dirthawker's recent activity
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Comment on Is vaping less harmful than smoking, and does it help people quit? in ~health
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Comment on Is vaping less harmful than smoking, and does it help people quit? in ~health
dirthawker Link ParentI feel there's an anti-DIY bent. In California about 20 years ago there was a campaign (ultimately successful) to make selling single cigarettes illegal. The claim was that it was easier for kids...I feel there's an anti-DIY bent. In California about 20 years ago there was a campaign (ultimately successful) to make selling single cigarettes illegal. The claim was that it was easier for kids to buy a single cigarette at .25 than a pack at about $4. I did not think it likely a kid in 2003 would be so cash strapped to be unable to come up with $4, especially if they had friends who also smoked. For me the legislation made it that much harder to try to wean myself off. For vaping I seem to recall at one point a push against selling flavorings and possibly nicotine liquid, though that must have not gotten anywhere since I see these things are presently available.
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Comment on Is vaping less harmful than smoking, and does it help people quit? in ~health
dirthawker Link ParentI'm glad it worked for you too. Congratulations! The nice part about vaping more in response to a nicotine drop is that you don't feel nearly as bad as you'd feel if you smoked twice as many...I'm glad it worked for you too. Congratulations!
The nice part about vaping more in response to a nicotine drop is that you don't feel nearly as bad as you'd feel if you smoked twice as many cigarettes. And there is only so much you can vape as well.
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Comment on Is vaping less harmful than smoking, and does it help people quit? in ~health
dirthawker LinkFor my massive sample size of 1, vaping did get me to quit tobacco and afterwards I quit vaping as well. I think as with many changes in habit, you have to start with intent and maintain the goal....For my massive sample size of 1, vaping did get me to quit tobacco and afterwards I quit vaping as well. I think as with many changes in habit, you have to start with intent and maintain the goal.
For me, smoking (and vaping) has at least 2 parts, the chemical addiction and the ritual (cigarette with coffee, break time with coworkers, at the bar etc).
Trading off cigarettes for the vape was pretty easy; the vape was cigarette shaped, and the juice was allegedly tobacco flavored. There was a slight tearing when I got on a plane and realized I had the vape on me but not the cigarettes, and took the leap not to buy cigarettes anymore. If I felt like I wanted to buy cigarettes I would just vape more (I think the juice had a little less nicotine than the Camel Lights).
I then graduated to mixing my own vape juice. Propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavorings, and nicotine. There are calculators online to help figure out how to measure for a specific percentage of nicotine. I did that for about a year, and then started reducing the nicotine percentage. I took probably another year or so cutting it in half several times until I got close enough to zero to leave it out. Iirc each time I cut it, I would have a headache and mild withdrawal symptoms.
I think I was at zero for about 2 months and noticed I was not picking it up as often. I started parking the vape on the other side of my room instead of on my desk and that made it even less frequent. And at some point I went a whole day without vaping. And another month or two later I put all the vape stuff in a cabinet and forgot about it.
So all in all about 2.5 years not trying hard I stopped 30 years of cigarettes.
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Comment on Good News - A thread and a challenge in ~news
dirthawker Link ParentGiven that nearly all my social media is politics (I really need to get a life) and thus highly depressing, I'm definitely needing to see more uplifting stuff.Given that nearly all my social media is politics (I really need to get a life) and thus highly depressing, I'm definitely needing to see more uplifting stuff.
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Comment on Who/what are your go-to sources for authentic recipes of regional cuisines? in ~food
dirthawker LinkFor Indian VahChef is respected by the folks at r/indianfood, though I find his measurements are kind of vague. His videos are more instructive and some are very funny (cf chicken toddy recipe)...For Indian VahChef is respected by the folks at r/indianfood, though I find his measurements are kind of vague. His videos are more instructive and some are very funny (cf chicken toddy recipe)
I'm pretty fond of Made With Lau and Woks of Life for Cantonese.
Not sure how authentic she is but I like The Mediterranean Dish for Middle Eastern stuff.
And the already mentioned Maangchi is pretty great.
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Comment on What's a product or service that you use but don't want to pay for and why? in ~life
dirthawker LinkI use IbisPaintX a lot for taking notes while playing games, and AllTrails occasionally. Both have a subscription model -- Ibis is $28 and Alltrails is $36 per year. I just do not consider a...I use IbisPaintX a lot for taking notes while playing games, and AllTrails occasionally. Both have a subscription model -- Ibis is $28 and Alltrails is $36 per year. I just do not consider a subscription reasonable for apps that I use in a very limited way. Both I believe have some kind of social networking aspect, which I don't use at all. I'd rather be able to just buy the app and be done.
