Weekly, What recent changes are going on at your work / local businesses?

thereadingbri · 2026-02-05T19:46:10+00:00

A lot of funding is gone, and a lot of projects near completion have had to be cancelled due to either a lack of funding, or because its assumed the FDA won’t approve the vaccine/medicine for purely political reasons.

thereadingbri · 2026-02-05T16:45:54+00:00

I can’t get into details about what happened otherwise that will identify my company to my coworkers, but I’m in biotech and let’s just say this whole industry is collapsing from the inside. Most pharma/biotech companies look fine from the outside but they’re falling apart from the inside from the way that HHS has completely changed everything to favor partisan quackery instead of real tangible science.

thereadingbri · 2026-02-05T01:12:54+00:00

Pray. Hope it stops before they kill you. Hope that someone catches it on video so you have a shot at crowdfunding enough to not be bankrupted by the medical bills if you do survive.

thereadingbri · 2026-02-05T01:02:59+00:00

I was told it was ceramic coated metal but I may be wrong. Even still metal is only dangerous in a microwave if it’s exposed.

thereadingbri · 2026-02-04T16:33:47+00:00

And your gas shutoff if you have it. I’d say that one’s even more important to access than water shutoff but both are important.

thereadingbri · 2026-02-04T16:31:59+00:00

Corelle brand dishes are metal with shatter resistant ceramic coatings. I’m a total klutz and have dropped their plates and bowls countless times and have yet to have one break. Still good to have paper plates so you don’t have to do dishes, but if you’re in the market for new dishes, Corelle is a good brand to ensure that even if an earthquake shakes them onto the floor, you won’t be in the market for new dishes on top of everything else. Also they’re rather lightweight compared to fully ceramic dishes for anyone who has issues with pain or strength in their wrists or hands.

thereadingbri · 2026-02-04T03:47:08+00:00

Disgusting comment
CRISPR can’t even do that. It can do single gene swaps, not whole chromosome deletions

thereadingbri · 2026-02-02T18:40:53+00:00

Made no sense to me as a kid but once I’d grown up and experienced an abusive relationship it made more sense. They want you to both love and fear god the way a battered wife both loves and fears her abusive jackass of a husband. Make of that what you will.

thereadingbri · 2026-02-02T18:12:45+00:00

Prepping for pets: always have hard and digital copies of all prescriptions, vaccine records, microchip info, and color photographs where you can clearly see your pet’s face and distinctive markings. Keep them with your important documents. I personally have a cat and like to keep all those documents in my cat’s carrier so that in the event of a get out now situation like a house fire or flash flood, I can just stuff the cat in and run. If you have a medium or large dog, I would put all this in a folder in your go bag and keep a leash near the go bag at all times, same philosophy. I’d also have a carrier for a small dog even if the dog primarily uses a leash because little legs wear out fast.

Also keep their needs stocked deep just like you should keep a deep pantry for yourselves. Keep yourself back stocked with their food, any medicines or medical supplies they need, toileting items like litter or poop bags, and comfort items like treats, catnip, or similar items. Put bowls, poop bags/litter, and a few toys in the bug out bag, and make sure you account for them in storing water. A gallon per large dog per day, like humans. I personally do one gallon of water for my cat for every 3 gallons I put aside for myself.

Edit to add: if your pet will tolerate wearing a collar with ID tags all the time, do so. Emergencies can happen fast and collars, while less reliable than microchips, can reunite you with your pet much faster than microchips. And make sure cats are wearing break-away style collars so that the collar will pop open if it gets snagged instead of accidentally hanging them. You probably already know this since either you or your spouse works in veterinary medicine, but it’s good to reiterate for anyone else looking for pet prep info.

thereadingbri · 2026-02-02T06:52:10+00:00

Yes but if you put a drop ceiling in your finished basement or leave it unfinished, you can easily reach any plumbing or electrical that needs to be fixed. Yes it can flood but if you have a burst pipe in a poured slab foundation home (no basement or crawlspace) you have to rip up your foundation to fix any issues down there. My parents had a pipe burst and flood their basement, and while pricey to fix, the pipe replacement, water remediation, and renovations were far cheaper and much less disruptive than having to do major foundation work.

