skybrian's recent activity
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Comment on UNC-Chapel Hill researchers developing the world’s largest sky-survey telescope in ~space
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UNC-Chapel Hill researchers developing the world’s largest sky-survey telescope
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Comment on Epidurals are a miracle technology in ~health
skybrian LinkFrom the article: ...From the article:
In an epidural, a flexible tube is inserted under local anesthetic between the spinal vertebrae after the mother has begun having contractions. The analgesic, a combination of local anesthetic, opioids, and occasionally steroids that varies between hospitals, is pumped through the tube directly into the epidural space, located just outside the sac surrounding the spinal cord, where it numbs pain signals from the uterus and pelvis.
This relieves the entire lower body of pain within around half an hour. The analgesic is then continuously infused through the tube; with modern epidurals, a laboring mother can safely increase her dose at any time by pressing a button.
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In many developed countries, epidurals are popular, with the majority or a significant minority of laboring women choosing one, especially if giving birth for the first time. Today, 79 percent of American first-time mothers, 64 percent of Irish first-time mothers and just over 50 percent of Norwegian first-time mothers have an epidural. In France, epidurals are even more popular, with 82 percent of all women giving birth vaginally receiving one.
In poorer countries, use of epidurals is often much lower, due to a lack of awareness among women, cost, and a lack of necessary equipment and staff. In China, 70 percent of women deliver with no pain relief, and the government has targets in place to improve access and so make giving birth better for Chinese women. One report suggests that in India, only around 11 percent of women receive pain relief in labor and awareness is low. A study of 200 pregnant Indian women attending one clinic found that 98 percent did not know it was possible to relieve labor pains and that none had ever heard of anyone using an epidural.
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Epidurals are a miracle technology
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Comment on SpaceX stock tumbles 23% from its high as average investor sees gains wiped out in ~finance
skybrian Link ParentIt depends on what kind of debt. The Fed reacts to inflation by raising interest rates, so new borrowing is more expensive and short-term debt is more expensive because it has to be rolled over....It depends on what kind of debt. The Fed reacts to inflation by raising interest rates, so new borrowing is more expensive and short-term debt is more expensive because it has to be rolled over.
Also, higher interest rates result in the economy slowing down.
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Comment on SpaceX stock tumbles 23% from its high as average investor sees gains wiped out in ~finance
skybrian Link ParentUnlike normal gambling, the odds aren’t rigged against you. You can win on average by being sensible and patient about your investments. Sometimes in other ways, too. A rising stock market lets...Unlike normal gambling, the odds aren’t rigged against you. You can win on average by being sensible and patient about your investments.
Sometimes in other ways, too. A rising stock market lets everyone think they’re a genius.
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Comment on SpaceX stock tumbles 23% from its high as average investor sees gains wiped out in ~finance
skybrian (edited )Link ParentPension funds have their downsides too. Companies sometimes underfund them or they can make dubious investments like in private equity firms. They also shut out people who don’t qualify because...Pension funds have their downsides too. Companies sometimes underfund them or they can make dubious investments like in private equity firms. They also shut out people who don’t qualify because they change jobs too often.
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Comment on Plans for nearly 4,000 homes over Safeways divide Bay Area residents in ~finance
skybrian Link ParentThat surprises me because I’ve always assumed San Francisco is more expensive. For example: Why Are Oakland Rents Suddenly So Much Cheaper Than SF’s? (KQED)That surprises me because I’ve always assumed San Francisco is more expensive. For example:
Why Are Oakland Rents Suddenly So Much Cheaper Than SF’s? (KQED)
Amid a ballooning rental housing market across the Bay Area, Oakland rents are mostly staying flat. Today, the median San Francisco rent for a one-bedroom home is about 70% higher than in Oakland. While Oakland often trails the city’s rental market, the gap is now far larger than in recent history.
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Comment on In Shasta County, the MAGA backlash has begun in ~society
skybrian Linkhttps://archive.is/2FC15 From the article: [...] [...] [...] [...]From the article:
Earlier this month, voters decisively ousted Crye and Curtis, and sent Supervisor Chris Kellstrom to the general election trailing a moderate challenger. Even if Kellstrom wins in November, the results of the June 2 primary tilt the county’s most powerful body back to the center-right — ending a five-year MAGA experiment and signaling trouble for President Donald Trump in one of California’s Trumpiest strongholds.
