I used that style for smashing eggs to make egg salad. It's the best!

“There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats” --Ratty The Wind in the Willows My canoes are named "Ratty" and "Mole"

The images in the Telegraph article (which is the one I think you are referencing?) are old ones from the height of covid. I did a reverse image search and found the same images in countless other older covid articles. Here it is in a Business Insider article from 2020. Media like to stick stock images in news articles, and aren't often very transparent about the practice. Our national news uses another image ( of a nurse in PPE at the bedside in the ICU) over and over and over for various health care stories.

I personally would be motivated to find a digestible real food solution, rather than bottled commercial sports drinks (one of mine likes chicken noodle soup in a thermos at tournaments). But, I find commercial sports drink culture/marketing personally irritating -- I am aware of my bias on this issue! (I would also be unhappy with a youth athletic activity that did not prioritize basic needs such as nutrition during training and performance. Kids need time to eat. That's a completely separate issue though) Sorry @popmom. I'm well off topic. I will stop!

re bolded: And that's what matters!

Thanks everyone. We went with the TC5 Classic wash. Mostly because it's most similar to what I"m already used to. I'm glad to hear that everyone is happy with their models. I think that either one would have suited us just fine - that's what made the decision difficult 🙂

I think it depends on intensity and duration of exercise. If it's not possible to keep up with salt loss and fuel needs by eating, then that's what sports drinks are for. A pretty rare scenario in youth sports, I think. My kids are also athletes training similar amounts (4-6 hours per day, with much longer tournament days). They drink water; I don't offer them sports drinks. Their training and tournament schedules allow for meals and snacks, which contain plenty of salt and carbohydrate. Most youth athletes would be similar, I think. Something like marathon running in the heat of summer would be different story, or elite endurance athletes. Or sustained intense exercising for so many hours that meals are missed and eating/snacking isn't possible. IME, these are relatively rare youth sports scenarios though. Youth at this level are often supported by sports medicine/trainers/sports nutrition teams. Sports drinks are a big money industry and a bit of a cultural fad that's more about marketing and psychology than science. We all want to believe that our own kids are great or exceptional athletes who are training so hard that they must need special nutritional support during exercise. That last bit usually isn't objectively true for most of us.

I've heard this, and there are reports of IV coconut water in the medical literature. It would be a very last-ditch choice though. Not enough sodium. ------ I think that the big advantage of coconut water for oral hydration in the developing world is that, fresh from the coconut, it's relatively sterile and less likely to be contaminated than any drink made using the local water.

Agree. Unless you have copious GI losses, then eating food and drinking water (or other drink you like), as guided by thirst, is fine. There is nothing magic about gatorade or other electrolyte drinks. You don't have to take in salt and water in a precise ratio -- your healthy kidneys will manage your salt/water balance for you, just as they do every day. If you are worried about salt intake and your appetite is off, try something salty and bland, like crackers, or drink some broth. If you are worried about hydration, then drink whatever tastes good to you when you are sick. (Gatorade is junk food with an excellent marketing department). --------- If you want oral rehydration solution, there are all kinds of published recipes. Alberta Health has a leaflet with a bunch of them. Though, if you are so dry that you are actually needing these, then you probably also need medical attention. As an aside, oral rehydration solutions meant to replace GI losses in illness are different than sports electolyte drinks. Sports drinks are meant to both replace salt and water lost by sweating, and provide fuel for intense endurance exercise -- they contain relatively more sugars for this reason. Sick people with GI losses need relatively more salt and less sugar than endurance athletes.

Thanks. Yes, we are looking at only dial control models for that reason. Both the classic (TC) and perfect wash (TR) come in dial control versions. .I'm still waffling; but also reassured that owners of both TR and TC models are happy with their machines. 🙂

I disagree. As real-world studies go, this one from NEJM is about as good as it gets: Lifting Universal Masking in Schools — Covid-19 Incidence among Students and Staff EBM is about using the best available evidence to make the best possible medical decisions. Some forms of evidence are better than others, and some questions are best answered by different forms of evidence than others. Perfect real-world studies are rarely actually possible. The one I've linked comes close, though. ------- WRT to meta-analysis, it doesn't matter how stringent methodology criteria are if the study content isn't relevant to the research question. Content wise, this is a GIGO meta-analysis, no matter how good the methodology of these studies might have been. They've pooled a mish-mash of technologies as inputs and measured a mish-mash of mostly surrogate outcomes. This study doesn't tell us anything meaningful about air filtration and covid transmission, or even respiratory virus transmission more generally. It's a bit of a dog's breakfast, truly.

I have my own bed in my own room. I love it. I'm a shift worker in a job that requires me to be well-rested and mentally sharp while on shift at dark o'clock. Sleep hygiene is a huge priority.

