luks's recent activity
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Comment on How do people get over enshittification? in ~life
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Comment on Understanding the leftist that didn't vote: "Everybody else gets one, but not me" in ~society
luks (edited )LinkWhile I also wish that the Democrats were more left/progressive, I typically don't feel like I have a choice. I'm living in Europe right now, but visit the US often. Neither party captures the...While I also wish that the Democrats were more left/progressive, I typically don't feel like I have a choice. I'm living in Europe right now, but visit the US often.
Neither party captures the policy I want to see, but one is significantly further away than the other. And I do think some of the typical arguments do hold weight - I don't feel like I have a choice to abstain and not voting for the left benefits the right, allowing them to strip away my rights. There is a much lower danger of that from the left.
I'm trans, although I transitioned long ago and no one would know, but if they manage to hamper medical transition or revert legal changes, that would be a serious threat to my well-being. Not to mention the thousands of young people who would be impacted. So I do think it's a matter of privilege to feel that you have a choice.
(ETA: I do think though that the hyper specific identity politics are harmful and that many young people today are not trans in the sense that they need medical intervention. Both parties are missing the mark there completely)
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Comment on What do you actually do at work? in ~life
luks (edited )LinkI studied physics and now work in a lab testing semiconductor devices, although most are electrical engineers there. It's mostly doing the measurements -which can be a bit routine - but also...I studied physics and now work in a lab testing semiconductor devices, although most are electrical engineers there. It's mostly doing the measurements -which can be a bit routine - but also includes designing test setups/PCBs, programming the analysis algorithms and then collating the data and presenting it to the other people working on the project. I wish it would be a bit less conputer-based and more moving around and I'd like more time to read papers and get a better idea of the current developments, but I'm quite happy that it's pretty varied and not solely spreadsheets. Pretty often, some measurement doesn't work or something blows up and then it's a lot of critical thinking to find the root cause. We also have a small workshop for small mechanical work. I'm still quite new to working, but I like that it's varied, I need to think but it's not so high stress everyday, and there's a practical/manual aspect to it.
To get a bit more physical/practical work in, I'd like to do a shorter 4-day work week and then find a more outdoors job for the fifth day. I think that could be pretty difficult to achieve as 5 days/week are definitely the standard.
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Comment on NYT misses what’s true and important about an anti-trans school resolution in ~lgbt
luks (edited )LinkTo discuss the actual topic, this is something I've noticed a lot in recent years. My parents subscribe to the NYT, but have been thinking of cancelling it due to, among other things, the pretty...To discuss the actual topic, this is something I've noticed a lot in recent years. My parents subscribe to the NYT, but have been thinking of cancelling it due to, among other things, the pretty blatant transphobia. IIRC, the NYT don't have a good track record with moral panics in general, also heavily pushing the satanic panic a few decades ago.
The one article I distinctly remember, which wasn't mentioned here, was about bottom surgery for men. They outted a number of private resources, which then had to be taken offline as they were bombarded by transphobes. Security through obscurity doesn't work when a national newspaper needlessly names it and tells people they can go view titillating images there.
(Edited for spelling)
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Comment on NYT misses what’s true and important about an anti-trans school resolution in ~lgbt
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Comment on Help me ditch Chrome's password manager! in ~tech
luks LinkI am by no means highly knowledgeable on the topic, but I've been using Bitwarden for a number of years and it would tick all your boxes. I use Firefox, setup is limited to creating an account and...I am by no means highly knowledgeable on the topic, but I've been using Bitwarden for a number of years and it would tick all your boxes. I use Firefox, setup is limited to creating an account and then installing the Bitwarden extension. It also works on mobile, either with the extension or an app that lets you fill in passwords for all apps too.
