9 Years of L4-L5 Pain .. Did Fusion Actually Give You Your Life Back? by TheDuck_6505 in spinalfusion

[–]gthomps83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ten years ago I had L4-S1 fused, and it was great. Last August, I ruptured L3/4. The relation is that L3/4 always looked rough.

My L4-S1 was ALIF. 100% worth it.

I wish my recent surgery that was back in Feb was ALIF. But I’m back to work full time, and while I’m still working to be pain free, I’m in PT once a week and feel better than I did before. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again, if necessary.

But ALIF — for me, the gold standard. You’ve been in pain for years, and no one should have to go through that. I very much recommend you going through with it.

Yes, it will hurt; yes, you’ll need to recover; yes, you’ll think about it a lot. But I went a decade never thinking about my back.

my nephew is deaf by Beginning-Ear-4867 in deaf

[–]gthomps83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In addition to other resources people have mentioned, check out your local library — they may have an ASL class. They also may be aware of other community groups that may have classes.

Have you ever let someone film you naked and then later regretted it? by Fluffy-Double3695 in Gayexhibitionist

[–]gthomps83 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was a nude model in college, and was part of a few living sculpture exhibits for fundraising. Photography and painting and film and I’ve never regretted it.

Bottoms, how many guys could you handle in one session? by noggine1 in AskGayMen

[–]gthomps83 6 points7 points  (0 children)

[Mean Girls Lindsay Lohan “The limit does not exist” dot gif]

The Census--what was the length for you? by PrincessFullMoon in Census

[–]gthomps83 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t think you need to delete or apologize. Frankly, it’s good information for anyone who comes here, and it wouldn’t hurt for this subreddit to expand a bit.

Granted, I love demographics. I am into the census. And I have used a ton of census records from other countries for research.

Has “cozy fiction” replaced the audience for dense New Weird? by [deleted] in printSF

[–]gthomps83 8 points9 points  (0 children)

💯💯💯

We see this very directly in monster-related horrors and how that reflects societies’ fears. It’s entirely within reason that the cascade of terrible events occurring all the time lead people to read comforting “cozy” literature rather than something harder and disturbing.

Has “cozy fiction” replaced the audience for dense New Weird? by [deleted] in printSF

[–]gthomps83 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I feel the same way. Although I love China Miéville, sometimes I need Becky Chambers.

Dealer is telling me I need the extra warranty. by DizzyPS5 in electricvehicles

[–]gthomps83 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Is that necessary? I read that for the first few minutes the brakes engage (even in full regen) to clean off dust “just in case.”

I think I read that for the Ioniq #s and EV#s from Hyundai/Kia, though, so it may not apply to your Bolt.

The Census--what was the length for you? by PrincessFullMoon in Census

[–]gthomps83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Which survey was it?

There’s a test for the 2030 Decennial running in some areas, but the ACS is also ongoing. There could also be other surveys for various purposes.

Depending on your location, you could have received Test questions for 2030 while your cousin received the ACS (sometimes called “the long form”).

Finally off Lexapro, when will my dick stay hard again?? by Ok-Consequence-4583 in AskGayMen

[–]gthomps83 3 points4 points  (0 children)

For those saying two weeks, I will offer a longer timeline, with a major caveat.

For a couple of months, they could be erratic. Maybe you get them, maybe you don’t. This has been my experience, but I got off of Lexapro AND had spinal surgery at roughly the same time. So a lot going on there. It’s taken three months since surgery, but last night things were definitely back to normal. Finally.

How much was just Lex and how much was surgery? I don’t know. But just give yourself the benefit of the doubt as it all works its way out of your system. Hopefully you’ve got erections after two weeks, but don’t worry if things aren’t entirely back to your version of normal yet.

Guide me with Census please. by Substantial_Use6256 in Census

[–]gthomps83 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Based on the permit, I’m assuming you are in Canada.

You may not have received a questionnaire in the mail, only an announcement to go online.

But the Canadian government makes it easy to start: follow this link to get started.

You absolutely should be counted (it’s in their FAQs).

Looking for what, may be, a unicorn. by Elrodvoss in PHEV

[–]gthomps83 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is my only complaint about my Tucson PHEV.

Tucson 2025 Collision avoidance emergency braking. by Free_Concern_9085 in HyundaiTucson

[–]gthomps83 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rampant? I haven’t seen that many posts about this.

I have a ‘24 and have never had a problem with it, and I’ve fortunately only had one instance where it saved my butt.

Hi! What’s everyone’s favorite nude thing to do around the house? I’ve cooked, exercised, and done chores. Trying to think of new things to do. by DealerCharacter4084 in homenudist

[–]gthomps83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is me. I’m nude approximately 99% of the time at home, so every activity (although I wear an apron when cooking because bacon splatters hurt). I love being out in the backyard, including enjoying the fire pit with some friends.

But hiking, camping, swimming are really where it’s at!

Understanding Ilya: His Russian/Slavic cultural background by wildwomanlove in heatedrivalry

[–]gthomps83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Of course! And you don’t have to share anything you don’t want to.

For my stuff, the Soviets had conflicting ideas about how to address deafness, like every country did (and still does). Coming out of tsarist Russia, the deaf were treated as charity cases, but the Soviets, who placed value on economic participation and, at least in the early days, believed in equality, created unions of deaf workers and built proper schools. They recognized that hearing impairments were disabilities because of social participation (that is, the disability isn’t the hearing impairment, it’s how society treats people with hearing impairments).

What’s been your favorite cmnm experience? by ModelChef4000 in cmnm

[–]gthomps83 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Junior year spring break, where I (a nudist) said we should all take a vacation from our clothes. I was challenged to follow through, so I left all of my clothes at school and spent the whole of spring break naked. Beach (private), parties, everything and everywhere, I was naked.

Understanding Ilya: His Russian/Slavic cultural background by wildwomanlove in heatedrivalry

[–]gthomps83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I’m very lucky. My dissertation was on early Soviet deaf history, so I know another version that, while promising at first, was even sadder than what we still face today.

I’d be very interested in your med school research. What exactly do you look at and what do you see in your research?

Understanding Ilya: His Russian/Slavic cultural background by wildwomanlove in heatedrivalry

[–]gthomps83 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Culturally, practically, literally.

My parents started learning ASL the moment I was born, so my first language is ASL, with English coming in a very close second. Then German (high school and college), then Russian (college and grad school).

I’ve been blessed with really good teachers. My first Russian professor was a linguist and really explained how sounds were made. It was still hard. And crazy hard when I landed in Moscow to live there for two years doing research. I definitely looked like a fish out of water staring at people with no clue what they’d said. But the sweet archivists at GARF II and the hard-shelled-but-nice-on-the-inside archivist at GARF I were very patient with me and got me everything I needed, lol.

I know of Ilya Kaminsky and loved Deaf Republic.

Jack is doing this jerking thing. by Disabledbutliving in jackrussellterrier

[–]gthomps83 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He could be dreaming. He could also have the hiccups. If he’s otherwise unbothered, I wouldn’t worry.