Awesome! Great news!
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Original caption, March 17, 1922: “The Iguanadons which lived during the Wealden formation would, if living today, soon be extinct, for despite its dynamic size it could not hold its own against modern firearms. However its enormous size and strength would furnish ample sport for the modern huntsman.” #
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Is anyone else having trouble with packages not arriving?
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International
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No tracking info
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Supposed to arrive by January 9th, it’s now the 15th.
I suspect that the shutdown in the states is imposing customs delays. But I don’t know if anyone else is having trouble.
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Some problematic language, but worth reading:
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Gross allegiance to an ingroup is a neurological malfunctioning functioning similar to racism
I might need to steal that.
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… I feel that was the most problematic language there.
Ingroup bias is still amoral at best, immoral and easily hacked to support racism and rape culture at worst
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I can see why you have problems with that language.
I’m a programmer, and what I see when I read that is, in my mind, quite distinct from the eugenicist’s ideal that there is only one right way for a brain to function.
As flawed as the analogy that human consciousness is a program running on a biological computer is, there’s a lot of truth to it. And if I had a program running on a computer that was supposed to logically and consistently derive a code of ethics based on a set of values, and it gave different moral interpretations to an action performed by an in-group against an out-group than to the same action performed by an out-group against an in-group, I would absolutely say that that program was malfunctioning. And, if the program were as integrated into the hardware as our consciousness is into our brains, I’d say that the computer was malfunctioning, too.
While there’s a lot of discrimination against people whose brains work differently than “typical” (which is its own form of out-group discrimination), at some point we have to acknowledge that our brains just haven’t evolved as fast as our culture has, and aren’t quite equipped to deal with the concept of a seven-billion-person in-group with (at least) thousands of languages and religions and skin tones and cultures, etc., etc… And that that’s an actual problem hard-wired (hard-axoned?) into our brains, so that, if we aren’t going to fix it, we at least can quantify it so that we can put workarounds in place and stop hurting each other.
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Accepted for Medicaid after all, but everything requires phones… When I was applying, I was assured that there would be accomodations, not disability-based denial of services.
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For example, I’m looking over providers and:
Aetna:
Provides free aids and services to people with disabilities to communicate effectively with us, such as: Qualified sign language interpreters Written information in other formats (large print, audio, accessible electronic formats, other formats)
Provides free language services to people whose primary language is not English, such as: Qualified interpreters Information written in other languages
If you need a qualified interpreter, written information in other formats, translation or other services, call the number on your ID card or 1-800-385-4104.
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I picked up a low-end Mac Mini a couple weeks ago.
Mainly because I rely on my computer to communicate. And old laptops sometimes wear out, especially with their hinges, while old desktops tend to last. And next year’s Macs may not be able to run 32-bit Mac software when they come out: Wineskin, Steam, some games, etc.
Also because ocr and other demanding tasks could take too long.
It took a long time to set it up, and I ended up having to set up one system on the Mac Mini, adjust security settings so it can boot from an external drive, and install my whole other system, with my user files, on an external drive.
I also got a Benq 2280GW which seems to help with flashing and scrolling.
I run it at 0% brightness, and iirc 30% red, 40% green, 30% blue to reduce the red and blue light.
But I’ve still been struggling with my neurological issues, as well as repetitive strain injuries, and brain fog while sitting at my desk. I can probably reduce repetitive strain, and dodge brain fog if I switch back and forth.
1st of all, does anyone know how to avoid brain fog when using desktop computers?
I think it’s probably due to some kind of orthostatic intolerence. Sitting down on a desk chair leaves me dizzy. I suspect blood pools in my legs. Standing up and moving around avoid brain fog but often hit me with post-exertional migraines afterwards. I also have trouble with cold fingers and toes, and with skin breaking out, and suspect either circulatory or volume issues. I know blood volume issues are associated with fm/cfs. I have been trying to exercise, and get iron supplements, and b-complex vitamin supplements. But an argonomic fix might work better.
2nd, I’m going to need to set up both computers, so I can sync notes and important documents.
Can anyone suggest good note-taking software, or syncing advice? I would need to be able to disable any blinking cursors in the note-taking software. I have several other workflow issues in mind, but too many for this post.
3rd, I have tried tossing a ball between my hands, and am thinking of getting a yo-yo too.
I hope this will help with some of my coordination issues. Probably not enough to touch-type, but maybe enough to avoid misses when eye-typing and mayhbe enough to use touch devices.
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Okay, trying to elaborate where I’m tripping up and where I might be able to work better:
- Problems with my Health, Resources, and Setup.
1A. Limited Time, Energy, and Focus.
1B. Limited Resources-- can’t visit libraries. Sometimes important sources are unavailable and/or unaffordable, such as Gergel’s work on overall pogrom mortality and factional responsibility for it.
1C. Brain Fog when sitting at desk.
1D. Arm Pain after typing too much, scanning documents, or organizing too much in Calibre.
1E. Trouble tracking what I’ve already written.
1F. Trouble syncing notes between paper, old laptop computer, and desktop computer. Trouble keeping track of bookmarks on various issues. Bookmarks in Clearview slow Clearview. Duplicates in another reading app w/ own "bookshelf" may be needed to sync bookmarks between computers.
1G. Trouble searching certain files, apparently due to pagination issues. Duplicates in Calibre-- keeping pdf versions as well as epub conversions-- may be best option for searching these files and for citing specific page numbers. See 1D.
1H. Trouble searching online. Yes, Gigablast helps in English, but many key sources aren’t in English.
- Problems with the Project.
2A. Overwhelming Scale, and Complexity.
2B. Overwhelming number of sources to check and to keep track of. 322 sources listed in Calibre and others not yet imported.
2C. Many sources are in Russian or Ukrainian. Can use Prompt to more-or-less translate whole documents in Russian. Can’t use it on documents in Ukrainian. Some sources are in poor Russian or Ukrainian scans. Can use Ocrmypdf. Still a lot of headaches added to search and translation.
2D. Many sources contradict other sources, such as Arshinov and Darch on whether the Makhnovists relied on voluntary recruitment alone or if they implemented compulsory recruitment. Or Bohachevsky-Chomiak and Abramov on whether the Andriievskyyists were moderates or particularly aggressive pogromists. I could easily reach the wrong conclusions. I might do better if I was at least consistent about ranking sources.
2E. Sometimes no available source addresses important issues, such as who exactly ordered the dissolution of the Yekaterinoslav Sovyet in December 1918. I can spend days trying to chase down such sources-- often without success-- and in any case taking too long when I have success.
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Also, a lot of websites that were working on my old machine aren’t working on my new machine, with the same browser configuration.
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I’m sure part of today’s sickness is barometric, but I keep getting severe migraines and nausea when vitamins contain thiamin mononitrate.
There are a couple paywalled or otherwise inaccessible articles on adverse reactions to thiamine mononitrate or to nitrates in general, but I can’t track down helpful non-paywalled accessible sources to help me figure out if I have a nitrate allergy or intolerance and what I can do about it if I do.
And yeah it’s a standard food additive.
By the way, if this is an allergic reaction, are there any antihistamines which I can take? I am allergic to benedryl, and have awful reactions to cetirizine and one other.
I haven’t picked up a new yoyo yet, but I have been practicing tossing and catching a soft silicone ball. And I’m getting a lot better at it. I don’t know if this or the yoyo will carry over to typing and similar tasks.
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Was tossing a ball or a yoyo recommended for you? Were you given other suggestions to help in this way?
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No, doctors haven’t suggested anything helpful, so I’m trying to figure things out on my own.
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