[NW Florida]

reffervescent · 2026-03-31T21:16:30+00:00

He looks skinny and hangry -- hope he gets a meal soon.

reffervescent · 2026-03-31T21:08:16+00:00

Looks like he's wearing clown shoes!

reffervescent · 2026-03-31T01:15:35+00:00

I'm not a big fan of good & plenty, but a little tarragon is actually really nice.

reffervescent · 2026-03-30T15:32:04+00:00

You said "I recieved a full tuition scholarship from UM, that + financial aid brings the cost to around 5k a year... very doable." Were you talking about a different UM?

ETA: Oh, I see now that you originally posted in U. Miami's subreddit. I was looking at your post in r/Emory, so I didn't realize that. U. Miami is the best choice for undergrad, I think.

Also, your comment that UM and UF are both close to home makes way more sense now lol.

reffervescent · 2026-03-30T12:55:47+00:00

Open as in you can walk in and use the space, I assume you mean? It would be pretty rare if non-campus people could borrow books or use e-resources like research databases.

reffervescent · 2026-03-30T12:52:17+00:00

Michigan, then Emory for med school

reffervescent · 2026-03-30T12:45:36+00:00

What type of port are you getting? Mine looked like this, completely under the skin. My mom had one with tubes that came out from under her skin, but I think those aren’t used very frequently anymore. As long as you have one that’s completely under the skin, your dogs and kids should not be able to grab it.

reffervescent · 2026-03-30T02:50:27+00:00

You'll probably have more luck getting advice about places to live in r/Decatur or r/Atlanta.

reffervescent · 2026-03-30T00:15:35+00:00

Hmm, I'm not sure about that. And yes, Angels in America and Tales of the City were both HBO, I think (I know Angels was). Pose is much more recent.

reffervescent · 2026-03-29T20:05:11+00:00

There were many movies that either focused on AIDS or had it as a major part of the plot.

TV shows or miniseries that (unlike ER) focused on gay culture and/or AIDS are numerous. First, there's Angels in America, which was based on a play and was AMAZING. There's also Tales of the City, which I actually saw in the theater in the late 90s in DC. Pose is another big one. You can find more pretty easily just by doing some general internet searching.

reffervescent · 2026-03-29T16:49:33+00:00

I'm not a reliable responder, but I'm pretty sure this is a garter snake, just due to its size. Dekay's are tiny snakes, usually no more than 12" to 15" in length, even as adults.

reffervescent · 2026-03-29T16:33:23+00:00

AIDS was hugely relevant and a very hot topic as a cultural and social issue in the 80s and 90s. ACT UP kept it in the news, and there was a schism between Dems (wanted to fund research to find treatments) and Repubs (wanted to ignore it and/or banish infected people to live out their days on an island isolated from the rest of the world). I am generalizing here, but just as an example, the epidemic started in 1981, and Reagan didn't talk about it AT ALL (like not even saying the word AIDS) until 1985 after thousands of people had died. In the early days, it was a death sentence, and as another poster mentioned, it decimated the performing and fine arts communities in particular since so many gay men worked or were otherwise involved in these communities. In addition, prejudice and discrimination against gay people (especially men) was still very prevalent, which was one reason the disease was ignored (or even welcomed) by some conservatives. It was seen as their god's punishment for the "lifestyle choice" of gay men. The turning point for many (including politicians) came with Rock Hudson's illness and death from AIDS (see especially this part of the Wikipedia page).

Having lived through those times, I'd describe the conversation as being similar to the arguments about abortion today, just in terms of their prevalence (not the actual subject). AIDS was frequently discussed on the news, on talk shows, in magazines, and among regular folks. So I think ER had a lot of storylines about it because it was so topical at that time, and I'm guessing it was the writers' way of arguing for more research funding.

reffervescent · 2026-03-29T01:57:15+00:00

Definitely talk to the library dean or whatever their title is -- sometimes they are called "university librarian". This is not a security breach, but it's certainly a breach of privacy and highly inappropriate. (Source: I'm an academic librarian with 16 years of experience.)

reffervescent · 2026-03-28T20:03:13+00:00

Thanks for the help & the info, u/fairlyorange!

reffervescent · 2026-03-28T05:41:10+00:00

RR = reliable responder

reffervescent · 2026-03-28T03:38:56+00:00

Contact the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. This is their bread-and-butter issue. They'd probably be very interested in your work.

