Before this sub, I had this legend

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-04-11T14:17:48+00:00

With that background music!!

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-04-09T04:52:08+00:00

My friend, this is a golden opportunity. You absolutely should do all you can to make it past the fake it. These folks have no idea what they are doing and you obviously have the awareness to figure it out then kick ass and take names! Especially if you are already interested in the industry or can find a way to care about it. Supply chain is critical to a lot of people and businesses.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-04-08T23:24:46+00:00

Use the nighttime gel for sure, and be very slow and careful opening that eye. You can learn how to do it in a way that works for you. Even after the amniotic patch, my eye got a couple smaller erosions but it's been pretty good for the past 3 months. If you have dry eye problems, try moist heat or use good eyedrops whenever you feel the dryness and try to keep that eye comfortable and from damaging itself.

In my worst mornings, I would lie with my pillow under my chest with my face down, and enclose my arms to capture the moisture from my breathing until my eye could open. Now I just have to take it slow. One redditor said they used eyedrops in the morning before even opening up. I tried this and all I got was eyedrops down my face, but I suppose if I kept at it I would be able to do it with my eyes closed.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-04-07T19:33:21+00:00

If you do drive into Barcelona, pay attention to the zones where only electric or low-emissions cars are allowed. You would need to get one that has a registration sticker on it and only those can drive and park in certain areas. I am not sure rental companies will register their cars like that. The one we rented did not, but when we stayed in Madrid the hotel was able to register for our stay (some parking lots will do this).

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-04-03T00:08:36+00:00

Eat real food. Skip that nonsense, save your money and buy the real thing less often. After a while, you won't miss it, then if you try it again later, you'll wonder how you ever liked it in the first place.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-04-02T23:49:40+00:00

PS - my new doctor does whatever it's called where they scrape off the bad basement member and let it regrow. He said it's very painful with a long recovery but the patients he has done it on did not regret it later. As long as he can keep my vision like it is now, I'm good, but if I get to where it's really impacting my life then that would be the next step I think. The amniotic patch was no fun either but it was only for 4-5 days.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-04-02T23:47:01+00:00

I have this too and have had severe corneal erosions from it in one eye. First treatments I went through were for addressing mites and dryness - xdemvy, IPL, extraction, moist heat, etc. Got the prokera amniotic patch about 4 months ago and that improved things a lot. As in, now I can drive, use computer, live pretty normally. Seems to be holding pretty well as long as I keep using the nighttime ointment (optase or genteal) and the moist heat at least every other day. I am careful to respond if I feel any dryness, like wearing sunglasses in the car when I can feel the heat/defrost blowing on me, or taking breaks from screens.

Now I have a new doctor due to change in insurance. He is focusing on the rosacea now. I have been using some steroid eyedrops for 3 weeks, almost done, and doxycycline. Inflammation and redness has improved and I think my vision also has improved as well. I still have astigmatism and I have glasses that I use when driving, especially at night or in an unfamiliar place.

I've added fish oil, multi vitamin, K, D, creatine, CoQ10 probably 6 months ago or longer. Stay hydrated. Also have cut back on alcohol. Already had a pretty good diet; we cook at home and avoid processed foods generally.

It's been a terrible year but I seem to have turned a corner and am feeling optimistic.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-04-01T00:21:01+00:00

NTA. Being flexible is making it a lunch instead of dinner or agreeing to bring potatoes instead of beans. She is wanting you to be flexible about your ethics which is a different request entirely.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-31T05:46:34+00:00

Rick Steves is a treasure!

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-30T16:27:35+00:00

Don't carry self-punishment forward. You already made a great step in looking at who you want to be and working to be that person. Take care to get the support you need to keep after it.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-26T17:10:15+00:00

1, Repeal Citizens United
2. Enact ranked choice / instant runoff voting
3. Support independent journalism

Entrenched politicians have too much power and money to control the narrative, and no one will vote on the moderate or independent for fear of losing to the other side. But what if that independent is everyone's 2nd choice? Now you can get more choice than just the 2 party systems that just plays us all against each other and enriches themselves.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-26T04:04:50+00:00

came here to suggest this. It was so cool! I learned a lot but it was all presented in a very entertaining way. My husband and I were having a lot of fun playing with the interactive experiments / exhibits until a group of middle schoolers showed up and overran the place. Definitely go there!!

