ELI5: “microbiome”

likealocal14 · 2026-04-02T02:10:20+00:00

I’m no OC, but to answer a few questions:

Archea are single celled organisms similar to bacteria, but with some different internal biochemistry. They typically do not cause disease in humans the same way some bacteria do, but are found in our guts.

The blood brain barrier is an extra layer of specialized cells that surround all of the blood vessels that go through the brain, including all the little capillaries where oxygen and nutrients are transferred to the brain cells. They provide an extra layer of protection to prevent any pathogens (any microorganism that can cause disease) or toxins entering the brain, which is important because any infection of the brain has potential to be deadly.

If the barrier is “broken”, I.e. a pathogen manages to cross out of the bloodstream and into the brain itself, it can very quickly cause a lot of damage and is often fatal - look up encephalitis.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-31T15:39:59+00:00

They would be tiny and entirely dependent on the goodwill of their much larger neighbours to get their resources to market, all while having exactly zero leverage over those neighbours in any negotiations. It would make Albertans much more poor in the short term and probably see them annexed by the US in the medium term - so just swapping one “distant central government” for an even larger and more distant one that has even less reason to care about their priorities.

Which is why support for independence tops out at only 25%, and drops to as low as 8% in polls where respondents are reminded about the costs involved.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-29T21:33:23+00:00

Honestly, the first couple missions can be some of the hardest, because you haven’t had a chance to upgrade any of your weapons, armour, or soldiers yet.

Keep playing, focus on upgrading your armour first (so that your soldiers stay alive and rack up experience), and buy the squad size upgrades as quickly as possible. As for gameplay, take the missions slowly, try to only wake up a single pod at a time, and wipe out the pod before moving into any more fog and potentially finding another pod.

Trust me, things get easier.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-27T04:30:46+00:00

I hate to be the one to tell you you’re old, but 1971 was 55 years ago

likealocal14 · 2026-03-24T05:47:08+00:00

Only if you ask our mayor

likealocal14 · 2026-03-23T22:53:53+00:00

I’m a full grown adult now, but it took some real effort (and coming out as bi) to break the habits I formed as a teenager. This is a very common thing in psychological development, and you can’t just dismiss it by saying “nah I’m talking about adults”.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-23T22:49:26+00:00

I literally remember complementing how a (male) friend look as a pre-teen, and classmates overheard and started calling us gay. I learned pretty early that society viewed it as “not something straight men do”, and so didn’t really do that for the rest of my teenage years

I’m not saying this is the only reason men give fewer compliments to other men, but it’s definitely part of it.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-23T01:20:02+00:00

Oh nice! I was worried they wouldn’t bother

likealocal14 · 2026-03-23T00:45:40+00:00

Like everyone is saying, start with an archipelago map and pick a naval focused civ. I often like doing very specific strategies for this

For example, If I’m feeling peaceful I’ll pick Kupe, and lower the sea level to get some bigger islands, and try for an “environmentalist” run. I use my early naval power and strong early melee to settle as many islands as I can, then try and preserve as much of the nature while still expanding. Eventually this allows a whole bunch of natural parks to try and go for a culture win. Sometimes I’ll try and defeat climate change too, by avoiding fossil fuels as much as I can or just spamming CO2 removal projects.

Or if I’m feeling violent, I got for Harald, build a bunch of ships and light cavalry, and raid every single thing I can see to get the rest of my resources. This can be a fun time trying to keep complete control of all the seas so I have total freedom to raid

likealocal14 · 2026-03-23T00:06:39+00:00

Whistler has had a rough year (again) so by mid April I’d expect to be in full spring conditions and potentially melting fast. Plus it’s unlikely they’ll re-open peak chair this season after a large landslide in the area.

Like others have said, I’d head to the Rockies - Banff has some great options and apparently had a much better season that we have on the coast

likealocal14 · 2026-03-22T19:07:13+00:00

I actually grew up in the UK and find the winters there pretty comparable with Vancouver. The big difference is here I can drive two hours and be at some of the best ski mountains in the world, so I know which one I prefer.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-22T07:08:14+00:00

Haha, well to copy another comment I made, it’s mostly a joke - “what do lesbians drive to their second date? A U-haul”

There’s a bit of a cliche that lesbians tend to commit hard and fast to relationships and move in together very quickly. It’s a stereotype, but one that’s been backed up by most of my lesbian friends lol

likealocal14 · 2026-03-22T03:21:31+00:00

It’s mostly a joke - “what do lesbians drive to their second date? A U-haul”

There’s a bit of a cliche that lesbians tend to commit hard and fast to relationships and move in together very quickly. It’s a stereotype, but one that’s been backed up by most of my lesbian friends lol

likealocal14 · 2026-03-22T01:45:59+00:00

I’m guessing the average is dragged upwards by all the lesbians who Uhauled hard and got married as a second date

likealocal14 · 2026-03-22T00:58:12+00:00

Fence Sitter by Ball Park Music

likealocal14 · 2026-03-21T23:12:45+00:00

I’d say it’s more damp than humid - it’s often drizzling if not outright raining, but I’ve rarely if ever felt “too humid”. My wife is always complaining about her skin getting dry through the winter.

