Earhart_Light's recent activity
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Comment on Navigating differences in risk tolerance regarding health in ~health
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Comment on How can I make life easier on my child who has to (temporarily) use crutches? in ~health
Earhart_Light LinkDepending on the location and type of injury, would a medical knee scooter be an option? They're much less tiring than either crutches or a wheelchair, and they're less unwieldy as well. I...Depending on the location and type of injury, would a medical knee scooter be an option? They're much less tiring than either crutches or a wheelchair, and they're less unwieldy as well. I actually kinda had fun with mine!
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Comment on When The Wind Blows: The darkest movie you haven't seen in ~movies
Earhart_Light LinkOh, wow. I wonder if that was the inspiration for Eric Bogle's When the Wind Blows. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovrp5iqPA7AOh, wow. I wonder if that was the inspiration for Eric Bogle's When the Wind Blows.
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Comment on Supercentenarian and remarkable age records exhibit patterns indicative of clerical errors and pension fraud in ~health
Earhart_Light LinkCould we please just wait until stuff that's been posted to biorxiv has actually been peer-reviewed before spreading it around the internet like it's gospel? The *rxiv servers are for papers...Could we please just wait until stuff that's been posted to biorxiv has actually been peer-reviewed before spreading it around the internet like it's gospel? The *rxiv servers are for papers waiting peer-review and publication; there's stuff that never makes it out of there and some stuff that's pretty flawed. One of the things I hate most about the pandemic is that the media and the general public have discovered the *rxiv servers and uncritically take stuff that's there as entirely sound.
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Comment on How best to get a thorough inspection after avoiding doctors for a decade? in ~health
Earhart_Light Link Parent[cont.] For the stuff that you do need prior authorization for: go through the process to get the prior authorization. The exact details will vary depending on a lot of factors. I personally found...[cont.]
For the stuff that you do need prior authorization for: go through the process to get the prior authorization. The exact details will vary depending on a lot of factors. I personally found it significantly easier once my PCP was part of a hospital's care network. I hate that I'm part of a corporate group, but getting and managing appointments was so much easier going through their network. The following is my process for handling a referral with my current insurance and hospital care network; yours will likely differ somehow, but I'd suggest writing down your process, plus whatever tips you find for making your life easier, so that Later!You has something you can refer to when you need to. My process:
- See or call PCP, describe problem, get referral.
- Call the place I was referred to, ask if they accept my insurance.
2a. If they do not, call hospital care network and ask for a referral to an in-network doctor. [With my old insurance, this was a nightmare step, calling each office individually, trying to find someone in-network.] - Once I have a referral to someplace in-network, call and make an appointment.
- Confirm with them whether I need prior authorization. If I don't, make the appointment and I'm done.
- If I need prior authorization, ask the appointment person for the doctor's NPI number.
- Call my PCP and ask for the referral department. Tell them I need prior authorization for the referral to this doctor, and give them the NPI number. They'll process it and give me a prior authorization number over the phone. Write that down on the referral sheet. [This was the other nightmare step under my old insurance.]
- Call the place I was referred to, give them the prior authorization number and make the appointment.
Repeat steps 1-7 (or whatever your local process is) for every referral you have.
I'm going to be honest: I was in a similar situation as you a number of years ago, and making and getting to all the follow-up appointments is both exhausting and time-consuming. I do as much follow-up as I have time and energy for (trying to really hit the more critical issues), then I usually give up and leave the more minor items for the following year. It took a few years, but now most of my stuff is under control and we only go over the status of things at my yearly check-up.
One side note, as well: be prepared that a significant percentage of your appointments, especially here in the beginning, will spawn follow-up appointments. You're having a foot issue, the doctor sends you out for X-rays, you have a follow-up appointment to go over the results - suddenly one appointment spawned into three! Like I said, it gets exhausting and time-consuming. Focus on the most important items first, and be able to accept that you may not follow up on everything.
When you go in for a referral to a specialist: get a notepad and write down all relevant medical history, then write down your symptoms and your questions. Keep the notepad for a couple weeks, adding in symptoms and questions as they occur to you. Organize those, type them up (include the date and the doctor at the top of the page!), and bring two copies to your appointment, one for your doctor and one for you. Take notes, and take a couple minutes at the end of the appointment to repeat back to the doctor what you think they've said to you.
For any follow-up appointments: I take my notes for the original doctor's appointment and update them as follows:
- These were my symptoms. You diagnosed <X> and told me to do <Y> and <Z>.