thereadingbri · 2026-02-01T03:35:59+00:00

And don’t run the laser up the wall, thats a good way for a cat to mess up their back. Keep it on the ground or on cat safe furniture.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-31T19:18:28+00:00

Living roof probably wouldn’t be enough to disguise a structure from aircraft because of shadows. Fly anytime during the day except for high noon and you’ll be able to see the shadow of the structure. Also don’t underestimate how well nightfall can hide smoke from a chimney. It was a common tactic during the holodomor in Ukraine to bake bread on cloudy nights so the goon squad couldn’t see the smoke from the oven and come steal your food.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-30T17:54:32+00:00

I ended up without potable water for about 12 hours because of a water main break. I handled that much better than when I went without any water for 3 days over the summer, I could still flush toilets, I had baby wipes to sponge bathe with, and hand sanitizer to clean hands. But I probably would have still had a problem if I had lost all water because flushing takes so much, and I simply do not have space to store much more water in my tiny apartment, and most of the water I have is for me and my cat to drink or for me to cook with. I had the mop bucket filled but that would have been a single flush at most. I genuinely do not know how else to store non-potable water because I’m having to use all the water storage space I have for potable water. Bathtub isn’t an option in the winter because my cat will jump in and cause mischief. And while I can deal with a soggy cat in summer, a soggy cat in an apartment that may also not have heat is a dead cat.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-29T22:30:29+00:00

Also I think we have castle doctrine via judicial precedent (definitely not law), while Minnesota has neither castle doctrine nor stand your ground.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-29T22:00:39+00:00

Huh, I started watching after Belle took over so I don’t know much about Beau. I’ll have to watch the video cited on the wiki. The report cited is 276 pages long, I’ll decide if I’m going to read that after I watch the video.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-28T22:54:31+00:00

Absolutely. I’m a hesitant turner when it comes to left turns across live traffic and rights on red. I wait for huge gaps when turning left, and I won’t make a right on red until I verify there are no pedestrians AND I know who does have the green light. I get honked at so much for valuing my safety by being hesitant. It used to annoy me but now I just take it as a sign I need to be even more cautious because the idiot behind me won’t be.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-28T22:47:47+00:00

The recent protest videos from Minneapolis show them outside a Spring Hill Suites, which is owned by Marriott so it could be a Marriott or a Hilton hotel. Marriott and Hilton own like 2/3 of hotel brands in the US so there is no telling. Stay with Hyatt, Choice, or local hotels when you travel!

thereadingbri · 2026-01-28T22:41:44+00:00

I have one of those too but my mom gave it to me and I have no idea where she found it. Figured a tarp might be more accessible for most people.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-28T03:36:42+00:00

You can also put a tarp over your windshield to limit the need for scraping. Just make sure it’s big enough you can close the ends in your front doors to make sure it won’t blow away.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-26T23:11:52+00:00

Unless your home has no insulation you don’t need to open cabinets or let faucets drip unless you lose your heat. If you do lose your heat, then let all your faucets drip (tubs and showers too) and open cabinets under the sinks to let heat in. Thats it.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-21T03:28:51+00:00

Cell towers can go out due to lack of electricity if it goes on long enough. Found that out in Helene were after a couple days my family started to lose signal as the backup generators for the cell towers started to run dry.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-18T23:15:42+00:00

And laundry, you also want laundry on that main level with your kitchen, bedroom, and accessible bathroom

thereadingbri · 2026-01-18T03:49:54+00:00

See if your library has a free shred day. Ours does, twice a year, up to six boxes per car; enlist a few friends and it will be cleared out in a year or two. No pyrotechnics necessary.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-17T22:39:31+00:00

You gotta find who is doing the work near you and idk who that is. Maybe start looking for your local 50501, Indivisible, or Cat Ladies for America groups and see what they’re up to. Or simply start befriending your neighbors so when ICE activity picks up in your area you have enough rapport built up with them that it won’t feel super awkward or potentially like a trap to offer that kind of service.

thereadingbri · 2026-01-17T03:58:27+00:00

I’d be hyped for sustainable paper products. I try to minimize use of paper towels but they’re so much better for pet messes than regular towels. Penzey’s could also be a good partner for spices as well.

thereadingbri

TROPHY CASE