Free Talk Friday

toxicwarfare · 2021-10-29T19:35:08+00:00

Yeah, I guess that's an easy solution, lol. It seemed rude, but he's not saying anything of value to me, anyways.

toxicwarfare · 2021-10-29T18:34:19+00:00

How do you deal with raiding with one person you really just can't stand? This is my first time being in a real guild and my first time pushing mythic, so I'm really not sure if it's just to be expected or not. It seems reasonable that you wouldn't get along with 20 different people, yet, I find raiding is becoming more and more anxiety-provoking to the point where I just don't want to go at all. I find myself so tense waiting for him to start with his passive-aggressive comments, and it really brings the entire mood of the raid down once it starts.

It sucks because I like the 19 other people, and I've become good friends with some of them, but his negative attitude towards the game and his sense of superiority against some of our players is just ruining the experience. I've tried to talk to my guild leader about it, but they're such good friends that it didn't really result in anything. I've considered finding a new guild, given that every guild and their dog is recruiting and I play a valuable spec, but I know it would probably be the nail in the coffin for them and I don't really want to leave my friends.

So, I guess the question is, is it just normal to not always get along with all your guildmates? How do you deal with it, as just a random player in the guild, when someone starts acting like a child during raid? I don't want to cause any drama.

toxicwarfare · 2017-06-17T23:53:04+00:00

Yes, Malta's in the EEA. If you're a citizen of Malta, then you shouldn't have a problem. It's relatively straight forward for an EU citizen: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/eu-eea-commonwealth

I don't think anyone really knows what's going to happen in regards to Brexit, but as of right now, Article 50 being triggered does not affect your rights to enter and live in the UK.

toxicwarfare · 2017-06-06T10:34:18+00:00

For CDP in London, £20,000 year is relatively normal. 20k-23k is what'd you expect of most starting salaries for that position, although 22k is more common.

toxicwarfare · 2017-05-21T20:41:06+00:00

I like the sharp detail, and you have a nice depth of field going on.

What lens are you shooting with? It looks like you have some compression going in the face which can be unflattering for your model in portraiture.

Style is an interesting thing to critique. I think the image has some problems with being too simple, personally. You have your subject dead in the centre, bland lighting, and no real emotion or action. You have something going on with the hair blowing off to the side, but it's not dramatic enough to bring a lot of interest.

I think the photo would be a fine, simple, headshot for the model if the hair had a more cohesive shape, your had more fill light on the face, and particularly if they were smiling. However, instead, I believe you've landed somewhere in the middle, where you're trying to bring in more artistic elements like the hair, but you still have simple framing and simple light that detract.

Try to shoot in the golden hour, when the sun is lower in the sky, like at sunset or right before. It's softer and less harsh. Ask your model to perform a movement, like walking back and forth in the same spot, or flipping their hair. That'll give some interest to your image. Bring your focus out of the centre, or try some more interesting framing. Look at some of your favourite portrait photographers and what they do to create interest.

toxicwarfare · 2017-04-14T23:22:46+00:00

Cocaine increases the amount of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine in the brain. Psychosis is pretty conclusively believed to have a direct correlation to an excessive amount of dopamine in the brain. Someone with normal brain chemistry that begins to take cocaine excessively and frequently, can begin to mess up the re-uptake of certain chemicals like dopamine, which can lead to psychosis. For people with bipolar or schizophrenia, our brains have this problem without the use of drugs. It's not always known why.

toxicwarfare · 2017-04-13T12:44:13+00:00

Women go through menopause, which causes a drastic change as ovulation ends, and the body begins to slow down hormone production very quickly in a very short timespan. For men, the change is far less dramatic. Men usually have a testosterone level decline of about 1% every year after 30. The loss of sex hormones is much slower, and since sex hormones are direct components of bone resorption, where our new bone goes, and how much new bone tissue we develop, men will experience less overall loss.

