RoyalHenOil's recent activity
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Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk
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Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society
RoyalHenOil (edited )Link ParentEcology degree here, plus a background in agricultural research. It has been extremely well established for decades (certainly longer than I've been alive) that animal agriculture requires far...- Exemplary
No OP, but there isn't comprehensive data on if vegan food systems could support earth population or even if that wouldn't come with it's own externalities like requiring more land conversion for agriculture. It's a big talking point within the mariculture community.
Ecology degree here, plus a background in agricultural research.
It has been extremely well established for decades (certainly longer than I've been alive) that animal agriculture requires far greater inputs —land, water, fertilizer, etc. — than plant agriculture, by about an order of magnitude depending on which trophic level we're looking at (herbivorous animals require far less input than omnivorous or carnivorous animals) and some species-specific factors (e.g., small animals, like crickets, are substantially more efficient than large animals, like cattle; likewise, not all crops are created equal).
There are some special cases where this might not be the case. For example, livestock can sometimes grown on marginal land that's not suitable for cropping. However, this accounts for only a small percentage of meat consumption (primarily practiced by subsistence farmers in developing countries) and it comes with its own host of ecological issues, like desertification, erosion, soil compaction, etc.
The math is a lot more complicated and less clearcut when we're talking about aquatic ecosystems, since those are supported to varying extents by nutrient runoff from terrestrial ecosystems, and the trophic levels get absolutely bonkers. But the great bulk of humanity is living primarily off terrestrial agriculture where the efficiency is pretty easy to work out (enough so that farmers broadly know exactly what their land's productivity will be under different kinds of crops and livestock, even if they've never grown them before).
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Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society
RoyalHenOil Link ParentIt's an AAVE term that absolutely has a strong positive association. Super annoying that people in online spaces have been co-opting it and twisting it into something it's not, but it's hardly the...It's an AAVE term that absolutely has a strong positive association. Super annoying that people in online spaces have been co-opting it and twisting it into something it's not, but it's hardly the first time (e.g., look at how people use "bro" to dismiss and insult groups they don't like).
I know language is dynamic and blah blah blah, but I do really wish people would stop assigning negative meanings to positive AAVE terms.
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Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI live in the sticks and make well below the median wage (and way below the average wage), so I can't afford to donate a lot. So it's extremely important to me that what little I can donate has as...I live in the sticks and make well below the median wage (and way below the average wage), so I can't afford to donate a lot. So it's extremely important to me that what little I can donate has as much impact as possible, especially now that Trump shut down USAID and hundreds of thousands of people have died as a consequence. (I don't live in the US, but I am a US citizen, so I feel supremely shameful of what Trump has done even though I voted against him.)
So... I donate through an Australian effective altruist organization to combat deadly diseases in Africa and Southeast Asia. That seems to be the best way to ensure my donation, pitiful as it is, actually saves some lives.
Do you really mean it when you say you won't take anything I say seriously now that I've admitted to supporting an EA charity?
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI attended a zombie crawl, and they were there scoping out talent.I attended a zombie crawl, and they were there scoping out talent.
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Comment on Is British English actually better than American English? in ~humanities.languages
RoyalHenOil LinkI'm an American-Australian dual citizen. I don't know all that much about British English, but Australian English has a lot in common with it, so I'll just talk about Australian English. I haven't...I'm an American-Australian dual citizen. I don't know all that much about British English, but Australian English has a lot in common with it, so I'll just talk about Australian English.
I haven't found anything inherently better about one or the other — people seem to be equally capable of self-expression no matter which dialect they speak — but there are a few things I personally prefer about one versus the other.
For example, I really dislike that Australians adopted the word "chips" from both the US and England, so both fries and crisps are called chips here. Likewise, I really dislike that Americans shorten "gasoline" to "gas"; "petrol" is so much clearer.
I prefer Celsius to Fahrenheit. Even though I grew up with Fahrenheit, I took to Celsius immediately and find it much more human-readable for both weather and cooking.
On the other, I just really like feet. A foot is such a handy middle sizes between inches/centimeters and yards/meters. And as a hobbyist woodworker, I like that a foot divides into twelve inches. Base-10 may be better for arithmetic division, but base-12 is better for physical crafts, where you often want to divide things into thirds or quarters. (But once we get below inches, I'm definitely in the pro-millimeter camp! And yes, this means I absolutely do use both inches and centimeters in my projects. They're more interoperable than you'd expect, with 1 inch being 2.5 centimeters — close enough for woodworking, anyway.)
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Comment on Is British English actually better than American English? in ~humanities.languages
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI actually think of them as slightly different colors, one being warmer and one being cooler. I won't say which is which because, so far, everyone I've asked to guess has guessed right (or has...I actually think of them as slightly different colors, one being warmer and one being cooler. I won't say which is which because, so far, everyone I've asked to guess has guessed right (or has even already made the same color distinction themselves).