- I have done <Y>. I have not done / had trouble doing <Z> [I include this so their records are accurate] because of <reason> [this is useful because there may be alternative treatments].
- My issue is better in this way. I am still having problems in this other way.
- These are new problems that may possibly be related to earlier issues.
- These are new problems that I do not believe are related to my earlier issues, but which fall within your area of expertise.
I bring in two copies to the doctor, etc, etc. I keep copies of all my notes and test results in a file; and I have a separate file for each calendar year. The files provide me with a detailed set of notes for any issues I may be having, including when things started, how things got better or worse over time, when things changed for the better or worse, and what things we did that helped or hindered.
I acknowledge this is all tedious, but I can't rely on someone who sees me for half an hour once or twice a year to spot every little thing. The files give me a baseline to work with, to help manage my own health.
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Comment on How best to get a thorough inspection after avoiding doctors for a decade? in ~health
Earhart_Light LinkOkay, so: some Medicaid plans are offered by better companies than others. I had United Healthcare, and they made everything a massive hassle; I moved to a different plan the next open season and...Okay, so: some Medicaid plans are offered by better companies than others. I had United Healthcare, and they made everything a massive hassle; I moved to a different plan the next open season and have been delighted. So, if your current Medicaid plan isn't working for you this year, do some investigation and see if there are any better ones for your area. (A lot will depend on your state, and how close you are to doctors.)
When you call to make your appointment, tell them that you haven't seen a doctor in the last ten years and that you need a new patient appointment for an annual physical. The next available appointment will probably be a few months away (it's okay, you can use the time to your advantage), though you can ask to be put on a waiting list on case of cancellations. The new patient appointment is important because it's a larger time frame for a more detailed history.
Ask them if they would like any lab tests (such as bloodwork) done before the exam. If so, ask them to send you the paperwork for the lab work. Call your insurance company and confirm that the lab work is covered under your policy, and that it doesn't require prior authorization. [Standard lab work should not require prior authorization, but I'm paranoid about checking these things first.] Whenever you contact your insurance company, keep a piece of paper with you. Write down the date and time, the name of the representative you're taking with, why you called, and what their answers were (again, my paranoia).
Call the lab and schedule an appointment for 2-3 weeks before your doctor's appointment. That gives the lab plenty of time to run the tests and get the results to your doctor, and also makes sure that the test results are 'fresh' enough to still be relevant. For this and any other tests you ever have run, always ask the lab to send copies of the test results to you as well; I like having copies on hand in case I end up needing them for another doctor or if I want to look for patterns.
If the doctor's office doesn't offer, ask them to mail/email you the new patient history forms to fill out. When they arrive, make a copy so that you're not working off the only original. Fill it out in as much detail as possible, ask relatives about family medical (and mental health) history for possible genetic risks. Thoroughly review the paper several times over the course of a couple weeks to make sure it's as complete as possible. You're deliberately making the list over a period of time (and on a 'test' copy of the form), because there will be things you think of or find out after you've initially filled it out. When you're finally done, re-write everything onto a fresh copy of the form, and make a copy of it for your records before you send it back to them.
As you fill out your medical history form, and as you ask your family about the family history, keep a separate notepad available. As you go through the forms and history, write down every physical issue you've had in the last year, or any untreated major issues you've had since the last time you saw a doctor. Keep the notepad around for a couple weeks or a month and, every time you run into a new issue or remember an old issue, add it to the list.
When you're done with the list, sit down with it and put it in some kind of order. I try to order the list with what I think are the most important issues at the top, with decreasing severity as you get farther down. This is so that, if there isn't enough time in the appointment to get through the entire list, the most important things are addressed first. Where appropriate, you can group issues together if you think they may be related in some way; like if you think a pair of symptoms are related to the same problem, or if you're having multiple problems with the same organ.
Print out two copies of this record, one for you and one for your doctor, and bring them to your appointment. As you work your way down the list, write down any notes or comments on the paper; do not trust your memory.
At the end of the appointment, I like to take a couple minutes to quickly read my notes back to the doctor. That gives them the chance to correct anything I may have misunderstood, and also the chance for them to offer further information on what they're suggesting and why.