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Comment on Tiny undervalued hardware companions in ~tech
luks Link ParentMaybe not directly helpful for Dell computers, but I retrofitted my ThinkPad X230 with a USB-C connector a few years back from...Maybe not directly helpful for Dell computers, but I retrofitted my ThinkPad X230 with a USB-C connector a few years back from https://www.tindie.com/products/mikepdiy/lenovo-charging-port-type-c-pd-x220-x230/
It should easily be possible to build something similar for a Dell (if the connectors aren't the same anyway already). Combined with a tiny GaN charging brick, it's great :)
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Comment on How do you store ”loose” tech hardware? in ~tech
luks LinkI have one box with larger cables coiled with onewrap velcro. And then for all the micro USB, mini USB, etc. I standardized to USB-C double-ended cables and have tiny adapters for the rest. They...I have one box with larger cables coiled with onewrap velcro. And then for all the micro USB, mini USB, etc. I standardized to USB-C double-ended cables and have tiny adapters for the rest. They live in a little wooden box. I really only ever need 2-3 USB cables at a time, so that works fine for me.
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Comment on What is the horrible phrase my wife learned from her grandpa? in ~humanities.languages
luks Link ParentNot sure if it's only dialect or normal German, as I've heard my parents say it often, but "Schietwetter" (German for shit weather, ˈʃiːtvɛtɐ) could sound similar to the first part. Not sure about...Not sure if it's only dialect or normal German, as I've heard my parents say it often, but "Schietwetter" (German for shit weather, ˈʃiːtvɛtɐ) could sound similar to the first part. Not sure about the second though. There's also a ton of other words you could make with Schiet...
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Comment on Jury finds Jennifer Crumbley, the Michigan school shooter’s mother, guilty of manslaughter in ~news
luks Link ParentWhat? You think arressting a child for a crime they haven't even committed yet is a good solution? If children, then why not adults? And, how would you determine who is at risk? Because of the...What? You think arressting a child for a crime they haven't even committed yet is a good solution? If children, then why not adults? And, how would you determine who is at risk? Because of the behaviors of the parents?
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Comment on Can anyone recommend a printer/scanner combo that works with Linux with no additional drivers? in ~tech
luks LinkI have a Brother L2750DW (black and white laser and double-sided scanning) Printing works out-of-the-box after connecting the printer to my wifi and for scanning I wanted something that didn't...I have a Brother L2750DW (black and white laser and double-sided scanning) Printing works out-of-the-box after connecting the printer to my wifi and for scanning I wanted something that didn't depend on my computer being on. I scan to FTP and have a small USB Stick connected to my router where the files are saved. I then have a script on my computer that runs every minute to check if there are any new files.
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Comment on Oh my days! 3.5yr old got his big boy bed. in ~talk
luks Link ParentWhat may work is to child-proof his room so far.that he can turn on and off the light by himself and has some quiet/non-destructive toys he can play with (nothing he can color the walls with!)...What may work is to child-proof his room so far.that he can turn on and off the light by himself and has some quiet/non-destructive toys he can play with (nothing he can color the walls with!) Then he can play quietly until the clock says it's ok to wake everyone else.
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Comment on How would you teach math differently to young kids if budget was not a concern? in ~talk
luks LinkI had great success as a kid at an accredited Montessori (but public) school. Typically, we were taught new lessons in groups of 2-4 and were also always taught how to self-check our answers. As...I had great success as a kid at an accredited Montessori (but public) school. Typically, we were taught new lessons in groups of 2-4 and were also always taught how to self-check our answers. As an adult looking at the curriculum, it appears pretty brilliant - because you're working in the physical realm, big problems are still easy to solve, which motivates small children and a lot of concepts such as fractions, binomial equation and cubes and cube roots are introduced at about kindergarten to first grade the first time in passing.
I've had a very solid grasp of mathematics and the importance of units and operators that I saw in nearly all of my fellow classmates and didn't see in most of the "normal" kids when I re-joined the normal public school system. It also had the added benefit of lettings kids work as far ahead and as quickly or slowly as needed. Also, we sometimes "regressed" and practiced something familiar or taught the younger kids, which helped with solidifying the concepts and connecting information.
