Earhart_Light's recent activity

  1. Comment on The "go fix a minor annoyance" togetherness topic in ~life

    Earhart_Light
    Link
    Hey, so, I loved this topic. Would you be okay if I credited you but made a similar post over in the fediverse?

    Hey, so, I loved this topic. Would you be okay if I credited you but made a similar post over in the fediverse?

    5 votes

  2. Comment on The "go fix a minor annoyance" togetherness topic in ~life

    Earhart_Light
    Link Parent
    Somehow the outside light for the back door is wired into the GFM breaker for the upstairs bathroom. So everything else in the house is working perfectly, you don't notice that your toothbrush...

    Somehow the outside light for the back door is wired into the GFM breaker for the upstairs bathroom. So everything else in the house is working perfectly, you don't notice that your toothbrush isn't charging, and yet nothing you change or do can fix the patio light ....

    1 vote

  3. Comment on ‘Backrooms’ sends Hollywood running to Reddit for new ideas in ~movies

    Earhart_Light
    Link
    sigh. Brace yourselves for the inevitable wave of HFY / Humans are Space Orcs / You Never Realize You're from a Hell world Until You Leave it, pitches and movies ...

    sigh. Brace yourselves for the inevitable wave of HFY / Humans are Space Orcs / You Never Realize You're from a Hell world Until You Leave it, pitches and movies ...

    32 votes

  4. Comment on The "go fix a minor annoyance" togetherness topic in ~life

    Earhart_Light
    Link
    I (finally!) de-rusted and repainted the mailbox. Thank you!

    I (finally!) de-rusted and repainted the mailbox. Thank you!

    4 votes

  5. Comment on Tesla’s newest electric vehicle could jolt the trucking industry in ~transport

    Earhart_Light
    Link Parent
    Didn't they prove that ?Tesla?'s self-driving computers would often automatically disconnect Autopilot just before a crash so that "technically" the crash didn't count as an Autopilot crash? I...

    Didn't they prove that ?Tesla?'s self-driving computers would often automatically disconnect Autopilot just before a crash so that "technically" the crash didn't count as an Autopilot crash? I just don't trust Musk or any of his companies to be operating in any kind of ethical manner.

    6 votes

  6. Comment on Smartphone recommendations? in ~tech

  7. Comment on Dual national Londoner stranded in Spain by new border rule in ~travel

    Earhart_Light
    Link
    So she knows it's a "grey area", her family and her have had a couple decades to clear it up, it's been over a decade since Brexit, and she hasn't done anything to clarify her citizenship. It...

    She told BBC London her case was "nuanced" due to historical nationality laws because her parents were unmarried when she was born in 1999, which meant her British father could not automatically pass on his citizenship. Despite paying taxes and voting in the UK, she said immigration lawyers had told her the situation put her in a legal "grey area".

    So she knows it's a "grey area", her family and her have had a couple decades to clear it up, it's been over a decade since Brexit, and she hasn't done anything to clarify her citizenship. It probably would've been a good idea to have addressed that earlier.

    8 votes

  8. Comment on Are there any small Android phones comparable to the size of an iPhone 12 mini? in ~tech

    Earhart_Light
    Link
    You might try the phone selectors at versus.

    You might try the phone selectors at versus.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on What do you think about putting your driver's license in your digital wallet? in ~tech

    Earhart_Light
    Link Parent
    Years ago, I accidently memorized my driver's license number, so that's my fall-back if I lose or forget my wallet.

    Years ago, I accidently memorized my driver's license number, so that's my fall-back if I lose or forget my wallet.

    5 votes

  10. Comment on I before she — on the shift in narrative perspective in romance novels in ~books

    Earhart_Light
    Link
    Honestly, I hate first-person POV in fanfic (and sometimes professional fiction) because it's so easy for "first person" to become "author self-insert", and I absolutely loathe self-inserts.

    Honestly, I hate first-person POV in fanfic (and sometimes professional fiction) because it's so easy for "first person" to become "author self-insert", and I absolutely loathe self-inserts.