Your PCP will do basic care, and will likely refer up to specialists for everything else You are likely to leave the doctor's office with a bunch of referrals, for other tests and to see said specialists. Call your insurance company ask them what their process is for you to get prior authorization. Write their answer down so you have it for future reference. Then go over the list of referrals with them, and find out which ones require prior authorization. For each referral, you'll also want to ask them if the suggested doctor is in-network; if the doctor isn't, ask them for names of doctors with that specialty that are in-network and are in your area. [Most of this comment assumes that your referrals are to people and places that are in-network, but different doctors' offices and different insurance plans are better at making sure your referrals are actually made to in-network providers.]
For the stuff that you don't need prior authorization for: call them up, confirm that they accept your insurance, confirm that they're accepting new patients, confirm that you do not need prior authorization, and make an appointment. [cont.]
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Comment on Are there any of you living off of creating original art? in ~creative
Earhart_Light LinkMy cousin is retired. A few years ago, he got bored and made a couple of birdhouses, one from a large gourd, the other from scrap wood, for fun. They worked but he wanted to make them better, so...My cousin is retired. A few years ago, he got bored and made a couple of birdhouses, one from a large gourd, the other from scrap wood, for fun. They worked but he wanted to make them better, so he kept at it. When they didn't want any more in their yard, he gave them away to friends and neighbors.
Eventually he got good enough to start selling them online; I think it's likely he uses something like Etsy, but I'm not sure. Anyway, he apparently has a moderate demand for them, enough that he and his wife can go trailering around the country a few months a year; probably not enough to actually live on, but enough to allow them to do basic travel in retirement. He says there's enough demand that he could make a full-time job from it; instead, he scales his prices to how much he feels like working at the time: if he wants more free time, he raises his prices; when he's bored, he'll lower them. All that said, this is what my cousin is telling me, and I'm not sure how much exaggeration there may be.
Oh! and a friend who used to do drawings of people had a note in her listing, saying "prices double for rush jobs". She said, in her experience, almost every job was a rush job, and it allowed her to raise her prices without appearing to do so. (But those were custom items, which isn't what you're asking about here, but it's something to keep in the back of your mind.)
I think the things to think about are: what types of creation interest you? How much would you need to invest to produce stuff (scrap wood and large gourds are extremely inexpensive, and he already had tools)?
Realistically, hope much space do you need in order to work effectively and efficiently to produce your work? You also need to choose a product that's small enough that you can store a number of them from your work-periods without driving you crazy during your time off. And not just space for your work area and your finished products, but all the supplies you need: my cousin has storage for drying the gourds, sorted pieces of scrap wood he's picked up, screws and wires, paint and brushes and cleaners, little flourishes like fake windows and greenery and ribbons, packing and shipping supplies, etc.
Alternatively, look for something that has a relatively small production/storage footprint so it's not much of an issue, or where you can use public resources. I know a guy who used a cricut machine at his local library to make custom greeting cards (he had a stock of blank cutting templates, and would add in names and dates, or short messages), then eventually got his own cricut machine; he keeps all his printing stuff permanently set up in a closet so it's out of the way; he expresses his art by coming up with new cricut templates to print from.
Another consideration is that if you're producing a large item, your customer base is likely to buy fewer of them because they don't have the space for them either. Also the larger and heavier the item, the more your shipping costs will increase.
Ideally, you'll want to produce something small, that either has a potentially wide appeal, or that is off-beat and interesting enough that someone might want to buy multiple items. I do that occasionally, find something cool and buy a bunch of it for various people. The last two things I did that with were hand-carved little wooden pendants made out of 1700-year-old bog oak (you can buy bog wood blanks for surprisingly cheap amounts). I thought they were really cool when I got them for like $18 each a few years ago; the woodcarver is now selling them for $35-50, so good for them! And the other thing I've bought multiples of were little pieces of real meteorites; I just thought it was really cool to actually hold a tiny piece of outer space in your hands!
I'm not sure how much any of this helped you, but hopefully there's a little bit to think over here. Good luck, and I hope you start feeling better!
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Comment on Why aren't we talking about the real reason male college enrollment is dropping? in ~life.men
Earhart_Light Link ParentI took a history of Western society course back in the day, and one thing they covered in a couple of classes was that at various times there were a number of jobs that were (almost) exclusively...I took a history of Western society course back in the day, and one thing they covered in a couple of classes was that at various times there were a number of jobs that were (almost) exclusively the province of men, including nurses, teachers, clerks, secretaries, etc. But that women started entering those fields and, at some point, men mostly stopped entering those careers. When I read things like 'too many women / not enough men' in college, I can't help but wonder if something similar is occurring here.
