lostwax's recent activity
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Comment on Elon Musk on tomatoes in ~food
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Comment on A list of independent internet forums in ~tech
lostwax LinkI don't use it anymore but metafilter is missingI don't use it anymore but metafilter is missing
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Comment on Waving goodbye, carrying my bundle on a stick in ~talk
lostwax Link ParentI think for a lot of people it's a bit like an important relationship that's no longer receiving effort from the other party. Confirmation that it will never receive any effort again is always a...I think for a lot of people it's a bit like an important relationship that's no longer receiving effort from the other party. Confirmation that it will never receive any effort again is always a pretty big deal, even if no practicalities change.
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Comment on Waving goodbye, carrying my bundle on a stick in ~talk
lostwax Link ParentI mean it kind of is in terms of membership. Emailing to get an invite doesn't work and codes aren't being given out to members. So as a newer user I wonder how much to invest here - I can't...I wonder if they do realize that wasn't some announcement of placing the website on life support, right?
I mean it kind of is in terms of membership. Emailing to get an invite doesn't work and codes aren't being given out to members. So as a newer user I wonder how much to invest here - I can't invite anyone like minded or even suggest they ask.
Having read Deimos' comments this seems to be deliberate; old users will fade out for any number of reasons and new ones aren't really invited. That very much does spell the end of the site, the question is the timeframe.
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Comment on Neuroscientists find logical reasoning does not involve language-processing parts of the brain in ~science
lostwax Link ParentOn the face of it this makes no sense at all. By 3,000 BCE there were many groups of humans that had no genetic contact with each other until very recently - within the last hundred years. That...Around 3,000 BCE, the hemispheres unified and humans started to consciously direct themselves...
On the face of it this makes no sense at all. By 3,000 BCE there were many groups of humans that had no genetic contact with each other until very recently - within the last hundred years. That those groups all miraculously had their hemispheres unify at the same time and in the same way seems more than a little implausible.
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Comment on Offpunk manifesto in ~humanities
lostwax (edited )Link ParentI think the friends in many places kind of lifestyle is at least enabled by a broader consumerist system around it, if it isn't directly consumerist in itself, which I reckon it often is....knowledge sharing and connectivity and allowed friendships and relationships across the globe. It's about fighting the exploitation of labor, the rampant consumerism, the wastefulness.
...
I can visit someone any place I go whether it's NY or LA or NoLa or Tokyo or Busan, people I'd have never interacted with otherwise.
I think the friends in many places kind of lifestyle is at least enabled by a broader consumerist system around it, if it isn't directly consumerist in itself, which I reckon it often is. Consumption in a post material kind of framework is still consumption, even if it's more jet fuel and data centres and less labubu dolls and I wouldn't assume it's any less exploitative of others or the environment just as a matter of faith.
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Comment on Eventually you'll get pretend cancer: the bizarre world of candy cigarettes in ~design
lostwax Link ParentYeah we are aware of the derogatory use in the US, because how can you not be, but 99% of the use of the term here is for a cigarette. It's not even a transgressive way to refer to a cigarette,...Yeah we are aware of the derogatory use in the US, because how can you not be, but 99% of the use of the term here is for a cigarette. It's not even a transgressive way to refer to a cigarette, it's just a cigarette and still in common use.
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Comment on Eventually you'll get pretend cancer: the bizarre world of candy cigarettes in ~design
lostwax LinkI loved them. Here they were called Fags and I loved to get a pack when I was at my grandparents on Christmas holidays, you could buy them at their local pool. Nothing better than a swim on a hot...I loved them. Here they were called Fags and I loved to get a pack when I was at my grandparents on Christmas holidays, you could buy them at their local pool. Nothing better than a swim on a hot day followed by a sugary fag. The big brown cigar version was even better but you only got one of them at a time, whereas the fags came in a pack.
They are now called Fads and are apparently marketed as "fun sticks". Which honestly makes them sound a lot less fun than they were in the 80s.
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Comment on Is there a way to filter out everything posted by a user? in ~tildes
lostwax Link ParentI've always got the impression that communities managed similar to this end up consumed by inward looking navel gazing and that those better at maintaining the form of civil communication end up...I've always got the impression that communities managed similar to this end up consumed by inward looking navel gazing and that those better at maintaining the form of civil communication end up dominating, regardless of their motives. (Sealioning in a way).
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Comment on Survey: The temperature in my room now is _____ and it feels _____ in ~talk
lostwax Link18C ish/no idea in F. It feels fine though the pub down the road with an open fire is occupying a place in my desires.18C ish/no idea in F. It feels fine though the pub down the road with an open fire is occupying a place in my desires.
