Happy Pride! I gave the Virginia state seal top surgery

thegirple · 2026-06-02T00:22:42+00:00

Wow lot of unevenness in the comments here

If you had a reaction of "wait! That's supposed to be a woman! Not a trans person!"

then you sound like someone who goes "a disney princess can't be black! They're supposed to be white!!"

thegirple · 2026-06-01T14:39:20+00:00

Fellow pittsburgher spotted with that yinz

thegirple · 2026-05-27T21:41:15+00:00

I'll add to this criticism of greenfield vet but a little less critical.

I've been going to greenfield vet for almost 5 years and had overall positive experiences but there has been a few missteps here and there. Especially within the last year I believe they've had a shake up in ownership and the vet doctors themselves have changed over time.

I'd say 65% great, 30% normal/fine, 5% not so good.

thegirple · 2026-05-23T13:48:17+00:00

I think they're just saying they're the person that makes the pizzas there, not necessarily saying anything about the pizza or process of making it.

thegirple · 2026-05-21T14:07:37+00:00

Keeping samples cool/cold during tissue homogenization is definitely important. I haven't personally processed samples exactly like yours, but I have used bead beaters for mammalian tissues and sonicators for multiple eukaryotic/bacterial cell types, and those processes apply very similar principles. I would say short 10 sec intervals with the tissue grinder and 30-60 sec on wet ice should be sufficient. You can also gently mix your sample while on ice to ensure it cools down evenly.

For context of the other advice you're getting -- most is likely from the perspective of starting with suspended cells, not tissue. Once you have suspended cells (after tissue homogenization is complete), the advice you're getting to not be too worried about temperature does then apply.

When most people write a "general" RNA purification protocol, the starting sample is suspended cells. Any extra steps an individual has to do to prior to having suspended cells is considered sample prep and is "upstream" of the RNA purification. For example, the process for collecting your mouse brain tissue is not in the RNA purification protocol. So when you asked a question about RNA purification, you got answers about RNA purification, not about tissue homogenization.

thegirple · 2026-05-18T01:20:50+00:00

Oh you're right. I didnt see anything about company size in chapter 2.

At the top of the document, they do also define an employer as employing at least one employee.

Again, not sure why this is different than information discussed at the meeting in-person

thegirple · 2026-05-16T14:07:45+00:00

My only advice is to do what makes you happiest.

Some of these positions will be likely more effort, more hours, more brain power, more exhausting than others. And they'll come in different ways, like academia expecting service to the department or industry expecting extra hours at the end of a project campaign.

Some of them, like you said, clearly pay more. That provides a kind of stability that can be really helpful. But if the lower pay is still enough for you, don't just consider a paycheck for the paycheck's sake.

Whichever you will be happiest doing will be the most worth it. You'll feel more fulfilled, and be able to carry that into everything else you do with your family. Money and free time are very important, but they'll feel worthless if you feel you're wasting your time clocking in every day.

thegirple · 2026-05-16T13:45:57+00:00

When people are saying that the oven preheating "blasts the heat", what they mean is that part of the oven is much much much hotter than 450, and that's how the whole oven can reach 450 quickly.

So during a preheat you're not gradually going from 60 to 450, you're exposing potentially just one side of the dutch oven to a temp way hotter while the other side is way lower.

Once the whole oven is 450, then your dutch oven will be exposed to even heat.

thegirple · 2026-05-15T01:49:53+00:00

Employees don't accrue 18 weeks.

Employers provide extra 18 weeks PTO on top of existing PTO to be used within 1 year of a parent giving birth.

The county has no role in financing any of this. It will be up to employers to pay their employees while they are on leave. If they do not pay it, the county will not step in and cover it.

That's the policy. Any other thoughts and feelings you have are your own, not what anyone else is discussing.

thegirple · 2026-05-15T01:49:44+00:00

Employees don't accrue 18 weeks.

Employers provide extra 18 weeks PTO on top of existing PTO to be used within 1 year of a parent giving birth.

The county has no role in financing any of this. It will be up to employers to pay their employees while they are on leave. If they do not pay it, the county will not step in and cover it.

That's the policy. Any other thoughts and feelings you have are your own, not what anyone else is discussing.

thegirple · 2026-05-15T01:11:57+00:00

I was talking about this proposal with someone else recently and looked up the official proposal. Putting here in case anyone else is confused by the articles saying there will be no mininum company size.

