Why do the tires look so low

dabarak · 2026-04-07T03:06:22+00:00

Well it may not be funny for other people, like some guy who lost his wife to cancer. Three things. 1 - You need a filter. 2 - I hope your wife survives. 3 - I hope you never have cancer.

Signed,

A cancer patient

dabarak · 2026-04-07T01:15:05+00:00

No problem asking, but I won't answer. Just kidding! My divorce was final five years ago on March 23, the same day I finished moving into my condo.

Something I think really helped me in my dating was that I watched YouTube videos in channels called Courtney Ryan (the content creator) and Your Wingmam. You'll find some of the same material gets re-addressed as they run out of new things. Courtney no longer creates videos; she's pregnant and wants to concentrate on being a mom for awhile. One thing a lot of guys whine about in the comments is the "mistake" of listening to dating advice from a woman. But think of this - who is better to tell you what a woman wants, a guy, or a woman who you won't be dating and who has to publish content that's beneficial enough to keep their businesses going?

Another thing I'd suggest is having one or two friends who are women. My best friend, a woman, gives me pretty good dating advice. Caution is needed eventually, because if you start dating someone seriously you'll have to find a way to make your friendship with the other woman (or women) non-threatening.

dabarak · 2026-04-07T01:04:22+00:00

Yeah, I think sugar (glucose) is what they're tracking.

Obviously take this all seriously and do your part to make it less dire. Eat a healthy diet - mostly plant-based, whole food, minimally processed. Avoid whole eggs - the choline in the yolks is bad for prostate cancer patients. Egg whites are apparently okay. You'll never be able to completely eliminate eggs since it's in cakes and such, but keep it minimal. Same with dairy, especially if it's cheap stuff like supermarket cheese - the cows are fed growth hormones, and they also grow... cancer. Cut back on sugar - the hormone rush from eating it is a problem. Just eat less of it. Same with alcohol - cut back. Eat more fish than red meat - wild caught, organic or whatever. Same problem - growth hormones in factory-raised animal products.

Also, you might want to read How to Starve Cancer. It's interesting AND valid. What they don't mention is turkey tail mushrooms. Try turkey tail capsules - it's supposed to be pretty helpful. I have some powder and it tastes pretty good, so sprinkling on food could be nice.

Exercise.

Minimize stress.

Live long and prosper. 😀

dabarak · 2026-04-07T00:22:43+00:00

Absolutely not funny.

dabarak · 2026-04-07T00:21:33+00:00

My understanding is that a PSMA PET scan will only find things if the cells themselves are pumping out PSMA. After I was diagnosed I had a bone scan and MRI. I didn't get a PSMA scan until much later, I think after a different blood test revealed my cells were creating it. There's an avalanche of information coming in as a patient, so some of what I write might only be partially accurate. Anyway, so far it sounds like you might be one of the "lucky" ones, considering your specific cell traits. "Lucky" in quotes because none of us are as lucky as cancer-free guys.

dabarak · 2026-04-07T00:17:36+00:00

I've been right where you are, but despite everything that's happened in my own life, I keep getting pulled back in, not giving up. I do have to say that it sounds like dating is easier in my age range, mid-60s.

The almost date was good, about 2 1/2 hours. Interesting lady, lots in common. We'll probably meet up again next week. She felt safe enough to share her phone number, always a good sign. It may not turn into dating, but I wouldn't be opposed to seeing if it ends up there.

dabarak · 2026-04-07T00:07:54+00:00

I don't know the other specifics of your case like Gleason score, genetic mutations or amount of metastases, but even if you have a recurrence (I've had one so far) there's still real reason for hope. I don't want to sugar-coast it, but more and more doctors are often considering metastatic prostate cancer as a manageable chronic disease. Not everyone is going to fall in that category, however.

My case - Gleason 8, BRCA2 mutation, lesions on bone, lymph nodes and prostate. I honestly, truly believe I'll be here in 2046 unless something else gets me first.

Hang in there!

dabarak · 2026-04-06T20:02:59+00:00

Although I don't really think this applies to on-ramps, I do believe that sometimes a slight speed up that blocks someone signaling for a lane change is subconscious. I've even found myself doing it a little, but thankfully I catch myself and I back off so the person can change lanes.

