Zompist Bboard Again

Even the things which are important are not necessarily important for our daily lives and, when they are and we have social lives, we almost certainly hear about them anyway.

I'm just glad I didn't get myself a job that revolves around following the news before this change happened to me, and that I didn't end up in some kind of relationship with someone where the main thing we had in common was a shared interest in the news, either.

I got an email from the perennial, neverending Wikipedia donation campaign.

Generally I donate to open-source projects I use as a matter of principle (well, I give when and what I can, but still.)

I'm wondering; what exactly are they doing with that much money? Quick googling confirms that the Foundation is more than comfortable.

I love Mediawiki dearly, but I have increasingly mixed feelings about Wikipedia anyway. I like digging up semi-obscure subjects and Wikipedia is a good place to start... but articles are often poorly written and at times plain wrong.

When do you see articles that are just plain wrong?

I do usually send Wikimedia a little bit of money each December, not because I find them that important, but simply because I use their stuff so often that I think it would be hypocritical for me not to send them some money if I can spare it.

MacAnDàil wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 11:23 am When do you see articles that are just plain wrong?

Doing research on the Mexica, I came across several of these. Sometimes I'd read something interesting on Wikipedia, check other references for details... And find nothing, or ont much.

Due to the soon-approaching end of my contract (in March), I applied for a non-research position (but still science-related) in Luxembourg. I have very conflicted feelings about having done so: I think it's a job I would enjoy and also in a place I really want to return to, and given my funding record as of late, I'm a bit discouraged about finding things still in research (and there's the practical issues of being able to get a Luxembourgish passport sooner and in a less difficult manner than a Dutch passport). At the same time, I don't want to give up on research and especially the mentoring and teaching aspects of what I"m doing now, and I really like where I work...

I wish I had any good ideas about your situation, but I haven't.

March isn't that soon. I think you could keep looking for other research positions in the next six months and at least have the non-research position to fall back on just in case you don't find anything in between times.

Not exactly a vent, but there's an FB group I belong to with over 50,000 members. The membership skews progressive so normally any transphobic post is met with a dogpile. About half an hour ago, one appeared and I response to it, expecting to be one of many, but I argued alone against the OP for over fifteen minutes before anyone else showed up and it's still only a handful of folks. It's really weird, like some quirk of the algorithm singled me out or something.

You clearly know that particular Facebook group better than me (given that I don't know it at all), so, IMO, if based on your experience the small number of responses to that transphobic post is weird, then it is weird.

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Sep 20, 2022 5:17 pmYou clearly know that particular Facebook group better than me (given that I don't know it at all), so, IMO, if based on your experience the small number of responses to that transphobic post is weird, then it is weird.

After about half an hour, the mods deleted it, so maybe most of the potential respondents predicted that would happen and decided not to waste their time. (They didn't used to be so interventionist.)

I don't think half an hour is that long.

MacAnDàil wrote: ↑Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:20 am I don't think half an hour is that long.

In some online places, it probably is. And since Linguoboy knows that particular online place better than you or me, and he thought half an hour was long in that context, I see no reason to doubt his judgment on that.

So. I’ve been told by two people now that I may have PTSD. I feel Conflicted about this. On the one hand, it would explain a lot and a formal diagnosis would greatly assist. On the other…it means I got PTSD from being in a cult.

Man in Space wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 4:46 pm So. I’ve been told by two people now that I may have PTSD. I feel Conflicted about this. On the one hand, it would explain a lot and a formal diagnosis would greatly assist. On the other…it means I got PTSD from being in a cult.

That isn't uncommon, if I'm understanding right.

Man in Space wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 4:46 pm So. I’ve been told by two people now that I may have PTSD. I feel Conflicted about this. On the one hand, it would explain a lot and a formal diagnosis would greatly assist. On the other…it means I got PTSD from being in a cult.

Were they medical professionals though? I know non-specialists can be a little... fast and loose in suggesting diagnosis.

Ares Land wrote: ↑Tue Sep 27, 2022 2:02 am

Man in Space wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 4:46 pm So. I’ve been told by two people now that I may have PTSD. I feel Conflicted about this. On the one hand, it would explain a lot and a formal diagnosis would greatly assist. On the other…it means I got PTSD from being in a cult.

Were they medical professionals though? I know non-specialists can be a little... fast and loose in suggesting diagnosis.

Also, even if you do turn out to diagnosably have PTSD, there are ways to cope with it and even eventually recover. On that note, I believe the diagnosis is now PTSI, post traumatic stress injury, to better reflect the idea that it CAN be recovered from.

Thanks, everyone.

I saw my practitioner today. She says right now it seems to be an acute incidence; PTSD needs to be experienced over the course of three months. She has adjusted my meds for the time being so hopefully we’ll see some improvement.

So in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, I'm starting to see articles about elderly retirees who lost everything or nearly everything, and it sparks some conflicting feelings.

Losing your belongings is painful. Losing a place where you felt safe and settled is devastating. Knowing you can't afford to replace these things is gut-wrenching. (For the moment, I'm not focusing on the wealthy part-time residents who just lost a summer home.)

But many of these people made the conscious choice to move someplace very vulnerable to hurricanes. (Here I'm not talking about the poorer locals, who have to live *somewhere* and can often only afford to live in places that are vulnerable to flooding.) Fort Myers is on a barrier island. We shouldn't be building permanent structures on barrier islands; it's insane. We're talking about pieces of land which are literally constantly shifting. Governments should not be subsidising these developments in any way--but they are, and is it any surprise if folks get lured in by that?

And then there's the fact that many of these folks are conservative, which means--given the bizarre correlation we have nowadays between reactionary politics and science denial--that they don't believe in climate change. There's something satisfyingly karmic about seeing their homes wash away from factors they have actively opposed mitigating. They wanted someplace with low taxes and lax regulation and they got that; now it's biting them in the ass.

But politics aside, why do we have a society in which elderly folks can end up destitute? Why are we constantly making a decision not to provide a decent living for them and just abandon them to fate if they make some poor choices or encountre ill fortune?