    6 votes

  11. Comment on The average US college student is illiterate in ~life

    Earhart_Light
    Link Parent
    They've done studies and shown that you tend to remember handwritten notes better than typewritten notes. iirc, I think it engages more hooks into memory

    They've done studies and shown that you tend to remember handwritten notes better than typewritten notes. iirc, I think it engages more hooks into memory

    4 votes

  12. Comment on Why are American passenger trains slow? in ~transport

    Earhart_Light
    Link Parent
    This is something that I hadn't considered, and I appreciate up bringing it up!

    an extensive [European] coastline that made coastal shipping competitive for freight

    This is something that I hadn't considered, and I appreciate up bringing it up!

    1 vote

  13. Comment on Why are American passenger trains slow? in ~transport

    Earhart_Light
    Link Parent
    This was pre-(effective)-internet and before they ran massive oversize trains that couldn't fit on sidings, but my mom fell in love with the idea of overnight trains from those old black and white...

    This was pre-(effective)-internet and before they ran massive oversize trains that couldn't fit on sidings, but my mom fell in love with the idea of overnight trains from those old black and white movies. We were planning a vacation and decided to include a sleeper train to Chicago. Found this one train that was supposed to go from Salt Lake through Denver and then wandered east into Chicago. I think it was supposed to be like 28 hours or something?

    We looked at the schedules and found this one that was supposed to stop briefly in Denver for more passengers, and then was supposed to leave a couple hours before sunset. We thought that would be cool: sitting in the observation car, watching the sunset over the Rocky Mountains, have the late dinner after sunset, maybe see if the stars were out, head to bed in our sleeper cabin, sleep through a lot of the Great Plains.

    We reckoned without the freight trains. Again, this was before the mega-freight trains, and they were supposed to give priority to Amtrak, but they didn't. We got to Denver and were told we needed to wait for two freight trains to pass us. Which, fine. What they didn't say was how far behind us the freight trains were, or how far ahead of us we needed to let them get. istg, we were supposed to leave Denver around 4pm, and we didn't leave until after 2am, and we weren't allowed off the train.

    So our actual trip went: get to Denver. Wander fruitlessly around train in Denver for 10 hours; spend much of the time in the cabin because there isn't much to see from the observation car when it's inside the station. Have dinner - except since the train wasn't moving, they didn't fire up the kitchen; they brought us pack sandwiches and chips from somewhere outside the train (very different from the salmon and asparagus my mom was looking forward to, and they all contained meat, which my vegetarian self did not appreciate. I asked about alternate food and they brought me three cookies as my dinner). Finally give up around 11pm and head to bed. Takes about an hour to fall asleep, only to be woken up two hours later when we finally set off.

    Sleep all the way through the descent through the Rocky Mountains, be awake for almost the entire journey through the Great Plains (very tedious landscape), and finally pull into Chicago. Fortunately, we'd planned to spend the night and part of the morning in Chicago; as it was, we just barely made our connection.

    Well, at least my mom got to do her sleeper train thing. :(

    3 votes

  14. Comment on What's good in modern flashlights/headlamps? in ~hobbies

    Earhart_Light
    Link Parent
    I bought my solar charger a few years ago, so it's a bit larger and likely a bit heavier than current models. I'd guess it folds up to about 4x10 inches; when you unfold it, there are 6 panels and...

    I bought my solar charger a few years ago, so it's a bit larger and likely a bit heavier than current models. I'd guess it folds up to about 4x10 inches; when you unfold it, there are 6 panels and 4 charging ports. I like the multi-charging ability because you can't always guarantee that it'll be sunny enough to charge up, or you'll be able to set up for long enough to charge.

    It's a bit bulkier and weighs a bit more than I'd like, but it's very much a luxury purchase so I'm not likely to replace it just for the hell of it. If I was buying today, I'm sure there are slimmer and lighter models available.

    The solar charger (and my LifeStraw gravity filters) have come in very useful during power outages as well - it's really nice knowing you can (mostly) access the internet and various services when the power is out, and not ration SoT.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on What's good in modern flashlights/headlamps? in ~hobbies

    Earhart_Light
    Link
    I'm still using my old battery-powered headlamps, and I'll keep them until they somehow break. When you talk about camping, are you referring to backpacking everything in and out, or are you...

