patience_limited's recent activity
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Comment on The incidence of autism is similar in boys and girls, although boys are diagnosed earlier – study conducted on a sample of 2.7 million people in Sweden over a thirty-five year period in ~health.mental
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Comment on How many Hosers are there on Tildes? in ~talk
patience_limited (edited )LinkI'm genetically half-Canadian, and live closer to the nearest Canadian city than the nearest major U.S. metro. So I'm a Hoser in spirit, and if Canada chose to buy Michigan, I'd welcome our...I'm genetically half-Canadian, and live closer to the nearest Canadian city than the nearest major U.S. metro. So I'm a Hoser in spirit, and if Canada chose to buy Michigan, I'd welcome our liberators with open arms.
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Comment on Hair loss open discussion in ~talk
patience_limited (edited )Link ParentI'd bring the hair changes up with your doctor on your next visit - as /u/DrStone said, there can be many different underlying causes besides "aging". Overall thinner, finer hair that doesn't...I'd bring the hair changes up with your doctor on your next visit - as /u/DrStone said, there can be many different underlying causes besides "aging". Overall thinner, finer hair that doesn't follow hormonal balding patterns could be due to thyroid problems, anemia, stress, etc.
As far as nutrition is concerned, a general multivitamin and good overall diet with adequate protein and greens should be sufficient. "Hair, skin, and nails" supplements usually contain collagen (which is just another animal-sourced protein that's broken down to amino acids in digestion, and it's not a complete source of essential amino acids), biotin (already in multivitamins, no evidence that extra helps), and silica (plenty in a diet with adequate greens and vegetables). You might increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids (fish, fish oil, nuts and seeds, seaweed, some expensive vegan products).
It's also possible that your current hair treatments and styling methods are contributing. I had less hair loss when I switched to fragrance- and sulfate-free products (skin allergy), used a good conditioner and detangling brush, and minimized blow-dry heat. My hair strands seem a little thicker with minoxidil treatment, so that's something to try as well.
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Comment on Hair loss open discussion in ~talk
patience_limited Link ParentI use minoxidil foam and still have hair - I apply the foam, then comb it in thoroughly with a "Tangle Teaser" type plastic hairbrush. Enough seems to get on my scalp for it to be effective. For...I use minoxidil foam and still have hair - I apply the foam, then comb it in thoroughly with a "Tangle Teaser" type plastic hairbrush. Enough seems to get on my scalp for it to be effective.
For me, it took about three months for the apparent medication-related hair loss to stop and the persistence of new hairs to be really evident. I hope you get good results!
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Comment on Hair loss open discussion in ~talk
patience_limited (edited )LinkI've had both hormonal and medical hair loss going on for a while now. I got a little hairline recession and enough thinning that noticeably more scalp showed through at the part with the...I've had both hormonal and medical hair loss going on for a while now. I got a little hairline recession and enough thinning that noticeably more scalp showed through at the part with the beginnings of perimenopause. Not a catastrophe, I just changed my hairstyle and lived with it.
Then, patchy alopecia areata along with distorted brittle nails when immune system problems kicked off. The balding patches grew back in with steroid treatments and the first round of RA drugs. The hair all over my head fell out drastically (like clumps blocking the shower drain) with the "chemo" type antimetabolite drugs, methotrexate and leflunomide. I started using minoxidil, which reduced the hair loss side effect of leflunomide.
The current biologic drug and leflunomide plus minoxidil seems to have resolved the hair loss and nail problems to the point that I'm wondering if the "hormonal" hair changes were just early symptoms. Both my parents had full heads of hair well into their eighties, though my brother did get the complete complement of baldness genes.
The moral of this story is that hair loss for which you don't have a clear genetic history is worth a doctor's visit.
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Comment on Most and least expensive US supermarkets in ~food
patience_limited (edited )Link ParentTwo-person household - we make use of Costco bulk perishables by batch-cooking and freezing a week or two's worth of meals at a time. We also run some produce through a dehydrator, or divide it...Two-person household - we make use of Costco bulk perishables by batch-cooking and freezing a week or two's worth of meals at a time. We also run some produce through a dehydrator, or divide it into smaller portions and freeze it. Rotating frozen dishes provides enough variety. Dried/frozen fruit makes for healthier snacks, and dried/frozen veg can go into the batch cooking as needed.
This lets us avoid spending for restaurant meals or carryout when we're too tired or busy to cook on weeknights. Otherwise, the Costco price differential on non-perishables, automotive, optical, and pharmacy more than covers the membership fee and driving time (about 15-20 minutes in our case). Spouse often has the luxury of going to Costco on a weekday and avoiding the crowds.