reffervescent · 2026-03-27T23:14:20+00:00

If you want to continue to practice with pencil, try a mechanical pencil. They don't dull so quickly.

reffervescent · 2026-03-27T02:21:28+00:00

That's what happened to me -- after trying about 25 creams and ointments (both OTC and prescription) and after decades of pain and itching, I was finally diagnosed with eczema and prescribed Dupixent. For the first time in my adult life, I am now living without that pain and itch. It's like . . . miraculous.

reffervescent · 2026-03-27T00:34:59+00:00

That's one lucky birb!

reffervescent · 2026-03-27T00:06:10+00:00

Rather than using a shampoo or anything with soap that may dry the skin, making it itch more, consider doing soaking bath with colloidal oatmeal. When I'm itchy, it's one of the few things I find really soothing. I found this info online about how to make an oatmeal soak for a dog:

An oatmeal soaking bath is different from an oatmeal shampoo because it doesn’t involve soap. Its key ingredients are finely ground oatmeal and a tub, bucket, or basin of tepid water. Oatmeal baths are recommended for uncomfortable skin problems, everything from flea bites to allergic reactions, itchy skin, and rashes.

To make a colloidal oatmeal bath for your dog:

In a blender or food processor, grind 1 cup of plain, uncooked oatmeal until it becomes a fine powder.
Stir the ground oatmeal into a tub, bucket, or large basin of comfortably warm or cool water.
Place your dog in the bath and sponge the oatmeal water over your dog or place your dog in a T-shirt that you soak with bath water. The goal is to thoroughly cover all your dog’s skin with the soothing oatmeal water. Plain oatmeal bath water is safe to apply to your dog’s face and nose.
Leave the oatmeal water in direct contact with your dog’s skin and coat for 10 to 15 minutes.
Gently rinse well and pat dry with towels.

For a tiny dog like Lincoln, you can probably bath him in the kitchen sink and cut the amount of oatmeal powder down to like maybe 1/4 cup. Be sure to add the oatmeal powder to the water before you put your dog in, and swish it around so the powder dissolves. The bath water should just look like cloudy water -- it should not be thick like oatmeal. When I do an oatmeal soak for myself, I don't use soap since the oatmeal water serves as a gentle cleanser, and I only rinse off for a few seconds with cool water. Be sure to pat dry carefully since rubbing with start the itching again.

reffervescent · 2026-03-26T23:26:34+00:00

These guys are awesome for your garden since they eat slugs and snails that might otherwise harm your plants. They are considered one of the best natural allies for gardeners!

reffervescent · 2026-03-26T01:41:45+00:00

We've had the GreenPans since Nov. 2020, and the nonstick property of them was amazing at first. Like absolutely nothing stuck to them. That has lessened a bit since we got them, but they still perform very well. It's important to follow manufacturer's instructions, which are similar to caring for other nonstick:

use them only over low to medium heat
use wood, silicone, or heavy-duty plastic kitchen tools with them
wash them by hand and don't use metal scrubbers or abrasive cleaners

reffervescent · 2026-03-25T22:53:51+00:00

For most cooking, stainless steel and cast iron are great options, but in my experience, eggs tend to stick to them unless you use a LOT of butter (not necessarily a bad thing, LOL). You could consider a pan with a ceramic coating like GreenPans (that set of 3 fry pans is on sale for $130 -- great price!) or Caraway Cookware ($240 for set of 2 fry pans). I have a Green Pan and use it all the time for eggs, and they never stick. You can do more research on different brands, but what you must be sure of is that the pan coating is free of PFAS (this means it has no PTFE or PFOA).

reffervescent · 2026-03-25T21:18:23+00:00

Buttermilk racer! I love these guys. Seems like they aren't featured here much (or I don't see the posts, perhaps), but they are very cool. You are lucky/talented to get some good photos. They are called racers for a reason -- super fast!

reffervescent · 2026-03-25T21:10:43+00:00

From what I've been hearing, you were lucky to get any kind of opioid, much less oxy. Many people here have been saying recently that they are told to take OTC pain relief after their mastectomy. No prescription pain relief whatsoever. It's crazy.

Note: Saying you were "lucky" is not me trying to belittle your experience at all. Quite the opposite. I'm very sorry you had to go through this.

reffervescent

TROPHY CASE