    I'm still using my old battery-powered headlamps, and I'll keep them until they somehow break.

    When you talk about camping, are you referring to backpacking everything in and out, or are you talking about relatively accessible campsites? I have a handful of power banks that I keep (relatively) charged, and I also have a small solar panel charger. I probably wouldn't take them backpacking, but I've taken them camping, and I've also found them useful in power failures.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Two small word games in ~games

    Earhart_Light
    Link
    I got tumblers! I didn't get unzip, but I didn't have much time left on my lunch break; I'll try again later. Thanks for the puzzles!

    I got tumblers! I didn't get unzip, but I didn't have much time left on my lunch break; I'll try again later. Thanks for the puzzles!

    4 votes

  17. Comment on Do you have your invite request email? Post it and let's find out what drives people to want to be a part of Tildes. in ~tildes

    Earhart_Light
    Link
    During the APIcalypse. I'm not as active as I thought I'd be here because Deimos was backed up with requests and I got accepted to kbin (fediverse) first, so I was more settled in over there by...

    During the APIcalypse. I'm not as active as I thought I'd be here because Deimos was backed up with requests and I got accepted to kbin (fediverse) first, so I was more settled in over there by the time my invite came through.

    2 votes

  18. Comment on My relationship feels like it's collapsing and I don't know what to do in ~life

    Earhart_Light
    (edited )
    Link
    I think you both could benefit from some kind of support. I don't know that down that might take Perhaps therapy for either or both of you, plus couples therapy to address your joint issues....

    I think you both could benefit from some kind of support. I don't know that down that might take Perhaps therapy for either or both of you, plus couples therapy to address your joint issues. Perhaps ADHD and autism support groups, or support groups for parents. Perhaps mindfulness and relaxation classes to take some of the stress away and the recognize when you're becoming stressed/overwhelmed. You may be able to get some counseling at a local university (graduate students need practice patients), support groups are often free and can be online, there's a bunch of meditation and relaxation stuff on YouTube.

    I know finances are tight, but the kids are definitely old enough that they can do age-appropriate chores. For example, perhaps the 8 year old can collect laundry and take out the garbage, the 12 year old can be in charge of cleaning and putting away the dishes, and the 14 year old can do the laundry or clean the bathrooms or something. [I'm not suggesting the 14yo keep the living room clean because then it becomes something the others can weaponize against her, deliberately making that room messy when they're having arguments.] That gets the adults more leeway in your lives, gets the kids away from their screens and also gives them some life skills.

    In fact, I'd suggest that the kids as a group be in charge of making one meal a week. The 8 year old can clear and set the table, the 12yo can help prepare and assist, and the 14yo can cook. It doesn't have to be anything fancy - macaroni and cheese, baked potatoes, fish sticks, steamed or roasted vegetables, whatever. Maybe change things around with the difficulty of the dishes - maybe the 8yo can boil hot dogs and bake some fries. But again, this frees both of you up one night a week, and gives the kids some life skills.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on Massive winter storm expected to dump snow and ice across United States in ~enviro

    Earhart_Light
    Link Parent
    What I don't understand is why Southern areas don't even make an effort. My tiny little town didn't have snowplows either, but we had snowplow blades that got bolted onto the front of the garbage...

    What I don't understand is why Southern areas don't even make an effort. My tiny little town didn't have snowplows either, but we had snowplow blades that got bolted onto the front of the garbage trucks and we sent those out to clear the roads. It wasn't perfect, but it helped a helluva lot.

    4 votes

  20. Comment on What's something you're "in too deep" on? in ~talk

    Earhart_Light
    Link Parent
    Honestly, I'd pull the trigger on sending your kid to public school. S/he's going to have a lot of adjustments moving into "public life", whenever that hits. High school is hell for many people...

    Honestly, I'd pull the trigger on sending your kid to public school. S/he's going to have a lot of adjustments moving into "public life", whenever that hits. High school is hell for many people (it's specifically why Buffy was set in high school), but s/he can make their adjustments during a period where they're already adjusting anyway, and put them into a better footing for going to college or getting a job.

    27 votes