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maize

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Everything posted by maize

  1. Cold boxed cereal with milk is definitely soup. Hot cooked cereal like oatmeal or grits or the corn, wheat, and rice cereal my mom used to make are not soup unless the milk is stirred in very thoroughly. Is a taco a sandwich?
  2. I agree that this is worth checking into. If it's not asthma, antihistamines work better for me for a persistent cough than anything else. Maybe try xyzal or even benadryl along with or instead of the zyrtec? (Most of my family finds that xyzal works better for us than other antihistamines.)
  3. I hope there are funds being set up to take care of these men's families. I doubt most if any had life insurance.
  4. That sounds so, so frustrating!
  5. This is the non-drug option that will work for most people IF they stick to it. Dr. Greger's books How Not to Die, How not to Diet, and How Not to Age are worth a read if you want a deep-dive into all the science behind whole foods plant-based eating. Do be aware that if you jump fully into plant-based eating you will need to take a B12 supplement.
  6. Most of my experience of opera is from Vienna, where my siblings and I would take public transit downtown and wait in line for the super cheap standing room tickets, with which you were entitled to a place to stand in the standing room section. Yes the Vienna opera houses are posh historical buildings, but there's nothing posh about standing through an entire opera in a crowded space with a bunch of young people. Not understing the language, whichever language it was, was...normal life for me. I have a vague memory of there being a screen with English subtitles at least some of the time. I did get seated tickets at least once to see The Magic Flute at the Volksoper where my friend's dad played the role of Tamino for many years. Other opera experiences were on summer evenings with an opera film projected onto the side of the Rathaus and people sitting on blankets on the lawn; movies in the park Viennese style. A brief search shows that there are other European opera houses with standing room tickets available; my impression is that in Vienna at least this tradition goes back a long time, and certainly in that city there is not an attitude that opera is exclusively for the elite. Whether something feels accessible or not depends an awful lot on whether and how we have been exposed to it. I'm not one to listen to opera music at home (I listen to very little music actually, though I enjoy singing and playing instruments) but I will happily attend an opera production if it is affordable!
  7. Age has a lot to do with what is considered high-brow. Shakespeare, in his own time, was not particularly high-brow. I think the musical Hamilton is actually an excellent modern production very similar to what Shakespeare productions were in their own time (higher quality in actual production than any Shakespeare production would have been in the time of The Bard, acting troupes back then didn't have as many resources to work with). Similar themes, rhyming content, use of vernacular, pitched to appeal to Everyman as well as to more highbrow theater-goers. The whole show felt very Shakespeare-esk to me. I loved every minute.
  8. I though of another resource: You might reach out to Ben Spackman; I've followed him for a few years. His research emphasis includes the intersection of religion and science, and while his primary emphasis has been on the development of scientific and religious thought in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I know he has done a ton of research in protestant spheres as well. He may know of other relevant research or people to contact. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-spackman-993422a
  9. Biologos, an organization founded to bridge the perceived gap between religion and science: https://biologos.org/?campaign=539861
  10. Thoughts on human origins from a variety of perspectives: https://humanorigins.si.edu/about/broader-social-impacts-committee/thoughts-science-religion-and-human-origins
  11. Statements from a variety of religious leaders on reconciling science and evolution: https://humanorigins.si.edu/about/broader-social-impacts-committee/members-member-resources
  12. Here's some research on views of evolution among some of the major faith groups in the US: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/10/30/5-facts-about-evolution-and-religion/#:~:text=Are faith and belief in,origins back into the news.
  13. Back to the original question, I followed up with GPT4 and asked it to verify the information about the hailstorm during a volcanic eruption 11 million years ago. It provided a link to this article (this version of ChatGPT has the ability to browse the web): https://www.earthtospacescience.com/post/that-day-it-hailed-during-a-super-volcano-eruption
  14. The biggest thing to remember when dealing with LLMs like chatGPT is that they don't actually understand any of what they are saying. They use a predictive algorithm to figure out what words should come next. They have a tonne of data and a lot of computing power to work with, and have had pretty extensive training to try to screen out the most egregious flaws. But they literally Do Not Understand a single word of what is in their databank or in what they churn out, not in the way a human associates meaning with words and sentences. I use chatGPT regularly and find it really, really helpful as an assistant and as a tutoring tool. But it's a tool, not an all-knowing guru. I also have a side gig helping train AI assistants; intentionally getting them to make errors is some of the most interesting work.
  15. It's so silly too because there are places even here in the US where the grass is green year round! It's not just a matter of latitude either; the pacific northwest has a much milder climate than my part of the country even though it is further north. The idea that someone who isn't at all familiar with the local climate could judge the time of year based off a photo is not plausible. That particular photo had no glaring indications that the season was not early spring--no ripe fruit hanging on trees or autumn leaves, for example.