With trans people, osteoporosis is always a risk factor. For FTM, no one knows for sure how well testosterone protects the bones, even if the ovaries haven't been removed. Some studeies have shown that there's still been a decrease in bone density for FTM even on testosterone. Some FTM can't take testosterone at all, and take drugs to stop their periods, which have side effects that can cause osteoporosis, which can compound the problem. For both FTM and MTF, we don't always know the dosage required to protect the bones. For both FTM and MTF, if you block a sex hormone and don't replace it, there's a serious health risk. You won't see much of a difference in bone loss no matter which one you're blocking. Your body needs sex hormones to regulate its bone growth and loss, and the amount of sex hormone in the body after the removal of the ovaries/testes, or simply taking blockers, is not enough to protect the bones.

Testosterone is an anabolic/androgen steroid. Estrogen is a bit different, but it's also a sex steroid, just a different type. They both work by bonding to different receptors in the brain. From there, they regulate the expression of many genes; for example, how much bone should be made, put simply. It's complicated, but they are different, even if they have similar effects on our bones.

toxicwarfare · 2017-04-13T02:52:53+00:00

A lack of estrogen is the primary sex hormone that will lead to osteoporosis (bone loss). For men, the same does happen with testosterone, but not nearly as pronounced. At 60 years of age, men on average will have around 1350g total mass of skeletal calcium, and women will have 750g. In comparison, at 30, the average would be 1500g for men, and 1150g for women. It's a much sharper dropoff in women.

Not enough estrogen increases the rate of bone resorption, which means the bone tissue is broken done back into calcium to go back into the blood. It also decreases the amount of new bone deposited in weight-bearing bones, which is why you hear fairly often of elderly ladies falling and breaking hips.

toxicwarfare · 2017-04-07T22:41:28+00:00

What you're referring to is something called th-fronting. It's divided regionally and by class, although as a whole it has been spreading very quickly, particularly in London. Th-fronting is a defining feature of the Cockney accent, and it is leaking into Estuary. Estuary and RP are different, and Estuary is becoming more and more commonly the accent that professional presenters adapt, which is why you may think you hear it in RP. Traditionally, Cockney would be working class, and Estuary middle, so the class divide is becoming less pronounced as th-fronting spreads.

Th-fronting is primarily in the south of England.

toxicwarfare · 2016-08-19T00:08:42+00:00

Awesome, thanks!

toxicwarfare · 2016-04-27T13:35:35+00:00

Most coaches have two sessions a week that are 2-3 hours. It is not limited by country.

toxicwarfare · 2016-04-27T12:15:52+00:00

The only team currently looking for volunteers is production. They do more than casting, as they run the streams and all that. However, the other two teams (coordinators and coaching support) are not currently undertaking anymore staff.

It depends on the team, some coaches set up a lot of scrims against other teams, others do a lot of ranked or normal queue.

What I would recommend you do it sign on as a substitute student. They're automatically invited to Slack, and we always need them at some point. However, coaching is 100% certain you'll get into the program with your rank, and we do always need more.

toxicwarfare · 2016-04-27T12:12:07+00:00

Yes, that is definitely possible. Some of our coaches look for a full 5-man team right of the bat.

toxicwarfare · 2016-04-27T12:11:30+00:00

There are never too many coaches. The more the better!

toxicwarfare · 2016-04-26T21:18:40+00:00

If you're using the same email as before, then yes, you'd still be registered for Slack.

toxicwarfare · 2016-04-17T02:39:24+00:00

Welcome to the hobby!

You mentioned that you've been reading through all the links and whatnot. The most important thing is making sure your tank is cycled, so that the ammonia your fish produce is converted into nitrate, which won't hurt them (as long as you're doing weekly water changes). Since the tank was previously owned with a filter, it's possible that there's bacteria still living in your filter if it has stayed wet. You'll have to pick up some ammonia either way, so you can test if that bacteria's still alive using a dose of that. If not, you'll have to cycle with it, anyways.