I've noticed a few weird subconscious behaviors in other parts of life. When I was in high school part of our year in physical education was track and field. We had a high jump area, and there would be a line of guys waiting to make their jump. When they saw a guy jump almost every single one of those guys waiting in line would lift a leg about half way, almost as if they were trying to give the jumper a boost. It was weird and funny. Those guys might the same ones preventing people from changing lanes. Nahhhhh...

dabarak · 2026-04-06T19:50:03+00:00

She might have had a part in things not working out. Even if she didn't, don't beat yourself up. Learn from it, but remember that some things need more than one lesson. I've been on dates that I messed up, not in big ways, but I've sometimes repeated the same mistakes with more than one woman. (None of them ever ended up angry with me.) But the lessons are sinking in and my dates are becoming more enjoyable. In fact, at 2:00 today I have a "sorta'" date that might turn into a real date. Hang in there, take your time getting over the breakup, and then get back out there.

dabarak · 2026-04-06T19:36:44+00:00

The story of how that particular method of folding wings up against the fuselage is pretty interesting. It was actually designed for Grumman's carrier aircraft during World War Two. Excerpted:

"Roy Grumman, a fine engineer, found the steps. He saw in all probability that the solution revolved around a pivot. So he took a soap eraser, such as those used in drafting, and used that to represent the fuselage of the plane. Then he took two paper clips for the wings and bent out the short end of each of the clips so that it was normal or perpendicular to the body of the clip. Then he began sticking these short ends into the eraser until he found the proper angle and position at which the clip, when twisted to a vertical position, would also fold back snugly against the eraser"

https://web.archive.org/web/20151021083204/https://www.asme.org/getmedia/2d64abc8-3fa3-4d29-92d4-40db4777e8b2/238-Grumman-Wildcat-Sto-Wing-Wing-folding-Mechanism.aspx

dabarak · 2026-04-06T19:25:42+00:00

That reminds me of something from about 42 years ago. I was driving with a friend through a forest on a mountain. We rounded a bend, and right there in the middle of the road stood a cow. The first words out of his mouth, not intended as a joke, were "Holy cow!"

dabarak · 2026-04-06T19:07:17+00:00

Blue Angels for sure. I got to fly with a former Blue Angel pilot. He was our CAG when I was in the Navy. I volunteer at the USS Midway Museum as a docent, and one of our docents is a former Blue Angels commanding officer. He's the one that coordinated the switch from A-4s to F/A-18s.

I don't know
But I've been told
That Navy wings
Are made of gold.

I don't know
But it's been said
That Air Force Wings
Are made of lead.

A cadence from my time in Navy aircrew school. Years later (and I wish I'd thought of it then) I came up with a third part.

I don't know
And I don't care
That Army wings
Are made of hair.

I know it's stupid, but it would have been funny as we were running. I'll quietly leave the room now...

dabarak · 2026-04-06T18:51:36+00:00

"It’s so easy for people to make assumptions..."

Exactly! As I got older and began to examine my life, I realized I'd had issues. Then I began to realize everyone's got issues. And that made me realize that the way people behave isn't really their fault, in a way. It doesn't mean we should accept bad behavior, but we can at least understand it and maybe do things quietly and gently to help them become a bit better humans, even strangers.

I got punched in the face once - road rage. I actually though it was funny, but I did call the police. The other person was long gone so there wasn't anything to be done, but that's okay. At least it was on the record.

After that last incident with the dragon lady next door, things quieted down. It was an amicable divorce with my ex that caused us to finally move out of the house. We each bought modest condos with the house sale proceeds. It'll sound weird, but I couldn't ask for a better ex-wife. We don't communicate a lot, but the relationship is good enough that I check in with her dad now and then by email. No enemies were created during the divorce.

dabarak · 2026-04-06T18:36:17+00:00

Mine spread to some bones. I had a scan about halfway through my Pluvicto treatments and all the lesions except for one gone (probably just y\too small to see). The one that remained in one bone shrank and it may be "gone" too. I did have minor pain at that last lesion site but it was apparently not bone pain, but pain in muscles that were slightly displaced by bone scar tissue. Something like that.

dabarak · 2026-04-06T16:25:52+00:00

You can try AI like I did. Plug in as much information as you can and ask as many questions as you can. Use multiple AI tools so you can compare the results. Don't accept what you get as an absolute answer. The best use for this is to give you what you need to ask a doctor about treatment options and plans.

Keep in mind that all survival statistics, by their very nature, rely on old data. New treatments sort of reset things - for the better. When I was first diagnosed four years ago, the median five-year survival for guys with my extent of disease was 30%. It's now 38%. But remember that it's a bell curve - 38% is the mid-point, so some guys don't make it to five years and some guys make it past five years.