  16. Here's what GPT4 has to say: The phenomenon you're referring to is indeed fascinating and highlights the intersection of geological and atmospheric processes. The petrified hailstones you mentioned are a rare and intriguing find, providing insights into the conditions on Earth millions of years ago. Here's a detailed look at this phenomenon: 1. **Discovery and Formation:** Geologists discovered petrified hailstones that had been coated with volcanic ash during a hailstorm that occurred nearly 11 million years ago. This unique preservation occurred when a hailstorm coincided with a volcanic eruption. The volcanic ash, being sticky and composed of fine particles, adhered to the hailstones as they fell through the ash-laden atmosphere. 2. **Petrification Process:** Over millions of years, the hailstones, coated with this layer of volcanic ash, underwent a process of lithification. The organic and icy components of the hailstones were replaced by minerals, turning them into stone while preserving their original shape and structure. This process is akin to the petrification seen in wood and other organic materials. 3. **Scientific Importance:** These petrified hailstones serve as a time capsule from the Earth's geological and climatic past. By analyzing them, scientists can gather information about the atmospheric conditions, weather patterns, and even the intensity of the volcanic activity at the time of their formation. The size, composition, and layering of the ash and ice can provide clues about the hailstone formation process, the eruption's dynamics, and the interaction between different Earth systems. 4. **Geological Context:** The occurrence of hailstones and volcanic eruptions at the same time is rare, making these petrified hailstones extremely valuable for scientific research. They can offer insights into the climatic conditions of the era, including temperature, precipitation patterns, and even the season when the event occurred. 5. **Broader Implications:** Beyond their immediate geological significance, these findings contribute to our understanding of Earth's climate history, helping scientists model past climatic events and predict future changes. They also illustrate the interconnectedness of Earth's systems, showing how atmospheric, geological, and hydrological processes can intertwine and leave lasting records in the geological record. While this explanation provides a general overview, the specific details about the location and exact characteristics of the petrified hailstones would depend on the individual scientific studies and findings related to this discovery. When I asked if there is another name for these I got this: The phenomenon you're referring to, involving petrified hailstones coated with volcanic ash, is quite specific and unusual. In the realm of geology, these specimens don't have a widely recognized, distinct name separate from general terms like "fossilized hailstones" or "petrified hailstones." They are a form of accretionary lapilli to some extent, which are small spherical or ovular masses formed by the accumulation of volcanic ash and other materials, but with the unique aspect of having a hailstone at the core. Accretionary lapilli typically form in volcanic ash clouds where water vapor causes ash particles to stick together, forming pellets. The hailstones coated with volcanic ash could be considered a specific and rare subset of these, given their unique formation process. However, without a hailstone at their core, typical accretionary lapilli are not the same as the hailstones in question. In the specific context you're mentioning – hailstones from millions of years ago preserved with a volcanic ash coating – the scientific community might not use a standard term but rather describe them based on their formation and composition, such as "volcanically coated hailstones" or "fossilized hailstones with volcanic ash." These terms would convey the dual nature of their origin – both meteorological (hail) and geological (volcanic ash). For a universally recognized term, one might need to refer to the specific literature or studies where such phenomena are described to see if the researchers coined a specific term for these rare geological artifacts.
  17. Current AI assistants are amazing and can be incredibly helpful. They're also imperfect.
  18. I'll add a few more thoughts to my earlier response. I think many of us have seen things go both ways--a passion turning into a fulfilling career, and a passion not working out and the career needing to be found elsewhere. I've known several people who were able to support themselves independently working in the arts, but far fewer who were able to support a family. My dad chose a practical path rather than the writing path he dreamed of because he wanted to support his family--in his case, a much larger than average family! and needed a reliable source of income. He hasn't regretted that. One of my sisters has supported herself in the music world for decades, but even so there has been significant compromise and she has spent far more time on the administrative side of music than the performing side. And...she has had only herself to support. I'm not one to discourage a child from pursuing their passion. I'll do everything I can to support. But I will worry. And I'll derive comfort from knowing that it is easier now than in the past to change tack at any point, with the availability of inexpensive online degree programs etc. I, after all, have a degree in anthropology and am now pursuing training in IT and cybersecurity. If I can pivot in my mid-forties for practical reasons, my kids could likely do something similar.
  19. I would like to be added as well.
  20. This! Why do parents worry? They worry because it is hard to earn a decent living in the arts. Why do they address those worries in an unhelpful way? That's a separate question and I think comes down to most humans really not being very good at communication and interpersonal relationships. We find it easy to hurt each other when trying to assuage our own anxieties. I very much value the arts, but I do worry about future financial stability for my kids who are interested in pursuing them.
  21. In the category of "research on human populations is always going to involve lots of complicating factors"--if we can find a shingles rate breakdown by locality we would also need to cross-check it with shingles vaccination rate by locality.
  22. Here's long-term data on shingles in the US: https://www.cdc.gov/shingles/surveillance.html As someone else mentioned, less exposure to chicken pox in the community (because of vaccination in children) is thought to lead to higher rates of shingles among adults because our immunity to the virus isn't getting regularly boosted through small exposures. Falling rates among those over 55 would be due to the shingles vaccine being given to those age groups. There are a few reasons cases could have spiked in recent years. The stress of dealing with a pandemic is one reason--I'm confident that is why I got shingles in the summer of 2020. Stress is a known risk factor. So is illness. Anything that lowers the body's immune system. Since community exposure to chicken pox in the wild likely still plays a role in boosting our defenses against the virus hiding away in our own bodies, isolation and masking during the pandemic could also have contributed to a rise in shingles cases.
  23. I feel like a newcomer! I think I first became aware of the boards around 2006; my oldest was 3 and I had begun seriously researching homeschool options. I didn't start reading regularly though until about 2010/2011.
  24. Posting again to say that it's totally fine to pay someone to do it if you dislike the job. I bet you pay people to do lots of things you could theoretically do yourself; if you ever eat out or even buy a loaf of bread at the store, you are paying someone to cook for you. Do you pay someone to change your oil? Did you buy a house that someone else built rather than building it yourself? Pay for entertainment rather than always producing all your own entertainment? I think sometimes we get stuck thinking *certain tasks* are things we just ought to do ourselves, but of we hate the task and can afford to pay someone else to do it, maybe we should rethink.
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