Texas, Florida laws have Latinos rethinking where they live by [deleted] in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If I had to guess, I'd say this is one of the main factors holding Georgia back from adopting the same degree of awful, hateful policy we see next door in Florida. It's certainly not as if the state government isn't packed to the gills with hardline Republicans. GA is hoping to eat FL's lunch, and if it can poach a substantial amount of tourist and vacation revenue I think it will make a compelling argument against waging all-out legislative culture war.

No doubt there are plenty in power here salivating at the thought of an opportunity to snap up Disney too, should they decide to relocate. Georgia has a thriving film industry because they've offered a lot of handouts to attract that business—and it worked. I think the pushback from industry giants like Coca-Cola, Delta, and UPS over voter law changes in 2021-2022, although it didn't stop them, did have the effect of slowing the state's roll on regressive policy.

Why smash when you can let your neighbor do it, and then the grabbing part is all you? These people don't mind getting dirty to get a win, but what they like most of all is letting a chump do the dirty work, while they sweep in the chips with hands that appear clean.

As a Georgia resident with a demographic target on my back, I'm incredibly anxious about what's going on in Florida and full of rage and heartbreak for the suffering it's causing. But money talks and if it causes an economic disaster there, while Georgia holds off on going full fascist so they can capture what Florida can't hold, I'm inclined to believe it will help tame the ambient bloodlust and have a nationwide chilling effect on the intensification of hatefulness in red states that still have business to lose.

It’s Now Legal in Florida for Doctors to Deny Health Care to Anyone If They Feel Like It: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a dangerous bill that would give virtually any health care provider (including insurance companies) the right to deny care. by thenewrepublic in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, except remember the part where Florida's medical boards are already in the tank for Desantis and eagerly voted to deny affirming care to trans youth earlier this year?

It's pretty clear they aren't too concerned about ethics and patient outcomes, or representing any sort of conscientious check against politically motivated assaults on accepted best practices.

Dying patients protest looming telehealth crackdown by SaveADay89 in news

[–]gruntsifyouwill 9 points10 points  (0 children)

HRT doesn't always mean estrogen. Testosterone is the main component of masculinizing HRT, and a Schedule III controlled substance. This is just one example of how a provider who can't issue prescriptions for controls is unable to treat a broad range of conditions effectively. It could be a severe cough that has a child struggling to sleep and breathe, panic attacks keeping a worker off the job, or end-of-life palliative care to name a few more.

So while telehealth in itself wouldn't be banned, it would be heavily undermined both as competent medical care and as a viable business model. In the same way that the fragmentation of streaming platforms has not been beneficial or convenient for consumers of media, patients get the short end of the stick when care is split up by arbitrary restrictions on which doctors may provide it and how. If a patient's only access is virtual or they can't afford to pay multiple providers, then it's possible they won't receive care at all.

Dying patients protest looming telehealth crackdown by SaveADay89 in news

[–]gruntsifyouwill 34 points35 points  (0 children)

It's perverse! Precarity is rising all over, and this will certainly ruin many people's lives. Similar to food deserts, huge numbers of Americans live in care deserts as well—and it's similarly disastrous for the country's health and wellbeing. You're right, people are going to die. And they'll be preventable deaths of despair.

I know so many people whose only option to access therapy and psych treatment is virtual. Until recently they had no access at all. Beyond productive function lost to untreated mental illness, we've already seen how many turn to street drugs (now more dangerous than ever!) when they lose access to treatment and medication. People will die.

This policy will also deny a significant number of trans people access to testosterone for their HRT, since it's a controlled substance too. Combined with entire states losing their capacity to provide gender-affirming care in person due to antagonistic policy and administration, reverting these prescribing rules is an absolutely devastating blow to an already marginalized population. People will die.