Costco eggs and dairy are sold in large volumes, but we can usually go through a single purchase quickly enough that we don't have to worry about spoilage, or use up in a bulk recipe. There's only a relatively small list of items we buy elsewhere (farmer's markets in season, local bakeries, co-op, locally owned grocery chain and Latin/Asian stores, Aldi, Meijer, online for specialty ingredients, in that order). We do spend a chunk of the weekend hitting two or three grocery stops (and/or gardening) and cooking, but we generally enjoy it.
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Comment on Xikipedia in ~tech
patience_limited (edited )LinkI'd enjoy this more if it used standard, not Simple, Wikipedia. An article on turbojet engines was dumbed down too much, the content presented for "science and technology" in an ancient region in...I'd enjoy this more if it used standard, not Simple, Wikipedia. An article on turbojet engines was dumbed down too much, the content presented for "science and technology" in an ancient region in India didn't include the original article's "Science and Technology" section... I'll stick with Wikipedia:Random.
TIL: Hockey is not the only internationally recognized ice sport.
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Comment on Michigan anti-trust lawsuit alleges oil companies colluded to “capture and kill” clean-energy and electric-vehicle efforts in ~enviro
patience_limited LinkFrom the article: Read the linked 1979 Exxon memo, based on a summer intern's research. The science is straightforward. It's clear that the fossil fuel industry has been knowingly and...From the article:
Picture yourself in a parallel universe. The state of Michigan, home of America’s auto industry, is a thriving hub for electric vehicles. They are not “a fringe technology or a luxury alternative,” but rather, “a common sight in every neighborhood — rolling off assembly lines in Flint, parked in driveways in Dearborn, charging outside grocery stores in Grand Rapids, and running quietly down Woodward Avenue.”
That Michigan could have existed by now, a new lawsuit brought by state Attorney General Dana Nessel argues, if four major oil companies and their biggest trade group hadn’t conspired to block it for decades.
The Michigan case, filed last week in federal court, accuses ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute of engaging in a decades-long conspiracy to block the development of clean energy and electric vehicles in order to ensure that their fossil-fuel products dominate the market.
The case is distinct from the dozens of other climate deception lawsuits brought by state and local governments against oil and gas giants, instead arguing that the companies violated state and federal antitrust laws. Acting as a “cartel,” the defendants robbed consumers of energy and transportation choices in “one of the most successful antitrust conspiracies in United States history,” the complaint says.
But Michigan’s lawsuit also represents the Trump administration’s latest failure to quash climate lawsuits against Big Oil. After President Donald Trump last year directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to “take all appropriate action” to stop such suits, the Justice Department preemptively sued Michigan to stop Nessel from filing a lawsuit against fossil fuel companies, as she had pledged to do in 2024. At the time, Nessel called the Justice Department lawsuit “arguably sanctionable” and said she was “undeterred” in her “intention to file this lawsuit the president and his Big Oil donors so fear.”
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Oil companies purchased solar and electric vehicle patents to ensure others couldn’t use them, solicited control of renewable markets and then abandoned them, and funded powerful institutions to promote false solutions, all while using trade groups to downplay the harms of fossil fuels, according to the complaint.The alleged conspiracy began after 1979, when Exxon’s internal research concluded that renewable energy would need to account for at least 50 percent of the energy supplied worldwide by 2010 in order to maintain planetary warming at “a relatively safe level.” Instead of competing to develop clean energy technologies, the companies coordinated to thwart them under the “CO2 and Climate Task Force,” a group established by the American Petroleum Institute, Michigan alleges.
The Task Force was used to share information among the companies, which began what Michigan’s complaint calls a “capture-and-kill” strategy of buying up solar and electric vehicle patents and then allowing them to lapse.
Exxon, for example, obtained key patents for developing public charging stations for electric vehicles — but never used them. After developing the first hybrid vehicle prototype, the oil giant abandoned its cutting-edge electric-vehicle and solar-technology research and ventures in the early 1980s. The other defendants similarly retreated in concert from their electric vehicle and solar innovations and used patent litigation against their rivals to “deter new market entrants” from deploying the technology.
The companies went on to run advertising and lobbying campaigns attacking EVs and falsely promoted themselves as leading the energy transition while instead pushing for technologies they knew would continue to bolster fossil fuels, other reports suggest.
Read the linked 1979 Exxon memo, based on a summer intern's research. The science is straightforward.
