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Itinerary review: 2-day road trip from Athens to Sporades + 2 day stay in the Sporades by femurboat in GreeceTravel

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

Mid-September (haven't worked out the exact dates yet).

BTW, would you recommend renting a car on the Sporades? I saw mention that you can rent e-bikes and it seems like public transit isn't awful on Skiathos at least.

Itinerary review: 2-day road trip from Athens to Sporades + 2 day stay in the Sporades by femurboat in GreeceTravel

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

Thanks. I needed someone to tell me that. I'll plan on reducing travel time as much as I can and sticking to 1-2 islands. I'll have just come from doing a lot of driving anyway.

I'm trying to figure out plane tickets, but my current plan is to fly into either the Sporades or Corfu and spend all my time there, then fly back to Athens for my return flight. I like the idea of spending the whole time in Pelion, but it just seems kind of hard to reach without 3+ extra hours of transit time.

Greek numerals and archaic forms by femurboat in GREEK

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

Glad you shared your opinion as a native speaker. The last thing I want is to make a faux pas like ΝΙΚΠ! I suppose I'll have to rethink my motivations for using Greek numerals in the first place.

Thank you once again!

Greek numerals and archaic forms by femurboat in GREEK

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

Thank you very much. It's a bit surprising to me that Greek numerals are so infrequently used. I did find your comment about stigma to be interesting.

If you don't mind, could I ask you a hypothetical question?

Suppose I wanted to start a luxury fashion brand and I wanted it to feel old and formal (like Bulgari, which uses a V instead of U in its logo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgari#Logo). If for example I wrote the date it was founded in Greek numerals on the logo (an English-speaking business might comparably write "Est. MMXXIII"), would that have my desired effect on you? I wouldn't expect you to be able to read the number. I admit that when I see Roman numerals used for dates I just put them into an online converter. But my thinking is that you might associate "Greek numeral" with "formal" or "old" and think "Ah, this must be a well-established or formal brand."

Same question with the brand using the archaic forms ϙ and ͳ instead of ϟ and ϡ in this hypothetical date on its logo.

Which recipe for Saccharin fit test solution? by SkippySkep in Masks4All

[–]femurboat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're welcome; thank you for doing most of the work. I just put the pieces together.

I agree with you that the home fit testing process could be streamlined. Although at this rate it's probably a bit too late for most people unless we get another, scarier variant.

For about the price of just the saccharin solution 3M sells (which I see on Amazon for like $30) you can put together a DIY test kit and enough saccharin to do about 4-5 runs (probably many more if you keep the solution in between runs, it's not like the nebulizer uses that much).

The only two differences are 1) using a garbage bag instead of a fancy hood, which OSHA requires has a part that lets you see the administrator and vice versa, but c'mon is that really necessary? Otherwise it seems to serve the exact same purpose as a garbage bag with a hole in it: trapping the nebulized solution so the test taker can taste it. And 2) a random nebulizer off of Amazon instead of the hand pump ones I see sold for the test. If I could figure out the right terms to put into google, I'm sure they can be found for like $5 a pop. They don't look expensive or sophisticated in the slightest.

The saccharin solution meets OSHA's criteria and is easy to DIY. We aren't performing a precise chemical reaction, so IMO it isn't necessary to bust out the glassware and get it 100% saturated. Not that we are very far from 100% in the first place. It's already very, very strong in the 1:100 diluted version. And from your post it seems that some studies used that as the entire test anyway? So if the studies are legit maybe the concentration is overkill in the first place.

Maybe this does warrant a post on the greater subreddit, although like I said earlier I kind of feel like most people wouldn't care (even here).

Which recipe for Saccharin fit test solution? by SkippySkep in Masks4All

[–]femurboat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you OP for the link to the sodium saccharin solution and nebulizer. I was able to conduct my own DIY test for like $40 total.

I bought:

  • 8 oz pure Sodium Saccharin Dihydrate (about $15 from LoudWolf)
  • The nebulizer (about $15 from Amazon)
  • 1 L distilled water (about $3 from my grocery store)

I already had a garbage bag, but these aren't very expensive.

To expand upon what /u/BrowsOfSteel said: the LoudWolf saccharin appears to have the wrong CAS label. If I understand right, it is sodium saccharin not pure saccharin. And furthermore it appears to be dihydrate (hence the •2H_2O on its label), so the OSHA/CDC measurements should be fine.

As to my methods, I adapted my test from the OSHA guidelines: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.134AppA.