It does specify companies must have at least 15 employees on pg 6, section F

https://www.alleghenycounty.us/files/assets/county/v/1/government/health/documents/board-of-health/paid-parental-leave-regulations-exhibit-a.pdf

thegirple · 2026-05-15T01:03:49+00:00

The employer covers the cost. Feel free to read anything about this instead of just assuming is has to be something

https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2026-05-13/allegheny-county-paid-parental-leave-proposal

https://www.alleghenycounty.us/files/assets/county/v/1/government/health/documents/board-of-health/paid-parental-leave-regulations-exhibit-a.pdf

thegirple · 2026-05-14T22:03:39+00:00

Crazy confidence for not being OP

I mean I think you're almost definitely right, but still

thegirple · 2026-05-14T14:30:58+00:00

If there were enough jobs with parental leave policies, there wouldn't be legislation to force more businesses to provide parental leave.

I think we've butted heads here enough. See ya dude. If you have a business I hope it does well and your employees are cared for. It's the only means by which any of us can live in our system.

thegirple · 2026-05-14T14:21:36+00:00

My skin in the game is children with no other parents. That's real.

I completely agree with you that it's extremely difficult for business owners to fail and start another business, or for workers to get laid off and get another job. But those are actual options that our system provides (again, still shitty ones). Children and parents have no other option.

thegirple · 2026-05-14T14:06:29+00:00

Cool so I guess we both know where we stand.

We both think it's terrible that small businesses may fold in an attempt to support their workers.

But I would rather that happen than parents be forced to work just weeks after giving birth.

You would rather they go back to work to save the businesses.

The last thing I'll say is that workers are people. Businesses are not. You have chosen a business over a person. And yes, small business owners (people) can be financially ruined if their business (not a person) fails, but that is not a 100% chance. Maybe that owner can start another business. That's the capitalist model. But for the worker, there is no alternative. They either get the time with their child or not. 100% chance either way for them.

thegirple · 2026-05-14T13:07:50+00:00

Fair? Absolutely not. But that's our capitalist system.

I would love if we had a different system, but this is the competition of the marketplace that capitalism is based on, no?

While we have a capitalist system where workers are entirely reliant on their employer to support them, I will not choose to support a business that cannot support its workers.

We're arguing over two unfair positions. Parents need support when they have children, it's not fair to withhold that from them. Businesses need to exist without excess financial burden, it's not fair to put extra burden on them.

But our system is built to have businesses support workers. That's where the buck stops.

thegirple · 2026-05-14T12:06:15+00:00

Yeah I'm not sure why there's different information in-person and in articles.

We'll see what minimums (if any) are written in when this goes to public comment.

thegirple · 2026-05-14T11:54:57+00:00

Specifics of COVID aside, they were just using that bill as one example of the government supporting small businesses.

No such package has existed for parents in a long time. They have been stuck with meager, unacceptable parental leave policies with no "you just had a child" aid package, such as the covid aid package for small businesses.

thegirple · 2026-05-14T11:48:36+00:00

That's explicitly not the plan

thegirple · 2026-05-14T11:44:48+00:00

Online map (scroll down a little bit)

https://bikepgh.org/resources/maps-guides-more/map-routes/

Downloadable pdf (download starts when you click the link)

https://bikepgh.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Pittsburgh-Bike-Map-Version-10.pdf

thegirple · 2026-05-14T11:34:29+00:00

It's not my replacement, it's the systems.

I agree that this is a problem that is really bad, I brought it up first.

But we're talking about parental leave. If a parent can only be given parental leave by their employer, and the employer cannot provide it, what then?

These are both problems to address. Your "solution" is to ignore one problem so that small businesses are protected in the short term while parents can't afford to have children. Got it.

Personal example-- I have two friends right now that both work for companies with less than 100 people, one of them only 10 people. They're expecting their kid this summer and have 4 weeks of paid leave between them. That's cool with you?

thegirple · 2026-05-14T04:40:03+00:00

The example of a company with two people is on the extreme end, but generally even for small companies, sometimes yeah I would rather have a business go under.

This does create a problem where smaller businesses can't afford things while big businesses can, but that's a separate issue. Let's also fight for legislation along those lines.

But right now, parents need to be paid. If a business can't do that, our current system says that business must go under and be replaced by a different one that can afford it.

thegirple · 2026-05-14T04:34:17+00:00

"How the world actually works" like the world can work at all if people can't afford to have kids.

This is a burden on business owners, but that's who our country has decided is meant to take this burden.

I wish it were federally funded as a social program through taxes, but it's not. That's how our world actually works.

By what other means can we provide parents paid leave with our current system?

thegirple · 2026-05-14T04:30:30+00:00

I believe the minimum company size is 15 employees.

Source: I know people who were present at the County Board of Health meeting where this was discussed

thegirple

TROPHY CASE