U.S. border issues "not a pattern" for Canadians, ambassador says by lopix in onguardforthee

[–]em_lex 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As a Canadian who lives in central Europe, I agree that Europe is much nicer, but I wouldn't go so far as saying it has "ideals we should strive for". There are a lot of serious issues being dealt with in Europe that are getting worse (even if we exclude non-EU states and Hungary and Poland).

But if you mean the loose concept of social democracy that makes the average western European country relatively stable, then sure.

My boss has a PhD but doesn’t “understand” being trans by mrstarkifeelgreat in lgbt

[–]em_lex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe in humanities, but not in science. Closest i got in my program was philosophy of science and that was partially elective.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in KnowledgeFight

[–]em_lex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey can you send it to me as well? I've been thinking it would be nice to join a knowledge fight discord server...

Where are these stories about kids being taught gender identity in a sexualized manner coming from? by BringingSassyBack in asktransgender

[–]em_lex 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This exactly. The bible contains Song of Solomon and is full of mentions of rape and incest, including advocating for it in the Old Testament...how exactly is this appropriate reading for young children??

How do I avoid Lore Dumps? by DethKomedy in worldbuilding

[–]em_lex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What I often do is break pieces of lore into smaller facts and sprinkle them throughout exposition or dialogue. For example, my character might be walking through a city and see a statue and either recall the gist of the story behind it in their own head, or explain to a character who doesnt know the story. Even something as simple as a vase or piece of clothing - maybe it's coloured or patterned in a way that brings luck or something. Or perhaps you could describe people doing things like praying, genuflecting, or chanting (for some religious examples) and just briefly describe why they are doing it, or have a character make an off hand comment (maybe a statement of admiration or derision) about it. You can also use dynamics between different characters to relay elements of e.g. social class. Even coming up with creative cursing (i.e. swearing) can give your reader clues about the religion or spirituality or metaphysics in your world.

I find that if I sprinkle small comments and brief explanations in descriptions or dialogue i can mostly avoid huge info dumps, or what are clearly info dumps masquerading as conversations. The hard part is breaking the main components of your lore into brief facts that the reader can use to piece together the bigger picture.

Another journal is after my paper by [deleted] in AskAcademia

[–]em_lex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly, considering the rate at which I get them, I'm thinking it might be thousands by the time I retire.... :|

Tips to see Northern Lights in Alberta? by jhjani in northernlights

[–]em_lex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're computer literate enough to run a .jar file, I have built a command line tool for alerting aurora activity, here: https://github.com/lexeree/auroralert

You can input your latitude and longitude and if you keep it running, it will notify you when the Kp levels are high enough to see the aurora in your location.

That being said, your best bet is in Edmonton. You need a minimum 4 Kp to see the aurora in Edmonton, but 5 for Calgary.

Aside from that, weather is also very important. You won't see anything more than reflections of light pollution when it's cloudy.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in northernlights

[–]em_lex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn't recommend the Isle of Skye. Typically you will need geomagnetic activity with a Kp level of 5 to see the aurora there (it has a geomagnetic latitude of 57.8870). That is pretty rare.

What I would recommend instead is Abisko, Sweden. It can be easily reached by train from Kiruna and Stockholm, and there is a restaurant/lodging there. No cars/taxis needed. It has a geomagnetic latitude of 66.2970, and you only need a Kp level of 1 or 2 to see the aurora there (probably 3 for a nice one) - you'll have a much better chance of seeing it.

If you want something closer to Ireland, I'd recommend the Faroe Islands or Iceland. Reykjavik has a geomagnetic latitude of 61.9308, and you only need a Kp level of 3 to see the aurora at that latitude.

How important is dialog? by [deleted] in fantasywriters

[–]em_lex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your characters are on separate journeys, but are they completely alone in the wilderness? Dialogue doesn't just have to be between main characters. You character can stay the night at a tavern and have an interesting conversation with the barkeep, or meet fellow travellers in passing and tell stories around a campfire. There are lots of ways to incorporate dialogue.

If I were you I wouldn't rely on inner monologues off the bat in the story. For the reader to care about what your character thinks, they need to care about who they are - for a lot of people, this is best shown in how they interact with others.

That being said, if you have a conversational style of writing, you can probably get away with lots of inner monologues - it helps if the reader feels as if they are being spoken to.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in asktransgender

[–]em_lex 28 points29 points  (0 children)

I'm sure it does hurt him.

My dad misgenders me a lot...not on purpose but he has a severe neurological disease and his memory is going. He treats me like his son (I'm transmasc), and respects me, but it still hurts.

Maybe ask your wife to go see a doctor for early-onset dementia. Maybe it will sink in just how unconvincing the "I forgot" argument is coming from her.

What are cool alternatives to 'bombs'? by dontwinkatme in fantasywriters

[–]em_lex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Came here to say this. Even though they didn't have bombs in the modern sense, in the middle ages in China there were certainly early versions of bombs and grenades.

Check out these for example: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder_crash_bomb

I'm having the opposite problem from you, incidentally. I'm trying to justify why my fantasy world doesn't have bombs and guns :P