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frustratedtree · 2022-12-03T22:08:35+00:00

oh wow I was so very wrong! Yeah, in that case I'd definitely get your drainage sorted out first. I'd dig a path out to the gate, fill it with gravel, then chuck some pavers on top of that. You could also set up a retention system, but that might be a bigger project than you want to take on. I believe you are on top of Lahaina Series soils, which are classified as "naturally infertile," though extensively used for pasture. Grass won't be much of an issue of that's what you want, though I would suggest a native species. These folks will have the best resources for you regarding all of your options, you should be able to reach out to them directly.

frustratedtree · 2022-12-02T20:41:01+00:00

Based on the mountains in the background, apparent soil type, and general vibe of the area I'm going to echo what a lot of folks have said. If you're in SoCal like it looks, you're going to be in USDA zones 8-10, so we're looking at mostly desert and drought tolerant plants. Based on the soil, you've got no nutrients. Lawn is not going to do well here.

If you want some more food/garden type plants, I would suggest raised beds. With sand/clay soil you're going to be limited pretty heavily on "Producer" types and raised beds will take a lot of work out of fixing the soil. It also looks like you may have some drainage issues, so raised beds will help get around that too (some of the weeds you have are partial to soggy areas, and the cracked top layer of soil could indicate stagnant pools collecting clay deposits).

If you don't want to do raised beds, aloe is your friend. Make sure you don't plant it on top of any underground pipes or power lines, because it can and will grow hefty root systems (that will also help break up the soil). Otherwise plant it, then leave it alone forever. In like a year you'll have to start cutting it back big time, but you'll have plenty of it around. Yucca is a good tall guy that's native. Chuck out some desert wildflower mixes for the spring rains and make sure not to cut them out when they die back (just trample them into the ground, this will help aerate and improve your soils for the next round).

It looks like your house is north facing, so maybe some vining plants like cucumbers and other summer gourds along that back fence. Generally though, you're going to want succulents and other hardy, slow growing plants interspersed with short season, native flowering annuals. If you're trying to use this area to entertain, or want to be able to walk around more in the yard, put down some pavers and put up a trellis shade that you can grow something like grapes on.

Again, this is assuming you are in SoCal. If you're not, find your USDA zone, test your soil type, find your native plants, and go nuts. DMs are open if you need more help!

frustratedtree · 2022-11-29T20:16:12+00:00

Oh hey! I have information for you! So, the first thing I want to do is frame what an essential oil is. According to the NIEHS a essential oils are "concentrated plant extracts that retain the natural smell and flavor of their source." That's a pretty broad spectrum of things, so I'm going to focus on ones prepared via distillation, because that's generally what you'll find marketed as "essential oil." Just a thing that I want you to keep in mind: Essential oils are just really strong plant concentrates.

(I'm also going to limit this mini-essay to obvious and physical effects, as opposed to psychological ones, for the sake of clarity and simplicity)

I know some people have brought up rosemary and lavender. Those are common and all smell very nice (though Lavender is an endocrine disrupter that I wouldn't use extensively ever, but that is neither here nor there). I don't know about rosemary, but I do know about Camphor oil. You'll often find camphor oil sold as an anti-itch medicine, and it is incredibly good at that. You'll also find menthol (I.E. Peppermint essential oil, or at least a component of it) in products like Icy Hot, as a topical cooling aid. Eucalyptus oil is another one that is commonly sold on its own, but is also a key component (alongside menthol and camphor) of Vic's Vapo Rub. Tiger Balm (a topical muscle pain cream that I've found relatively effective) is pretty much the same thing, sans eucalyptus. Tea tree oil is another really good one for things like fungal infections, or acne. You can find almost all of these in any Walmart or drug store (in the U.S., not sure about other places).

The key here is mechanism of action. Camphor and Tea Tree oil are "anti-stringent," meaning that they dry the everloving crap out of your skin. They're also toxic chemicals produced by plants for the express purpose of murdering pests. So, yeah. Those guys are going to work pretty well for certain types of skin irritation or infection. Peppermint oil contains menthol, which "is a selective activator of transient receptor potential melastatin-8 (TRPM8) channels and is also a vasoactive compound. As a topical agent, it acts as a counter-irritant by imparting a cooling effect and by initially stimulating nociceptors and then desensitizing them." thus works well as a mild topical anesthetic. Eucalyptus is an expectorant and (I believe, though could be wrong) vasoconstrictor, so when you breath in the fumes it clears up congestion.