My favorite was long division and the stamp game :) and I ended up being about 4 grades ahead by 6th grade.
This is a nice video showing some of the early materials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIFQjONnn1g&t=381https://hollismontessori.org/blog/2018/3/19/montessori-basics-how-math-progresses-through-the-levels
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Comment on US Obstetrics and Gynecology certification examinations are being held in person in Texas in ~health
luks Link ParentI think they're trying to say it's not banned absolutely and thus teaching or being tested on the material can't be illegal as it could be necessary to know.I think they're trying to say it's not banned absolutely and thus teaching or being tested on the material can't be illegal as it could be necessary to know.
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Comment on Gordon Lightfoot - Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald (1976) in ~music
luks LinkIt's a much less known shipwreck song by Lightfoot, but I find the Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle to also be an extremely haunting and beautiful song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N16szs0jXrcIt's a much less known shipwreck song by Lightfoot, but I find the Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle to also be an extremely haunting and beautiful song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N16szs0jXrc
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Comment on How do you divide a room completely and maintain high visibility? in ~life.home_improvement
luks (edited )LinkMaybe some open shelves like the kallax ones from Ikea with plexiglass on one side? I don't have a good idea for the door, but for the shelves you could then remove some of the panels and add...Maybe some open shelves like the kallax ones from Ikea with plexiglass on one side? I don't have a good idea for the door, but for the shelves you could then remove some of the panels and add carpet/scratching post/etc. to make it a little cat playground.
Something like https://ikeahackers.net/2011/01/cat-activity-centersleep-center.html or https://ikeahackers.net/2014/07/kallax-cat-scratching-furniture.html but the large units. And then just have an overhang at the top or extend the Plexiglas to the ceiling.
This is the best image of what I had in mind: http://imgur.com/gallery/f582R You could also just add a board to some of the shelves that extend out a bit farther to allow the cats to jump between levels which would lessen the need to drill holes in the big boards.
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Comment on Trans identity and the gender binary in ~lgbt
luks Link ParentI agree that it's difficult to divide people into two neat little boxes of "has dysphoria" and "doesn't have dysphoria". In fact, I think it's a much better idea for everyone to think about each...I agree that it's difficult to divide people into two neat little boxes of "has dysphoria" and "doesn't have dysphoria". In fact, I think it's a much better idea for everyone to think about each step in the medical process individually.
I've seen a lot of both: obviously dysphoric people who keep telling themselves that everything is normal and there is no way they could actually be trans, but also (primarily young) people whose sole reason to transition seem to be GNC tendencies but who feel entirely comfortable with their bodies. I think the former group tends to get there eventually, but the latter worries me. Especially those that extrapolate from a label to 'must do all the steps even if it feels wrong'. You see quite a few questions about microdosing T or how to avoid basically all of the consequences of T.
I think my main concern with lumping both groups together is that a lot of the studies on transsexual people, which show huge benefits with hormone therapy and little post-op regret, probably aren't applicable to the non-dysphoric group. With the current ratio of self-identifying transgender/non-binary people to diagnosed transgender people being about 100:1 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4823815/), it worries me a lot that health insurance might not deem transition care as medically necessary in the future if the definitions aren't better delineated in the future.
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Comment on Trans identity and the gender binary in ~lgbt
luks Link ParentYeah, when I was thinking about if I really was trans or not and whether I truly needed to medically transition, I based a large part of my decision on my childhood memories as I was a bit...Yeah, when I was thinking about if I really was trans or not and whether I truly needed to medically transition, I based a large part of my decision on my childhood memories as I was a bit hesitant to fully trust my current feelings at the time as being a teenager is a volatile time for most people. I had a staggeringly long list of weird memories. Looking back at it now, 14 years later, it's amazing how much of a difference transitioning made. Any tendencies towards depression and depersonalization vanished - I used to read about 2-3 books a day just to escape reality and had massive problems both with self-care as I couldn't face the mirrors in the bathroom, as well as with falling asleep.