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Shasta County, known for its homegrown militias, dueling secessionists, influential megachurch and enduring devotion to Trump-style politics, is having another bellwether moment.
Well before the president hopscotched to his second term, MAGA political operators held up the north-state county as a template for what they could accomplish at the grassroots level. Bankrolled by special interests, a coalition of COVID lockdown opponents and 2020 election deniers elevated extremists to the Shasta County Board of Supervisors, then got to work on what they believed was an administrative deep state.
The new board fired or chased out the county’s chief executive, public health officer, registrar of voters and a series of county counsels, replacing them with inexperienced or firebrand individuals who promised to find fraud and oppose California mandates. Scores of county employees left in the process.
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In 2023, the Redding Rancheria, a Shasta County-based tribal government, was seeking a deal with the county to relocate and expand its Win-River Resort & Casino into a 1.1 million-square-foot gaming complex and nine-story hotel off of Interstate 5.
In exchange for 30 years of county services, the Redding Rancheria offered a one-time payment of $3.3 million and $50,000 annually, far less than other intergovernmental arrangements between tribes and local governments. Shasta County’s sheriff, district attorney, outside counsel and other officials forcefully opposed the offer.
But Crye pushed the board into a 4-1 vote to approve it. A lawsuit alleged the board improperly overruled the interests of the public. Last year, a judge sided with the plaintiff, ruling the deal “illegal.”
Rickert, the only supervisor to oppose it, said Crye and then-Supervisor Patrick Henry Jones worked behind the scenes to scuttle a better deal by pushing out Eric Magrini, the assistant county CEO working on it. Magrini, a former sheriff, has filed his own lawsuit alleging that he was wrongfully terminated and that Crye stalked his wife.
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Crye barely survived the ensuing recall attempt in March 2024, keeping his seat by 50 votes. He was aided by a $5,500 donation from the tribe, which has spent more than $20,000 on the supervisors who backed the agreement.
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This month, Erin Resner, a Redding City Council member and Dutch Bros. franchisor who came within 90 votes of defeating Crye in 2022, bested the incumbent by more than 1,400, carrying 54% of the electorate. Crye pulled 38%.
Resner raised less than Crye but did so through dozens more donations. And she spent most of it on getting her message out, that she’s a “sensible” conservative who wants to see Shasta County escape its dysfunctional reputation and work with surrounding counties on the homelessness and mental health crises afflicting the region.
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In Shasta County, the MAGA backlash has begun
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Comment on In the US abortion wars, new frontline is pills via telehealth in ~health
skybrian LinkFrom the article: [...] [...] [...]From the article:
Combined, mifepristone and misoprostol are considered the clinical "gold standard" for medication abortion. Misoprostol can be taken alone to induce an abortion, but some studies have suggested it's less effective, Foster warned patients. Plus, it can make the process longer and more painful, with more side effects, such as nausea and vomiting.
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Two developments often get lost in the public's perception of the abortion wars.
One is that there were nearly twice as many abortions in the U.S. in 2025, compared to 2021, the year before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its momentous Dobbs decision in 2022.
The numbers come from the Society of Family Planning's latest #WeCount report. By December 2025, 29% of abortions were through telehealth.
The second is that, because the mailing of abortion pills has become so widespread in the post-Dobbs era, abortion opponents may simply be unable to stop it.
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If mifepristone is restricted, many telehealth groups will immediately switch to using only misoprostol instead, they say.
Misoprostol is approved by the FDA to treat ulcers, and is also widely used off-label to manage miscarriages, induce labor and end pregnancies.
And while states could individually ban misoprostol, the FDA doesn't typically regulate how a drug is used off-label, according to David Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University and national expert on abortion law.
"There would have to be some finding that it is not safe or effective for ulcer treatment, something that there's no argument anyone could possibly show," Cohen said.
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Other organizations are already directing patients to mifepristone from outside the U.S., through groups such as Aid Access and online pharmacies in places like India.
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In the US abortion wars, new frontline is pills via telehealth
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Comment on Ukrainian attacks prompt Russian-held Crimea to halt civilian gasoline sales in ~society
skybrian LinkFrom the article: [...] [...] [...]From the article:
Gov. Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea, said that overnight Ukrainian strikes killed four people and wounded 28 others. He did not specify the target of the attack.
He later wrote on social media that local gas stations would halt all sales to non-state companies and individuals for an undefined period.