It's clear that the fossil fuel industry has been knowingly and intentionally blocking any attempts to study and address climate change due to CO2 emissions from using their products, in a decades-long concerted effort.
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Michigan anti-trust lawsuit alleges oil companies colluded to “capture and kill” clean-energy and electric-vehicle efforts
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Comment on Nerve stimulating neck implant removes debilitating rheumatoid arthritis symptoms from patient in ~health
patience_limited (edited )LinkOriginal study here. This looks like it's a significant treatment option. Thanks for posting, /u/skybrian! As someone who's been down a long road of failed/toxic RA drugs, I'm going to be looking...This looks like it's a significant treatment option. Thanks for posting, /u/skybrian! As someone who's been down a long road of failed/toxic RA drugs, I'm going to be looking into this implant if the current regimen loses effectiveness or hazardous side effects might require yet another treatment. I'm generally doing well as far as RA flares are concerned, but the needs for infection avoidance, frequent blood tests, extra cancer screening and eye exams, and now heart monitoring are sources of expense and worry.
One of the most striking findings is that the vagus nerve stimulation seems to halt bone erosion in the patients who respond, which isn't always the case even with medications that reduce overt symptoms of pain and swelling. Even though the vagus nerve stimulator implant requires surgery, it's less risky and invasive than multiple joint replacements.
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Comment on 'Right-to-compute' laws may be coming to your state this year in ~comp
patience_limited (edited )LinkSeems to me that this is really an attempt to evade regulations intended to prevent the externalities of datacenter computing - pushing up power prices, draining water supplies, excessive...Seems to me that this is really an attempt to evade regulations intended to prevent the externalities of datacenter computing - pushing up power prices, draining water supplies, excessive emissions from on-site generators, persistent noise, and the like.
In any case, it's a shift in the burden to require provable harm before regulation can take effect, regardless of public demand to prevent harm.
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Comment on Hi, how are you? Mental health support and discussion thread (February 2026) in ~health.mental
patience_limited (edited )Link ParentI don't think the author is claiming that neurodivergence confers superpowers - he's saying that neurodivergent people tend to perceive patterns and are temperamentally unlikely to stop expressing...I don't think the author is claiming that neurodivergence confers superpowers - he's saying that neurodivergent people tend to perceive patterns and are temperamentally unlikely to stop expressing the understandings that arise from those perceptions even when that's socially restricted.
Reading through the author's other articles, I do think he's describing the Doughnut Economics model of "collapse". Not technological civilization suddenly coming to a screeching halt, but rather the long-running consequences of ongoing ecosystem depletion. As an example, one crop failure isn't a "collapse" scenario, but multiple countries experiencing a continent-wide weeks-long dust storm from deforestation and climate change might be. The word "polycrisis" is in vogue right now because we're seeing an increasing number of concurrent systemic crises due to climate change that are taxing the ability of governments and economies to cope. People (in the U.S., at least) are generally poorer than they would have been without the 1970's energy crisis, and it is taking ever more energy and resources to exploit new sources of energy and resources. We're succeeding so far, and solar technology has genuinely changed the game - for now.
As you say, I'm not convinced by the author's thesis that this situation will result in utter anarchy and mass death on a scale that drastically reduces human population, but gradual immiseration and human rights loss aren't anything to look forward to.
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Comment on A brief history of men's underwear in ~life.style
patience_limited (edited )Link ParentThe ones I'm looking at are more like bike shorts (Woxer is the brand, not quite as expensive as TomboyX, different cuts and colors), with a higher waist and longer inseam. So hopefully no rolling...The ones I'm looking at are more like bike shorts (Woxer is the brand, not quite as expensive as TomboyX, different cuts and colors), with a higher waist and longer inseam. So hopefully no rolling issues and maybe enough compression to smooth out the hip replacement divots. I'd always used a Diva cup; pads weren't an issue for me, and I've aged out of that necessity anyway. But I've always wondered how the heck some of the typical women's underwear (and pants) cuts could accommodate a pad.
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Comment on A brief history of men's underwear in ~life.style
patience_limited Link ParentBased on experience with spouse's boxer briefs, I probably still need a women's cut. I'm on the curvy side with an 11" difference in waist and hip measurements. [I say I'm "boy-shaped" because I'm...Based on experience with spouse's boxer briefs, I probably still need a women's cut. I'm on the curvy side with an 11" difference in waist and hip measurements. [I say I'm "boy-shaped" because I'm very much an inverted triangle with swimmer shoulders.] That's in between women's standard sizes, so the waist is too loose for hips that fit, and the men's sizes go by waist measurement only. I'm hoping that the boxer briefs' heavier waistband will make it work.
