ahatlikethat's recent activity

  1. Comment on US coffee prices surge in ~food

    ahatlikethat
    Link Parent
    I kind of hate to spill the beans (sorry) on my favorite coffee source, but Tierra Farm is a B corp with a lot of awesome sustainability and labor practices. They just raised their coffee prices...

    I kind of hate to spill the beans (sorry) on my favorite coffee source, but Tierra Farm is a B corp with a lot of awesome sustainability and labor practices. They just raised their coffee prices to us$13.99/16oz a pound and do have sales,though not terribly often. I think their coffee is fantastic, especially the New Guinea dark roast.

    In the six or seven years I've been buying from them I've only had one problem (compostable bags that split on transit) and they handled it very well--and use better compostable bags now. Also during Covid they didn't raise their prices when when everyone else was, which I appreciated.

  2. Comment on My guess and opinion on the common blockers to Linux adoption in ~tech

    ahatlikethat
    Link Parent
    I have to agree with this. I switched to Linux about 10 years ago, and then switched my partner and my mom, but insisting that I would no longer be their free tech support unless they used the...

    I have to agree with this. I switched to Linux about 10 years ago, and then switched my partner and my mom, but insisting that I would no longer be their free tech support unless they used the system I was using.

    Both of them were (and my partner still is) unwilling to do something as simple as an update or adding and app to Manjaro--which has a GUI for both-- but on the other hand, both were overwhelmed any problem caused by Windows automatic updates, too...

    I have a hard time understanding how an otherwise highly intelligent person can be so resistant to understanding a system that they use daily, how someone would not want to be able to control their experience instead of passively accepting frustrations daily--but that seems to be the choice many make.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on A timeline of false “gender ideology” claims about the Charlie Kirk shooting in ~lgbt

    ahatlikethat
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    Still waiting for the talk of denying gun sales to young white men from republican families.

    Still waiting for the talk of denying gun sales to young white men from republican families.

    5 votes

  4. Comment on Commentary: prepare to say a frond farewell to Los Angeles’ palm trees in ~enviro

    ahatlikethat
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I live in the high desert. I have 2 ever-blooming desert willows-- they flower from late spring to first frost, with a new flush of flowers every time it rains. They produce no seeds so no seed...

    I live in the high desert. I have 2 ever-blooming desert willows-- they flower from late spring to first frost, with a new flush of flowers every time it rains. They produce no seeds so no seed pods and no mess (I love the seed pods--I thinks the trees with seed pods look amazing in the winter. I didn't realize what I was buying at the time.) The flowers are really nice all summer, which you don't get with the species. Hummingbirds and butterflies really like them. Santa Fe botanic garden link

    I also have a few Chinese Pistache-- not native but very low water once established (I watered them once this summer) they can make tiny nuts that the birds will eat. The leaves are a rare source of red autumn color and the nuts also turn red in little bunches, making the tree look quite festive in winter. The first one we planted about 25 years ago has a very classic-looking shade tree shape and is 25-30 feet tall.

    Other trees and bushes I've had good success with:
    Native elderberry --its really a bush but gets huge (mine is 15-20 feet after 5 years) and can be trained more like a multi-stemmed tree. It also grows quite fast if you give it water. Beautiful white flowers (kind of Queen Anne's lace-like) that smells amazing and berries that are technically edible (if cooked) but also very attractive to birds.

    Jujubes. These are fruit trees. They taste like a cross between a date and an apple. They are more apple like at the fresh stage and more datelike when dried. My favorite variety is called Honey Jar-- I makes cherry-sized fruits that are especially delicious at the fresh stage. The trees are also very hardy, grow fast, and deal with heat and freezing and drought--although I water them to get better fruit production. Also the smell during the flowering stage is just amazing and appears to draw lots of tiny pollinators. There's a lot of info on jujubes on the New Mexico State Agricultural website.

    Edit: New Mexico state gov also has a nice xeriscaping guide online

    3 votes

  5. Comment on Nova Launcher discontinued in ~tech

    ahatlikethat
    Link Parent
    Thanks for the recommendation! I just installed it from their website so as to avoid google a bit. I've had Nova launcher forever and it is very hard to let go of it. Lawnchair does seem to have...

    Thanks for the recommendation! I just installed it from their website so as to avoid google a bit. I've had Nova launcher forever and it is very hard to let go of it. Lawnchair does seem to have more of the things I want than any of the other alternatives I tried. (docking, multiple home screen pages, color and icon configuration...)

    I really appreciate the open source and I find the tone of their website pretty charming, so that's a plus Nova definitely lacked.

    4 votes

  6. Comment on Linux noob question regarding full / partition in ~comp

    ahatlikethat
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    Coincidentally, I had to clean up my Manjaro root folder this morning--in my case the main culprit was some log spamming, but also I've been lazy about cache clearing and removing orphans. (I've...

