Mullin's recent activity

  1. Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    Hmm, hard to say, I like Civet, but it's less than in something like Kouros that's pretty controversial, and more than Chypre Siam where you wouldn't notice. Definitely not musk forward as a scent...

    Hmm, hard to say, I like Civet, but it's less than in something like Kouros that's pretty controversial, and more than Chypre Siam where you wouldn't notice. Definitely not musk forward as a scent to my nose, compared to say Madagascar Man or Musc Ravageur, where the musk is obvious with the vanilla and other notes.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    I love desert rain and papier d'armenie, those are my favorites from the brand

    I love desert rain and papier d'armenie, those are my favorites from the brand

  3. Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    Have you smelled T-rex by Zoologist? It's a notorious fragrance in the live it or hate it, to me it smells like that awesome putting out a candle smell, I love it but haven't bought a full bottle...

    Have you smelled T-rex by Zoologist? It's a notorious fragrance in the live it or hate it, to me it smells like that awesome putting out a candle smell, I love it but haven't bought a full bottle just yet since it's so potentially off-putting. My friend fucking hates it, he absolutely hates candles and it reminds him of it so strongly. So I'm concerned if I wear it(and it is pretty strong) people might be like WTF were you just in a house fire?

    1 vote

  4. Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    I adore Encre Noir. It is an absolutely insane value. If you like it, I'd suggest some other vetivers: vetiver bourbon by perfume empire, sultan vetiver by nishane, and kind of any from Guerlain,...

    I adore Encre Noir. It is an absolutely insane value. If you like it, I'd suggest some other vetivers: vetiver bourbon by perfume empire, sultan vetiver by nishane, and kind of any from Guerlain, but I like the aqua allegria forte nerolia vetiver. I bought that recently and I've been wearing it more than almost anything else (especially when it's so damn hot outside)

  5. Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    Grove is in the Heart by Samar should be absolutely up your alley. It smells like you just peeled a bag of clementines. One of my favorites but my wife doesn't really like it so I don't wear it...

    Grove is in the Heart by Samar should be absolutely up your alley. It smells like you just peeled a bag of clementines. One of my favorites but my wife doesn't really like it so I don't wear it that often haha.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    I haven't smelled any of those ones unfortunately, but I have Amanita which is like a dank soil, and I think some other one, desert rain, that has that rain scent. I really like a lot of their...

    I haven't smelled any of those ones unfortunately, but I have Amanita which is like a dank soil, and I think some other one, desert rain, that has that rain scent. I really like a lot of their stuff and they are very reasonably priced, the 10ml or 8ml or whatever rollers, I haven't gone through even one. (granted I have a dozen+)

    2 votes

  7. Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    You should absolutely check out Hexenacht, they are an indie perfumer and have several with petrichor in the notes

    You should absolutely check out Hexenacht, they are an indie perfumer and have several with petrichor in the notes

    3 votes

  8. Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk

    Mullin
    Link
    Too many to name, but to narrow down a few....Musc ravager as far as if I had to only have one, but it's a particular vibe. Big vanilla big musk. Sultan Vetiver for fresh, hotter weather. Probably...

    Too many to name, but to narrow down a few....Musc ravager as far as if I had to only have one, but it's a particular vibe. Big vanilla big musk. Sultan Vetiver for fresh, hotter weather. Probably Eau Sauvage(NOT Sauvage) for one that's inoffensive, could wear in an office setting. I got into fragrance maybe 15+ years ago, usual designer ones that I still love: le male, Kouros, egoiste. My brother and friend also love fragrances so over the years we've progressed through weird ones, niche fragrances, etc. getting a lot of samples and collectively going through them is a real pleasure, and I'd highly recommend doing that with a group of friends even if they aren't into perfume. Sometimes you'll find introducing people to fragrances will get them hooked or you'll find things you smell as abhorrent they'll love. Among our group, Amouage King Blue smells literally like poop. It smells like poop, I've changed a lot of diapers and King Blue smells like it but some people swear it's the best one Amouage makes. What are ones you go to?

