lackofaname's recent activity

  1. Comment on University at forty in ~talk

    lackofaname
    Link
    My partner returned for an additional degree in his mid-30s. It may be a different perspective because he got a degree when he was young, and this time returned for a specific field of work....

    My partner returned for an additional degree in his mid-30s. It may be a different perspective because he got a degree when he was young, and this time returned for a specific field of work.

    Before he ever considered going back to school, he spend time with a career counsellor to figure out what exactly he wanted to transition to, and got an entry level job in the field to get a sense of whether it was a good fit. He also took a couple online standalone courses first, which I think helped him get into the learning mindset.

    For me, seeing him in school with this focus and passion, and contrasting it to my own approach when I was younger and in school, has left me thinking 'damn, I wish I'd had that pragmatism and drive back when I was in university.' I think there can be huge advantages to getting a degree when you're older and know yourself, the world, and what you want to get out of the effort. But also, his preparation was because although he didn't need loans for school, it was a financially tight decision that felt like a bit of a scary leap of faith to attempt, so he wanted to be sure he was doing the right thing for him. In school, and in his new field, I can say I swear he sometimes comes home with more energy than when he left in the morning, so that leap certainly seems to have been worth it.

    On the social side, his classes have been very collaborative (this would be very program-specific though), and he's gotten along great with his classmates despite age differences. He hasn't socialized outside of classes really, but also, he has his own life and doesn't really want that.

    One idea if you're not sure: can you take one-off or continuing education classes at your local university in subjects you're wanting to learn about? It might be a way for you test the idea, see if you'll get what you're hoping for, before fully committing.

    And on a side note, can I just say that your life story sounds like you've led an interesting and fulfilling life so far.

    6 votes

  2. Comment on See how Hollywood’s job market is collapsing in ~movies

    lackofaname
    Link Parent
    Not entertainment related, but I can commiserate with losing an industry you enjoyed. For one of my past jobs, I saw the writing on the wall re:AI impacts, and expanded my skills back around...

    Not entertainment related, but I can commiserate with losing an industry you enjoyed. For one of my past jobs, I saw the writing on the wall re:AI impacts, and expanded my skills back around 2018~2019. At that time, I was able to keep doing what I enjoyed on the side, but the past couple years the work's died.

    I realized recently just how much I miss certain aspects of the old work, and how much doing it on the side kept me grounded. I'm grateful to have transitioned early, and to be employed, but it still kind of sucks.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on Tildes Gardening Group: Week 30/3/26 in ~hobbies

    lackofaname
    Link
    Ok ok, all the news about the knock-on effects of oil prices and whatnot have gotten to me, so I bought a couple bags of potting soil this weekend. Still keeping things pretty simple with the more...

    Ok ok, all the news about the knock-on effects of oil prices and whatnot have gotten to me, so I bought a couple bags of potting soil this weekend.

    Still keeping things pretty simple with the more easy-growing veg in pots, but I'm going to try to get myself to start a few seeds (I was just going to buy transplants this year). In my growing zone I'm a little late for some plants, but not really for others. I'll have to take a look at what I already have and decide from there. Probably some leafy greens, herbs, and maybe summer squash.

    3 votes

  4. Comment on Air Canada CEO will retire this year after his English-only crash message was criticized in ~transport

    lackofaname
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Respecting that you mention you're not in that world (which I might take to mean Canada generally?), so just providing a little context (though, as an anglo). In the Canadian context generally,...

    Respecting that you mention you're not in that world (which I might take to mean Canada generally?), so just providing a little context (though, as an anglo). In the Canadian context generally, no, subtitles aren't a token effort. Even less so in a Quebec context, where it might literally have been a legal requirement to have the french subtitles (there are laws that require French language availability).

    As understanding as I am that learning a language as an adult can be difficult (hell, my own french is mediocre), he took on a high-responsibility job with a certain requirement that he'd already been called out on and failed to uphold a promise to improve. He has all the resources available to him and lives in a bilingual city. This shows a lack of respect. Add on to that the emotional facet that one of his francophone workers died only heightens that sentiment.

    (Edit - sorry, didn't mean to dogpile. I was slowly writing my message while someone else replied!)

    4 votes

  5. Comment on Tildes Gardening Group: Week 24/3/26 in ~hobbies

    lackofaname
    Link
    There's still snow where I live, so outdoor gardening isn't underway. Actually, neither has any indoor gardening. I'm only growing veg in containers right now, but I've had limited success in the...

    There's still snow where I live, so outdoor gardening isn't underway. Actually, neither has any indoor gardening.

    I'm only growing veg in containers right now, but I've had limited success in the past, outside leafy things (and radishes). Does anyone have tips for growing different veggies in containers? Things like peas, zucchini, squash, maybe a tomato. Or even recommendations for plants that do well.

