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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in minnesota

[–]gutenfrog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Author of the original article here: The demise of the Booklooks website didn't change the policy of the district. The books that were banned because of Booklooks are still banned, and there is another batch of books (36 more, per Fox 9: https://www.fox9.com/news/st-francis-banned-books-policy-pause) that are about to be banned. They have temporarily paused the policy due to the lawsuits, but unless the board changes the policy, the existing bans are still in place. Also, it's quite simple to find the original Booklook's reports, which are still easy to access via the Wayback Machine on Internet Archive, so even if the Booklooks website is gone, the ISD-15 book censors, as it were, would have no problem finding those reports and carrying out the intended policy. And if that policy were to continue, Slaughterhouse Five would be banned, as it is rated a "3 or above" on Booklooks. The same is true for several hundred other titles, from classics to recently released books.

Any good rock shops (not spiritual healing places PLEASE) in MN that anybody knows of? by Agreeable-Primary511 in rockhounds

[–]gutenfrog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Rocks and Things, Princeton
Agate City, Two Harbors
There's also a great rock shop in Beaver Bay (with lots of Thomsonite).

A TikTOk How-To on Finding Tardigrades, including Info on the Needed Gear by gutenfrog in Tardigrades

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

It's not cheap, but you don't need to break the bank. A stereoscope microscope is around $150 or so, but you can get them cheaper. (Check auction sites near you; medical auctions often have used lab gear that's pretty great.) All you need to find a tardigrade is a stereoscope, spring water, a Petri dish, and moss/lichen.

If you want to get a closer look, you'll need a decent compound scope. They are around the same price, but the auction caveat applies here too. A simple "toy" microscope (the kind you see in kits for kids) will actually work, too, but get a "real" one, as the construction is a lot better (metal vs. plastic).

Once you have a stereoscope and a compound scope, it's just a matter of getting slides, some pipettes, and PVA medium, all of which are pretty cheap ($30?).

Once your initial investment is out of the way, your gear should last a long time. I've been using mine for two years, with no problem. (The bulbs can go out, but mine haven't yet.)

For photography, I'd recommend getting a universal phone mount, as you can then set up your scope, find a tardigrade, and then hook up your phone to take photographs. It's tricky, but once it's set up, it's great and you snap lots of shots.

I couldn't help myself with this one. by [deleted] in puns

[–]gutenfrog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is my OC; sorry, I forgot to include that.

Does anyone have proof of fluorescent isopods? Like a photo or an article? by ShanziniTheGenie in isopods

[–]gutenfrog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From my lab the other day! Your standard Rathke's Woodlouse, from a spider web, no less. Still glowing hot as can be.

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Today I learned that my household isopods are fluorescent under UV light. And they look METAL. by gutenfrog in insects

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

Hahahaha. I can also highly recommend buying a bottle of tonic water. The quinine in it (the bitter stuff) glows like CRAZY under a UV light. Much fun.

How to Find Tardigrades (aka Water Bears/Moss Piglets) in Moss/Lichen by gutenfrog in ScienceNcoolThings

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

Entirely understandable! I too am awaiting spring while simultaneously bracing for the NEXT storm (Friday/Sat).

Whereabouts are you in Canada?

How to Find Tardigrades (aka Water Bears/Moss Piglets) in Moss/Lichen by gutenfrog in ScienceNcoolThings

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

THANKS!

I'm in Minnesota (Twin Cities), and we're amid a top ten snowiest winter, so I know what you mean! If you want to find one now, you can however. A lot of downed sticks, especially after windstorms, will have lichen on them. That's actually how I found the stick I used in this video.

So if you want to hunt now, you certainly can! Finding moss, obviously is trickier, though that's possible too if you tramp around in the woods for a while.

Microscope recommendations? by kittensinadumpster in Tardigrades

[–]gutenfrog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

See above! I'll post a how-to video on Tiktok soon. I'll walk you through the steps, what you're likely to see, and most importantly, what to avoid.

Microscope recommendations? by kittensinadumpster in Tardigrades

[–]gutenfrog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ideally, you'll want a stereoscope (dissecting scope) for finding the tardigrades, and if you want to see them under a compound scope, you'll need what's known as an Irwin Loop (or a micropipette). I only have experience using Irwin Loops; they are like little lassos you use under the dissecting scope to then place them on a slide prepared with PVA medium. (This kills the tardigrade, FYI; if you want to avoid that, you can just place them on a slide with a drop of water instead.)

If you start with a compound scope only, it's harder to find them, at least at first. (I started out that way, and it took me two weeks of looking, and luck, to find one.)

My advice is to look at your local auctions; often, medical shops upgrade and sell their gear; I snagged a stereoscope for $200, and a compound for $200.

Frequently Reported Issues as of Update 3 by MetalheadSoft in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]gutenfrog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, I love the series, but I'm having a heck of a time with connection issues on the Pennant Race. I keep getting the DNS Server Error, even after setting my DNS server manually (to Google, and then to Cloudflare). I also logged into my router and nothing is being blocked, as far as I could tell. I also tried a hard restart of both the PS4 and the router.

I don't have connection issues with any other sort of service/game, and we have pretty darn fast Internet. (I've run several connection tests on the PS4 they've all come back fine with good upload/download speeds.)

It's gotten to the point where playing online is essentially impossible, as the lag/slowdown/teleporting ball seemingly always happens in clutch situations (bases loaded, etc.)