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Comment on The Oatmeal: A cartoonist's review of AI art in ~comics
dirthawker LinkThe Oatmeal is always good. He really does keep in touch with the human aspect. I feel like AI art occupies a weird place in people's heads, and everyone is different. I think AI art can be...The Oatmeal is always good. He really does keep in touch with the human aspect.
I feel like AI art occupies a weird place in people's heads, and everyone is different. I think AI art can be interesting and a way for people without technical art skills to make something beautiful. As long as they remember that all they did was write a prompt and adjust things, that's fine, but sometimes people get weirdly possessive about it, as if they actually did work.
I have just one example where I clashed with someone over their AI art. They had taken a fairly well known cartoon, run it through some AI, and added an extra frame with a drawing and punchline of their own idea, also drawn by AI, and art style similar to the original cartoon. They left the name of the original artist intact: they did not indicate it had been chewed on by AI. Anyone who's a big fan of the OA and his style could probably tell it was not the original. However, if you were not super familiar, you wouldn't know. And my acquaintance did not put his own signature on it.
To me these were points of offense. Typically when cartoonists use or recreate another's work, they credit with "hat tip to" or "apologies to". I often see the characters of Charles Schulz and Bill Watterson get tweaked with, and even then with such nationally and even globally known cartoonists, they still get the "hat tip to" or "apologies to". To not indicate that this was an adjustment of the OA's work, to leave the OA's name there, and to not put his own name on it, felt wrong.
I made my argument, he said giving credit to OA was enough, then accused me of hating AI (which was a bit of a leap of faith there; I make fun of AI but have never gotten fire and brimstone about it). But he took the cartoon down, which was to me a satisfactory course of action, though if he had just added the hat tip stuff and his own name, I would have been fine with it too. But the whole interaction bothered me, and still bothers me. Why did he get so emotional and angry with me? Maybe people just hate being told they did something the wrong way?
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Comment on Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish? in ~tech
dirthawker LinkFrom my experience the two day shipping now seems to apply strictly to the shipping part. The problem is that it may take several days to actually get into the logistics system. Up till a couple...From my experience the two day shipping now seems to apply strictly to the shipping part. The problem is that it may take several days to actually get into the logistics system. Up till a couple years ago it was 2 day delivery.
When I first started shopping on Amazon I was more careful to compare prices with other places. Then for a good many years Amazon was the cheapest place, and I got lazy. Now I'm back to price checking because it is no longer true. Also interestingly, the tax calculation seems to be a bit off: I recently started an order for a pair of exhaust fans. The unit prices were the same on Amazon and HomeDepot, but on Amazon the total came to about $305 and HD just under $300.
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Comment on What are some of your routines or habits? in ~life
dirthawker Link ParentAin' nobody got time fo' dat!!Ain' nobody got time fo' dat!!
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Comment on What are some of your routines or habits? in ~life
dirthawker LinkI don't have too many habits anymore. I drink coffee every morning, and can count on one hand the number of days I didn't have coffee sometime in the day. I also play a bunch of crossword and word...I don't have too many habits anymore. I drink coffee every morning, and can count on one hand the number of days I didn't have coffee sometime in the day. I also play a bunch of crossword and word puzzles in the morning with my coffee. (WaPo Mini, NYT Mini, Wordle, Whittle, WaPo On the Record, WaPo Keyword, Whittle (I'm not good at it though), Raddle, Connections, Strands, Merriam-Webster Missing Letter, and on Puzzmo, the crossword and Pile-up Poker, although not so much lately as they just recently started paywall. )
As someone who was chronically dehydrated for many years and did not realize it was the cause of a few health issues, I now have a 48oz container on my desk which is impossible to ignore. When it's empty I refill it. I've refilled it as many as 3 times in a day, so I'm much better hydrated now.
I also have developed darned good oral hygiene. I had a lot of cavities as a kid (or rather, the dentist claimed I did, leading me to a lifetime of fillings that needed to be redone every so often), my teeth are crowded and hard to floss without ending up with floss in pieces. I get pockets in my gums. Last time I went for cleaning my hygienist threatened to make me come in for deep cleaning (I am skeptical of it doing much more than funding my dentist's kids' college education), so I made a deal with her to buy one of those water flossers. It's an awkward beast but actually quite good at keeping away plaque. I'll be seeing her in a couple weeks so we'll see if it actually works as advertised. I also started on Invisalign a few months ago, so now I'm water flossing twice a day and brushing twice a day (though the morning brush is only for one minute; evening is the full two). Not sure if I'll maintain that when Invisalign is over -- really too soon to say.