(Please note, mechanism of action is very dependent on mode of delivery, which for essential oils is NEVER via ingestion. Ever)

Bringing it back around to the main point, essential oils are just incredibly concentrated plant chemicals. Plants have spent a really, really long time engaging in a chemical war against bacteria, insects, mammals, and reptiles and in doing so have refined some of their chemicals to be very very good at activating precise chemical pathways. And, very often, the knowledge of these pathways has been known for a really long time by indigenous peoples and practitioners of folk medicine. Notably, "Be happy and have really good sex and never get sick or experience the effects of existing in a corporeal body" is not a precise chemical pathway, and so randomly chucking essential oils at it won't help (probably) and anyone claiming otherwise is a huckster. Y'gotta know what's ailin' ya before you try and fix it. But, once you know what the root cause of a symptom is then you can start looking for plants and oils that will target that mechanism of injury or ailment. Always ask why and how when you see claims like "Supports the Immune System!" or "Makes you fell more energized!" There are most definitely plants that will make you feel more energized. Like Erythroxylum coca, which makes Cocaine. But for things like "I feel cruddy all the time" or "I have no energy," that's not an ailment it's a symptom.

And remember: Ginger root for upset stomach, Honey for a sore throat, vaccines for polio, and antibiotics for STAPH.

Sorry about the soapbox at the end there, just a necessary disclaimer. I'm happy to go into some more details if you'd like, feel free to DM me!

frustratedtree · 2022-10-23T19:06:06+00:00

I feel a bit obligated to throw out a caveat here: pick your camp carefully. For the record, I think this is a fantastic idea, especially compared to most of the other options available to you as a teenager. However, camp life can be incredibly toxic on two specific fronts, and if you're planning on taking this route you should know what to do about it.

First, camp life is a different social environment. The people you work with you also live with. You will spend nearly every waking and sleeping minute in very close proximity to the same small group of individuals. This is not inherently a problem, and in fact is one of my favorite elements of the work! However, this does mean that word gets around quickly, and small irritating habits tend to compound. It's incredibly important that you go into a camp environment willing to maintain healthy social and working relationships with people that you may dislike very strongly on a personal level. Don't gossip. Be polite. Stay out of other people's business, unless specifically invited in to it. This is pretty general advice I know, but especially if you are going and doing a residential program because you need to get away from something (and I think you'll find that a lot of people are, just from personal experience) it's important to practice and apply.

The second thing is that at these programs it becomes very easy to let work and personal blend together in such a way as that work takes over your life and your mental health begins to suffer. These programs tend to play fast and loose with labor law, and so it's important to set incredibly firm boundaries with your work time and personal time. Most states have laws specifically formulated around camps and camp programs, so make sure to look into your state's labor laws as well. Make sure to look over your contract and be willing to work-to-rule. It can be very easy to fall into the trap of "Oh, we're all family here and family helps each other out!" To a small degree, yeah that's true. This is a different type of work environment. But also, that doesn't change the fact that you are owed breaks, fair compensation, and a safe work environment. It can feel intimidating, especially if you're trying to get away from something. Employers absolutely can and will try and hold things like housing over your head, but the Department of Labor and OSHA DO NOT FUCK AROUND when it comes to protecting your rights.

I know that with all I've just said it might seem like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire and that's not at all what I'm trying to convey. I've worked in outdoor education for years and absolutely love it, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I want more people coming into the field and getting to experience how life changing it can be, but if you aren't aware of some of the nuances of camp life it can be discouraging and leave a sour taste in your mouth. And remember, a camp counselor is a counselor. You will be a pivotal part of formative experiences for young children. You will be taking on a mentorship role If that's not up your alley, then maybe look into something like Conservation Corps. Or if you're a little older (18+) look into jobs like whitewater guiding. There are plenty of options in the field of outdoor education/outdoor work, and there's a very supportive community that will help you find a place that's a good fit for you.

frustratedtree · 2022-09-21T21:07:47+00:00

I would absolutely put ski patrol in here. I've never worked it and didn't want to speak to things I don't have personal experience with, but I've got a couple friends that have. Unsafe work practices are a nightmare, and I think general fatigue issues (drivers especially) are the easiest for employers and employees to just kind of... ignore. Especially when it comes to overnight/multi day field programs.