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Comment on What’s a must-buy item you get when traveling internationally? in ~travel
lostwax LinkDuty free gin. OTC painkillers with codeine in them if I happen to be in a chemist. There are things I love and kind of miss from places I've been and lived but I'm coming around to the idea that...Duty free gin.
OTC painkillers with codeine in them if I happen to be in a chemist.
There are things I love and kind of miss from places I've been and lived but I'm coming around to the idea that I mostly want them to stay there, not here. If those things are available everywhere there's a strange dilution and flattening of memory and experience that happens.
This doesn't quite answer your question because you aren't talking about permanently making them available at home but I think it's adjacent.
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Comment on How do you live simply/save money? What does your lifestyle look like? in ~talk
lostwax Link ParentI had an eye opening conversation with a friend that worked in retail timber tools. Those companies that supply to hobby, particularly retired, woodworkers, bank on a very large proportion of what...There is a certain satisfaction to researching options, comparing features and buying stuff, to the point where I've caught myself rather do that than to engage with the hobby itself.
I had an eye opening conversation with a friend that worked in retail timber tools. Those companies that supply to hobby, particularly retired, woodworkers, bank on a very large proportion of what they sell, sometimes over half, never getting used. It's how they work out warranty terms, what they'll issue a recall for and how they determine what quality to aim for. Hoarding without using is incredibly common.
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Comment on DNA tests are uncovering the true prevalence of incest in ~health
lostwax Link ParentI can't comment on whether or not it was more common in the past, I don't know, and I hope it is falling now. But why would you wish misery on your ancestors?I'd like to believe this number is at an humanity all time low and falling.
I can't comment on whether or not it was more common in the past, I don't know, and I hope it is falling now. But why would you wish misery on your ancestors?
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Comment on How do you live simply/save money? What does your lifestyle look like? in ~talk
lostwax LinkIt seems like you are doing pretty well honestly. I have a similar approach to you and the biggest single help has been teaching myself to notice and acknowledge the goodness of the moment I'm in....It seems like you are doing pretty well honestly.
I have a similar approach to you and the biggest single help has been teaching myself to notice and acknowledge the goodness of the moment I'm in. Nothing has cut down the capitalist craving for more as much as working on that skill.
It's as simple as noticing a moment of beauty or connection and paying attention to it. It seems simple but it's not how many of us work, we're looking to the next thing instead. It's a central bit of Buddhist thought and some writing around it I found very helpful but you'll find the idea turn up all kinds of places, from Kurt Vonnegut's writing to some Christian thought. I'm only half a Buddhist, the rest is disorganised, but it still works.
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Comment on I need to make a wooden box to ship something delicate. Could I please get some pointers? in ~life.home_improvement
lostwax Link ParentThere's a little point I want to make, as gently as possible, having read this and your other comments. I am fairly well unequivocally one of your mountain men, I build things for a living, then...There's a little point I want to make, as gently as possible, having read this and your other comments. I am fairly well unequivocally one of your mountain men, I build things for a living, then do it on the weekends for fun and have the big black beard and everything. But me and everyone else in this scene, we're just people, same as you. I can sense your intimidation, both of the job you have in front of you and your perception of those who do this kind of work and while you can find a dickhead anywhere if you look hard enough, most of us are OK and are happy to teach anyone wanting to try. Most likely, no one is going to laugh at you or think less of you. And if they do, screw em, there's five or ten others that won't. You will be fine.
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Comment on I need to make a wooden box to ship something delicate. Could I please get some pointers? in ~life.home_improvement
lostwax (edited )LinkGenerally no one will laugh at you if you walk in and say hey I don't know what I'm doing and need help. We all start somewhere. Bluffing and pretending you know more than you do runs a greater...Generally no one will laugh at you if you walk in and say hey I don't know what I'm doing and need help. We all start somewhere. Bluffing and pretending you know more than you do runs a greater chance of annoying people.
Is it okay to go to the hardware place and ask them to cut my pieces to size?
It's completely OK but a rarely (not never) offered service here at least. A conversation or two would point you in the right direction though.
Good luck, you'll be fine.
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Comment on I need to make a wooden box to ship something delicate. Could I please get some pointers? in ~life.home_improvement
lostwax Link ParentEven more grateful if you circle the ones that take the lid off with a marker. Also, if customs might want a look, use screws.I think the people receiving the crate will be greatful they can open it by unscrewing a lid.
Even more grateful if you circle the ones that take the lid off with a marker.
Also, if customs might want a look, use screws.