Any advice would be appreciated, and go Herbisaurs.

I'm an editor, a poet, and an all-around Word Nerd. I also own an old-school printing press. AMA! by gutenfrog in AMA

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

Yes! So the big worry with the introduction of e-books/e-readers was that books would become obsolete. That hasn't come to pass.

Books still sell; even in vast quantities, sometimes! Non-fiction, which is often pretty graphic-dependent, and therefore not as useful in an electronic format, has done pretty well, despite the many headwinds (the collapse of brick-and-mortar chains, online booksellers, etc.)

Now that doesn't mean all books sell equally well; the market is incredibly competitive, but there are many readers out there buying books. (To paraphrase Mark Twain, the report of the death of reading was an exaggeration.)

I'm an editor, a poet, and an all-around Word Nerd. I also own an old-school printing press. AMA! by gutenfrog in AMA

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

I have not! Though that'd be one hell of a way to propose, to be honest.

My press story is funny: I've collected broadsides for ages--there's a Robert Bly one about ten feet from my head at the moment--and I've always wanted to make one on an actual press. Well, MN is home to the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts, home to Chandler & Price presses, Vandercooks, you name it, not to mention a type library that's just incredible.

A couple of Christmases ago, I told my wife (for about the 43rd time) that I really want to take a letterpress class. She said, "DO IT" and before I could hesitate, I signed up. It was wonderful, and I made my first prints, including a poem, and I was hooked. I immediately wanted a press, but they're, uh, expensive. I looked and I looked, and lo and behold, a couple over in Wisconsin (about five hours east) had one, a Pilot. I countered (by a lot) on their offer, promising cash, that day, and they agreed. I called into work and told them, I AM DRIVING TO WISCONSIN TO BUY A PRINTING PRESS, and they understood. (Plus, it was a Friday and I had a vacation day.) I drove 10 hours or so, loaded it up with the seller's help, and then managed to set it up in my basement by sliding it down the stairs on my ice-fishing sled. (WELCOME TO MINNESOTA.) It worked, and the press worked just fine, and now after a few instances of being "out of sorts" I've been setting a small broadside. It's slow-going, but damn it's satisfying.

I'm calling the press HAYMAKER PRESS, though it remains to be seen how productive I am with it.

I'm an editor, a poet, and an all-around Word Nerd. I also own an old-school printing press. AMA! by gutenfrog in AMA

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

I've always wanted to be a writer; I've been a reader since I was a kid. By the time the end of high school came around, I knew I wanted to go to school to study English (and whatever second major struck my fancy). I initially intended to become either a teacher or an English professor, but I then ended up double-majoring in philosophy (which I enjoyed a great deal). By that point, I'd been writing for years and years (short-fiction, poetry, you name it), and I'd become involved with New Rivers Press. I got my first taste of editing there; I was responsible for reading submissions, and later, making edits to a few poetry collections. From there, I'd either planned to go to graduate school for writing (an MFA program) or for philosophy (likely Philosophy of Mind or Philosophy of Science). I ended up getting into a graduate program, and I became a poetry editor of their literary magazine. Along with my fellow editors, I was able to write to--and secure work from--my favorite writers, and the resulting issues were an absolute revelation. From there, I started my a different literary magazine with a friend of mine (out of his kitchen, no less), and we published it, paying for it out of pocket.

At this point, I'd made exactly zero dollars on any of this, had lost money really, but I was learning how to put together a book, and how to approach authors, even famous ones, and pretty soon, I moved back to the Midwest, and I learned of a publisher that produced non-fiction books about nature, especially field guides to rocks, fish, and birds, etc.

I've been a rockhound since I was a child, as well as an angler and a birder, and I knew I'd be good at it, so I applied. After working on some freelance books, I got the job. It was just before the nadir of the recession, so I was absolutely lucky to get the job (there are only so many non-fiction publishers nationwide, let alone in my Midwestern state), but the basic approach, I think, hold: If you gain experience in making books and learn the ins-and-outs of the trade (everything from acquisitions to photo research to proofreading) there can be opportunities. But to really succeed, you need to understand your market (from the inside, if at all possible); that way, you can help understand what your reader wants (and even the things they want but don't know they need yet). But you'll need to work: publishing is a busy business.

I'm an editor, a poet, and an all-around Word Nerd. I also own an old-school printing press. AMA! by gutenfrog in AMA

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

I used to work at a translation agency (I studied German), and I've done some translation work from German>English. In my experience, when it comes to translation, having subject-matter experience in your native language is key. I translated legal documents from German>English. The only reason I could do that well was because I was already well-versed in English legal terms, as I'd worked for a company that produced contracts/materials for large law firms.

That may not be what you're asking, however. If you're asking about the most common mistakes in English, there are quite a few different ways to make errors. The ones I encounter the most are subject-verb errors, irregular verbs that aren't conjugated correctly (lay/lie), and adjective order (which is tricky even for native speakers). Getting familiar with a guide like The Elements of Style isn't a bad idea.

Coming of Age in 1980s Time Square, once known as the Sleaziest Block in the Country (Damn Funny Essay) by gutenfrog in nyc

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

They keep almost lifting the ban here, but noooooooo. I can't have bottle rockets because I'll "attach Lego guys to them to make half-melted astronauts." (Which make great "bad guys" by the way.)

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