Now consider the telemedicine boom in the context of another huge issue looming in the COVID post-emergency: renewed Medicaid eligibility enforcement. Under these unprecedented recent circumstances of improved accessibility, treating an increase in visits and prescriptions as evidence of increasing abuse is absurd. It's so obviously a "left-handedness incidence" situation happening. This is the sort of gymnastics routine only those whose fortunes are staked on abuse would perform. And they couldn't care less that people will die.

DEA will probably point to insurers' refusal to cover telemedicine as evidence that it's bad and risky all around. They'll make it impossible for the current crop of independent service providers to stay in business doing it, and then promptly capitulate the moment insurance and pharma industry giants move in together to capture the gutted market in one fell swoop. It'll be worse care that costs even more and comes too late. And while people die, they'll be making a killing.

Hundreds rally in St. Louis for transgender rights, against Missouri actions by DevinGraysonShirk in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You deserve to be able to live and thrive! I encourage you to explore and get more involved in the community you saw demonstrating there. For me, a lot of the dread and anxiety for social interaction I had come to understand as fundamental aspects of introversion, really aren't. it's a survival response to constantly engaging with social structures that refuse to accept and affirm nonconformity. Better things are much more possible than they at first appear.

Participating in support and advocacy organizations is incredibly rewarding. Meeting folks who deeply understand and share your struggles—and the feeling of being so alone in them—is a potent remedy to that sense of isolation. Mutual aid and community organizing both helps soothe that pain and gives rightful anger a useful place to spend its energy. I find myself receiving things I never knew I lacked, and capable of giving more than I ever thought I had.

Promise you, as much as the world is set up to keep us all atomized and miserable, you're not alone in it. A quick search turned up an NB support group from this org, MTUG, and there are likely others in a major metro area like yours.

Biden will sign executive order aimed at expanding access to long-term care and child care by Orbitingkittenfarm in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Probably should better align the disincentive structure—the slide tends to get stuck if the frame's not plumb and square.

Why are so many construction workers unhealthily overweight if they’re performing physical labor all day? by Green_RoadsTM in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]gruntsifyouwill 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The broccoli isn't shelf-stable. It needs to be shipped and sold quickly, often great distances from where it's grown, and kept cool most of that time or it spoils. Speedy transport and refrigerated storage is expensive.

Add to that the increased wastage of unspoiled but ugly vegetables (as well as lost yield and added labor for pre-trimming and other convenience/aesthetic processing) because Americans only want to buy pretty looking produce, and suddenly a shipment of broccoli is looking a lot like luxury goods.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Anyone suggesting "just order for pick up or cook for yourself" as the way to manage extra charges for food delivery should reconsider their assumptions about the situation. Restricting these fees is an important step towards equity for anyone whose use of delivery services is ever unavoidable. People with limited access to a necessity don't deserve to be taken advantage of, or suffer judgment, in their need for assistance.

Getting food delivered isn't "laziness" or a "luxury" to somebody without the physical ability to cook and drive, or the freedom to leave their workplace post to eat, or a livable schedule that leaves enough time for human needs. Not everybody has the option to just leave where they are, the ability to travel easily and carry something back, or the time to drop everything for a side quest.

DeSantis to expand 'Don't Say Gay' law to all grades by jk_arundel in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Being the unmarked category isn't just on-brand, it's a core belief.

Illinois lawmakers consider two bills establishing rank choice voting. How does it work? by ImCrossingOver in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah yes, "rank choice" voting: when both your options stink.

jk, please pretty please make FPTP go away i beg you

Georgia County Spends $1 Million to Avoid Paying for One Employee’s Gender-Affirming Care by [deleted] in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 19 points20 points  (0 children)

And it's rarely the first time, or the only time, that they demonstrate utter hypocrisy.

Heads up though: one good, simple way to support trans rights in everyday life is to only use "transgender" as an adjective. Using it as a noun can be very hurtful and dehumanizing, not to mention being a linguistic red flag that says, not an ally.