    --

    I have had one overwinter success story: last year I had a couple plants left unplanted. Some I placed in-ground in their pots; fingers crossed they made it. A little pot of sweetgrass, however, I forgot on my porch well into winter after several -20°C freezes and thaws. Around new year, I brought it indoors hoping it would revive, and it has! I need to find a home for it in-ground this year.

    2 votes

  6. Comment on Tildes Gardening Group: Week 24/3/26 in ~hobbies

    lackofaname
    Link Parent
    A couple years ago I built a cheap greenhouse over part of my in-ground garden: a simple dome frame from found materials covered with 6 mil plastic. I set it up maybe a month before last frost...

    A couple years ago I built a cheap greenhouse over part of my in-ground garden: a simple dome frame from found materials covered with 6 mil plastic. I set it up maybe a month before last frost date (in May where I live) and planted quick, cool weather veg in it: Arugula, mustard greens, radish, lettuce.

    It worked fantastically for this purpose, protecting the plants from light frosts overnight while giving them cool weather to thrive in before bolting. Too early for bugs, too. Best arugula I've ever grown.

    I don't know if we're in different zones (there's still snow in my forecast), or if this application makes sense for what you're thinking. For a lot of veg, I have to start my seeds indoors for them to be grown enough by the time frosts end.

    3 votes

  7. Comment on Meet Kit: Firefox's new mascot in ~tech

    lackofaname
    Link Parent
    I went in wanting to be curmudgeonly, but Kit is honestly very cute, and I kind of loved how they tipped their hat to user debates on fox vs. red panda. It's a nice little way to show how they...

    I went in wanting to be curmudgeonly, but Kit is honestly very cute, and I kind of loved how they tipped their hat to user debates on fox vs. red panda. It's a nice little way to show how they listen to their users.

    6 votes

  8. Comment on Google has a secret reference desk. Here's how to use it. (Lots of search tips) in ~tech

    lackofaname
    Link
    Site search, "", and minus sign are the three I use the most. I really wish other search indexes handled the minus sign like google does. I've tried and partially switched to other sites over the...

    Site search, "", and minus sign are the three I use the most. I really wish other search indexes handled the minus sign like google does.

    I've tried and partially switched to other sites over the years (duckduckgo, now qwant), but when I've needed real precision, they haven't quite been there. Though, it also feels like google also isn't so much anymore.

    2 votes

  9. Comment on Edible Plant Database: Explore 25,759 edible plant species from around the world — with edible uses, medicinal properties, cultivation details, and nutrition data in ~food

    lackofaname
    (edited )
    Link
    A few thoughts: Very cool idea, this is the type of thing the internet should exist for! Excuse me, fungi aren't plants. If you're going to make a database that shares info, at least be accurate...

    A few thoughts:

    1. Very cool idea, this is the type of thing the internet should exist for!
    2. Excuse me, fungi aren't plants. If you're going to make a database that shares info, at least be accurate with the name and scope to give me some sense of confidence in it.
    3. While I'm on the topic of names, not really a fan of the name containing 'edible', and every entry being labelled as 'edible' with no nuance (edit - in the main view on a phone, at least). Sure, there's the warning at the top, but that's lazy imo. Maybe prioritize showing additional info on the main view beyond edible, list a 'Medicinal' label for items not typically eaten as food but as traditional medicines. Or a 'Toxic without preparation' label for items like Amanita muscaria that cause toxicity and hallucinations if not specifically prepared (and even with that, a lot of mushroom guides just label it as toxic, though that might just be my north american-centric perspective)

    I guess my mind is: neat idea but for something as risky as edibility and health, I'd like to see more detailed info up front.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on What radicalized you? in ~talk

    lackofaname
    Link Parent
    That's a good question. In retrospect, the answer i gave probably doesn't even fit the definition of 'radicalised' so much as 'crystalised' or 'solidified'. Though, if any of my beliefs are...

    That's a good question. In retrospect, the answer i gave probably doesn't even fit the definition of 'radicalised' so much as 'crystalised' or 'solidified'.

    Though, if any of my beliefs are radical, I don't think there ever was a defining moment so much as a slow accumulation of experiences over life, and that's not an easy answer to uncover myself let alone share in a relative short answer here.

    2 votes

  11. Comment on What radicalized you? in ~talk

    lackofaname
    Link
    The mass rto mandates, not only by large corporations but also our governments, over the past couple years. It hasn't changed where my political leanings lie or anything like that, but I would say...

    The mass rto mandates, not only by large corporations but also our governments, over the past couple years.

