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A popular nasal decongestant doesn't actually relieve congestion, FDA advisers say
  • Glad to finally have official recognition of what I’ve known for 17 years. (But was always told “of course it works, they wouldn’t be allowed to sell it if it didn’t work” with bonus implication that I was trying to be special/unique by finding it useless.)

  • How would you go in making a standardize size chart for women clothing?
  • I'm not sure it's possible, because the different parts of women's bodies don't tend to scale in relation to one another. There's the waist-to-hip ratio, thigh circumference, breast size, width of shoulders, length of torso, length of legs -- none of which have much to do with each other.

    A woman can have size L shoulders, size XS breasts, size S waist, M hips, L thighs, long torso, and short legs. Another might have M shoulders, XL breasts, XXL waist, L hips, and M thighs, short torso, average length legs. And no retailer would bother making garments that account for every possible combination, because that wouldn't be profitable. (This is why so many women with small chests and small ribcages are sold 32A bras that gap on top and ride up in back, when a properly-fitting bra would be a 28C -- companies can make more money by selling less variety.)

    Men, for the most part, have more similarities in their shapes and less variety in where excess adipose tissue settles. Also, as someone else pointed out, it's more socially acceptable for men's clothing to fit like a sack.

    The solution, unfortunately, is alterations, either by hiring a seamstress or doing it oneself. (No judgment from me: I keep meaning to learn that skill but CBF to get a sewing machine when I might abandon the project.)

  • Are there any home ice cream makers here?
  • Yes! Not to brag but I like it so much better than store bought. Technically I think what I make is frozen custard (whisk 4 egg yolks with 1/2c sugar, slowly whisk in 1 cup barely-simmering whole milk, bring to 165 and chill overnight; stir in 1 cup heavy cream and flavoring before churning).

    My favorite flavorings this time of year are pear (poach very ripe peeled pears until super squishy, smoosh them through a fine mesh strainer and discard what gets left behind in the mesh) and pumpkin spice (add half a can of pumpkin when heating the base, and some allspice just before churning).

  • Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of August 13th
  • I’ve been playing Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS, and Kittens & Yarn on the Switch. (A little bit of Qube Cross, too, depending on whether it or Kittens & Yarn is more frustrating)

  • What games have you played in the last 365 days that stand out to you as the most memorable experiences?
  • Stray. I liked the length, gameplay, story, colors, and being a little orange cat. The puzzles weren’t too hard either.

    The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. The controls were a little fiddly sometimes, but it’s VR so that’s not unexpected. The story was mostly a backdrop for the zombie-killing and fetch-questing, but it was a lot of fun.

  • does Adderall lose potency after a while?
  • Do you have menstrual cycles? If so, keep track of when your meds are ineffective and compare against the dates of your cycle. I find mine much less effective in the second half of my cycle when my body has more progesterone (which, for me, seems to be the hazy-spacey-lazy hormone).

  • Anyone else found health screenings more painful as you age?
  • Ugh yes. Last time, about 4 years ago, it just felt like stretchy pressure.This time, about a week ago, the NP remarked that I was awfully dry, but even after she lubed the speculum it felt like she was trying to rip me apart.

    sex, way tmi

    (Which is honestly what any sort of penetration feels like nowadays; I can use enough lube to stain the sheets and still feel like I'm riding a roll of sandpaper. I'm only 38 ffs!)

  • Shoes that dont wear out and start falling apart after a year?
  • I love my Altra road running shoes. My mother and sister (both work on-their-feet-all-day jobs) are also fans and can get at least a year out of their pairs. They’re sturdy and last about 300+ miles, and if you get a dud they’ll make it right. My sister once had a pair disintegrate after a couple months and got them replaced for free.

    Altra is a bit like blue cheese, though: either you love them or hate them, and both sides think the other is wrong. People with narrow forefeet find them too squishy and unsteady; those of us with wider forefeet are comfortable for the first time ever.

    Also, if your budget allows, it helps to get two pairs of shoes so you can alternate days. Especially if you live in a humid climate. By alternating two pairs of shoes so they fully dry between days, you get more than twice as much life from them. (Obviously that’s not an option for everyone, but it’s good to do if you can)

  • I used to be concerned about a game being too short. Now I worry that it will be too long.
  • Same. It seems like all games have gotten longer, and many want to be your one and only. Mostly I prefer VR games now, partly for that reason.

