MandieD

23 ms·

271.
by MandieD 3y ago
… call me one of “today’s lucky 10,000,” but this is the first I’ve heard of the spacebar to get trackpad thing on iOS, and I’ve been using iPads (and later iPhones) since 2011 or so. I’ve ranted here plenty of times about my late-80s aunt
272.
by MandieD 3y ago
My perspective: grew up in Texas where I was not able to leave my little housing development (void of anything but houses) independently until I got a driver's license and car at 16, then went to university in Baltimore with its sketch
273.
by MandieD 3y ago
Avoiding beef from Brazil would be an easy first step.
274.
by MandieD 3y ago
That might also be a good way to deal with frozen ground meat you want to use at the spur of the moment - thanks!
275.
2023/2024 HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science (FoEIS)(hamsci.org)
1 points by MandieD 3y ago|0 comments
276.
by MandieD 3y ago
For those of you already set up to receive or send WSPR, FT8, or CW (Morse code), make sure you’re receiving and sending reports tomorrow during and around the eclipse (1200-2200 UTC) More info here: https://hamsci.org/eclip
277.
by MandieD 3y ago
At least in Nürnberg and surrounds, vaping has taken over for people under 40. I’ve had colleagues vape on camera during informal meetings. The vapers I know (adults past college age) were all tobacco smokers before, so this is (hopefully)
278.
by MandieD 3y ago
I’m sorry that you and your family had to experience the loss of your cockatiel that way, and wish the vet had told you to take your little friend home instead. Regular vets who aren’t avian specialists really can’t do much for pet birds as
279.
by MandieD 3y ago
The only people more attracted to disposable vapes than teenagers are preschoolers. My husband and I have confiscated at least three so far that the kid has managed to find while we’re out walking or the worst, one on a playground. I guess
280.
by MandieD 3y ago
I continue to be amazed at how much abuse my fellow Americans take from their telcos. I pay 13 EUR/4 wks (yes, German mobile operators are a bit slippery, too) for 3 GB + unlimited domestic talk and text. If I wanted to waste more time
281.
by MandieD 3y ago
My little parrot died in my hands, and while it was sad, I was (and still am) glad that she didn’t die alone. She’d been ill, and I was about to take her back to the vet to have that final shot, so it was not shocking. Be there for your fri
282.
Facebook's sexist, ageist ad-targeting violates Calif. law, court finds(arstechnica.com)
43 points by MandieD 3y ago|19 comments
283.
by MandieD 3y ago
We went to the Manu National Park during our honeymoon trip to Peru. It’s hard for those of us who have lived in temperate areas our whole lives to imagine little things like rinsing a shirt in the evening meaning that you will have a damp
284.
by MandieD 3y ago
My kid is three, and I'm debating whether I should teach him how to ski or not; most of the northern/eastern Bavaria ski areas didn't open at all last winter, and the big one (Arber) barely did. Cross country was a write-off
285.
by MandieD 3y ago
Not sure if I've told you before, but wanted to let you know that your solar-powered blog posts, in particular your DIY larger LiFePO4 battery, finally helped me understand some stuff about domestic solar that I'd previously faile
286.
by MandieD 3y ago
Where in Europe (approximately)? Life in rural Bavaria 30km outside of Nürnberg without a car is far more difficult than without one in Nürnberg, within 500m of an U-Bahn station, and Nürnberg isn't that dense. Non-ownership of a car i
287.
by MandieD 3y ago
First of all, get your entry-level license. If you're in the US (or have someone who can receive mail for you), this is relatively easy and inexpensive, and can be done completely online. Avoid sinking a lot of money into a transceiver
288.
by MandieD 3y ago
Car ownership being deceptively cheap forces poor people in places like Texas to spend a large chunk of their meager income on a car so they can continue working, instead of having enough riders to resurrect the bus systems they had in the
289.
by MandieD 3y ago
In Germany, the police can do the blood draw themselves back at the station.
290.
by MandieD 3y ago
It also gets people like me who are scared to ride a bike on the 50 km/h street to reconsider how they’re going to run to the grocery store to pick up stuff that can fit in a backpack, or to daycare. I default to doing both on bike, be
291.
by MandieD 3y ago
A 30 km/h car is also a lot less likely than a 50 km/h one to hit a cyclist or pedestrian in the first place - far shorter braking distance, and longer time for the slower mover to spot and avoid them. Also, as someone who is both
292.
by MandieD 3y ago
Judging by the contents of the little “USA” shelf at my grocery store in a midsize German city, enough of us are addicted. A large packet of Oreos that I would guess is about $3-4 back in the States is 10 EUR, a box of off-brand Mac & C
293.
by MandieD 3y ago
My advice to young colleagues: never do anything on a work computer that you wouldn’t mind your boss (or her boss) seeing. Being greeted with a Department of Defense splash screen before login reminding me that everything I did on that comp
294.
by MandieD 3y ago
And Dienstwagenprivileg really is a privilege: it's usually only for people whose jobs involve a lot of driving (sales or consulting) or as a perk for managers.
295.
by MandieD 3y ago
The semi-subsidized Deutschlandticket, valid on all transit that isn't a high-speed or mid-speed long distance train, is 49 EUR/mo, which I assume is less than it costs to keep someone for a day in minimum security jail. It's
296.
by MandieD 3y ago
“His” laptop that is locked down to the point that I will be proud if/when he manages to see anything I didn’t put on there, versus all the less-restricted devices in the house.
297.
by MandieD 3y ago
As soon as he can figure out how to type the password and how to access a browser, it’s his. For now, it’s a small TV that receives one channel run by a station manager who has a thing for counting and the alphabet.
298.
by MandieD 3y ago
Large employers in Germany will enforce the max 10 hour rule for non-managers not from the goodness of their hearts or because they don’t want to be stuck paying overtime, but because here, they have a good chance of having at least some of
299.
by MandieD 3y ago
No, you're right to be horrified, and I'm the mom of a three year old who will look for things to take apart if left to his own devices. Current screen policy: only "his" laptop, only videos I've picked out for him
300.
by MandieD 3y ago
Once per week grocery delivery would be far less expensive than the cost of owning a car, and still probably less than the round-trip cab ride.

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