    2 votes

  9. Comment on $22,000 per hour: assistants use a legislative loophole to outearn US surgeons in ~health

    Mullin
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    This is something people never think about, everyone blames insurance companies but they are the ones with leverage to be on the other side of cost pressures. This will result in care being more...

    This is something people never think about, everyone blames insurance companies but they are the ones with leverage to be on the other side of cost pressures. This will result in care being more expensive for everyone, we do not want to deal with a world where premiums increase enough to offset these ridiculous payments. Surgery is already a fucking nightmare when the facility, the doctor, the anesthesia, and apparently the surgical assistant can all be in/out of network arbitrarily! With basically zero ability for patients to influence this. Absolutely stupid legislation. It reminds me of tort reform where the insurance companies were on the other side. It's not as if either side is necessarily better they both suck when they seek profit over care, but there needs to be cost pressures on both sides otherwise healthcare costs balloon out of control (which we are already seeing)

    3 votes

  10. Comment on I'm looking for an adage or "law" (like Conway's law), but for dealing with AI slop in ~tech

    Mullin
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    Slop labor. One of the most terse emails I have sent to a former boss was "do not, under any circumstances, send me an AI generated email, or an AI generated list of tasks or work, I will ignore...

    Slop labor. One of the most terse emails I have sent to a former boss was "do not, under any circumstances, send me an AI generated email, or an AI generated list of tasks or work, I will ignore it". Which fortunately worked, but yes, I have been on the wrong side of people using copilot for analysis that is both literally and technically bad and also not something the person who executed it understood, and it ended up causing multiple back and forth errors before it was resolved. Something that would have never happened pre-AI. It's like how more people doesn't necessarily make anything faster, but you're adding even more people: now instead of 3 people, it's 3 people and 3 AI instances, and it's just slop on slop on slop.

    So idk, slop labor is the best way I can phrase it, you've generated slop lazily and I'm the one that has to read through the garbage. Weaponized incompetence but it's slop.

    7 votes

  11. Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    I don't have any problem cooking eggs on stainless. Nor fish or scallops or anything else, as long as you let the pan come to temp, use oil, and let the food naturally release rather than trying...

    I don't have any problem cooking eggs on stainless. Nor fish or scallops or anything else, as long as you let the pan come to temp, use oil, and let the food naturally release rather than trying to turn it too early it's fine. Restaurants use stainless fairly frequently without any issues of sticking. Yes, it takes technique, but technique is something you can develop over time. It's not a race or anything. The even heating and conductivity of stainless clad is going to result in better cooking most of the time. I mean there's countless evidence this is the case. Cast iron fell out of favor because it was a worse material, and you can't really work around its flaws, whereas with clad, you absolutely can. One of the best things I did for my own cookware was just trash all the crappy and cheap non-stick etc I'd accumulated over the years, and only keep stainless clad or copper cookware with the exception of a few Staub/Le Creuset enameled cast iron I'd been gifted.

    1 vote

  12. Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    Well, in my defense I suggested a stainless clad, which is much more affordable! I think you're also going to get very good or better results with that than cast iron. There's just not really any...

    Well, in my defense I suggested a stainless clad, which is much more affordable! I think you're also going to get very good or better results with that than cast iron. There's just not really any benefit and there's a reason that restaurants basically never use cast iron. They use stainless or carbon steel almost exclusively. Cast iron is outdated, which isn't to say it can't make good food or that it can't be nice/beautiful, like I said I have a few enameled cast iron Dutch ovens etc that work great, but I just don't see a reason to fuss with cast iron for stovetop cooking.

    6 votes

  13. Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    Someone else linked a YouTube video from Chris Young where, when all pans were brought to temperature, heat turned off, and a pork chop placed inside.....the high conductivity pans achieved the...