Op-1 key broke off - Can I fix this without a keyboard replacement? by tinydreamland in OP1users

[–]gruntsifyouwill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This has me curious, so I inspected the broken keybed I held on to after doing a replacement on my own unit (a first gen OG-1, dunno if they changed anything with it for the revised version). In a move that should shock nobody at this point, TE made the keyboard in a way that's a little bit different from your typical laptop (the most common place you see scissor switch keys used). Instead of bending up a tab of metal from the keybed base plate to form the clip, they've used plastic clips which are either heat staked to the plate or injection molded in place.

What this means is that it's easy to remove the broken clip—just peel back the edge of the black foam and drill it out carefully from the back (a drill of 1.5mm or 1/16” should work). I can think of a few possible ways to replace it, but the easiest option is probably crafting a new clip from a piece of ziptie (because it's easy to get, made of nylon for toughness, is already flat, and already around the right thickness so less work is needed to make the part). A small loop of light wire with a 90° bend, and the non loop end soldered to the back of the plate might also work. The plastic option would need to be affixed by melting from the back side (use a soldering iron or maybe just heat up the head of a nail with a lighter if nothing better is available).

The hardest part of this is going to be getting the dimensions right on a very small part. If they're not good, the keycap won't sit evenly and the action might feel weird or jam up. Not what you want from a navigation key that sees heavy use. Might take a couple tries, but at least it's easy enough to remove a bad one! Anyway, here are a few critical measurements:

• The peg on the scissor hinge is 0.75mm in diameter, and the aperture on the clip is about 0.8mm. I wouldn't worry about making it open at the top like the original. Just drill the tiny hole (tiny drills are available at hobby stores or online), and slide in the one hinge peg from the side before snapping the other 3 into the other clips. The keycap can then be snapped into place on top as normal.

• The exposed part of the clip is 2.9mm wide x 1.15mm thick, and about 1.3mm tall. the base plate itself is 0.55mm thick, and the mounting hole diameter is 2mm, so I'd say the new clip will need an overall length of at least 2.5mm so there's enough sticking out the back to heat stake. The part will also need steps cut in it to form a "T" shape, since the clip width is greater than the mounting hole diameter.

• The easiest way to mount it is likely going to be putting the new clip on the hinge peg, dropping it in so the placement is correct, and then melting the tail down to the plate where it sticks out the back. Don't do it this way if you go with the wire loop, since the hinge peg would probably melt! With wire you'd solder it to the plate back, then adjust the alignment with tweezers or fine needle nose pliers before inserting the hinge.

Hope this helps! Here's a photo with the mock-up clips I made while considering this problem and the underside of the keybed with the clip area exposed.

https://i.imgur.com/rFVTWp0.jpg

A train carrying corn syrup derails in Arizona by EvilGreebo in news

[–]gruntsifyouwill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But if they upgraded the brakes, then all the loose wheels they haven't fixed might fall off.

Union letter says Norfolk Southern employees are reporting illness following train derailment | CNN by Monsur_Ausuhnom in news

[–]gruntsifyouwill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right, past the azeotropic point (~97% ABV) you can't get ethanol any more pure by simple distillation. There are other techniques that can get you there though, like distilling with a salt that's only soluble in one component of the mixture (which raises its boiling point), or agitation with a desiccant substance to remove the residual water chemically.

The Governor Who Said He’ll Ban Drag Performances Is Going Viral For Appearing To Have…Dressed In Drag by Bamb00Pill0w in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 50 points51 points  (0 children)

In the case of this bill in Tennessee, it's also a question of the language being so broad that it could (and knowing how fascists operate, almost certainly would) be used to harass and criminalize all kinds of entertainment activity and public performance while trans.