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Comment on Geo-tech? What kind of professional do I call for evaluating safety of a home? in ~life.home_improvement
lostwax (edited )LinkI'm not in Canada, I'm not even next door, so take this with the requisite grain of salt. I have done perhaps 20 or 30 pre sale building inspections for friends and family. A building inspector or...I'm not in Canada, I'm not even next door, so take this with the requisite grain of salt.
I have done perhaps 20 or 30 pre sale building inspections for friends and family. A building inspector or sometimes a builder (general contractor in your language?) would do these professionally, I do it the same way they do but my day job is adjacent and I have no desire to do it for a living.
It's very unusual to be able to do anything other than a visual inspection. This means that if, say, I'm looking at moderate cracking from footing movement all I can say is "that's moved, it's moderate, and you may need to do something about it". Next step would be monitor for a year and go from there. It's impossible to give more concrete advice unless you can somehow get some idea of historical movement and while sometimes things about the building will tell you, the current owners won't and you probably shouldn't believe them if they do. Digging a footing probe might be valuable too, but you can't do that.
Moisture is easier to advise on, it's almost always bad and you almost always need to fix it.
It's very easy to get a building to present a blank canvas. I don't know how many places I've walked into that had all the doors skimmed so they shut properly, the windows bogged and were then painted in and out last week. If they are brick they had the outside rendered. I can tell you that's been done but was it done to make it look fresh or to hide moisture and movement? It can be very hard to tell and often the only way to work it out is to pay attention for a year or two.
For any big defect I always get asked how much the work will cost. Professional building inspectors will often know more than me, particularly if they do QS or cost estimation as well as inspections but there is huge variance in prices and if you can't afford to do the work when you move in the answer is probably irrelevant anyway. Cost estimation was certainly kind of impossible during covid and it's pretty fun now with Trump's idiocy. Add a two year delay to the work...
Do you have anyone like me in your life? Architect, draftsperson, carpenter, builder, engineer of (almost) any kind? Make it clear that you are looking for opinion only and pay them in beer and noodles. I've worked with friends where I've been the first opinion, going to a few houses, pointing out what I see and a couple of times simply forbidding them from buying it ("Well I've never seen that done, I wonder how much beer was involved") and going to dinner instead. If they like a place and I like it they then pay for someone with insurance to take a look and write a report. In the meantime they learn a lot about buildings from shadowing me around.
I need to finish this floor but happy to keep typing if it's valuable.
Edit. I should add that our housing market is 100% caveat emptor. There is all the incentive for sellers to hide issues and none to disclose them. That's legal and expected. Straight up lying by estate agents is completely normal and generally we don't have agents acting for the purchasers. If that's different for you then the assumptions implicit in what I wrote above won't apply.
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Comment on Share your fav environmentally-friendly building tech! in ~enviro
lostwax Link ParentI shouldn't say I've heard of them all, I certainly haven't heard of each initiative, but many are new ways to implement very old tech - borated timber is a long standing treatment, but I couldn't...I shouldn't say I've heard of them all, I certainly haven't heard of each initiative, but many are new ways to implement very old tech - borated timber is a long standing treatment, but I couldn't tell you any companies doing it, for example. I've never heard of carbicrete but I'm broadly aware of efforts to decarbonise concrete. Etc.
The ply on ground would have very low deflection but don't muddle up deflection with load bearing capacity. They are usually related but aren't the same thing. In a workshop not being built under a permit I'd consider trying something like it for the hell of it. Getting a permit for it would essentially be impossible.
Acetylated timber is actually quite common here in windows and doors, it is extremely durable. It's also very expensive, which is why that's all it's used for. The brand name is Accoya.
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Comment on A philosopher’s one-word theory to explain why the world feels so weird: uni-context in ~humanities
lostwax LinkA very interesting article that brings together several things I have been mulling on. I was chatting with an artist friend about social media a few weeks ago, particularly in regard to...A very interesting article that brings together several things I have been mulling on.
I was chatting with an artist friend about social media a few weeks ago, particularly in regard to homogeneity. He outlined how, if you'd like to sell art, an artist essentially has to be on social media, particularly Instagram. That's not a one way street and artists will find like minded people, follow each other and take influence from each other, even if theoretically they are there to promote their own work. It means that local movements in art might be withering because the context has become global and a painting produced in Bogota could be more influenced by an artist from Sydney than anything else.
This glosses over a heap of nuance and local context that does still exist, it's definitely an exaggeration. But we can see the same effect in architecture, furniture, urban landscapes and anything else humans create. It means to travel is, at least in terms of the human aspect of travelling, becoming more and more like not going anywhere much.
I think some of the richness that comes from difference is being taken from life through these little context collapses, the world gradually getting more to be a puree than a stew. I have a suspicion it feeds superficiality somehow. I'm still working out how.
Easiest way to make money is to already have a lot of it.