Not a fuck today biggie. Just a gripe.
Don’t read the chat on the ISS youtube live streams.
Fucking flat earthers.
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Don’t know exactly which side of thing vent where, but I can do a valsalva maneuver voluntarily without having to pinch my nose or blow.
I had a lot of colds in middle school, and I just trained myself to be able to consciously flex my middle ear really well. Feels kind of like a head kegel. Works beautifully in water and air.
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Nitpicking in order to give a link for more middle ear stuff in case it’s useful, but that’s not a Valsalva. Sounds more like a BTV.
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Yup, that’s exactly it.
Like I said, it’s like a head-kegel. First I do the muscles for wiggling my ears, then I open my larynx. I can hold it all for maybe 30 seconds before the muscles get shaky and I “lose my grip” on it. But I can drop it and try again pretty much arbitrarily many times.
Oh also when engaged I hear my heartbeat pretty loudly and my breathing as well and can feel my breathing in my ears, so I’d guess that it actually works
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Thanks @anon67050589 and @anon61221983
I’ve unfortunately tried all the usual tricks but I think it’s just gonna take time. I’ve already decided I’m not back to 100% by Monday I’ll make an appointment with my ENT.
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I think my Schnauzer had a close encounter with a skunk. She’s sleeping and the other dogs aren’t freaking out, but something smells.
I’ll find the baking soda a hydrogen peroxide in the morning.
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Was one of the usual tricks a few drops of rubbing alcohol? I find that works when I have persistent water-ear after swimming.
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Had to take my fiancee back to Newark airport yesterday so she could fly home. Ten weeks until we next see each other. And, due to accidents (seriously, Jersey. Oy), we missed her flight by twenty minutes, and then had to have the “adventure” of running from place to place to see if we could get her rebooked, which took a “fun” and stress-filled hour and a half. And, since I didn’t want to leave her alone (or really leave her), I stuck around until she had to go through the security check. End result, instead of me leaving Newark by 4:30 as planned to return to Rochester, we didn’t get there until then, and I started the drive home at 7:00. In the dark, for six hours, in an empty car. And it’s way too quiet and empty here now.
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I broke my coffee grinder. It fell out of the cupboard, broke off some of the control ring that controls the grind and in trying to glue it back together I evidently broke something electric. So in the bin it goes.
Any good suggestions for a reasonably priced burr grinder?
I might rebuy the model I had (the Bodum burr grinder), but the reviews are mixed and the 20s on/5min off timer was really annoying. I don’t use it that much anyway, so perhaps the Hario Skerton manual one?
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Define “reasonably priced”? I like the Capresso 560.01. We’ve had one for two years. It’s still running strong. We’re big coffee drinkers and it’s held up well. It’s under $100 on Amazon and can be found for slightly less elsewhere.
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You didn’t say what type of coffee you’re brewing, but here are the two I’ve had luck with.
For a cafetière, pour over, or drip machine I have an old Peugeot that works very well. It does take time for a medium or fine grind, but I kind of like the meditation in the morning, and also hate it when I’m running late.
I picked this up for a little less than the Hario, which is notorious for uneven grinds.
The grinder I use most now is the Baratza Encore which will do a very fine grind; though purists may not find it quite fine enough for espresso, I think it works. It’s survived daily use on our counter for almost two years with no signs of flagging.
It’s pricey at about $120. I lucked out to find one at the thrift store.
I’ve used the Cuisinart burr mill as well, which was great until it wasn’t; it was the second Cuisinart product I had that burned a resistor within two years of purchase.
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And @RatMan
Aeropress, Bialetti or Chemex coffee.
Sub-$100 price…
I think I saw that Baratza one recommended.
Thanks!
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The Baratza easily grinds fine enough for a moka pot; hunt around to see if you can find a deal. I’m not familiar with the Capresso @RatMan recommended, but I have used some of their coffee makers and they seemed to be of good quality, and falls into your sub-$100 range.
The only annoyance with the Baratza is if not kept fairly clean grounds can get behind the container giving you little messes each time you remove it. Not major, just annoying.
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Rubbing alcohol diluted down with water and a few pinches of borax to help break up surface tension, that was my coach’s homebrew version of “swim ear” drops.
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I’m maybe a little too serious about coffee grinders; I use one of these at home. Your Bodum had decent burrs for a home grinder, but commercial or semicommercial is better; you might look for something used on an auction site (or, given that you’re in the PNW, on Craigslist).
((unrelated))
On the subject of Fuck Today, my wife’s dog - the same one that was very sick last April and we were told had a few days, maybe a week, to live (see upthread) - is still alive and kicking, but she decided to wait until my wife was gone for a few weeks to have diarrhea all over the Persian rug today. Not exactly what I was looking forward to coming home to after a fairly busy day.
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30 hours later and extensive attempts to clean it up and the stench is worse than ever, permeating our open-plan house. Problem is, I’m enjoined from using strong detergents or brushes (the rug has been in my wife’s family a very long time) and all the enzymes are doing so far is releasing the deep inner essence of the foulness. I should be heading off to bed, but I might dig out the gas mask first so I can actually get to sleep.
The dog meanwhile seems puzzled at why I’m giving her the cold shoulder. Oh, you know, Gytha, you know full well.
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I don’t know much about rug care, but it sounds like you need to just hose the fuck out of it with water.
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Me too me too. Just like I’ve never been a smoker because I got to watch my emphysemic grandmother hobbled by it the entire 10 years I have memory of her; my aunt has always had hearing issues, and once I got past my teens finally got it through my head that I need to protect my hearing. My hearing is fine, but the ringing has been there since early teens.
I’ve been using etymotics ER20s since my 20s for concerts and train rides. What do you use? I’ve never gotten the molded custom plugs.
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Ooh, fancy. I typically keep a pack of 3M disposable roll down foamies close by (I typically just get a pack of the highest dB rating I can find). I don’t go to loud places much these days but if I ever foresaw that changing, those ER20s look awesome.
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I like them because:
They are relatively inexpensive
They are washable and durable for reuse
They really do provide a different sound profile and live music is much more enjoyable compared to foam plugs and on a loud train I can still hear conversations.
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