    Someone else linked a YouTube video from Chris Young where, when all pans were brought to temperature, heat turned off, and a pork chop placed inside.....the high conductivity pans achieved the same sear in less time than the heavier carbon steel or cast iron, even though the cast iron had plenty of thermal mass to sear longer, the conductivity matters not just between the pan and the food but the pan with itself. Cast iron will not move the heat from the rest of the pan to the now colder spot under the food, it simply can't do it the way that more conductive materials can.

    I assure you that a copper pan, especially a high quality one, which will be nearly as heavy as cast iron, my copper pans are so heavy my wife cannot use them :( , will give you the best sear of your life, because it has superior conductivity and comparable thermal mass.

    10 votes

  14. Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    I'm not super familiar right now, but Demeyere/All clad are high quality, I'm not sure if maybe there are better bargains out there, sometimes either brand can be bad on sale from various places.

    I'm not super familiar right now, but Demeyere/All clad are high quality, I'm not sure if maybe there are better bargains out there, sometimes either brand can be bad on sale from various places.

  15. Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    Potentially yes, my intuition is that a large burner should supply more heat energy than most food could possibly intake, but that's where at least for searing, a high thermal mass pan(whether...

    Potentially yes, my intuition is that a large burner should supply more heat energy than most food could possibly intake, but that's where at least for searing, a high thermal mass pan(whether copper or very thick aluminum) can quickly conduct all of its stored heat into the food, though after that it would be constrained by the heat source itself. This is why if you're searing steaks you would want to give the pan some time to come back up to temp before dropping another cold(comparatively) steak into the pan. Yeah with woks they are usually carbon steel and thin because there wouldn't be any advantage to making it thicker for stir frying, it'd just be a pain in the ass to handle haha. There is also an argument that when you're using oil, the oil gets to pan temp and then conducts energy into the food via itself, so it's not quite as cut and dry as I made it seem, but it doesn't change anything about pan materials at least

    5 votes

  16. Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food

    Mullin
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    In current year, there is almost zero reason to cook with cast iron. I would highly recommend reasonable quality stainless clad (aluminum core) from reputable brands and simply learning to cook...

    In current year, there is almost zero reason to cook with cast iron. I would highly recommend reasonable quality stainless clad (aluminum core) from reputable brands and simply learning to cook with stainless. You will get more advantages that way. If you absolutely want the best cookware, then copper is the way to go, it is just very expensive (but surprisingly, high end stainless can be as much as copper). I recommend any of the brands that are stainless lined vs tin. Yes, cleaning the exterior of copper is a pain if you want them to stay shiny, personally I don't care. I've also fucked up and left them on the stovetop more than once where an entire layer of oxidation happened to the copper I had to flake off and remove. Despite looking hideous, all of them perform amazing, and I'm sure I could polish them if I desired, but I don't really care. They get patina or dark spots or turn orange than green, cook the same no big deal.

    There are way too many misconceptions about cast iron that don't really shake out. Yes, it is heavy. So it can hold more thermal energy than a lighter aluminum pan......but the conductivity is so bad you can't get that energy into the food, and they are often not homogeneous enough to have even heating, and if you have a high end stainless clad pan with a thick aluminum core that's comparable weight to cast iron.....it will hold more just as much thermal energy while being a better pan in every other way. Cast iron also has a bad surface finish, which contributes to sticking/bad conduction, and does not help seasoning the pan or any nonsense. Back in the day higher end cast iron was finished smooth in the inside, which was better, but because modern brands are leaning on the myths(and cutting costs) they just leave the cast finish.

    Finally, stainless steel can also be seasoned, in the exact same manner as cast iron, there is nothing at all preventing you from seasoning stainless, and many of my most used stainless pans have a seasoning layer on them. Here is my pro tip actually: many stainless pans, even expensive ones from All-Clad or Demeyere, still have the lathe marks on the interior: sand these down to be glass smooth. A smoother pan is superior in every way. One of the other big factors in my love of stainless clad copper is because they are stamped and not machined, the interior is extremely smooth (they may sandblast them now that I think about it) and it both will take seasoning better, conduct heat better, and stick less.