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
RoyalHenOil LinkI'd love to work in a haunted house. I became interested in the idea when I was a teenager and babysat for the couple who operated Netherworld. They had a lot of horror stuff around their house,...I'd love to work in a haunted house. I became interested in the idea when I was a teenager and babysat for the couple who operated Netherworld. They had a lot of horror stuff around their house, and their kid constantly wanted to play haunted house with me, which was a ton of fun.
Later on, I got to know a bunch of people who worked at Netherworld as a part-time side job during Halloween season, and they always seemed to be having the time of their lives. They got to play the coolest characters and wear the craziest costumes — and they gave me some really great scares whenever I went. Unfortunately, the timing just never worked out for me to apply.
Just before I emigrated to Australia, I almost got headhunted (har har) to play a zombie in one of those live action zombie apocalypse games (sort of like a Haunted House cross Escape Room). If I hadn't already bought my plane tickets and made moving arrangements, I absolutely would have delayed my move a couple months to do it. I still think about that a lot.
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Comment on I love bioparks in ~travel
RoyalHenOil LinkIf you ever make your way to Australia, one of my favorites is the Children's Garden, attached to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. It was designed as a playground, except that the plants...If you ever make your way to Australia, one of my favorites is the Children's Garden, attached to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. It was designed as a playground, except that the plants themselves serve as the playground equipment. Although it's for kids, it's still really interesting for adults because everything is planted around the idea of exploring freely and getting lost in a surreal environment. The rest of the botanical garden is great, too, but the Children's Garden is my favorite.
It's been such a success that it's inspired a lot of other places in Australia to incorporate plants more heavily in their playgrounds. For example, a small town near me designed a densely forested public playground and waterpark, designed around winding trails and 'rooms' to discover. Even though it's very popular (with both kids and adults), it still feels really private and wild due to the dense planting.
My very favorite garden I've ever visited is the botanical garden in San Francisco, though.
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Comment on The powerhouse of American citrus is suffering a brutal, unrelenting decline in ~food
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI am an orange fiend (my very favorite thing to eat — although, oddly, I have no tolerance for orange juice because it tastes foul and bitter, nothing at all like a fresh orange), and all the best...I am an orange fiend (my very favorite thing to eat — although, oddly, I have no tolerance for orange juice because it tastes foul and bitter, nothing at all like a fresh orange), and all the best oranges I've ever eaten in the US were grown in Florida.
The very best oranges I've ever eaten, full stop, were grown in Costa Rica, though. All from random backyard trees in the jungle while I was doing study abroad there for my Ecology degree.
I live in Australia now, and the oranges here all taste exactly like California oranges. They're fine. I still eat them. But they're nothing like a good Florida orange (much less a good Costa Rica orange), and I'm sad that's something I might never get to taste again.
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Comment on Do I need dating apps? (same-sex, a bit of ace) in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentThis is the approach my partner and I both took when we were on OKCupid, and I think it's the key thing that helped us find each other. Some flaws are deal breakers for one person, but no problem...This is the approach my partner and I both took when we were on OKCupid, and I think it's the key thing that helped us find each other.
Some flaws are deal breakers for one person, but no problem at all (maybe even desirable) for someone else — and if you get into a relationship, your flaws will come out eventually, no matter how well you hid them early on.
My thinking was that I'd much rather get filtered out of someone's dating pool before I care what they think, rather than six months into falling in love. My goal was to find a life partner, not waste 10+ years of my life jumping between short-term relationships that were going nowhere. So I basically compiled my exes' complaints about me and made sure the most salient ones were mentioned somewhere in my dating profile.
And what do you know, turns out quite few people find that kind of honesty and vulnerability deeply intriguing.
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Comment on An insight into looksmaxxxing/blackpill "ideology" in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI used OKCupid back in the day (I'm a woman, and the male-to-female ratio was extremely high), and I found I got much better results when I removed my photos and otherwise stopped emphasizing my...I used OKCupid back in the day (I'm a woman, and the male-to-female ratio was extremely high), and I found I got much better results when I removed my photos and otherwise stopped emphasizing my 'best' assets like I was advertising myself, and focused instead on the features of my personality that someone's likely to find either highly attractive or highly unattractive (e.g., the fact that I'm an extreme introvert).
I got way, way, way fewer messages, but the messages I did get were far higher quality and with people I was actually interested in meeting. I had several successful dates, and I met the man I've been with now for almost 15 years. (Turns out he was following a similar strategy. He has a number of features that sell extremely well on dating profiles, so he could have gotten a lot more bites if he'd chosen to. But he opted to obscure those and emphasize his weird personality, since personality compatibility is what actually makes or breaks a relationship.)