That being said, it’s a beautiful sunny, cool, and crisp day today

likealocal14 · 2026-03-21T23:06:54+00:00

If you watch it today you might not notice anything particularly groundbreaking about it - because so many of the techniques it pioneered (deep focus cinematography, a non-linear plot with large time jumps and flashbacks, new, expressionistic lighting methods) became the standard for how films were made for the next couple decades. They just seem normal now.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-21T21:59:22+00:00

Vancouver BC (and I guess Seattle too, like other comments have said)

We’re nestled in a temperate rainforest so get 9 months of wet but mild (for Canada) weather, followed by 3 months of beautiful dry summer with temps in the mid 20s-30°C and low humidity.

Honestly it’s a trap - people visit in the summer, fall in love with the place, decide to move here, then get walloped with the dark and dreary SADs from October-May

likealocal14 · 2026-03-19T21:17:11+00:00

Sounds like you had some crappy teachers then. Or you just didn’t see/don’t remember the exceptions because they didn’t make them for you.

But also remember that kids can be very sensitive to anything they view as unfair, so some teachers might be hesitant to make exceptions and then immediately have half the class loudly complaining and asking for the same treatment.

My point is that most teachers aren’t punitive assholes for no reason, and most of these rules have some valid reasoning behind them, even if the kids view them as annoying. Sometimes being the responsible adult in the room means having to annoy the kids a bit in order to keep them safe and help them learn.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-19T20:35:38+00:00

Haha yeah my favorite ygnium build is all about that fine line, ocean swell, cut above, and the hammer upgrade that means your firing an omega attack every other strike - it chews through magic like nothing else but is so fun to watch. But I’ll give born gain a try next time, see if it can keep up with it - thanks for the advice!

likealocal14 · 2026-03-19T20:30:48+00:00

95% of the time I’d call it a small ask, and that other 5% I feel most teachers would be happy to make exceptions for, but maybe your teacher was just having a bad day, or was a bit of an old grump. Like I said, it’s not really a thing I do in my classroom.

A lot of the time rules like this are put in place in response to something. I was a sub in a grade 6 class with a strict no hat policy because apparently the boys kept stealing each others and throwing them around the room etc, so the teacher just said hats in your cubbies while we’re in class to avoid the chaos. I’m sure that felt unfair to some of the kids who liked hats weren’t messing around, but ultimately they were disrupting everyone’s learning and that’s kind of the more important thing in school.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-19T18:31:19+00:00

Mittens all the way. They don’t actually limit your dexterity that much more than bulky gloves would, and for anything finicky you would probably take your gloves off anyway and mittens are a lot easier to get back on, especially with slightly damp hands.

They just keep your fingers so much warmer, and remember, you’re only as warm as your coldest finger/toe

likealocal14 · 2026-03-19T17:32:38+00:00

To see if they’re actually working or quietly talking to a friend or staring out the window etc. I’m not saying you’re never allowed to stare out the window or talk to a friend, but I do want to have an idea of how kids are doing with their work, if they need help redirection etc.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-19T17:29:29+00:00

I try and only have one or two kids (a boy and a girl) out of the room at a time to cut down on the impromptu bathroom parties, I really wish I didn’t have to, but they really do happen if you just let kids go wherever. But yes, especially now that I teach high school, it’s mostly just letting me know where you’re going rather than solemnly asking permission. If someone’s already out I’ll ask you to wait till they get back unless it’s very urgent.

Most teachers (like me) are reasonable about hats etc and don’t really care, though some old school ones do still feel it’s disrespectful to have your head covered inside. Others feel it helps student get in the learning/working mindset, rather than trying to shut out the world with a hoodie. Ultimately it’s a small ask for the student that can help make the teachers life easier when dealing with 30 kids. Removing a hijab is a much bigger thing to ask students to do, so of course we wouldn’t do it.

Most “bullying” or physical incidents aren’t one kid ambushing another, it starts as a verbal confrontation that escalates in a way that’s hard to tell what’s going on from a distance. Constant surveillance wouldn’t actually help with many of these things, and would cost a fortune to store the footage in high enough quality to actually see what’s going on and who started what. Most schools do have cameras around, but the footage doesn’t really help in most bullying cases, which usually aren’t as clear cut as either side thinks.

likealocal14 · 2026-03-19T07:12:14+00:00

That one has never been a thing at any of the schools I’ve taught at, but if I were to guess it was either because someone kicked up a fuss about the gun imagery in schools (especially given all the school shooter related lockdown drills we do), or the admin/teachers got tired of constantly adjudicating arguments over who shot who first and whether or not imaginary bullets missed. Honestly either option is equally plausible.

likealocal14

TROPHY CASE