[Coincidentally, after each field became perceived as a mostly "female" profession, wages dropped (either explicitly or by failing to keep up with inflation.]
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Comment on Activities to do out of the house with an elderly relative? in ~life
Earhart_Light LinkIf you're planning a walk or she needs to rest (especially on the way back from wherever, when she may be tired or overwhelmed), you might consider a small, light-weight, sling-able folding chair...If you're planning a walk or she needs to rest (especially on the way back from wherever, when she may be tired or overwhelmed), you might consider a small, light-weight, sling-able folding chair or stool. Another option might be a rollator (one of those walkers with a built-in seat), though she might react with resistance and they can be expensive. Does she live in a situation where these things are borrow-able? (Some assisted living places have one you can borrow.)
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Comment on How to pass the time when you have nothing to do at work and just your phone? in ~talk
Earhart_Light LinkWhen I was in college, I got me a job just like that. I used it to do all of my homework: I did all the readings (and took notes), did all the math problems at the end of each chapter (not just...When I was in college, I got me a job just like that. I used it to do all of my homework: I did all the readings (and took notes), did all the math problems at the end of each chapter (not just the recommended ones), did research, wrote papers and essays, etc.
It was great: my job was paying me to do my homework and by bringing just my homework to work, I was too bored not to complete it. I graduated with honors.
If you're not interested in college, are there classes you could take toward whatever career goal you might have? Another field you might be interested in, a certification in your current field that might open up some options?
If not work-related, what about a small-footprint hobby? You could do knitting/needlepoint/crocheting easily enough, or whittling, or origami, or anything small and portable.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~life
Earhart_Light Link ParentFriendships develop through shared interests and repeated contacts. What things do you like to do? Find local places where those things happen, and go there regularly. It doesn't have to be every...Friendships develop through shared interests and repeated contacts. What things do you like to do? Find local places where those things happen, and go there regularly. It doesn't have to be every day, but maybe a specific time one day a week or every other week. This could be just hanging out at a game store (or playing there), it could be a book club or a bicycling, hiking or kayaking group, it could be an environmental group that clears trash or plants trees, it doesn't take matter. Just sometime that you're interested in, and a time and place that you can go to regularly.
If you can't find that place or a group to do your thing, make one. Tell the people you know, put up notices in places it would be welcome, post it on Meetup and Facebook and your local subreddit. Know that the first few meetings will be sparsely attended, but keep going; people are going to come looking for this thing you've created and you want to be ready for them when they do.
Again, friendships develope through shared interests and repeated contact. Find the spaces where people with today interests meet (or create your own) and go there regularly.
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Comment on A decade without a drink in ~health.mental
Earhart_Light LinkWhat an inspiring story!What an inspiring story!
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~life.women
Earhart_Light LinkHonestly? I wouldn't be comfortable being alone with you. I think we're supposed to meet up for coffee with your gf, she isn't there, and it's a misunderstanding? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but...Honestly? I wouldn't be comfortable being alone with you. I think we're supposed to meet up for coffee with your gf, she isn't there, and it's a misunderstanding? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but then you hit me with the 'I want to hang out more and become better friends' and I'm wondering how much of this entire one-on-one coffee date you engineered. You then invite me to dinner, I'm bringing company with me and "you're okay" with that. You want me to come alone to your apartment and you're less okay with that.
I'm fucking autistic, I can't read social cues, and you just raised almost every red flag I have. You went a bit past the edge of her comfort zone with the 'oops, my girlfriend wasn't coming' coffee date, and you keep escalating: come have a nice dinner alone with me, come Netflix and chill in my apartment. Either you're not seeing or you're not respecting the boundaries she's trying to set. Which means that she is never going to feel safe being alone with you because she won't be safe alone with you because you're not seeing or respecting her boundaries.
["She's never mentioned this!" you say. Yeah, well, what's that old truism: men are afraid women will laugh at them; women are afraid men will kill them. There's a subset of men who do not take rejection well, so you learn to be careful.]
All of this is especially an issue because she came from a middle eastern country, where women are often very much second class citizens, where men often feel free to take advantage of lone women who don't conform to their norms, and where women will be blamed and shamed for having been taken advantage of. And all of her suspicion / reactiveness will be compounded if she's ever been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted.