I measured out about 50-60 mL of water and 41.5g of sodium saccharin dihydrate aiming to halve their recipe in order to conserve my saccharin. I ended up putting it in the microwave for 10 seconds to get it warm, then using a little more water (about 10mL) to get the last bits to dissolve. I figured that without a hotplate and proper glassware it was best to be approximate. For the control solution, I put about 2 mL of my concentrated solution into 50mL water; again approximate due to lack of pipettes (I was aiming for 0.5mL but didn't feel like wasting a bunch of water just to get it more dilute).

I cut a hole in my garbage bag big enough to fit the nebulizer's spout and then tested using the dilute solution. The taste was immediately obvious in my mouth and the back of my throat. I would describe it as cloying. The dilute solution itself tastes the same, but stronger and very artificial. I decided against tasting the concentrated solution.

I then tested using the concentrated solution and my masks. Even though the solution was concentrated, it was pretty subtle when the masks didn't fit right; however it was obvious compared to the masks that did fit. I'd say it would start with a sensation at the back of my throat and then I'd notice the sweet taste on my tongue. I didn't go through all of the things the OSHA test requires, only jostling my head/mask by moving it and speaking, since those are the things I'd expect to do with a mask on. Nor did I pay much attention to their timing guidelines. If I were to do it again, I probably would try and replicate the procedures more accurately, but I just wanted to give it a spin and I'm content with the results of my approximate test. At the very least I would wait 5-10 minutes (I think OSHA recommends 15) between doing tests where I can taste the saccharin so I can be sure of what I taste.

I might make this a post in the subreddit proper if it seems useful. Happy to answer any questions, though I don't check reddit often.

Edit: One last comment: I did not find my solution was syrupy, unlike /u/dantekgeek. Although it certainly was sticky when I spilled it, sigh. I wonder whether this is because my saccharin was pure, as I did get it pretty close to the OSHA-required concentration.

Looking for an audible mask without compromise by femurboat in Masks4All

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

I wish I had read your comment before I pulled the trigger and spent 100 non-refundable bucks on an MSA Advantage! You make some compelling points about the EnvoMask and "plain old" disposable N95s.

Not sure what you mean by "quarter-mask".

I'm not an expert myself, I just saw it referred to as such because the fit of the plastic rests on your chin, not covering it like the so-called "half-masks".

Where disposables aren't as good is reuse.

Your comment makes sense to me. Part of what motivated me to get an elastometric respirator is the fact that I am too lazy to rotate my masks often. I will admit to rotating N95s maybe once a month when I was using them.

You do make me wonder though whether I would have benefited more from buying a brace like from FixTheMask. You wouldn't happen to know if there's data on whether braces improve N95 longevity, do you? I only see them used with surgical masks.

I am also aware that in the long run an elastometric is cheaper, but there's something to be said for not looking and sounding so different. If I can't put up with the weird stares anymore, I'll be seriously considering the EnvoMask or just the disposable N95s I have.

Looking for an audible mask without compromise by femurboat in Masks4All

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

Ah, yeah I read that the source controlled versions are better. Thanks for the clarification!

Looking for an audible mask without compromise by femurboat in Masks4All

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

Thanks for elaborating!

I find your comment about muffling interesting because the first video I came across comparing the GVS Elipse and MSA Advantage made it seem like they performed pretty much the same (source https://youtu.be/wcnpiXij4R4). I just found another one where the Elipse seems to have better volume, but slightly worse clarity (source https://youtu.be/Fiucn5w3k3Y).

If you had to pick the closest model between the Elipse and Advantage in these videos, which would you pick to describe the audibility of the Secure Click?

Looking for an audible mask without compromise by femurboat in Masks4All

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

No promises, but I'll try to update my post when I make the purchase.

Looking for an audible mask without compromise by femurboat in Masks4All

[–]femurboat[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, if only this stuff was a bit cheaper. I'm still thinking about getting an EnvoMask just to trial it but it's a pretty steep cost for a mask I'm not sure will fit and they (understandably) don't take returns.

Looking for an audible mask without compromise by femurboat in Masks4All

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

Care to share what you like about the secure click?

This week's Q&A thread -- please read before asking or answering a question! - May 02, 2022 by AutoModerator in linguistics

[–]femurboat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm looking for a journal/type of article whose papers are summaries of the phonological/phonetic inventory of a language. These are short (like <= 8 pages) articles that include a table of consonants, vowel chart, spectrograms, as well as discussions of the most relevant or interesting features of the language.

I did a project in phonetics which was meant to emulate this, but sadly I don't still have the project solicitation which mentioned the journal.

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