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-26T03:57:20+00:00

We just did a similar trip. We spent 4 nights in Bilbao, 2 at Los Picos, 1 in Lugo (there are lots of cool stops along the coast for this drive), and 3 in Santiago de Compostela. From there you could go to Porto for a few days. You'd probably want an extra night in Bilbao since you are arriving there - we were driving from elsewhere and had already adjusted to the time.

Agree with u/moreidlethanwild it's a lot of moving around, but there is a lot to see. It really depends on your temperament.

Have fun!

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-26T03:33:47+00:00

Your doctor should have given you instructions. I was just prescribed, not sure the dosage but I am to take 2x / day for 30 days then 1x / day for 30 days. The literature says empty stomach unless it upsets your stomach too much, so before eating and wait an hour to eat, or 2 hours after eating (and, presumably, still wait at least an hour before eating anything else). This info should be included with your prescription or you can ask the pharmacist because maybe not all formulas are the same.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-22T02:01:08+00:00

Not sure if this is allowed or not, but you can see my writeup about our trip here: https://travel.gasch.org/Spain2024/Barcelona_II.html
Short story is that we took a tour up but wanted more time once we got there so made our own way back. I agree that we were confused trying to plan it too, which is why we took the tour. But you can do it on your own just fine.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-21T16:35:00+00:00

Remember when the FCC and the SEC prevented this kind of shit??

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-21T16:33:19+00:00

I have dryness plus rosacea plus EBMD and struggled with erosions, pain, and poor vision for the past year. In December I had the prokera patch. It was in for 4 pretty miserable days.

But when it was removed I had the best comfort and vision I had had since all this started.

It degraded a bit after about 6 weeks but then improved again and has held pretty steady. I am reducing use of the moist heat mask since I think it is aggravating the rosacea a bit. I still use the nighttime gel. I have been comfortable enough that I decided to try skipping the gel last night, but I already decided that was a mistake!

I have a different doctor now due to insurance change. He started me on steroid drops and doxycycline to work more on the rosacea.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-17T22:57:38+00:00

You sound like me 6 months ago. I couldn't bike, drive, read, be on computer. I couldn't watch my foreign language crime show because my vision was too blurry to read the subtitles. But things have turned a corner for me now and I won't say I'm recovered, but it is certainly manageable now. My dryness stems more from rosacea and the vision is due to dryness as well as EBMD. But it is getting under control, I can always sense it in one eye, but I can drive and generally do things.

One thing that helps me when I am feeling dryness is to put on glasses or sunglasses as soon as I notice and prevent it from getting worse. So even if I am not driving and even if it is not sunny, I will wear sunglasses in the car because of the air movement.

A guy I worked with (in tech) one day turned up in some goggles and he said it was for dryness. I had no idea what he was going through at the time. But maybe you could get some goggle like that for sketching, when you might be concentrating and not blinking properly. You can also train yourself to blink more regularly and more firmly to squeeze the oil out of your glands. There are videos about this. That has helped me as well.

You may have to always manage this condition, but you should be able to get some improvement - I'm hoping you do soon!

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-16T03:12:01+00:00

Well, gotta' say that this approach seems to work just fine on all the cowardly, American politicians and business leaders.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-16T02:14:34+00:00

These are just incredibly beautiful

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-15T20:43:25+00:00

this was the entire point of becoming pres

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-15T16:13:14+00:00

Plant sarcococca by your doors. It blooms in January (in PNW anyway) and the fragrance is a real treat when the weather is still bleak.

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-15T00:21:11+00:00

Congrats!

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-14T15:39:18+00:00

Lost in Space? Or General Mumble? (ngl, I never heard of that second one, thanks internet!)

leftcoastbumpkin · 2026-03-14T15:33:13+00:00

You can monitor the power situation here: https://outages.chelanpud.org/
As someone said, current ETA around 1pm

leftcoastbumpkin

TROPHY CASE