    Coincidentally, I had to clean up my Manjaro root folder this morning--in my case the main culprit was some log spamming, but also I've been lazy about cache clearing and removing orphans. (I've also allocated 30 GB, another coincidence.)

    I used this link in the Manjaro forum--it's probably not exactly what you want, but it may help you find a similar post on the Mint support forum. I found the info on limiting log sizes especially helpful (although I also solved the cause of the spamming, not sure how, exactly...)

    1 vote

  7. Comment on US Food and Drug Administration limits approval for new coronavirus vaccines to high-risk people in ~health

    ahatlikethat
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    I am immune compromised, I can get the shot. Yay. My partner and most of the hundred kids he teaches will not be able to. He still wears a mask at work, because he's awesome and doesn't want to...

    I am immune compromised, I can get the shot. Yay.

    My partner and most of the hundred kids he teaches will not be able to.
    He still wears a mask at work, because he's awesome and doesn't want to kill me.Even wearing a mask, he's already gotten covid once and it took him months to recover. All through the school year, we live in a divided house, wearing masks to hang out together. We had been using the health dept data to determine when we could relax that-- say, hang out without masks on weekends when cases were low and he tested negative. Now that data is unreliable and he can't even get a shot to provide a level of safety between me and his unvaccinated kids.

    I haven't been to a family gathering in years. I haven't eaten out or gone to a movie or musical performance. I stay home. I don't want to be a recluse but every time something comes up, it never seems worth dying for.

    And I am one of the lucky ones. I get the shot, I have someone willing to work so I don't have to. Lots of people had to, and some of them are dead. They don't complain, and they don't vote. I think that's the goal, for people like me to disappear.

    19 votes

  8. Comment on What happened to your first car? in ~transport

    ahatlikethat
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    Technically it was my mom's car, but we were sharing it. A tiny old Honda Civic manual transmission hatchback, circa 1978, maybe? I named it Smedley. It was an awesome car, and we both loved it. I...

    Technically it was my mom's car, but we were sharing it. A tiny old Honda Civic manual transmission hatchback, circa 1978, maybe? I named it Smedley. It was an awesome car, and we both loved it. I took it overnight to a Halloween party at a friend of a friends. I was dressed as a Gypsy and doing Tarot card readings-- this was just for fun and ambience. I had zero belief in them but my sister was big on it so I had picked up the gist of the cards and borrowed her deck. There were lots of people I did not know at all at the party, and everyone wanted readings, so that was fun and kept me busy. One guy got just a horrible set of cards--like major doom. I told him not to worry about it, it's just a party thing, and pretty much forgot about it myself.

    The next morning I woke up to find my car 20 feet from where I parked it, and the hatchback basically in the front seat. Hit and run. Called the cops, called my mom. Shmedley had been murdered. There was nothing anyone could do, no witnesses.

    Months later, I learned from the party host that that guy who had received that terrible tarot reading was the one who murdered my car and then took off like a coward. Since then, he had lost his job and his girlfriend and his dog died, and he decided I was actually a witch who was exacting retribution on him. (Instead of, dunno, an alcohol problem leading to those outcomes...) Ridiculous but I did find a little comfort that some kind of cosmic justice had been served.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on Who will be the next Air Bud? Nationwide search for a star golden retriever begins. in ~movies

    ahatlikethat
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    This smells very much like a publicity stunt, almost cute in how old-fashioned it is.

    This smells very much like a publicity stunt, almost cute in how old-fashioned it is.

    10 votes

  10. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~games

    ahatlikethat
    Link Parent
    Was gonna suggest something like this. I find if I am learning new things it gets into my dreams. I sleep like crap anyway so I don't blame the dream content for waking me but I do notice it. One...

    Was gonna suggest something like this. I find if I am learning new things it gets into my dreams. I sleep like crap anyway so I don't blame the dream content for waking me but I do notice it. One thing that helps me is playing a set routine of now-familiar games just before bed-- Connections, Wordle, Omiword, and sometimes, if I'm still not sleepy enough, When Taken. Usually the first three are engaging but not difficult. When taken can be quite hard but I don't stress on the score and I find poring over the photographs for clues is hypnotic. I alsmost never finish it before I get quite sleepy. I find this routine clears my head pretty well. It might work for you, but I also think one of the keys is that is a routine so my brain doesn't have to focus on the learning part, and that my take a week or so.

    4 votes

  11. Comment on Feeling defeated, and the need to keep trying in ~health.mental

    ahatlikethat
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    if you are willing to relocate to new mexico, most districts are really short on teachers. its s poor state and most of the perks are cultural but you can definitely live on a teacher's salary and...

    if you are willing to relocate to new mexico, most districts are really short on teachers. its s poor state and most of the perks are cultural but you can definitely live on a teacher's salary and its a blue state. Linking to a list of Albuquerque public schools open positions as of last Friday

    4 votes

  12. Comment on What is your silly or (kinda) useless talent? in ~talk

    ahatlikethat
    Link Parent
    I wish it were s easy-- I have no control of the songs that bubble up. I find just letting them play through is better than trying to suppress them--like not thinking about elephants.