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Comment on Is Tildes protected from malicious actors, aka paid trolls, aka bots? in ~tildes
dirthawker Link ParentHaving come from the Jurassic aka typewriter era, the -- is second nature to me. I like the em dash visually, but it would take effort to learn to do naturally without (IMO) great benefit.Having come from the Jurassic aka typewriter era, the -- is second nature to me. I like the em dash visually, but it would take effort to learn to do naturally without (IMO) great benefit.
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Comment on What can I do with my old Pixel 3 phone in 2025? in ~tech
dirthawker Link ParentA used XL/2/3 is probably < 100 so if you're paying for storage maybe it's worth it.A used XL/2/3 is probably < 100 so if you're paying for storage maybe it's worth it.
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Comment on What can I do with my old Pixel 3 phone in 2025? in ~tech
dirthawker Link ParentYup, the older models were promised unlimited high quality photo storage. I have a Pixel XL that I set up to sync with my EDC Pixel 8 using an app called Resilio Sync. Auto backup is turned off on...Yup, the older models were promised unlimited high quality photo storage. I have a Pixel XL that I set up to sync with my EDC Pixel 8 using an app called Resilio Sync. Auto backup is turned off on the 8 and on on the XL. The only issue with this setup is the XL stays at home, so if I take pics on the 8, they won't get uploaded until I get home and the 2 phones can talk to each other. I suppose if the XL had a data plan I could take it with me and get photos backed up to the cloud immediately, but I don't need immediately.
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Comment on Throwback Thursday: Let's talk old flash and memes! in ~talk
dirthawker Link ParentOh, neat! It looks like Eyezmaze remade everything in HTML5 -- thanks I may be a bit busy later too, thanks!Oh, neat! It looks like Eyezmaze remade everything in HTML5 -- thanks I may be a bit busy later too, thanks!
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Comment on Throwback Thursday: Let's talk old flash and memes! in ~talk
dirthawker Link ParentOh, was that that Japanese series with the buttons to add an attribute and things happen? Often with little people figures running around doing tasks? That was a super fun game. There's a whole...Oh, was that that Japanese series with the buttons to add an attribute and things happen? Often with little people figures running around doing tasks? That was a super fun game.
There's a whole genre of Japanese escape games that could be delved into, starting with Crimson Room, but that is big enough to deserve its own thread. It's terrible how so much was lost when Flash was discontinued. Some devs moved to Unity but a lot just quit.
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Comment on Throwback Thursday: Let's talk old flash and memes! in ~talk
dirthawker LinkHave not seen Peanut Butter Jelly Time posted yetHave not seen Peanut Butter Jelly Time posted yet
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Comment on Throwback Thursday: Let's talk old flash and memes! in ~talk
dirthawker (edited )Link ParentAnimator vs Animation was a fantastic series (I think 3 were made, though tbh the first one was hands down the best.) I could really relate to that one because I was learning to write games in...Animator vs Animation was a fantastic series (I think 3 were made, though tbh the first one was hands down the best.) I could really relate to that one because I was learning to write games in Flash when it came out.
I still remember the leopleuridon from Charlie...
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Comment on This to That (glue advice) in ~creative
dirthawker Link ParentE6000 is flexible when dry, that's probably what you're experiencing. I would do a 2 part epoxy - JB Weld is very good. My fridge door handle snapped at the top and I 1. epoxied it with JB Weld...E6000 is flexible when dry, that's probably what you're experiencing. I would do a 2 part epoxy - JB Weld is very good. My fridge door handle snapped at the top and I 1. epoxied it with JB Weld and 2. bought a replacement handle for when the JB Weld would eventually break. That was 4+ years ago and the handle is still sitting in the closet.
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Comment on The case for cultured meat has changed in ~food
dirthawker Link ParentI've eaten both Impossible and Beyond products and they're pretty decent. Prices have lowered since I first tried it, and is getting on a par with biological meat as the latter's price rises. If...I've eaten both Impossible and Beyond products and they're pretty decent. Prices have lowered since I first tried it, and is getting on a par with biological meat as the latter's price rises. If the Trump admin doesn't manage to go through with their wish of knocking down safety guardrails in the name of increased production, then I'm guessing the price of beef will continue to rise.
Thanks, wow, I didn't know (2016 was the last time I bought anything vape related). I just looked for websites that sold such and found them, but didn't check further to see if they would or wouldn't ship to CA.