Honestly, if I were her, there's no way I'd ever be alone with you again. If we're meeting at your apartment for something, I'm arriving late, and I'm bringing a friend with me. Wherever we meet up, no matter how far away or unfamiliar with the area I am, I'm bringing my own transport because I'm not getting in a car with you. When we do meet up, I'm leaving early because I don't want to accidentally find myself the last person alone with you. If a group of us is meeting up at my place, a friend is going to stay at least an hour after you leave, possibly overnight, and if you "accidentally drink too much", I'm pouring you into an Uber and sending you home because you're not spending the night on the couch/in the spare bedroom.
I understand and appreciate the desire to form a wider and deeper social network, but your approach is not working with this person. Go back to group dates and stop trying to meet up with her alone.
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Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? in ~tech
Earhart_Light LinkI'd be interested to try it, if you still have invites to spare?I'd be interested to try it, if you still have invites to spare?
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Comment on What’s your “I didn’t know I needed that” item? in ~life
Earhart_Light Link ParentOh! Yes, if it was the JWST, it'd be really strange for it to fall into the sun! :) Have a great week!Oh! Yes, if it was the JWST, it'd be really strange for it to fall into the sun! :) Have a great week!
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Comment on The history of slipping on banana peels | Pretty Good, episode 14 in ~humanities.history
Earhart_Light LinkMy understanding (which may be wrong) is that the original widely-exported banana, the Gros Michel (aka "Big Mike") had a very slippery peel and this was a real if usually theoretical risk. But...My understanding (which may be wrong) is that the original widely-exported banana, the Gros Michel (aka "Big Mike") had a very slippery peel and this was a real if usually theoretical risk. But the fungus put an end to Big Mike's international reign of terror, and the Cavendish has a much less slippery peel.
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Comment on What’s your “I didn’t know I needed that” item? in ~life
Earhart_Light Link ParentI got mine from meteorites-for-sale.com . Their domain was registered back in 2006, before the internet got horrible, and archive.org shows that their content has been constantly updated since...I got mine from meteorites-for-sale.com . Their domain was registered back in 2006, before the internet got horrible, and archive.org shows that their content has been constantly updated since 2008. They have a high reputation on reddit, meteorite and space forums. My feeling is that if they were ripping people off, there'd either be a bunch of complaints online about them, or they'd have avoided the complaints by changing their URL/storefront/contact info.
Please note that there are other reputable dealers out there; this is simply the first one that I researched that passed all my tests, and that had bits and slices inexpensive enough for me to buy like 20 pieces at a time. I gave them out to my extended family at dinner the night of the eclipse :)
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Comment on What’s your “I didn’t know I needed that” item? in ~life
Earhart_Light Link ParentBecause the Sun has a really heavy gravity field that requires fuel to resist, and they're spending most of the fuel onboard actually flying through the outer corona, not trying to escape it....Because the Sun has a really heavy gravity field that requires fuel to resist, and they're spending most of the fuel onboard actually flying through the outer corona, not trying to escape it. iirc, they also have end-stage tests they're going to run as it falls in, kind of like that asteroid probe where they finished the mission by crashing the probe into the asteroid, sending data back until the very end.
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Comment on What’s your “I didn’t know I needed that” item? in ~life
Earhart_Light Link ParentHere's a pallasite slice for $216. They also have less expensive individual fragments.Here's a pallasite slice for $216. They also have less expensive individual fragments.
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Comment on What’s your “I didn’t know I needed that” item? in ~life
Earhart_Light Link ParentOur magnetic knife holder is in the gap between the fridge and the counter. I also bought an extendable magnetic flashlight, so it's easy to retrieve them when I fumble and they fall into the gap.Our magnetic knife holder is in the gap between the fridge and the counter. I also bought an extendable magnetic flashlight, so it's easy to retrieve them when I fumble and they fall into the gap.
I can't help with your produce dilemma, but I'm struck by this comment:
Have you run into this 'she keeps changing her mind issue' before? Because I'm struck by something my sociology professor said years ago: in conversations, there's a tendency for women to give "I'm listening" feedback by nodding their heads, making little "mm-hmm" noises, etc; and there's a tendency for men to not do those things.
She said that gendered miscommunication of this type was partly what fed into two of the 'classic' gendered communication stereotypes: the wife who complains her husband never listens to her (because he never gives her the "I'm listening" feedback that she gives him); and the husband who complains that his wife is always changing her mind, because he interprets her "I'm listening" feedback to mean "I agree with you".
I'm not saying that's the case here, and I think the suggestion that this is an emotional issue and not a logical one is excellent, but I wanted to bring this up in case one of the contributing issues to your disagreement is a basic difference in communication styles.