UniquelyGeneric's recent activity

  1. Comment on My hair is thinning. Tips and tricks, please! in ~life.style

    UniquelyGeneric
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    There are studies that show minoxidil can improve women’s hair as well, but it can easily go overboard (e.g. growing a unibrow or other unintended hair growth). The difference between men and...

    There are studies that show minoxidil can improve women’s hair as well, but it can easily go overboard (e.g. growing a unibrow or other unintended hair growth). The difference between men and women’s minoxidil is purely on the frequency of use (once a day for women, vs. twice a day for men). The concentration is the same (5%), yet the price is marked up for the women’s version (because of course it is).

    Don’t take my comment the same as truth, though, I’m just a random Internet stranger after all. Always good to familiarize yourself with available scientific research before undergoing any new medication. Unfortunately there’s a dearth of data for women’s hair loss/thinning, but that research is slowly growing over time.

    7 votes
  2. Comment on My hair is thinning. Tips and tricks, please! in ~life.style

    UniquelyGeneric
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    This is usually because the liquid version uses propylene glycol to aid in absorption. That chemical dries out your skin, which causes itchiness. The foam version doesn’t use the same ingredient,...

    Minoxidil works, but […] it can really irritate your scalp

    This is usually because the liquid version uses propylene glycol to aid in absorption. That chemical dries out your skin, which causes itchiness. The foam version doesn’t use the same ingredient, but it’s more difficult to get it to touch the scalp if you have longer hair.

    3 votes
  3. Comment on My hair is thinning. Tips and tricks, please! in ~life.style

    UniquelyGeneric
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    Finasteride will stop hair loss and give you a baseline to work with. Minoxidil can grow and thicken hair, but it’s not a sustainable solution on its own without pairing it with finasteride to...

    Finasteride will stop hair loss and give you a baseline to work with.

    Minoxidil can grow and thicken hair, but it’s not a sustainable solution on its own without pairing it with finasteride to prevent continued hair loss.

    There’s various homeopathic treatments that are likely snake oil grifts exploiting the desperate, so watch out as you do research online. The only two FDA approved methods are the ones listed above. Nizoral shampoo has some clinical evidence of effectiveness, but is nothing compared to the other two medications.

    Ultimately, you’re going to be fighting against a relentless biological process so you will have to commit to a daily regimen (twice daily for minoxidil). Hair is also a reflection of your overall health and stress levels, which you already have to manage daily.

    I like the analogy to tending a garden. Finasteride gives you a good soil bed for roots to grow. Minoxidil is like a fertilizer. Exercise and a healthy diet are like sunshine and water. But as a gardener you need to develop a good routine to remain attentive to your garden’s needs.

    Even with all the effort, you may not be able to stave off the hair loss entirely, you may just slow it down. That being said, the effort is not so onerous that it’s not worth trying it out. You already brush your teeth daily (and “you only have to brush the teeth you want to keep!”), so adding a few more minutes to your existing routine may be worth keeping your hair around for years to come.

    If I were you, I’d find a dermatologist and get on finasteride asap to protect your baseline, and then you can see if it’s worth adding minoxidil to the routine. You will have to spend money, but there are ways to reduce costs. Stick to generic drugs, Kirkland brand liquid minoxidil (liquid is more effective and cheaper than foam), and you can use a pill cutter for finasteride since it’s cheaper in bulk.

    7 votes
  4. Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk

    UniquelyGeneric
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    I creeped on a German subreddit to see that they describe flashing headlights as the “light horn”, which I thought was a funny concept. This reminded me of a story in Japan of people using their...

    I creeped on a German subreddit to see that they describe flashing headlights as the “light horn”, which I thought was a funny concept.

    This reminded me of a story in Japan of people using their hazards as a way to show thanks/appreciation on the road.

    I wonder if there’s an alternative method for communicating on the road that don’t need horns since they can be intrusive in quiet settings. Noise pollution adds stress and decreases life expectancy for the city-folk that live around it.

    6 votes
  5. Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk

    UniquelyGeneric
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    A common party discussion in my friend group is playing the “kill, fuck, marry” game with bread, pasta, and rice. It’s a deceptively simple choice but leads to many passionate disagreements. Maybe...

    A common party discussion in my friend group is playing the “kill, fuck, marry” game with bread, pasta, and rice.

    It’s a deceptively simple choice but leads to many passionate disagreements. Maybe better in a party setting, but it’s a difficult decision to commit to.