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"Fuel will be sold only to government agencies that ensure the functioning and security of the Republic of Crimea," Aksyonov said. "I ask everyone to remain calm and to only trust official sources of information."
Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted fuel supplies to Crimea in recent weeks, triggering the worst energy crisis in the region since it was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement Sunday that a Crimean oil depot, as well as an oil transport facility in Russia's southern Krasnodar region were among the targets. He described the attacks as part of Ukraine's "long-range sanctions" against Russia's energy infrastructure.
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The Crimean peninsula has had periodic fuel shortages from Ukrainian strikes before, but the current crisis is the worst since its 2014 annexation.
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Social networks have been abuzz with requests and advice on where to find fuel, and authorities launched a hotline for tourists in the area who have found themselves trapped.
Some motorists bring their own gas from Krasnodar and elsewhere via the Kerch bridge, but they are restricted to carrying 100 liters (about 26 1/2 gallons) per vehicle. Some speculators are selling gas at double the market price.
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Ukrainian attacks prompt Russian-held Crimea to halt civilian gasoline sales
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Comment on Plans for nearly 4,000 homes over Safeways divide Bay Area residents in ~finance
skybrian LinkFrom the article: [...] [...] [...]From the article:
These sentiments were palpable on April 1 when a couple dozen residents lined the sidewalk in front of the comparatively quaint Marina Safeway’s parking lot to protest the proposal to level the 67-year-old grocery store and build the 25-story behemoth, which would graze the state’s height limit.
Prominent local developer Align Real Estate is sponsoring the redevelopment. Through a partnership with Safeway, it aims to bring 790 apartments, retail and an underground parking garage to the affluent waterfront neighborhood. The project recently cleared an important hurdle when the city deemed it eligible for streamlined approval amid a statewide housing affordability crisis. The city has to make a final decision on the development by August.
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Safeway has made an aggressive push into real estate in the last several months after being previously reluctant to build out its valuable land holdings. A past attempt by Safeway to develop housing alongside a new grocery store in the Outer Mission failed.
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In San Francisco alone, Align has introduced plans to build nearly 3,500 units of housing in the Marina, Bernal Heights, the Outer Richmond and the Fillmore District. To the south in San Mateo, Align submitted plans in early March to transform a Safeway along El Camino Real into a seven-story building with nearly 400 units of housing.
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When the city of San Mateo identified a Safeway at 1655 S. El Camino Real as a potential location for new housing, Lisa Taner of Concerned Citizens of San Mateo never imagined it would actually be developed. But in March, Align filed an application to build a new ground-floor Safeway store, 396 multifamily residential units on the top floors and 643 parking spaces at the location. Some 55 of the units would be designated as affordable.
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Plans for nearly 4,000 homes over Safeways divide Bay Area residents
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Comment on We can fix the future, Star Trek shows us how in ~humanities
skybrian Link ParentSkyscrapers are how you deal with limited land, and there are more places in New York City that could be built up like Long Island City. I don’t really get the appeal of New York City as it is, so...Skyscrapers are how you deal with limited land, and there are more places in New York City that could be built up like Long Island City.
I don’t really get the appeal of New York City as it is, so I don't see why anyone would want to replicate it. I do think that other cities should be building more housing.
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Comment on Nobody clicks your share buttons in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentFor me it’s less about whether it’s actually AI generated and more about whether the sentence patterns are distracting because I’ve learned to recognize them from using AI. Certain phrases become...For me it’s less about whether it’s actually AI generated and more about whether the sentence patterns are distracting because I’ve learned to recognize them from using AI. Certain phrases become cliches through overuse, and AI accelerates that process.
It’s like how good special effects in movies are the ones you don’t notice.
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Comment on Nobody clicks your share buttons in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentDo you have the same reaction to memes or clip art, though? That’s also someone else’s work.Do you have the same reaction to memes or clip art, though? That’s also someone else’s work.
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Comment on Nobody clicks your share buttons in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentIt's not as easy as you might think. A few years ago, I tried using Midjourney to generate pictures for all my blog posts, because I thought they looked pretty bare without images. It took me lots...It's not as easy as you might think. A few years ago, I tried using Midjourney to generate pictures for all my blog posts, because I thought they looked pretty bare without images. It took me lots of tries to generate images that I somewhat liked and were appropriate to the theme of the article.
At this point some of them look pretty cringe, but that's mostly because I've seen too much in a similar style since then.
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