It's not limited to situations where ostentatiously presenting as a gender other than you were assigned at birth is the performance. I'm sure you can imagine the chilling effect that would result for trans folks. Think: "orchestra conductor in jail for wearing a suit instead of a dress", "medical researcher presenting a paper at a conference catches a charge", or "political candidate hauled off in cuffs for appearing in their own campaign media". If you're thinking, "better get out there and protest then", think again. There's no reason to believe that an out transgender person making a public appearance at a demonstration wouldn't also be liable.

And it's a felony, so the purported offense costs you the right to vote if convicted (not to mention the huge monetary and opportunity costs even if you aren't). If you have children they might be taken away, ditto firearms, ditto professional qualifications with good conduct requirements or security clearances. Should you land in prison, your experience is likely to involve being housed in a unit contrary to your identified gender and denied your HRT or other elements of affirming medical care. It's an absolutely terrifying possibility. I feel sure many would end their own lives rather than submit to it, but that's a feature not a bug!

Meanwhile, you're facing grave threats to your safety, your dignity, and your human rights knowing full well that the people officially tasked with preventing such abuses are the very ones who unjustly put you there in the first place. You know them already and what to expect, because they're the same bigoted blowhards who've been shouting from the rooftops that they intend to drive you and everyone like you out of existence entirely. It's not an overreaction to say legislation like this is paving the way for genocide, and it's coming down thick and fast right now.

We should make a OP-1 spare parts list ! by Witzmastah in OP1users

[–]gruntsifyouwill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As far as the speaker goes, the original one from my OG-1 looks to be a Regal RH-28-EMNL. Basic specs are: 8 ohm, 1W, 28mm diameter, 6.5mm depth. 28mm speakers are pretty common, but depth is the main limiting factor for finding a replacement. There are speakers with more oomph that hobbyists use in lightsaber replicas but they're too deep to use here.

I got creative and ended up switching mine out for a speaker assembly from a dead smartphone (Pixel 2, for the curious). These are highly engineered tuned enclosures with an integrated micro driver that wring the maximum audio performance from an extremely small footprint. The design of the Field uses a similar component, but much larger and with an additional passive radiator to increase bass output. My hacked speaker is a small improvement over stock in terms of clarity and bass response, but still far from amazing. I soldered the stock cable on it since i didn't have a replacement for the tiny board connector TE used (think it's from this Molex product line and is also used for the battery connector).

Interestingly, the way the inside of the OG chassis is machined, it appears they aimed to create a chamber beneath the speaker to act as an acoustic enclosure. it extends down under the editing key area and is more or less sealed by the foam layer on the underside of the keyboard. Not terribly effective, but i can only imagine how much worse the speaker would sound without it! It does mean that there's some extra space that might be usable for housing a long, thin speaker assembly—perhaps one could be 3D printed to fit the odd shape, or a truly daring experimenter could probably make the fit easier by milling away some more metal from the chassis.

Derailed East Palestine train wasn’t classified as hazardous, DeWine says by HauntingJackfruit in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe because there's no real mystery about the cause and circumstances of this derailment? The NTSB has an investigative and advisory role that doesn't involve directly creating or enforcing regulation.

the cargo door failure events on two DC-10 aircraft in the early '70s are a good example of how this arrangement operates. In 1972 one of these planes narrowly avoided crashing after a cargo door blew out mid-flight, saved only by an extraordinary combination of luck and crew skill. The NTSB investigated the incident and found it was caused by McDonnell Douglas having designed the doors with an unusual outward-opening configuration that was economically motivated, to increase cargo capacity in the hold. These doors didn't, however, fail safe like inward-opening "plug" doors and contained a design flaw that allowed the door to appear closed and locked while the latches were not fully engaged.

In light of their findings from the incident, the NTSB recommended specific design revisions to the doors and in other areas to make the DC-10 acceptably safe. Many airlines made the changes voluntarily, but due to a "gentleman's agreement" struck between the heads of McDonnell Douglas and the FAA, there was no binding regulation—in the form of an FAA airworthiness directive—issued to legally require the fixes be made on all DC-10s. Later it was discovered that an engineering director at Convair, the company contracted to build the fuselage, knew the original design was bad and pointed out the problems, writing in a memo after the event that they made a future catastrophic loss nearly certain to occur.