    6 votes
  6. Comment on Tips for increasing online privacy (without going insane)? in ~tech

    UniquelyGeneric
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    All great suggestions by many here, but one I haven’t seen is to use Firefox Focus for general browsing. It deletes cookies, history, and local storage after each session. Alternatively you can...

    All great suggestions by many here, but one I haven’t seen is to use Firefox Focus for general browsing. It deletes cookies, history, and local storage after each session. Alternatively you can just start a new session at any time. Removing the ability for any site to track you longitudinally is just another method of covering your tracks when you can’t ensure privacy blockers will work for 100% of trackers.

    Side benefit is a decluttered browsing experience. On my other browsers I have and endless growth of tabs I keep forgetting to clear out. Firefox Focus removes the need to think about maintaining data hygiene.

    Occasionally I do need to switch to Chrome (ugh) or Vanilla Firefox because I need to persist my browser state (signing into services or online shopping), but it’s nice to force me to be more thoughtful when I do need to switch to a different context. It’s similar to having to use a !bang operator in DuckDuckGo/Kagi when I want to switch to Google Search (thankfully less and less common these days).

    2 votes
  7. Comment on Why do you live? in ~humanities

    UniquelyGeneric
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    This reminds me a lot of my favorite Zen kōan, The Maybe Story. It reminds me to never get too caught up in emotional fervor with life as happiness or suffering can be transient, and sometimes a...

    I live because every day something happens. Might be good, bad, or neutral.

    This reminds me a lot of my favorite Zen kōan, The Maybe Story. It reminds me to never get too caught up in emotional fervor with life as happiness or suffering can be transient, and sometimes a negative experience can lead to a positive one (and vice versa). It also encourages me to appreciate the “good times” when life is not particularly difficult, because things can easily turn around.

    I’m writing this comment after a doctor’s visit about a recent knee surgery that will take 6 months to fully recover, so I have a newfound appreciation of baking able to walk, which I took for granted. The original knee injury happened while having fun dancing at a wedding, so good/bad times can shift very quickly or sometimes take very long. Regardless, nothing is forever, and the ephemerality of life is what makes it interesting.

    1 vote
  8. Comment on I've added ~society for topics related to politics, law, policies, and similar societal-level subjects in ~tildes.official

    UniquelyGeneric
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    I was actually musing to myself that seeing Deimos post a major site change feels like witnessing a seismic shift in this forum’s future culture. The infrastructure being laid down now will govern...

    I was actually musing to myself that seeing Deimos post a major site change feels like witnessing a seismic shift in this forum’s future culture. The infrastructure being laid down now will govern the dynamic of the site and discussions around one of the most controversial topics of all time. It feels like being in “the room where it happens”, or witnessing a constitutional amendment.

    While Tildes wasn’t created “in order to form a more perfect Union”, it does feel like Deimos’ has been striving to make the least shitty social media site/forum by encouraging collaboration over division, and so I see parallels between the two.

    If Tildes is creating a more ideal model for discourse online, then it’s interesting what that says about how we will be conducting discussions about something that affects everyone. Politics has become so ubiquitous, that opting-out of it can be seen as a political statement itself (e.g. not voting). The choice to embrace politics as its own category, but allow people to filter it out by default may stem off future debates that could have eventually led to the site’s own destruction (i.e. toxic disagreements that dominate the content and turn away users).

    Changing the parent topic of politics to ~society is also interesting as it seems more academic and inclusive than the gamesmanship associated with the word “politics”. I hope it will lead to more empathy and reasoned analysis rather than the fiery emotions that typically flare up when topics get personal.

    Time will tell if the change was beneficial, but I’m just glad that regardless of the outcome Tildes is continuing to evolve, and that the “constitution” from our benevolent dictator is being treated as a living document. Part of the issue with the US currently is that our own Constitution has ossified and is not adapting to modern society.

    8 votes
  9. Comment on What to snack on (other than slices of parmesan) in ~food

    UniquelyGeneric
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    If you want to have authentic movie theater flavor, make sure to use Flavacol!

    If you want to have authentic movie theater flavor, make sure to use Flavacol!

    1 vote
  10. Comment on I bought a bike. What next? in ~hobbies

    UniquelyGeneric
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    Kryptonite is the established best-in-class for bike locks. E-bikes are a higher target for thieves due to their higher price point (at a minimum don’t leave the battery unattended), so you’re not...

