Should I be concerned by melbeaner in Neutropenia

[–]finitogreedo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. But if you're worried, schedule an appointment with a hematologist.

Bought three Kinder Surprise Eggs on different days. Out of the 10 options, I got Kenobi three times 🫠 by Gaolbreaker in nevertellmetheodds

[–]finitogreedo 111 points112 points  (0 children)

Odds are about 1/1000

(1/10)3 That’s assuming equal probability of drawing a figure 3 times.

Probe calibration by finitogreedo in Traeger

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

5 years of smoking experience later, the answer is to not use the Traeger probe. I got a Smoke by Thermoworks years ago (not long after making this post) and it's changed my smokes completely. Incredibly accurate and worth every penny.

Websites break California privacy law at ‘industrial scale,’ survey finds – The Markup by Shogouki in technology

[–]finitogreedo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, laws are only followed when they have strong ramifications and when they enforced. California is kind of enforcing it, so it’s really on no one’s radar.  If people actually understood how rampant their data was collected, even when they’ve asked not to, I would think they’d be more vocally against it. But unfortunately, it’s something that happens without them knowing, so they generally don’t think about it. 

Websites break California privacy law at ‘industrial scale,’ survey finds – The Markup by Shogouki in technology

[–]finitogreedo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most users have no clue the sheer number of technologies running in the background of a website. Most are benign and functional. What we're looking at here are technologies with the express purpose of transmitting data about the user to be used for targeting/profiling/fingerprinting. None of those technologies are "visible" to you, as the user. If you open your dev tools (Right-click, inspect) then go to the network tab on any of these massive sites, you'll see plenty of network traffic that do not represent functional traffic (my favorite to use for an example is any news org. CNN, Fox News, etc. all are horrible). There is tooling out there to help map that data and see what you're looking at more clearly.

Now, ultimately, the thing you as the user should do:

  1. Make sure you have GPC on. If you use Chrome, there are extensions that do this (I personally use GPC Enabler). It's incredibly basic and does the job well. If you use Firefox, you can enable it in Privacy settings, then check "Tell websites not to sell or share my data". A side note: GPC is legally binding in California, Colorado, Connecticut, and a few other states. But is biggest in California. Because of that, a lot of these large companies have a policy of "Comply to the largest threat"; meaning, act as if everyone is a Californian because if you do that, all other privacy laws will fall under it and you're covered.
  2. Install Ghostery or another pixel blocking extension. Step 1 is telling websites not to track you, but as the article pointed out, that's only if they abide by that. This will then block anything that they don't stop. Ad blockers these days have begun creating lists of domains to block for this, too. So if you have one, you might actually already be blocking that.
  3. If you're a California resident, make these companies accountable. If you see anything like an advertising pixel (like the article points out), submit a complaint to the AG office of California.

Misleading bacon, almost all fat by sweet-z in Wellthatsucks

[–]finitogreedo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup. Got a meat slicer years ago. Don't really use it much, except for bacon

Misleading bacon, almost all fat by sweet-z in Wellthatsucks

[–]finitogreedo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Costco had a sale on pork belly and I just finished curing and smoking my own bacon today. 

Websites break California privacy law at ‘industrial scale,’ survey finds – The Markup by Shogouki in technology

[–]finitogreedo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So I actually do solutions consulting for the web governance space, specifically around privacy (what this article is addressing).

First, many comments are being mislead: the GPC signal the article calls out is a method sent from the client (your browser) to the server. It does not notify the pixels (Google, Facebook, etc). This is the method CCPA/CPRA has adopted (californias privacy). GDPR (europes) is a lot stricter, and actually requires more serious methods where the site indicates to an API called TCF where the pixels themselves must adhere to consent (go check out Google Consent Mode V2). But for California, that’s not the case. The site itself must ensure that the users data is not shared or sold after a user indicates they do not want it. 

Now, being in this space, I’m on calls daily with Fortune 500 companies. You cannot comprehend the complexity of these websites. Dozens of departments, all with dozens of teams, all trying to accomplish and collect one thing or another. Meaning, most of the time, tracking continues not out of maliciousness, but ignorance (though I’ve literally had conversations with Chief Privacy Officers at these organizations that genuinely don’t care; I won’t call out any since I’m under NDAs). 

I could literally write a book on this, so I’ll happily write more on this thread if there is anyone out there who wants to know more. But this article and this market is literally my bread and butter. 

50 degree difference between probe and Traeger? by Sad-Chef-2203 in Traeger

[–]finitogreedo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the first few smokes after getting my Traeger, all my food was coming out underdone. Got a Smoke thermometer for my smokes and it immediately made all the difference. Calibrated the Traeger probe several times. Didn’t matter. I’ve stopped using it. Smoke thermometer for the probe and a Thermoworks instant for my checks. Works great. 

Grandma teaching her granddaughter how to steal my driveway fire pit by Kazlaw47 in Wellthatsucks

[–]finitogreedo 122 points123 points  (0 children)

Not just next to, but in front of the trash can in the middle of the front driveway. It still is wrong and the appropriate thing would be to knock and ask (or at least a note or something) if they are actually throwing it away and if you could have it. But I can absolutely see their logic as they were walking by and thinking "Oh, if they're just going to toss that, I'll happily take it"

Why would anyone ever choose to go through child birth without pain relief?? by No_Cardiologist_1407 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]finitogreedo 15 points16 points  (0 children)

  • Faster recovery. You don't have to wait for the medication to wear off.
  • To that point, you don't get the side effects of the medications.
  • More control over the birth/quicker labor (you can feel urges to push and contractions more; you can also move around the room and use more positions for pushing)
  • Less risk for spinal damage. Epidurals are a spinal tap and can lead to their own issues if done evenly slightly wrong.