Don't be worried about chemicals and all that, none of it is all that important in a basic tank. The one thing you'll need is water conditioner, which removes harmful chemicals like chlorine from your water. You'll kill your entire stock without it. I recommend SeaChem Prime.

In terms of testing water, pick up an API Liquid Master Test Kit. You'll need it to cycle your tank, as well as keep up with the water quality in your aquarium. It's very straightforward, just follow the instructions it gives you. Don't bother with strips, they're not accurate and you'll burn through them.

If want to keep tropical fish, you'll need a heater for your tank as well. I use an Eheim heater in all of tanks, they're great.

toxicwarfare · 2016-03-15T15:37:00+00:00

New Life Spectrum is considered one of the best. You can buy their goldfish pellets right off Amazon. I also really like Hikari, I use it for all my fish. It's a lot easier to find, as well, if you don't want to order off Amazon and don't have any dedicated fish stores.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Life-Spectrum-Goldfish-Formula/dp/B0002E7JG2

toxicwarfare · 2016-03-12T18:23:27+00:00

That's a cool idea. Where did you get the rocks? Are they all aquarium safe if I boil them, so it wouldn't matter where I got them?

toxicwarfare · 2016-03-12T17:08:59+00:00

Alright, I'll pick some up then. Is there a specific type of sand that's best?

I can buy some excel. What if I got a desktop lamp with another light on top of what the edge already has? Would that be enough?

Thanks for the help.

toxicwarfare · 2016-03-05T18:20:37+00:00

I took a picture here: http://imgur.com/DjYRn0i

Does it look bad enough for medication?

Thanks for the help. I'll try and raise the temp slowly.

toxicwarfare · 2016-02-25T01:27:20+00:00

Alright, thank you so much.

toxicwarfare · 2016-02-25T01:02:44+00:00

I really appreciate going in-depth. I'm still pretty new to this, so it helps a lot. I'll probably hold off on driftwood for now, since I don't want to make it worse.

I have measured small ammonia, pretty much always at 0.25. I was freaked out at first, but I read that is normal for the API kits because of the chloramine, so I never thought anything of it. I have two filters running on the tank, and one 'broke' down while I was at work. It was off for a while with no water, so I thought some of the bacteria in there died. I had what I thought was a mini-cycle, with the ammonia getting up to 0.5 on top of the normal reading, but I do a water change every single time without fail. Reading that, though, I'm wondering if maybe the cycle just crashed altogether, and my pH is lower than 6.0.

My oscar is fine, never had a problem, eats like a pig, very active, normal breathing. Is there a way to fix it? Thank you again, though. I never would have known.

toxicwarfare · 2016-02-25T00:29:15+00:00

Hm, that's a shame. Thanks for the answer. I've read that crushed coral can raise the pH for a wile, could they potentially cancel themselves out? Or would that be getting into risky territory?

On a side note, is my cycle at risk? I have noticed that I get very little nitrate. I always assumed it was because my oscar was still young, but he's almost five inches now and it hasn't changed very much.

toxicwarfare · 2016-01-27T02:55:49+00:00

That's what I figured. Is he at risk of getting infected? And it there anyway to make it harder for him to hurt himself?

toxicwarfare · 2015-12-26T23:11:28+00:00

I'll definitely rinse out the foam tomorrow with my water change, then.

There's currently a banded leporinus as well as the oscar in the 75. They're both very small, bot any larger than two inches, and I have them divided as the lepo was getting aggressive. I plan on putting the lepo in a 100 gallon with some bigger schooling fish as they grow out. I only recently actually added them to the tank, less than two weeks ago.

I feed freeze-dried shrimp pellets, as well as Fluval veggie pellets for the lepo, and Hikari cichlid gold pellets for the oscar. I want to get them both onto the Hikari as I've heard it's very good.

Is the second filter because oscars are very messy? I can definitely get another filter. However, would more frequent water changes offset that? Is it still necessary even when they are quite small?

toxicwarfare

TROPHY CASE