    Kryptonite is the established best-in-class for bike locks. E-bikes are a higher target for thieves due to their higher price point (at a minimum don’t leave the battery unattended), so you’re not going to want to make a theft easy. Often thieves will initially disengage the bike by stealing a front tire, saddle, or the battery so that they can return later with better tools to remove the lock itself. You could consider hex locks if you’re paranoid, but that is dependent upon your environment and use cases. Kryptonite sells a hardened version of their locks the Fahgettaboudit) due to the prominence of bike thefts in my city. That being said, common thieves typically use leverage to pop off a U-lock before resorting to bolt cutters or portable circular saws, so where and how you lock your bike is more important than the type of lock.

    The front wheel is detachable because it’s easier for servicing and for stowing a bike jn smaller spaces (e.g. back of a car). Also, the rear wheel is fundamentally attached to the gears in a way that there’s no easy way to remove without requiring separate tools and getting your hands dirty (and requiring a tune up afterwards).

    I would advise against using 3D printed materials for the water bottle cage. The flexion it would regularly endure would make it easy to snap parts off. A simple steel cage is cheap and effective to the extent that you should probably spend more time figuring out what bottle you want (CamelBak Podium is a solid choice). That being said, if you’re committed to a 3D print, then I would suggest using ABS in your print to make it more sturdy.

    Another thing to consider is a saddle bag to contain any roadside maintenance necessities: Tire repair kit at a minimum, likely requiring a hand-pump or CO2 canister, and a bike key/tool. None of these are strictly necessary, just good to have in the event of a popped tire (which is when you’ll appreciate the front tire quick release!). I’m also the weirdo who over-optimizes and got the Aeroclam, but you can pack as much or as little as you want in the bag. Just commuting? Probably don’t need much. Extended rides? Best to be prepared for a tire popping miles from a city. Bike camping? Gonna want some panniers.

    11 votes
  11. Comment on Winamp releases source code, asks for help modernizing the player in ~comp

    UniquelyGeneric
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    On a similar note, Electric Sheep is one of the coolest screensavers from back in the day (and still is!). The Gold version allows HD resolution (though this predates 4K). Since the screensavers...

    Same for screensavers.

    On a similar note, Electric Sheep is one of the coolest screensavers from back in the day (and still is!). The Gold version allows HD resolution (though this predates 4K).

    Since the screensavers are actually generated on people’s home machines, it has the effect of continually making new designs throughout the years. This predates GenAI and blockchain, and uses a fraction of the compute power, and yet here I am feeling like a Luddite wondering if it was a better use of resources than modern tech is proving to be.

    4 votes
  12. Comment on Winamp releases source code, asks for help modernizing the player in ~comp

    UniquelyGeneric
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    The developer of G-Force is still maintaining and updating the code, supposedly looking into 3D modeling. I think it’s still the best visualizer on the market despite looking quite similar to how...

    The developer of G-Force is still maintaining and updating the code, supposedly looking into 3D modeling. I think it’s still the best visualizer on the market despite looking quite similar to how it was 15+ years ago.

    The same developer also makes WhiteCap, which is a little more closer to a spectrum analyzer that looks cool.

    It is a shame that visualizers haven’t seem to have gotten much love in recent years, especially since the hardware we have now has only gotten better.

    7 votes
  13. Comment on Which debut albums from the 2020s do you recommend? in ~music

    UniquelyGeneric
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    CVC - Get Real Spotify recommended me this yacht-rock band one night last year, and I had the luck to find out they had a live concert nearby later that same evening! They're a whimsical band from...

    CVC - Get Real

    Spotify recommended me this yacht-rock band one night last year, and I had the luck to find out they had a live concert nearby later that same evening! They're a whimsical band from England, but capture an older era's sound very well.

    Their main single, Sophie, is an earworm that I couldn't shake the feeling like I've heard before. At their live showing they gave a nod to Wicked Game, which shares the same chord progression.

    2 votes
  14. Comment on Elon Musk’s lawyers quietly subpoena public interest groups in ~tech

    UniquelyGeneric
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    Prior to reading this, I was under the impression that anti-SLAPP was already federal, but after looking it up it appears it only exists in 33 states. Is there something about California’s...

    California’s anti-SLAPP legislation is one good example of a protection

    Prior to reading this, I was under the impression that anti-SLAPP was already federal, but after looking it up it appears it only exists in 33 states. Is there something about California’s implementation that stands out amongst the others? Or are California’s generally progressive laws working in conjunction to promote a more fair judicial environment?

    7 votes
  15. Comment on Elon Musk’s lawyers quietly subpoena public interest groups in ~tech

    UniquelyGeneric
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    I don’t want to pretend to be able to predict future dog whistles so I’ll just list a few terms/phrases that cropped up over the years that eventually had a negative political association...