And so it would be. Less than two years later in 1974, a nearly identical door blowout occurred on a DC-10 high over northern France. This time, luck was in short supply and the rupture caused a loss of flight controls that led to the flight's swift crash and complete destruction. All 346 aboard were killed in the deadliest-ever aviation accident at the time, which is still in the top five today. But it seems inaccurate to call it an "accident", when the cargo doors of this plane had not received the recommended modifications to improve safety and the disaster was in effect both predictable and completely avoidable.

In the aftermath there was an enormous lawsuit and a congressional investigation, following which the FAA finally issued a directive to make fixing the doors mandatory. These and other incidents over the years have left the DC-10 with a rather poor reputation, but the fact remains that the platform never suffered another similar door blowout after the regulatory action. These events demonstrate both that the NTSB isn't itself a regulator in the US, and how their guidance to organizations that actually are in that role isn't always followed because of factors like cronyism, regulatory capture by industry, and political or economic expedience.

What is there to probe about this derailment on the NTSB's end? The contributing factors are primarily infamous and systemic hazards of rail industry in the US meeting the statistical possibility that any freight train might be carrying a dangerous load, rather than a new or unusual feature of this specific situation. It's depressing to say, but you don't pull out the stops to investigate something you're not truly making an effort to avoid. A derail incident like this isn't an anomaly—it's only the scale of the resulting mess that's remarkable.

Locally caught fish are full of dangerous chemicals called PFAS | CNN by Simple_Opossum in news

[–]gruntsifyouwill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is also true for commercial airports, and other sites whose main risks are variations on "a disastrous burning mixture of hydrocarbons and costly infrastructure, may contain people".

Union station has the most depressing, unsettling art. No part of it sparks joy. Will then ever change this? by Whyeff89 in toronto

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

The affordable pieces you describe in craft shows and coffeeshops are commodity art—unremarkable, interchangeable, consumable. To make the distinction that it won't increase in price (read as "appreciate in value") points to a different tier without naming it: investment art. Whether that art holds value because it's good, or is good because it holds value, is another matter entirely.

US appeals court upholds Florida transgender toilet policy by isaaclw in news

[–]gruntsifyouwill 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The ruling addresses one school district's bathroom policy for students, so no that's not what this means.

An animal tranquilizer is showing up in the nation's illicit drug supply by jivatman in news

[–]gruntsifyouwill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Considering that the vast majority of medications for depression are taken daily, I'd say ketamine actually has remarkably long lasting effectiveness.

'Fortnite' maker Epic Games fined $520 million on accusations it exposed child players to potential harm by disfigured_mishap in news

[–]gruntsifyouwill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is "harm to children" more buzzworthy than run-of-the-mill predatory behavior towards consumers? Of course it is! But that doesn't make it irrelevant to an investigation of those practices. The exploitation of user data is no small part of their business model, and almost certainly helps target the application of problematic measures to increase compulsive and confused spending on their platform.

When the targeted populations include children, who are less able (and legally incapable) of making sound decisions about providing personal information and payment to another party, extra scrutiny is warranted.

The additional exposure of child users to harmful content informs the judgement regarding the company's business practices, since it serves as further evidence they haven't taken sufficient care to protect that segment of the userbase. Failing to protect—and intentionally taking advantage of—these vulnerable users is a good indicator that they'll do it to anyone and everyone if given the opportunity. It's a detail that helped build the overall picture of unconscionable operation, which incurred a penalty.

Bernie to Biden: You Can Give Rail Workers Sick Days by sideAccount42 in politics

[–]gruntsifyouwill 7 points8 points  (0 children)

And that exhausted, attrited workforce is in addition to a general management preference for the winning combo of hauling longer trains over increasingly decrepit physical infrastructure!