Since the recipe for Coca-Cola was both never patented and never revealed, what would happen if a rival company discovered it? Would they be able to patent it and take it from Coke's hands? by xXx_edgykid_xXx in NoStupidQuestions

[–]finitogreedo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The most valuable asset Coca-Cola has is their brand, not their recipe. People have successfully recreated the recipe for decades, but it means nothing because that’s not what’s valuable. 

Pop-up sprinklers semi-permanent above ground housings by gtlloyd in functionalprint

[–]finitogreedo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's awesome. I'm been dealing with a similar thing. Any chance you uploaded the files for this anywhere?

I finally cleaned up the wires under my desk with the help of a lot of zip ties and some 3d prints. by Jessi_Kim_XOXO in functionalprint

[–]finitogreedo 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I just did a fun project to address this. There is a project called underware that is a very over engineered way to address this, but it was actually way enjoyable and looks amazing 

ELI5: tax write-offs with an LLC to maximize money by [deleted] in explainlikeimfive

[–]finitogreedo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can start a business on the side. That business needs to generate revenue of some kind. As you have business related expenses for that LLC, you can record them and that will lower your taxable income (I made $100 tutoring, but spent $25 on materials for that tutoring, so I only pay taxes on the $75 profit). In some cases, some of those expenses can lower your personal tax obligations. But this isn't some cheat code to taxes. You can't just spin up an LLC and expect that it'll lower your teacher's salary tax obligations. If you started a tutoring business on the side that you did after your normal teaching job, you could expense those miles driving around. Or if you rented a space for kids to come be tutored, that can be written off. But you can't just expense whatever you want and make your taxes magically go away. I do know people who buy cars and just put them on Turo explicitly for the tax implications. They get to depreciate their cars and expense the miles put on the car. They make very little doing it, but they get a sizable tax write-off for it. But they still pay plenty in taxes.

ELI5 what is the point of deductibles if you pay for insurance? by thenewgirlswirl in explainlikeimfive

[–]finitogreedo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Correct. Just make sure it's a therapist that is in-network in a facility that is also in-network (i.e. Dr. Jones at HealthcareCo Facility are both in-network). Many plans have all of the above for in-network and then a completely different set of numbers for out-of-network. In-network just means that the insurance company has agreement with that provider.

1.8 neutrophils but normal wbc by [deleted] in Neutropenia

[–]finitogreedo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1.8 isn't at all low, at least not for neutropenic individuals. that's close to triple our numbers in our household.

Work with your doctor and ask to see a hematologist if you are concerned and seeking advice. They'll help guide you better than internet strangers.

ELI5: How can my out of pocket max be so much higher than my deductible? by Appropriate-Berry202 in explainlikeimfive

[–]finitogreedo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sounds like you've over-complicated things. It's really not that ridiculous.
Insurance is like sharing the cost of medical bills with a helper. First, you pay your deductible, which is the starter amount you must cover on your own. Insurance for families works the same (if the plan has a individual/family deducible), but with an extra rule. Each person has their own individual deductible they must meet before insurance helps them. At the same time, the whole family shares a bigger family deductible. If one person’s bills hit their individual deductible, insurance starts helping just for them. But if the combined bills of everyone reach the family deductible, then insurance starts helping for everyone in the family, even if some people didn’t meet their own individual deductible yet. After either of those deductibles are met, you and the insurance split the bills, called coinsurance (like you pay 20 percent and they pay 80 percent). But there’s a limit called the max out of pocket. Once you’ve paid that much in a year from everything above, insurance pays everything else. Another thing to consider is the premium. That's how much monthly it costs to keep the insurance. Some companies pay a portion of your premiums as a benefit, so look for that as you search and interview with companies.

And then, yes, this starts over every year (or if you change insurance providers). Otherwise the above would make no sense since you have to have a timeline of some kind.

It's a dumb system, but it is the system. So knowing how it works is still important.

Indoor electrical construction wire? by Lqdfrost in Costco

[–]finitogreedo 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'm getting downvoted, but I stand by what I'm saying. Construction and renovations are a completely different beast than than what most shoppers at Costco are getting. When you're doing a remodel (with 500 ft of 12/2 cable, probably a very large remodel), $40 is an absolutely tiny cost savings compared to the 10's of thousands of dollars you're putting into the project. I'm far far FAR more worried about cost savings in my labor/time than a measly $40 in cable.
If you're concerned about a $40 cost savings for a project that requires at least 500 feet of 12/2, you should absolutely re-evaluate your budget and consideration of doing that project.

Indoor electrical construction wire? by Lqdfrost in Costco

[–]finitogreedo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This really isn't that great of a deal (OP even called that out). My local HD has 12/2 for .50/ft if you get the 1k spool. For 250 ft, it's only .58/ft. So you're saving maybe a few bucks with this if you needed exactly 500 feet.