    I don’t want to pretend to be able to predict future dog whistles so I’ll just list a few terms/phrases that cropped up over the years that eventually had a negative political association advertisers would probably want to avoid:

    • Let’s Go Brandon
    • “woke”
    • DEI
    • Critical Race Theory
    • OK hand sign

    While these may have originally been benign (or even seen in a positive context), the discourse about them eventually got dominated by right wing extremism.

    10 votes
  16. Comment on Elon Musk’s lawyers quietly subpoena public interest groups in ~tech

    UniquelyGeneric
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    GARM discontinuing could have long-term consequences for the Internet at large. For those not aware, GARM is the organization that standardizes “brand safety” categorizations (i.e. porn,...

    GARM discontinuing could have long-term consequences for the Internet at large. For those not aware, GARM is the organization that standardizes “brand safety” categorizations (i.e. porn, terrorism, drugs, hate speech, and other things advertisers may want to avoid).

    While the current categorization may be sufficient, it only takes a shift in dogwhistles to create a new type of category that can’t be agreed upon across the industry. The net effect is that it doesn’t get put into a blocklist for advertisers and can be funded despite negative societal effects.

    This dissolution of GARM may put a chilling effect on future industry collaboration and force more advertisers to be on the hook for their individual decisions of where to spend their money. In an ideal world that might be a good thing, but under a fascist regime where anybody who dares go against the party’s alignment is punished, it could be a very bad thing.

    9 votes
  17. Comment on Valve handbook for new employees — first edition in ~games

    UniquelyGeneric
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    Furthermore, the concept of a CEO's main priority to be providing shareholder value was pushed by Milton Friedman in the 70s without any fundamental basis, and even Jack Welch has called it "the...

    Furthermore, the concept of a CEO's main priority to be providing shareholder value was pushed by Milton Friedman in the 70s without any fundamental basis, and even Jack Welch has called it "the worlds dumbest idea" (bet you didn't expect Forbes to write that article!).

    So in reality, the idea of maximizing shareholder value was all based off perception/vibes (as if the stock market wasn't already a graph of "rich people's feelings." This perception became ossified by structural incentives made during the 80s to reduce taxes for the wealthy and heavily weighting executive compensation towards stocks.

    So when you see that a lot of the decision makers at companies are detached from actual business realities (i.e. their employees, customers, and product), it's no surprise why so many public companies these days march head-first towards enshittification.

    5 votes
  18. Comment on Google must destroy $5 billion worth of user data illegally collected in Incognito Mode in ~tech

    UniquelyGeneric
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    I think they introduced that type of language after a few years of general users misunderstanding what it actually does. I believe in the blog post where they reintroduced the feature, Google said...

    I think they introduced that type of language after a few years of general users misunderstanding what it actually does.

    I believe in the blog post where they reintroduced the feature, Google said something like “if you’re shopping for a gift for your wife and don’t want her to know about it”, which I thought was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the more common use for porn. In retrospect, if you were actually shopping for your wife, your household IP would likely get targeted for ads related to your product search so she would get exposed to your gift search regardless.

  19. Comment on What is a software you wish existed? in ~comp

    UniquelyGeneric
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    I’ve thought about this recently and I think a topical conversation starter is usually all that’s needed to continue conversation on my own. Typically in an awkward situation both people just kind...

    I’ve thought about this recently and I think a topical conversation starter is usually all that’s needed to continue conversation on my own. Typically in an awkward situation both people just kind of stare dumbly waiting for the other person to spark a jumping off point.

    If somehow you could incorporate news of the day/week and any other generic icebreakers (e.g. “see any good movies recently?”) you could do slightly better than this small talk calendar (which is admittedly geared towards college students).

    3 votes
  20. Comment on Y2K | Official trailer in ~movies

    UniquelyGeneric
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    Jonah Hill is one of the producers, but despite that I think this will be nothing of the caliber of Superbad. It looks focused on the bespoke horror plot rather than the universal relationship...

    Jonah Hill is one of the producers, but despite that I think this will be nothing of the caliber of Superbad. It looks focused on the bespoke horror plot rather than the universal relationship drama that made Superbad great.

    It also has Kyle Mooney involved as a producer, and as much as I want to like his humor, it just doesn’t capture wide appeal.

    It truly feels like a movie that ChatGPT threw together based off of a few inputs and while enough to fool an out-of-touch rich guy to find it, I doubt it will actually attract a genuine audience.

    It’s a horror movie right before Christmas, for “Christ’s” sakes! October is when you release good horror movies. December is when you clean house to take the loss on your financial reporting.

    1 vote