I don't know if the modern dating apps let you leave off details like height, but if he's serious about finding a long-term partner, I'd recommend he not include that information.
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Comment on An insight into looksmaxxxing/blackpill "ideology" in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentSame with me and my partner! He was my highest match on the whole site (before they changed the algorithm to make high matches exceedingly common), but we lived on opposite sides of the world, so...Same with me and my partner!
He was my highest match on the whole site (before they changed the algorithm to make high matches exceedingly common), but we lived on opposite sides of the world, so we just became platonic online penpals instead for several years until we couldn't stand it anymore and decided to meet.
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Comment on Half-baked idea for metered inline image allowances in ~tildes
RoyalHenOil LinkI would be in favor of allowing online images (unmetered) just in specific threads or topics. In particular, I would like to see images in certain hobby-related threads, like those related to...I would be in favor of allowing online images (unmetered) just in specific threads or topics.
In particular, I would like to see images in certain hobby-related threads, like those related to gardening and the like, where sharing images can greatly enhance the discussion. I would likely use Tildes a lot more if it had more features to support sharing hobbies and creative projects.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
RoyalHenOil LinkI've been on a bit of a horror kick lately, so I've played Scarlet Hollow through several times. It's a heavily-branching visual novel that's being released in episodes (currently on the 5th...I've been on a bit of a horror kick lately, so I've played Scarlet Hollow through several times.
It's a heavily-branching visual novel that's being released in episodes (currently on the 5th episode out of 7), and it's been a lot of fun playing alongside my partner and my sister to try to piece together the mystery and guess where things are going next. The 5th episode is where a lot of the decisions we've made so far really come back to bite us, so our poor characters are having a great time.
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Comment on Boomer hate in ~society
RoyalHenOil Link ParentTo be fair, Gen X is a relatively small generation and doesn't have as much influence as the two larger generations straddling it.To be fair, Gen X is a relatively small generation and doesn't have as much influence as the two larger generations straddling it.
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Comment on How to tolerate annoying things in ~health.mental
RoyalHenOil LinkIn my personal experience, if a mild annoyance like spilling a drink or stubbing a toe has put me in a bad mood, there's something else going on. Sometimes it's because I'm actually stressed about...In my personal experience, if a mild annoyance like spilling a drink or stubbing a toe has put me in a bad mood, there's something else going on.
Sometimes it's because I'm actually stressed about something much more serious, and it's coming out in these moments.
But if I find myself getting annoyed by little things and I don't know why, it almost always turns out that I'm underslept, dehydrated, or coming down with a cold or something. Irritability is one of the earliest signs that I'm neglecting my health and need to take things easy until spilling drinks goes back to being funny.
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Comment on Can we talk about rice cookers? in ~food
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI use a Cuckoo, and I like it a lot. It's a Korean brand, so it makes a more Korean-style rice than a Zojirushi — although the differences are subtle, and it's easy to adjust the water level to...I use a Cuckoo, and I like it a lot. It's a Korean brand, so it makes a more Korean-style rice than a Zojirushi — although the differences are subtle, and it's easy to adjust the water level to meet your personal tastes.
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Comment on Can we talk about rice cookers? in ~food
RoyalHenOil Link ParentWhere I live, I need to soak and rinse brown rice due to the risk of arsenic contamination.Where I live, I need to soak and rinse brown rice due to the risk of arsenic contamination.
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Comment on Commonly misspelled words quiz in ~humanities.languages
RoyalHenOil Link ParentVisual. I was going by the general shape of the word and what felt familiar to me. I'm more of a visual thinker than an auditory thinker (I don't have an internal monologue, for example), so...Visual. I was going by the general shape of the word and what felt familiar to me.
I'm more of a visual thinker than an auditory thinker (I don't have an internal monologue, for example), so that's probably why.
I missed out on high school prom (which I skipped to go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show) because I didn't want to pay and didn't think it sounded that fun.
I did help my friends with their prom outfits, including one friend who wanted suit made entirely out of duct tape and several friends who crossdressed and needed help with things like tailoring and applying realistic facial hair. I also helped coordinate a date switcheroo for another friend (he had to keep his real girlfriend a secret from his racist mother, so we found another interracial couple who were willing to "swap" with him for the prom pickup and prom photos).
But despite all the hijinks, I never felt any urge to go myself. Various teachers and other adults told me it was just a one-time expense for an experience I'd never get to have again and I'd grow to regret it as I got older.
It's been over two decades, and I'm still waiting for the regret I was promised. (It probably doesn't help that my friends bailed halfway through prom because they were bored. They showed up to Rocky in their prom gear and we had a great time.)