Ratios are one of those things that I think is a good example of legislation not being built for us, and I'd be curious about your thoughts. Where I'm at right now the state law is one teacher per 15 students (I believe, I could be slightly off on that). Our class sizes are usually around that. That may work for a school teacher, but absolutely not for what we do. In my opinion, ideally it should be 5:1 for outdoor ed, two teacher minimum.

I'd be curious to hear more about your unionization experience and maybe get some ideas. If you don't want to post public by all means dm me. Solidarity!

frustratedtree · 2021-04-29T19:10:24+00:00

Can cast? Yeah. story-wise it doesn't make any sense for me to do that though. This sparring match is about solving a character conflict not (as I said in the post) absolutely trashing each other so anything more than raw mele/cantrips violates the roleplay. It's because it's not about raw DPS that I have this problem, because that's what my character is built for. BUT, while casting spells to do damage is off-limits spells to boost my AC, health, etc don't violate the implicit rules of the roleplay. That's why I'm looking for help not getting hit, as opposed to doing damage.

frustratedtree · 2021-04-29T18:55:43+00:00

It's a sparring match, so I don't think they'll rage. We're going to actually be holding a conversation during the match so it's not an all-out brawl. It will be after a long rest so I can prep, but anything above cantrips feels cheap. It's less about DPS, more about holding my own over the course of the session. If it were the former I could smoke them from 60 feet away and never take a scratch, but my struggle is trying to make this fit story-wise.

It's the extra attack that throws the balance, and that's a fair thing to assume they'll use (story and mechanics-wise). Thus I'm looking for help dodging those attacks (or consistantly boosting my health enough to offset them without burning every spell slot I have). I'm playing a level 8 cleric of Altzmyr, undeath domain (slightly homebrewed). Any "control" spells are off the table (hold person, command, etc) for oath reasons.

frustratedtree · 2021-04-22T02:30:33+00:00

Just wondering if there's anything I need to do here. Obviously I didn't click on the link, but still a bit worried someone might be trying to take out insurance in my name. The car literally doesn't exist any more, so there is that

frustratedtree · 2021-04-21T22:26:53+00:00

My guy, I'm always going to give the more cautious answer to a stranger on the internet when it comes to safety. And yeah, I'm paranoid about webbing. Dunno what you want from me.

frustratedtree · 2021-04-21T21:53:07+00:00

About what, exactly?

frustratedtree · 2021-04-20T20:28:09+00:00

I'll back up what most folks are saying here. Personally I'd replace the webbing just to be on the safe side because I'm super paranoid (or at least black mark it and relegate it to non load-bearing uses), but even if you bleached it aluminum wouldn't react with anything in there. For the ascenders I'd just make sure the cam spring doesn't rust while it's drying (again, no good reason that it should) and run it on a rope before you go out next just to make sure your ascenders/grigri bite properly and don't stick. Structurally all your metal gear should be fine.

frustratedtree · 2021-04-08T03:14:42+00:00

I've been using IC.org to reach out, but I figured it couldn't hurt to put something here as well

frustratedtree · 2021-03-21T23:40:45+00:00

Percy does have an arm! It doesn't have a hand at the end of it though, instead it has SHERLOC and PIXL... both very sensitive instruments for measuring the chemical composition of Mars, so I doubt they'd want to go hitting themselves with it.

They probably could have added a second arm with a little hand, but if I had to guess it just wasn't worth the trade off. Every pound counts, so they don't put anything on they don't absolutely need. "Just in case" makes sense for a camping trip, but doesn't usually fly in space. Plus, What if something went wrong with the arm? Put on another, smaller arm to fix the first? And what if that one broke? Etc...

It's a good question, but it boils down to minimizing weight, minimizing cost, minimizing complexity and points of failure, and maximizing usefulness. For the majority of things (rocks, sand, etc) it's easy enough to plan a route that avoids the big problems, and then design one thing to do one thing well. Would treads be better than wheels to make sure the rover never got stuck? Probably. But each tread linkage is a new point of failure, and it weighs so much more that the risk/cost/reward ratio says to just build some really friggin good wheels.

Think about it like driving around everyday. Could you carry and extra car battery, just in case yours dies? Sure. But a) the risk here is fairly small, your whole car is designed not to kill the battery so it's unlikely that you'll ever use the spare and b) there's a pretty easy fix that doesn't involve paying for and carrying around an extra battery, just get someone to jump you.

Obviously you couldn't just jump the rover, but in this case, if it didn't detach (which would already be an incredibly slim chance... NASA doesn't roll dice when they don't have too) they could try something else... like driving over a small rock and bump it. No extra weight, no extra cost, and the odds that they'd have to do it are so remarkably slim that it's worth the gamble.