  • Good journals/planners for fountain pens?
  • I like my Hobonichi Techo planner. The paper is thin, so it ghosts a bit, but it doesn’t bleed. I think they also make plain journals, and it’s not uncommon for Hobonichi fans to buy an extra planner to use as a journal.

  • former /current Twitter users, what do you do on there?
  • I pretend to be my cat, and I only engage with other people who are also pretending to be their cats.

  • Do you prefer contacts or glasses? Why?
  • Contacts. I use daily disposables because I can’t feel them at all. “14-day” contacts were more like 3 days of comfort, 4 days of feeling noticeable, and 7 days of feeling like a rock in my eye. (I cleaned and soaked them daily as directed with many different types of solution, asked the optometrist for instructions, and followed their instructions exactly.) With contacts, I actually have peripheral vision. The feeling of looking past the frame/rim always gave me eye strain, and even rimless glasses couldn’t change how the blur around the edges was a constant distraction.

    I have glasses for just in case, and wear them in the evening after washing my face (which gets the contacts wet and crispy no matter how tightly I squeeze my eyes shut). But I really can’t stand glasses for more than an hour or two a day. Every pair I’ve ever worn has two modes: tight enough to stay on but give me a pressure headache, or loose enough to avoid headaches but I tense my scalp and face to keep them on and they still fall off when I look down or turn my head too quickly.

  • Would you ever buy a house if you could get a really good deal on it, and it was right next to a lovely park and a trail, but a murder-suicide happened in it? (And it was cleaned and repaired)
  • Absolutely! I don't believe in ghosts, I like getting good deals, and I'm not afraid of being known as that person who lives in a haunted house. My only concern would be if it had been truly deep-cleaned, because I would be unhappy to find traces of blood or whatever a few years down the road.

  • What is keeping you on reddit?
  • Just a couple of health-related subs that haven’t fully migrated. I don’t particularly want to use Reddit, but I get more value from lore passed down woman-to-woman than I do from doctors who want to attribute everything to hysteria anxiety and depression.

  • How old are you?
  • I’m old enough to know how to use a rotary phone and a paper map

  • What if Everyone Knew Who You Really Were on the Internet
  • How many people are going to still post death threats, character assassinations, or make racist or sexist comments.

    Plenty! People like that aren't ashamed. They're proud to be in the group of people who actually count as human in their worldview.

    is that something we would want?

    The only effect would be to stifle everyone else. If everything you say online is tied to your real identity, many people would have to be the most bland, professional, worksona version of themselves to protect (a) their ability to earn income, and (b) their safety. People talking about their experiences with abortion would put themselves at risk of harassment, eviction, prosecution, and violence. Someone seeking support as they discern their gender identity is now outed to family, employers, people with social and/or economic power over them. When anyone from a marginalized group dares to post, it'll be just like speaking in real life: if someone's facts and tone are less than perfection, they (and the entire group which they're assumed to represent) will be dismissed as intellectually inferior or too emotional.

  • Twitter's new CEO told staffers they need to use 'hand-to-hand combat' to convince advertisers to come back, report says
  • Fisticuffs? Blade weapons? ….oh. Face to face meetings. (Insert scene from Office Space where that nerdy-looking guy is driving in rush hour traffic playing “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangster” like it’s his anthem)

  • [Solved] How to hack sliding screen door to stop locking myself out on the balcony?

    !

    Edit: Looks like forcing the lock to stay up is the best option, plus adding a hook-and-eye latch to keep the cats (one of whom particularly reckless) from getting onto the roof by way of the balcony.

    When I go onto the balcony and close the screen door behind me, the lock falls down into the locked position. (Conveniently, this mostly happens when I’m not wearing pockets and therefore don’t have my phone.)

    The lock doesn’t seem to be loose, or at least the screw won’t go any tighter. I don’t think I’m closing the screen any more firmly than necessary.

    Other than trying to remember to instead close the glass door behind me — passing through doors happens on autopilot so I’m very likely to forget — is there some way to prevent locking myself out? Or is it working as designed and I have a head-in-clouds problem rather than a flaky-door problem?

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    The worst part about losing hair in the shower

    Every single time I think “wow not much came out with the conditioner today” and move on to washing my body, it turns out that I did shed, and the lost hairs just rinsed halfway down my body before getting stuck, waiting for me to find them while washing up.

    There are fewer sensations more disturbing than pulling several long, wet strands of hair out from between your cheeks.

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    marshadow marshadow @beehaw.org
    Posts 2
    Comments 18