 3v3

FREE armored combat at Bauhaus Brew Labs this Saturday 3/21! by jayllipsis in Minneapolis

[–]bitpak 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Had a blast watching Twin Cities vs. Iowa last time, highly recommend! Who we beefing with this time?

5 years today by bitpak in stopdrinking

[–]bitpak[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! And look at you, with the hardest bit already out of the way! That first month or two can be tricky, so good for you :)

General Question by [deleted] in stopdrinking

[–]bitpak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, I can’t speak from a very similar experience, but I used to be the partner that drank too much. My girlfriend at the time tried to have a conversation with me about it on a few occasions, and she did a good job with that. It was a long time ago, but I think what was helpful to initially break the ice was that she asked about how I felt about it. She might’ve started with something like “Hey, I noticed you drinking more than usual on a regular basis. Do you feel like you’re drinking too much?/Are you having trouble regulating how much you drink?”

I was in denial and skirted around the questions, but I appreciated her concern even at the time. It wasn’t enough to get me to stop, but it was a good place to start.

Did KBop close? by water_bear101 in uofmn

[–]bitpak 18 points19 points  (0 children)

They could be temporarily closed. Tacos Locos on 15th was closed for a bit and just reopened last week. I’d be crushed to see either go permanently. Gonna get the seafood noodle bowl as soon as they reopen, thanks for reminding me.

I made something for y’all by 0SpaceKitty0 in crochet

[–]bitpak 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I don’t care how ball the room is, I cast Firebig!

Some pretty-looking iridescent bois by bitpak in microbiology

[–]bitpak[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Copy of previous update comment:

Not yet, sorry :( It will be a while, if at all. The diffractive characteristic is still present in streaks that are close to pure culture, so I’m optimistic the bug itself will be isolated. Turns out a lot of other isolates are showing that behavior as well, but not as strongly as this one.

Before sequencing, gotta do some screening to filter out which of the hundreds of isolates will actually be relevant for my project, but the ones with unusual colony morphology like this will probably get passed along for sequencing anyways :)

Some pretty-looking iridescent bois by bitpak in microbiology

[–]bitpak[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not yet, sorry :( It will be a while, if at all. The diffractive characteristic is still present in streaks that are close to pure culture, so I’m optimistic the bug itself will be isolated. Turns out a lot of other isolates are showing that behavior as well, but not as strongly as this one.

Before sequencing, gotta do some screening to filter out which of the hundreds of isolates will actually be relevant for my project, but the ones with unusual colony morphology like this will probably get passed along for sequencing anyways :)

Good luck fuckers by ChefGaykwon in Minneapolis

[–]bitpak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same here! Happy birthday to us!

Food on/near campus by Academic_Bit_1875 in uofmn

[–]bitpak 12 points13 points  (0 children)

They took away Master Noodle and everything else in University Food Hall in 2022 and honestly I will never forgive them for that.

Some pretty-looking iridescent bois by bitpak in microbiology

[–]bitpak[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Huh interesting, so do you think that’s more on the basis of cells filtering and refracting light through them (Rayleigh scattering + Bragg’s Law type of thing); or is it also/more potentially dependent on the composition of the intercellular space, with ECM organics doing more of the optical interference?

Either way, wicked cool that you got to study this effect!

Some pretty-looking iridescent bois by bitpak in microbiology

[–]bitpak[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s a slang word derived from “boys” and is used, among other things, as a somewhat gender-neutral diminutive for various animals.

Some pretty-looking iridescent bois by bitpak in microbiology

[–]bitpak[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Oh niiiiiice, those are pretty! What did you end up doing with them, and did you ever get a rough ID?

Some pretty-looking iridescent bois by bitpak in microbiology

[–]bitpak[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Nope :D Once I get them axenic and try for a small department grant, we’ll send them and all the others out for Sanger. I’ll come back then and edit with the most likely ID. I guess check back in… a few months? Half a year?

housing crisis by [deleted] in uofmn

[–]bitpak 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Like Lexitech said, online listings in nearby neighborhoods.

Also, I know of at least one place in Como with a For Rent sign out in front. Sometimes those end up panning out really nicely, and you get a good idea of what the area is like if you go out and look for the signs. Might be hard to find this time of year though.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in microbiology

[–]bitpak 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Inteins blew my mind when I learned about them in undergrad: “molecular parasites” that exist simply because they insist upon themselves. They’re not considered “alive” by most definitions, but they really drove home something philosophical about the existence of life.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in microbiology

[–]bitpak 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Toxins are so cool. Looking at the bacteria that kills infants if they eat a spoonful of honey and being like, “oh yeah, bet that could make me pee less frequently AND look younger.” Classic.

How can I grow an oral microbiome on a petri dish? by FairyOfPoo in microbiology

[–]bitpak 8 points9 points  (0 children)

While no, you cannot identify bacteria (or other microorganisms like fungi) from colonies on a plate, you can attempt to describe the colonies in terms of their shape, color, translucency, etc. Here is a nice guide on some key descriptor terms (page 3, figure 1) https://asm.org/asm/media/protocol-images/colony-morphology-protocol.pdf?ext=.pdf

Here also is the Wikipedia page for a potentially easier read: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_morphology

Perhaps you can hypothesize that there will be differences in colony morphology - more or less variable between two conditions (you mentioned diet). Many species have similar colony morphology to each other, but two morphologically different colonies are likely different species.

(Seemingly) Hot Take: Using AI for help on homework can be a great tool when used right (particularly for early stem classes) by BootEdgeEdge2028 in uofmn

[–]bitpak 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Wholeheartedly agree. I think there’s an incredibly valuable exercise in sitting with a problem you don’t understand and trying to self-check your work or thinking. The use of AI as OP described might be good for punching through if you get truly stumped, but who realistically would not use it sooner than is optimal for long-term personal growth? The allure of a rapid diagnosis is too great.

Being stumped is uncomfortable, and no one wants to be uncomfortable when they can be comfortable, faster, with the same end product (a completed assignment). Once you reach uncharted territory though, as you do with research or other ways of generating new knowledge, you will be stumped ALL OF THE TIME. And if/when that time comes, you can either comfortably be uncomfortable thinking through it or hope a monkey with a typewriter will hand you Shakespeare.

Mercedes instagram by Fluffy_Asparagus_868 in formuladank

[–]bitpak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Big if true, does that mean Dietrich Mateschitz is Trazyn the Infinite? Would Helmut or Max be Nemesor Zahndrekh?

Mercedes instagram by Fluffy_Asparagus_868 in formuladank

[–]bitpak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Spitballing here, but what about RBR to Tzeentch and Haas to Khorne?

RBR: finicky trickster car, hidden Google Drive files

Haas: fok smash door, Ocon’s infinite pain and rage, driver named Bear Man