One of the long lists I have is at https://pdfhost.io/v/xlKhxp5Ld_Statistics_and_Studies_of_Transsexuals.pdf The interesting studies start on page 37. For example, in posthumous studies the authors found that the BSTc sizes of trans men and women matched those of their identified genders even though the subjects had never undergone any hormone therapy. This paper also gives an easy-to-read summary of the research into the origins of transsexuality: https://doi.org/10.4158/EP14351.RA
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Comment on Trans identity and the gender binary in ~lgbt
luks LinkIt seems most people have already responded to emphasize the biological background behind being trans. To me, this is the only viewpoint that makes sense with both my own lived experiences and...- Exemplary
It seems most people have already responded to emphasize the biological background behind being trans. To me, this is the only viewpoint that makes sense with both my own lived experiences and current scientific knowledge. I'm a research scientist, though, so I have no particular knowledge of queer theory and the "social construct" arguments apart from what I've read online.
There seem to be two main "types" of trans people currently - some that are transitioning or calling themselves trans as they disagree with gender roles and those that experience dysphoria. From my (very) recent experience in the hospital here, the people getting gender affirming surgeries were all firmly in the latter camp and none of us could understand the former group at all and most don't consider them trans in the same way that we are. In my view, there are two phenomena currently being called the same name, which can make the discussion a bit confusing.
So, for those trans people with a similar biological basis, I think the brain sex theory makes the most sense. That is, a mental map of the body is created at birth that maps to a particular sex - this can be called your neurological sex or gender identity. Sex consists of multiple different components: chromosomes, primary sex characteristics, hormonal profile, neurological sex, etc. For intersex people, the chromosomes might not match the primary sex characteristics, while for trans people the neurological sex doesn't match the remaining sex markers. By transitioning, it's possible to change the primary and secondary sex characteristics as well as the general phenotype and hormone profile to match the neurological sex, so that trans people are ultimately much closer to the sex they transition to than they are to the one they were at birth.
As far as I've experienced, neurological sex is immutable and present from birth. As a small child, I attempted to pee standing up, viewed myself as male and held myself to those societal standards such as not crying when hurt or being embarrassed to ride a 'girly' bike. I assumed I would naturally go through male puberty and was bewildered to not be put into the right health class. All this with a marked cognitive dissonance as I rationally knew that others saw me as a girl.
As puberty started, I wished for breast cancer and later to accidentally be dosed with steroids and still somehow believed that I would be male when grown up although I had no idea how that could be as I had never heard of transitioning. None of this had anything to do with gender roles, rather it was a natural distress with how my body was changing that was far greater than what is typical for teens. In fact, gender roles weren't really enforced when I was growing up and I steadfastly ignored any attempts to make me more feminine. Once I learned that medically transitioning was possible at 16, it was abundantly clear to me that that would be the correct path for me. Struggling through the therapists and bureaucracy was a nightmare at that age.
Many trans men, including myself, experience phantom penises and can't reconcile breasts into their own self-Image. Despite having lived with them for nearly 10 years, the second I had a mastectomy it felt normal again. In contrast, women often feel the loss or phantom pains after such an operation.
If you want any studies or review papers, I can find them for you as I have a very large master list and too much time as I'm currently recovering from surgery.
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Comment on How neighbors got NYPD to stop parking on a school sidewalk after forty years in ~life
luks Link ParentOne benefit of getting rid of street parking, however, would be that there is then enough 'lane space' to build buffered bicycle lanes in their place, which would allow children and seniors to...One benefit of getting rid of street parking, however, would be that there is then enough 'lane space' to build buffered bicycle lanes in their place, which would allow children and seniors to also comfortably cycle.
You actually just get a credit for the price of the socks and can choose any new one you want in the store. It's been an absolutely painless process for me. My mom's gone one step further and sent in worn-out darn tough socks she found at Goodwill ;)