dustylungs's recent activity

  1. Comment on ‘I took two bites and had to spit it out’: US candy makers are phasing out real cocoa in chocolate in some products in ~food

    dustylungs
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    And sitting right next to chocolate bars in the checkout lane is chewing gum, which you may already know is often made from plastic.

    And sitting right next to chocolate bars in the checkout lane is chewing gum, which you may already know is often made from plastic.

    5 votes

  2. Comment on Would anyone be interested in an online gardening club? in ~hobbies

    dustylungs
    Link Parent
    Ah, I will check there. Thanks. I've also been mulling over setting up a "little free library" for plant clippings in a corner of my office at work. It seems like it could be a good source of...

    Ah, I will check there. Thanks. I've also been mulling over setting up a "little free library" for plant clippings in a corner of my office at work. It seems like it could be a good source of plants and an interesting social networking experiment.

    2 votes

  3. Comment on Dox with Grok in ~tech

    dustylungs
    Link Parent
    It's interesting that it caught your pun. My Reddit username uses a bit of sound-based obfuscation (though not a pun) and instead of catching that, it decided that it referred literally to a...

    It's interesting that it caught your pun. My Reddit username uses a bit of sound-based obfuscation (though not a pun) and instead of catching that, it decided that it referred literally to a reduction of someone else's legal name; first letter of first name, first letter of middle name, and full last name. Maybe that coincidence was too much and Grok was confident it had ID'ed me.

    3 votes

  4. Comment on Dox with Grok in ~tech

    dustylungs
    Link
    I tried this with my Reddit profile and Grok confidently connected it with someone else who lives in my metro area. My Reddit account has about 2,000 posts and comments so I'm surprised Grok would...

    I tried this with my Reddit profile and Grok confidently connected it with someone else who lives in my metro area. My Reddit account has about 2,000 posts and comments so I'm surprised Grok would so confidently pin it to the wrong person. I'll be curious to try it again in a few days to see how much stochasticity there is in Grok's reasoning.

    17 votes

  5. Comment on Would anyone be interested in an online gardening club? in ~hobbies

    dustylungs
    Link Parent
    Yes, houseplants. I don't think I've heard of swedish ivy before, but I've been on the lookout for silver inch. I'll have to get some soil if I get either of these. My pothos plants are all purely...

    Yes, houseplants. I don't think I've heard of swedish ivy before, but I've been on the lookout for silver inch. I'll have to get some soil if I get either of these. My pothos plants are all purely grown in water with a drop of nutrients once in a while. I've had pretty good success with jade plants in the past. Begonias sound interesting!

    1 vote

  6. Comment on Would anyone be interested in an online gardening club? in ~hobbies

    dustylungs
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    I've recently been filling my house with propagated pothos clippings while trying to learn more about its biology. I'd love to hear about other Tildeans' experiences with propagating plants...

    I've recently been filling my house with propagated pothos clippings while trying to learn more about its biology. I'd love to hear about other Tildeans' experiences with propagating plants (especially easy plants like pothos). I have a few parent plants living atop a fish tank, and clippings from those have now ended up in 40+ glass bottles around the house.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on Third spaces: What do we want, and how do we get them? in ~life

    dustylungs
    Link Parent
    The libraries in my county have had spurts of movement in this direction. One of my favorites was a period when one of the branches hosted a makerspace in a large (otherwise storage) room. The...

    The libraries in my county have had spurts of movement in this direction. One of my favorites was a period when one of the branches hosted a makerspace in a large (otherwise storage) room. The makerspace had scheduled classes, but also had open times when kids (and technically adults) could hang out and work on personal projects. Space is money though, and money decisions eventually crowded the makerspace out. But the fact that there was enough support to keep it open for several years is encouraging.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Palantir was allegedly hacked, exposing CIA collusion and deep-rooted global surveillance/meddling in ~tech

  9. Comment on Palantir was allegedly hacked, exposing CIA collusion and deep-rooted global surveillance/meddling in ~tech

    dustylungs
    Link
    This story might prove partly or fully false and blow over. If not, welcome to the next circus. I'm not sure why the spelling switched from Palantir to Palentir mid article.

    This story might prove partly or fully false and blow over. If not, welcome to the next circus. I'm not sure why the spelling switched from Palantir to Palentir mid article.

    5 votes

  11. Comment on What are your food aversions? in ~food

    dustylungs
    Link Parent
    I grew up with an aversion to seafood as well, associating fishy smell with rotten animal carcasses. I pushed myself to get over that general sense of disgust, but I can't get over the fact that...