    I am ready and willing to fight anyone in the comments that believes cast iron still has merit :P

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    The heat retention of cast iron is not important for cooking at all, and it's actively detrimental for the things you listed. It will work sure, but it's definitely not ideal. You said it...

    The heat retention of cast iron is not important for cooking at all, and it's actively detrimental for the things you listed. It will work sure, but it's definitely not ideal. You said it yourself, the conductivity of cast iron is very bad. Since you have a heat source supplying energy to the pan, the pan will get to the temperature of the heat source, but when you go to sear a steak, the searing only happens by the pan conducting energy into the steak, even though cast iron can store a lot of energy, it can't dump that energy into the steak, and whatever energy it does dump, if that is higher than it's conductivity with the heat source, it will get cold and take longer to maintain temperature. For searing you want maximum conductivity, yes thermal mass matters, but less than you think. A stainless(aluminum cored) pan with adequate heat source can conduct heat more effectively from the heat source to the steak, for example .

    The king of course, and it's why you'll see them in Michelin restaurants all over the place, is copper. Higher conductivity than aluminum, more thermal mass than cast iron. They are just expensive. Modern copper pans with stainless lining vs tin are heat safe to any temperature you want, making them by far the best for searing.

    Sorry to um actually you. But this is a nitpick of mine when people talk about cast iron. I still have some cast iron pots etc for baking, where it largely doesn't matter since everything will be at oven temp regardless, but for stovetop cooking, I will choose copper, then stainless, then carbon steel, then cast iron last. (I don't cook with non-stick ever)

    18 votes

  18. Comment on How important is sexual chemistry/ability/quality to you when you date/marry/whatever? in ~life

    Mullin
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    To put it bluntly: it was one of if not the most important factor in a partner for me, arguably the only thing more important is that they are generally stable (financially, mentally, socially)....

    To put it bluntly: it was one of if not the most important factor in a partner for me, arguably the only thing more important is that they are generally stable (financially, mentally, socially). Sex is such a huge part of relationships and honest to god so beneficial for mental health and stress relief that I think it's extremely important that it's something you feel fulfilled about with a partner, and that goes for every flavor of libido/orientation/kink or otherwise.

    I would say I'm not sure dancing has anything to do with it, I think playing an instrument, or generally being capable of holding a rhythm is sufficient as far as mechanics go, but you'll find plenty of people that prefer varying tempos, fast to slow, slow to fast, etc. I think having bodies that are compatible is a big part of enjoyment, obviously from the male perspective if you struggle to fit, or if there's too much rubbing, or if body shape/for lack of a more elegant term, fat, gets in the way in certain positions etc. I think largely these logistics can be reconciled with enough time and experience with a partner, but boy is it nicer when they just naturally fall into place.

    Being desired is also just such a huge deal, and to a certain extent, that also means (at least for me) that there's some give and take and it doesn't always feel like one person is getting the better end of things, sometimes it is really nice to just uh, receive oral to completion, for any gender. Or to go on the attack, if that's your preferred position. But that your partner not only is attracted to you, but carnally attracted (and willing to act on it) obviously feels great, and I wouldn't want to be in a relationship where I felt I had to beg or bargain for sex, that wouldn't make me feel very good nor would I want to experience that long term.

    I will say, as far as lasting goes, I'd highly suggest easing back on masturbating especially without lubrication, death grip is definitely a thing and it seems like you are in the midst of it. When it had been a year or so between having PIV I also couldn't finish, but gradually that went back to normal where if I'm seriously wanting to, I can easily finish in 5-10mins, which seems to be the sweet spot for most people as far as actual coitus goes. I think again, whether you believe you don't mind, many people who receive do want you to finish, and might even get a bit of an ego boost if it happens quickly. Also, expecting someone to perform oral for an hour is a bit much, if they are trying to get you off that way, it's better if it can happen on their terms (whether they want it to be short or long etc). So I think that's something I'd suggest getting a handle on. Also speaking as a parent, if it took me over an hour every time we'd never be able to. It's super important from a chemistry perspective AND logistics that we can both get off very quickly before the house burns down, while still maintaining that couple intimacy we desire.