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Comment on Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news in ~news
patience_limited LinkLate addition, but I just ran across this and it's a very uplifting small story... Ottawa man takes his Uber driver tobogganing for first timeLate addition, but I just ran across this and it's a very uplifting small story...
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of January 26 in ~society
patience_limited LinkReasons to be hopeful: Blue wave watch: Democrat flips Trump +17 Texas Senate seat in 32-point swing. Also.Reasons to be hopeful: Blue wave watch: Democrat flips Trump +17 Texas Senate seat in 32-point swing. Also.
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Comment on Hi, how are you? Mental health support and discussion thread (February 2026) in ~health.mental
patience_limited LinkI ran across this article [Warning: some, like me, may find this content depressing.] via kottke.org this week, and if anything, it's intensified my gloom. It discusses why neurodiverse people are...I ran across this article [Warning: some, like me, may find this content depressing.] via kottke.org this week, and if anything, it's intensified my gloom. It discusses why neurodiverse people are more likely to perceive incipient systems collapse than neurotypical people. It goes on to say why we need both perspectives, but I'm still shaken by the self-reinforcing imperviousness of mainstream thinking to the grim realities we're facing if we don't do something right now.
At the same time, my brain has a black-humored jolliness today because we've had two entire days of sunshine after months of leaden skies. All the pharmacies in town are currently out of the SSRI (manufacturer shortage) that lets me endure the darkness, but I'm not worried as long as there's real daylight. Everyone is behaving like manic fools, the stores and streets are jammed (despite the negative degree wind-chills and ice), spouse brought home huge tips from the winery, and I've got overambitious cooking plans after overabundant grocery shopping yesterday.
I'll take the win where I can get it.
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Comment on Hi, how are you? Mental health support and discussion thread (February 2026) in ~health.mental
patience_limited Link ParentOne virtual hug with a hot dish, coming right up.One virtual hug with a hot dish, coming right up.
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Comment on A brief history of men's underwear in ~life.style
patience_limited Link ParentI wish the TomboyX boxers and boyshorts were more affordable, they get rave reviews and they're cute. Posting for NB and trans folks, they have styles specifically designed for tucking and packing.I wish the TomboyX boxers and boyshorts were more affordable, they get rave reviews and they're cute. Posting for NB and trans folks, they have styles specifically designed for tucking and packing.
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Comment on A brief history of men's underwear in ~life.style
patience_limited LinkThe article doesn't spend much time on how thoroughly the existence and requirement for undergarments depends on temperate climates. People in hotter climes wear loose, lighter garments in easily...The article doesn't spend much time on how thoroughly the existence and requirement for undergarments depends on temperate climates.
People in hotter climes wear loose, lighter garments in easily washable materials. Those garments generally don't cling to the skin as tightly as heavy knitted and woven itchy woolens. They wear dhoti, loincloths, skirts, djellaba, sarongs, etc. or practice near nudity with just a cache-sexe, which hides but doesn't enclose genitalia.
There's a less gendered and more international history of underwear here. It's clear there's always been an interplay of garments worn as underwear vs. outerwear, with class, tradition, and religion playing roles in what's worn under the visible.
I'm kind of rabbitholing on the garment engineering involved in men's underwear. It turns out that the jockstrap was invented in the 1870's to save men from the excruciating scrotal hammering caused by bicycle wheels bouncing over cobblestoned streets. I think I showed an unhealthy interest in the "Ball Hammock" display at a menswear store I accompanied my spouse to, but it was asking for it.
I have borrowed both boxers and boxer briefs from my spouse. Boxers are comfy under looser-fitted men's cut pants or skirts, but bunch up in close-fitted womenswear. I'm contemplating switching from women's underwear to boxer briefs (or in womenswear, "boyshorts", which differ from men's underwear in lacking a Y-front opening) because of the wider, tighter elastic waistband. Women's underwear generally has a narrow, relatively loose elastic band at the waist because it relies on projecting hipbones and estrogen-based fat distribution to help hold the garment up. I'm running a little more boy-shaped these days, and the women's design isn't always staying put.
Yes, this. I was the kind of child easily pacified by books, puzzles, and a quiet corner, discouraged from unseemly emotional outbursts, so yes to depression as the symptom that got diagnosis and treatment.
Simon Baron-Cohen's dominant theories about sex-hormone specific brain differences and empathizing vs. systematizing didn't do people with ASD any favors. Much of his work has failed replication and has numerous biases and flaws.