    I grew up with an aversion to seafood as well, associating fishy smell with rotten animal carcasses. I pushed myself to get over that general sense of disgust, but I can't get over the fact that crabs are arthropods. When I see people cracking crab shells and picking apart the innards, I can't stop the revolting mental image reminder that they could just as well be picking apart large beetles, centipedes, bees or spiders. Crabs are nasty and I can't understand how anyone can eat them.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on I taught an octopus piano (it took six months) in ~music

    dustylungs
    Link
    The drama, the humor, the engineering and problem solving. Everything you might expect from the endearing story of a boy determined to train his octopus to play piano.

    The drama, the humor, the engineering and problem solving. Everything you might expect from the endearing story of a boy determined to train his octopus to play piano.

    5 votes

  14. Comment on Federal officers kill another citizen in Minneapolis, National Guard activated in ~society

    dustylungs
    Link Parent
    For anyone who feels like they can't have an impact on the current slide toward fascism, this is something you CAN and should do. Find the non-corporate news organizations you trust, and support...

    For anyone who feels like they can't have an impact on the current slide toward fascism, this is something you CAN and should do. Find the non-corporate news organizations you trust, and support them any way you can. The impact might not feel immediate, but it will be immediate when the time comes that a journalist is able to cover important news because you helped fund them.

    7 votes

  15. Comment on What small thing made a big impact on you? in ~talk

    dustylungs
    Link
    In my first real job, my boss gave me a container of q-tips, labeled with "QTIP: Quit Taking It Personally". That helped reorient me into a more stoic approach to work which has benefited me ever...

    In my first real job, my boss gave me a container of q-tips, labeled with "QTIP: Quit Taking It Personally". That helped reorient me into a more stoic approach to work which has benefited me ever since

    2 votes

  16. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    dustylungs
    Link
    I've been designing and cobbling together a portable three-stage water filtration rig for my home. It uses pentek slim line filter housings and will be used for refilling 5-gallon water jugs. The...

    I've been designing and cobbling together a portable three-stage water filtration rig for my home. It uses pentek slim line filter housings and will be used for refilling 5-gallon water jugs. The design is portable because I don't want a dedicated countertop faucet for filtered water; I just want to be able to refill my water dispenser for less than the crazy price of $10-ish per jug. So I've built a vertical frame that hooks over the kitchen counter and connects into a tee below the sink. When disconnected and not in use, the rig can be stored in a closet. This might not be the type of "creative" project intended by this thread, but I have fun working through little design challenges like this, and a working result is very satisfying (and this one is thirst quenching too).

    6 votes

  17. Comment on Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, NFA, RIP in ~music

    dustylungs
    Link
    Bob Weir recently passed away, and Phil Lesh just a few months earlier. With their passing, Bill Kreutzmann is the only remaining founding member of the Grateful Dead. The Dead itself disbanded in...

    Bob Weir recently passed away, and Phil Lesh just a few months earlier. With their passing, Bill Kreutzmann is the only remaining founding member of the Grateful Dead.

    The Dead itself disbanded in 1995 with the death of Jerry Garcia, but its music and legacy lived on through continued performances by remaining band members. And it still lives on through the deep impact it had on the fans, both listening to and sharing the music, and in the form of many many cover and tribute bands across the US and the world.

    The linked article is a highly unusual source for me to be sharing, but the article captures one of the fundamental elements that has always attracted me to the Dead: in spite of all the division and hopelessness we see in the world, if we can let go of our tribal (and yes, even religious) labels, and let go of status-seeking materialism, what we're left with is not an emptiness. What we're left with is an amazingly fulfilling experience and an opportunity for meaningful connection with others.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    dustylungs
    Link Parent
    Great idea. Now I'm going to be thinking of tshirt designs.

    Great idea. Now I'm going to be thinking of tshirt designs.

  20. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    dustylungs
    Link
    I think I would be officially categorized as "old", but I have recently had a fun with a traditional children's summer camp activity: acrylic paint. I stumbled into a sale on acrylic paint markers...

    I think I would be officially categorized as "old", but I have recently had a fun with a traditional children's summer camp activity: acrylic paint. I stumbled into a sale on acrylic paint markers recently and started turning round river rocks from my backyard into colorful bugs and cartoonish monster creatures. I have a lot more of those in mind, but I've also started painting other things around the house like light switch covers. I'm not a super artistic person, but I love doodling, and I've found that shifting my stress-relief doodling energy into paint markers has felt really good.

    2 votes