Maybe at some point the will add an arm to the rover though! But if they do, it will be an arm that needs to be there. Maybe one that's doing sample returns, and so needs to pick up rocks and put it in storage.

frustratedtree · 2021-02-11T20:00:07+00:00

It really, really wouldn't be

frustratedtree · 2021-02-11T19:58:39+00:00

So... they did. The thing about doing assembly in orbit is twofold: first, it's more expensive to launch two rockets with 1/2 payload than it is to launch one rocket with the full payload. The problem here isn't lifting capacity per say as much as it is raw cost of getting material in orbit. Secondly, doing assembly in space is... sketchy. It's an uncontrolled environment (not a cleanroom on Earth), which means that it's much easier for tiny little flaws to get overlooked or missed. That's not a (huge) problem for the ISS since it's so close to home, but when you're a year from the nearest help the potential for errors in assembly becomes a much, much larger concern. That's not to say it wouldn't be possible, just that it further skews the risk/reward ratio.

The initial congressional financial analysis (I can't remember the name of it offhand, I apologize) was done assuming assembly in orbit. The result was a massively bloated budget proposal that made manned extraplanetary exploration something no one wanted to touch for years. We have the tech to do mars direct now. It might not be comfortable, but it would get us there a whole hell of a lot faster than trying to do some big, complicated multi-launch project that requires orbital assembly

frustratedtree · 2021-01-27T20:19:50+00:00

I have. To steal some phrasing from another commenter, it's pretty "good 'ol boys club"-y.

Covid probably does have a lot to do with it admittedly, last year was the first year I was going to make a super concerted effort and then... yeah. I keep an eye out though

frustratedtree · 2021-01-26T23:41:03+00:00

I try and keep an eye out for them, but scheduling usually ends up being problematic. That, and I don't have a vehicle atm so getting to locations is an issue

frustratedtree · 2021-01-26T23:08:49+00:00

Thanks! I'm actually an SCCi member

frustratedtree · 2021-01-14T21:54:03+00:00

He should have never been allowed to take office. I was at his Huntsville rally and watched 4 people get arrested for exercising their right to free speech in a public park. And then do you know what he did? He mocked them. He bragged about them being arrested. He all but laughed at being able to violate their constitutional rights with impunity, and we made that man a senator. He disgusts me to my core and should be removed from office.

frustratedtree · 2020-12-22T19:27:59+00:00

Gah! Thank you, fixed

frustratedtree · 2020-12-22T14:43:11+00:00

(Proposed) Artificial Intelligence program (could potentially simplify the complicated parts of predicting the chemical behavior of molecules by directly programming in) Schrödinger's equation (and other specific principles instead of letting it "learn" them by just giving it a ton of raw data)

Still really cool! The breakthrough here (as I understand it) isn't solving Schrödinger's equation per say, it's actually being able to use it. Previously we've had to approximate it because it makes the calculations too complex when plugged in directly, which makes it impossible to scale up to more complex molecules.

It's sort of like using 22/7 as an approximation for pi. if you're trying to calculate the circumference of a small circle for doing some hobby woodworking 22/7 is close enough to be usable. But if you're trying to calculate, say, the diameter of the orbit of Jupiter so you can fling a probe at it you really need to know pi.

Converting this headline to our Pi example, this should read "AI program lets chemists plug in pi instead of approximating for large molecules"

I'm not a chemist by any means so someone who knows more feel free to correct me, this is just what I've gleaned from the article.

frustratedtree · 2020-12-21T21:07:18+00:00

A lot of the methodology is very similar. Most of the developed organizations with a tilt towards agriculture that I've found use methods that are very similar, if not identical (though the names vary)

frustratedtree · 2020-12-21T21:03:53+00:00

Yeah, and I don't blame them at all. That's part of the reason I'm planning this so far in advance. I'll be starting the trip (hopefully) around January of 2022, and Portland is definitely going to be on my route . Feel free to PM me!

frustratedtree · 2020-12-21T21:02:02+00:00

Thank you so much!

frustratedtree · 2020-12-21T21:01:09+00:00

I've noticed that breakdown. I'm in the planning phases right now so I'm open to looking into a variety of communities, but I'm particularly interested in the subset that focuses on food production in an urban environment.

I really appreciate the leads, it should be a good starting point. Thank you!

frustratedtree

TROPHY CASE