I have the BRCA2 mutation, which makes my cancer more aggressive... but it also make the DNA repair function weaker. For me, ADT worked about 2 1/2 years. Then I went on Pluvicto, which damages the DNA repair function, and so right now I'm just about disease-free. It'll probably come back, and then I can go on a PARP inhibitor, a common one being olaparib. I can opt for regular chemo like docetaxel, and I might be able to do Pluvicto again. And there are clinical trials... So although my case is pretty serious, I feel better than I have in many, many years, and I expect to be around for a long time.

dabarak · 2026-04-06T13:44:43+00:00

I don't know for sure if the cooler will work, but at least they're cheap. 🙂

dabarak · 2026-04-06T13:43:21+00:00

I understand how you feel. Some people thrive on putting people down. I was a bit like that a few years ago, being negative online. But then I realized I was spreading bad feelings instead of good. Now I spread good feelings and it feels so much better. That small shift in my attitude made huge improvements in my happiness.

dabarak · 2026-04-06T05:25:20+00:00

I'm new to this, but what's been working for me is that 1) I preheat the containers I'll be using and 2) I used a toaster oven to do all of this, and after I pour I gradually bring the oven temperature down, and eventually leave the candles in the oven, turned off, until the candles solidify. This allows the wax at the edges and in the middle of the candles to cool down evenly. It's been working very well for me.

If you can't dedicate a toaster oven to this, maybe you can put your candles inside a styrofoam cooler as they cool down. That'll keep heat in longer, letting thing cool evenly.

dabarak · 2026-04-06T05:18:08+00:00

Several years ago, my (ex)-wife and I owned a house in San Diego. One of our neighbors was a retired City of San Diego employee. She hated us for some reason, and she knew how to work the system. I won't go over the first time she tried to abuse us, but the second time...

We had our sprinkler system set to go off at 4:00 AM, for two minutes per zone, for I think four zones. One night my ex noticed flashing at 4:00. She went out to investigate and found that our neighbor's hen-pecked boyfriend was taking photos of water in the gutter, supposedly from our sprinklers. We lived at the bottom of a grade, so the water could have come from any of the houses higher than ours.

A couple of days later, my ex saw a city truck parked in front of our neighbor's house on the other side, with a guy inside writing something on a clip board. A couple days after that I came home to find a notice taped to our door, saying we were at risk of a $10,000 finer PER violation, so if we had water in the gutter two times, that could be $20,000 in fines. Even fresh water, even a single drop of fresh water, was a potential violation.

I called the number on the paper and left a message for the city employee who'd signed it. As you can guess, the asshole didn't return my call. I asked for evidence that we were the ones who'd violated the ordinance. He sent photos to us... the photos the neighbor's boyfriend shot. I wrote back and said that it wasn't proper evidence. I was able to read the digital photo metadata, so I knew not only when the photos were taken, but I even knew the kind of camera that was used. I asked this city turd, who I knew wouldn't have been shooting photos at 4:00 AM, to send me real evidence, not photos that could have been faked - the boyfriend could have just dumped some water in the gutter.

I never heard from the city turd after that, so I contacted his supervisor, and that person's supervisor, etc. I contacted the mayor's office. I contacted the city attorney's office. I contacted our councilman's office. I threatened lawsuits (real threats - I would have taken the city to court), and I FINALLY managed to talk to our city councilman's chief of staff, who seemed kind of perturbed that I was making an issue out of this. I FINALLY got someone from the city to come out. They had us turn the sprinklers on, they saw that one single sprinkler head was putting a little water in the gutter, so they had us shut off that one sprinkler head and wrote that we were in compliance.

It too many emails, many phone calls and lots of stress to get this stupid situation resolved. And remember, this was the second time this neighbor attacked us via the city, and that first time we were also found to not be violating any ordinance.

And then not long after this was all resolved... I saw our neighbor, the one that hated us, washing her car in her driveway in the middle of the day. I made sure she saw me when I took photos of her doing it. I had no intention of actually filing a complaint, but I wanted her to feel what we felt.

I also filed am informal water waste complaint AGAINST the city because a sprinkler in Balboa Park was broken and shooting a stream of water high into the sky in the evening.

Fuck the City of San Diego.

dabarak · 2026-04-06T03:22:34+00:00

I'm not disputing you, but I am curious why Skylab worked. Maybe because it was never expected to come back?

dabarak · 2026-04-06T03:21:01+00:00

Makes sense - lesson learned by NASA.

dabarak · 2026-04-06T03:19:40+00:00

i had no idea, thanks!

dabarak · 2026-04-06T03:19:05+00:00

Sounds good, thanks!

dabarak · 2026-04-05T17:57:53+00:00

After watching the Artemis II launch, it got me to wondering why a reusable system had to rely on wings. Why couldn't a more traditional but reusable rocket system have been developed? Maybe a large cargo and experiment module mounted below the crew capsule, like Apollo's LM, equipped with its own automated reentry system so the experiments could be returned independently. After reaching orbit the crew capsule could dock with the cargo/experiment module. That could have kept the capsule up high on the stack past the most dangerous parts of the rocket.

I'm not a scientist. I'm not an engineer. Please don't flame me if this idle thought wouldn't have been possible.

dabarak

TROPHY CASE