    It hasn't changed where my political leanings lie or anything like that, but I would say it's made me feel a lot less optimistic about.. society and the people with/in power, I guess. Ripped bare where alignments lie, and it's not with workers just generally trying to balance life, parents trying to juggle childcare and careers, or the environment and reducing roadway emissions.

    8 votes

  12. Comment on Researchers in Copenhagen are actively monitoring bat activity and traffic conditions along a road to evaluate how red-spectrum LEDs from street lights affect local wildlife in ~enviro

    lackofaname
    Link
    I hope this study is successful on the basis of protecting wildlife. Since the study is looking only at wildlife impacts, and not effects on human safety, I imagine a next step would be, if...

    I hope this study is successful on the basis of protecting wildlife. Since the study is looking only at wildlife impacts, and not effects on human safety, I imagine a next step would be, if successful, to expand the test area and study visibility and safety for people.

    On a personal note, I miss the old orange streetlights, and i guess red would be a pretty bold colour, but it might be gentler than the glaring white street lights we have now.

    7 votes

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

    lackofaname
    Link
    I'd be into that! Though, I'm possibly going to step back from taking on as many gardening projects as I tried the last couple years, because I kept finding myself with too much going on and...

    I'd be into that! Though, I'm possibly going to step back from taking on as many gardening projects as I tried the last couple years, because I kept finding myself with too much going on and neglecting certain things.

    I haven't even though about starting veggie seeds yet, so that may get axed in favour of growing a few herbs, and then continuing to clean up current garden beds before thinking about more. Mayyyybe do a little hardscaping related to home maintenance.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on This iceberg was once the biggest in the world. Now it has just weeks left. in ~enviro

    lackofaname
    Link Parent
    I felt the same reading about that! The article took us across the journey of its life, then it's just let go! But realistically, at some point it must get difficult-impossible to visualise and track.

    I felt the same reading about that! The article took us across the journey of its life, then it's just let go! But realistically, at some point it must get difficult-impossible to visualise and track.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on This iceberg was once the biggest in the world. Now it has just weeks left. in ~enviro

    lackofaname
    Link Parent
    Oh, gotcha! Thanks for the explanation, I didn't realise that was a thing. I saw some different tags and the move from science to enviro (which, fair, I waffled between which place to post it),...

    Oh, gotcha! Thanks for the explanation, I didn't realise that was a thing. I saw some different tags and the move from science to enviro (which, fair, I waffled between which place to post it), and just assumed.

    5 votes

  16. Comment on This iceberg was once the biggest in the world. Now it has just weeks left. in ~enviro

    lackofaname
    (edited )
    Link
    This is a cool article about iceberg tracking and the life of the largest iceberg ever tracked, as it has migrated from Antarctica northward through warmer waters during the southern summer. ......

    This is a cool article about iceberg tracking and the life of the largest iceberg ever tracked, as it has migrated from Antarctica northward through warmer waters during the southern summer.

    The iceberg, known as A23a, was once the largest on Earth, covering an area more than twice the size of Greater London.
    But after a path full of twists and turns, A23a has melted, fractured and spectacularly disintegrated over the past year.

    ...

    While other icebergs have travelled further in the past, A23a is the furthest north of any Antarctic iceberg being tracked by scientists today. It’s closer to the equator than London.

    Edit: I'd respectfully disagree with the person who changed 'climate change' to the first tag, as it seems disingenuous to why the iceburg melted (though, the title doesn't help). It's obviously relevant, as the data were collected with the intention of understanding the potential future reponses of climate change, but even the article itself states that "is a natural phenomenon and not necessarily the result of climate change".

    I think it's important nuance that this is data collection about natural processes foremost.

    7 votes

  18. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

  19. Comment on What are you no longer a fan of? in ~talk

    lackofaname
    Link
    As of recently, coffee. It started where my morning coffee was fine, but the smell in the afternoon became unappealing so I switched to afternoon tea. I enjoyed this, and found my self choosing...

    As of recently, coffee. It started where my morning coffee was fine, but the smell in the afternoon became unappealing so I switched to afternoon tea. I enjoyed this, and found my self choosing tea more often in the morning, too. Then, for unrelated reasons I started cutting down caffeine overall (not unusual, something I do now and then), so right now I'm drink little to no tea, aside from herbal.

    But even though I've cut out caffeine before, this is the first time I've ever not enjoyed coffee. Quite possibly I just need a break, and will like it again later.

    4 votes

  20. Comment on What would you do with a video game style inventory? in ~talk

    lackofaname
    Link Parent
    Statis / cryo was oje of the directions my mind was going, though I appreciate your dedication going the extra step of figuring out how to clandestinely find clientele.

    Statis / cryo was oje of the directions my mind was going, though I appreciate your dedication going the extra step of figuring out how to clandestinely find clientele.

    2 votes