    I wish it were s easy-- I have no control of the songs that bubble up. I find just letting them play through is better than trying to suppress them--like not thinking about elephants.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on What is your silly or (kinda) useless talent? in ~talk

    ahatlikethat
    Link
    If I hear any song three times, I will have it memorized. Forever. This was in fact useful in high school marching band, so I never had to bother marching with sheet music--and in fact saved lots...

    If I hear any song three times, I will have it memorized. Forever. This was in fact useful in high school marching band, so I never had to bother marching with sheet music--and in fact saved lots of time throughout my musical endeavors. However it comes with a pretty steep price. All of the theme songs to all of the stupid shows I've ever watched, and worse, all of the commercial jingles I heard three times are NEVER GOING AWAY. They are constantly popping into my thoughts, triggered by the slightest tangential cue. I fear my final flutter of consciousness before passing on will be the lilt of "If you think it's butter--but it's not! It's Chiffon!"

    11 votes

  14. Comment on What were you right about? in ~talk

    ahatlikethat
    Link Parent
    Right there with you. Pretty sure I'll be the last person in the world still wearing a mask--but also might be the last person in the world to not get Covid, so I'm good with that.

    Right there with you. Pretty sure I'll be the last person in the world still wearing a mask--but also might be the last person in the world to not get Covid, so I'm good with that.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Why The Long Face - June 2003 in ~comics

    ahatlikethat
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    My favorite joke (read: the only one I manage to remember): A horse walks into a bar. Bartender says, "Why the long face?"

    My favorite joke (read: the only one I manage to remember):

    A horse walks into a bar. Bartender says, "Why the long face?"

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Looking for places to get bulk OTC medicine in the US in ~health

    ahatlikethat
    Link Parent
    Seconding shroudedscribe's goodrx suggestion. I found it massively helpful recently when I had to get human meds for my old cats. (as she said, click on the pencil to edit). On top of often having...

    Seconding shroudedscribe's goodrx suggestion. I found it massively helpful recently when I had to get human meds for my old cats. (as she said, click on the pencil to edit). On top of often having a discount, it will list the cost of that med at multiple places in your area (if you put in your zip code) which can save you a lot of time and money.

    4 votes

  17. Comment on What’s a notable misunderstanding from your life? in ~life

  18. Comment on What’s a notable misunderstanding from your life? in ~life

    ahatlikethat
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    This happened half a century ago, when hippies roamed the earth. I was in first grade, and the day before had been mesmerized by a pair of long-hair hippies walking down my street, specifically...

    This happened half a century ago, when hippies roamed the earth. I was in first grade, and the day before had been mesmerized by a pair of long-hair hippies walking down my street, specifically the amazing and casual hair flips, which I thought were incredibly beautiful.

    The next day in class, having finished my work before everyone as usual, I guess I was daydreaming about having long hair and trying do those flips with my very short pig-tailed hair. Well. My very beloved 1st grade teacher saw this, understandingly missed that it was a hair flip (since no hair was flipping) and stated out loud to the class that "someone thinks she is better than the rest of the class and is tossing her head around."

    I was mortified and devastated that she would think that of me. I was too humiliated to ever tell her the truth, and as you can see it has stuck with me to this day. I guess the good that came out of it is that when I was a teacher I never made a public example of any of my students, and always tried to have a private discussion to test my perceptions against their intentions.

    12 votes

  19. Comment on Fridge at 41°F - safe or not? in ~life.home_improvement

    ahatlikethat
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    Just popping in to say that a family member recently got a bad intestinal illness. After his piggy cat also suddenly refused to eat his canned food and developed diarrhea he figured out he'd...

    Just popping in to say that a family member recently got a bad intestinal illness. After his piggy cat also suddenly refused to eat his canned food and developed diarrhea he figured out he'd accidentally knocked the fridge thermostat and it was reading around 42F, They are both fine now, but I wouldn't risk it, especially with a baby.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 3 in ~tv

    ahatlikethat
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    Pike is absolutely my favorite captain, for the behaviors you describe above. He leads with humility and has a genuine interest in all of the people around him as valuable beings in their own...

    Pike is absolutely my favorite captain, for the behaviors you describe above. He leads with humility and has a genuine interest in all of the people around him as valuable beings in their own right, not just tools to direct. Honestly, I would follow him anywhere.

    I really like what they have done with the TOS characters, especially the female characters, but everyone seems as you say, and actualized adult but also a whole person. I appreciate that the show isn't all about the captain. I'm really glad they've got 2 more seasons approved!

    I thought the prayer was mostly showing his willingness to try anything in ta situation where he was helpless to do anything else, and also his humanity and his attachment to the person he was praying for.

    6 votes