varx - social alt @varx@cybre.space

must'll'd'n't've

Sometimes when I see a toot with an image I like but it doesn't have a description, I reply with a description. Here's why, if you're curious about that!

https://www.brainonfire.net/blog/2019/01/09/image-descriptions-on-mastodon/

(It got too long for toots.)

@ultimape You might find this review interesting: https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/01/book-review-origin-of-consciousness-in-the-breakdown-of-the-bicameral-mind/

(Note that "they shouldn't be asking about gender" and "just have a free text form and/or file upload field" are not gonna fly in this case; this is someone trying to do due diligence on diversity stuff.)

Someone at work is soliciting feedback on a demographic questionnaire that asks about gender identity. Question for the fediverse!

*How much should I push for them to not include "transwoman" etc. in the gender question, and move trans/cis to a separate question?*

(E.g. gender identity = [man / woman / non-binary] and is your gender the same as the one you were assigned at birth = [yes / no], where both have "decline" and "fill in the blank" as well.)

Any well-written article I can send in a professional context to support this suggestion?

(Optionally also anise seed, which I have a bunch of! And I only have whole wheat flour, but I could probably get some cake flour from a neighbor.)

Anyone have a recipe for making licorice candy out of just licorice root, flour, and molasses?

(boosts welcome!)

Coronaviruses have a lipid envelope, which probably explains why they do well in a wet environment. They fall apart right away with alcohol or soap, which destroy that membrane.

Does that mean that they would also get destroyed by oil, with the lipid membrane fusing with the substrate and dissolving away? Perhaps fatty foods e.g. cheese stay clean, at least at room temperature? What about foods with higher melting point fats, such as chocolate?

Or is there some chance they'd persist *longer*?

(This has relevance for sanitizing groceries.)

I confess that I'm confused about why people see it as morally wrong that rich people were selling off stocks early in the pandemic.

I mean, it's obvious in retrospect that there would be a big hit to the economy. If I had not been focused on personal/household preparation and neighborhood resilience, I probably would have sold some stocks as well. I'll probably buy some this week, if I get around to it. It's not something I generally have a mind for, though.

Am I missing something about how this directly or indirectly hurts people? Or is it just more diffuse concern about the rich having the resources to get richer?