    That's my 2 cents on it, I've been married 11 years, together for 15, if that gives some context. And we still manage 3-5x per week....basically the entire time, barring literally bed rest post-pregnancy (but you can still be active up to the birth!).

    8 votes

  19. Comment on How funerals keep Africa poor in ~life

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    It seems that these extremely expensive funerals are a more modern invention, so I think there's not necessarily a reason to point to the colonial history of sub-Saharan Africa if it's something...

    It seems that these extremely expensive funerals are a more modern invention, so I think there's not necessarily a reason to point to the colonial history of sub-Saharan Africa if it's something that has arisen post-colonialism, or within-colonialism if you'd prefer that phrasing. So from a case study perspective I think focusing on the how's and the why's is more pertinent, sure, the author is making a value judgement about the practice, and indeed making a judgement against kinship societies in comparison to more western market economies.

    I think it's still totally fine to look at the situation and wonder: why are these societies, even with modern information, still making sub-optimal decisions, and we're not just speaking sub-optimal in terms of some capitalist vs kinship perspective, sub-optimal in terms of access to healthcare, maternal mortality, child hunger, etc. Real human metrics, the purpose of maslow's hierarchy is to be a heuristic for quality of life, I do find it interesting in a paradoxical way that poor communities would spend so much celebrating the dead but not spend on healthcare for the living, that's an interesting thing to look at, even if you think this author in particular has an axe to grind.

    I think there's a time and a place to bring up the history that may have influenced initial conditions or underlying circumstances of a problem, but it's not always helpful to addressing that problem. I deal a lot with medicaid populations in healthcare, and saying "racism" is the reason for the disparate health outcomes of African Americans may be completely true, but it's also unhelpful. When our goal is to figure out how to stop so many black americans from having kidney failure, we have to address any practices or cultural components that are contributory factors, and yes, make a value judgement about it. I think it's just a bit....tiring, that I knew these types of comments would be here as soon as I read the article, but I don't see the same type of defense of culture or non-capitalist ideals when it comes to female genital mutilation? We don't have to litigate everything as serving some alternative cultural theses every time, sometimes we can just decry something as harmful. I think that's obviously the case with FGM, I think it's the case with Hasidic communities denying basic education to kids, and I think it's harmful here if families feel entitled to spend multiple years of salary on ever exorbitant funerals, especially when it appears to have no real historical cultural significance. Similar things like gambling, in western societies or otherwise, or lotto tickets, or payday loans, it's preying on the less fortunate to extract wealth away from them, I don't think we have to bend over backwards to defend that.

    4 votes

  20. Comment on How funerals keep Africa poor in ~life

    Mullin
    Link Parent
    I think it's framed that this is one of many things keeping Africans, of Ghana and similar nations that have this practice, poor. Not that it's the reason they are poor, but it's something that...

    I think it's framed that this is one of many things keeping Africans, of Ghana and similar nations that have this practice, poor. Not that it's the reason they are poor, but it's something that keeps destroying the ability for families to spend on other, more productive things. I can see posts on Reddit in /r/Ghana lamenting the practice, and from cursory searches, it's not even something that has historical precedence in their culture, it's a modern practice, something that has more or less appeared organically. I think that's why it's important to look at it and the culture surrounding it. You can read anecdotes from many insular communities where the in-group is prioritized, whether that be money lending, jobs, etc, and it oftentimes even if it has some protective effects, it also ends up with too many negative externalities, compared to what we'd consider "typical". A place like Kiryas Joel for example, where the children can't and don't speak English, and are woefully unprepared for any society that isn't Hasidic, and those kids don't have an option to choose where they are born or the community they are raised in. It's not a good look. So there's always trade-offs, there's always reasons cultures develop practices that on paper don't seem to make a lot of sense, but I don't think it's wrong to point to the ways in which they might be detrimental to those communities.

    5 votes