Thanks. Yes, the "perfect wash" is the TR series. We are looking at the TR5 (dial controls) rather than the TR7 (electronic button controls), but I think the guts of both are the same. (The "classic" is TC5)

Thankw! Lots of smoke, but no flames, thank goodness. I am glad I was home and paying attention.

OK Speed Queen experts, help me pick a new washer, please! My 26-year-old Maytag top-loader finally went up in smoke, (literally; very exciting and dramatic!) and is not repairable. I want to replace it with a SpeedQueen/Heubsch top loader, but I am having trouble deciding on the model. Do I want "Classic Clean" with 0.5HP 2-speed motor, or "Perfect Wash" with 1HP variable speed motor? Classic has a shorter cycle time and no lid lock (both desirable). Perfect Wash cycle takes longer but is maybe gentler on clothes? And has a lid lock, but it can be disabled apparently. Both are locally available, and the price difference is negligible. I want clean clothes and a washer that will last a very long time.

Podcasts and audiobooks. Favourite podcasts: In Our Time. BBC history , science, philosophy, religion, and the arts with expert guests Ideas. CBC "IDEAS is a deep-dive into contemporary thought and intellectual history. Anchored in a powerful legacy and expansive archive spanning over five decades, its topics are boundless. The nature of consciousness. The history of toilets. The roots and rise of authoritarianism. Near death experiences. No idea is off-limits. Each episode cracks open a concept to see how it's played out over place and time — and uncovers why it still matters today. In the age of clickbait and superficial headlines, IDEAS is an oasis for people who like to think." Backstage at the Vinyl Café. "Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe welcomes you into the hilarious world of the Vinyl Cafe. Each episode features stories about Canada’s favourite fictional family: Dave, Morley and the kids, narrated by the late Stuart McLean and recorded live in concert." Stuart McLean is a master story-teller. Very worth your time. I use wired the wired earbuds that came with my iPhone. They work just fine.

Canada. Homelessness is a complex issue, and there are distinct sub-populations. The temporarily homeless (transiently homeless primarily due to economic misfortune) tend to do well; they are generally organized enough and motivated to complete the necessary steps to access shelters, housing and primary care. I don't think that these is the sub-population OP is asking about though. Our chronically homeless do poorly. They almost always have multiple concurrent serious co-morbidities that contribute to their chronic homelessness and unshelteredness: Axis 1 mental illness, substance use, personality disorders, challenging behaviours, are generally disorganized, and either incapable or unmotivated to complete the necessary steps to access shelters, housing and primary care. Many refuse to stay in shelters. In other words, they tend to have multiple co-morbidities that contribute to their poor health status independently of their homelessness (of course, homelessness makes it all worse, but it is a chicken/egg problem) Not very many survive to old age. They overwhelmingly use emergency departments to access medical care -- always open and almost no barriers to access (no appointments necessary, no need for a phone or internet). Predictably, this leads to poor continuity of care. It's a big issue in emergency medicine. Ongoing/continuing care of the chronically homeless is not something ED docs train for, not a core competency, and not something most of them like very much. And departments aren't structured or funded to provide this very specialized care. It's a big issue.

Of all the fuels mentioned, wood is by far the dirtiest burning and probably the least safe for food preparation -- there are lots of carcinogens in wood smoke. Butane burns very cleanly. Pocket-rocket style backpacking stoves, and the kitchen torches used to brown food (think crème brulée) use butane. Ethanol and methanol also burn very cleanly and are safe to use as stove/cooking fuel. I favour alcohol stoves for camping and have a lot of experience with these. Great for roasting marshmallows! Pure methanol is super-clean burning and is safe to use as fuel for cooking; but burns with an almost invisible blue flame and is very poisonous if ingested as liquid fuel. Pure ethanol also burns cleanly, but is prohibitively expensive (Everclear) to use as fuel. Denatured alcohol (ethanol plus methanol) can be clean burning if there are no other additives; but sometimes there are additives, read the label. "Fireplace fuel" bio-ethanol is dirtier burning, as they put in additives to make it undrinkable and to make the flame yellow -- IME it leaves some soot on my pans. Ditto fondue fuel. Isopropanol is dirty and sooty; definitely the choice of last resort as alcohol fuels go. I favour pure methanol for stove fuel because it is so clean burning, cheap, and very easy to get in Canada ($15 for 4L, from the paint department), and I know better than to drink it. It burns cleanly enough that I can use it indoors without setting off smoke alarms (we make sure we have appropriate ventilation and have a CO detector). Would a fondue burner or alcohol stove suit your purpose? Less pretty, but could also be used as a stove to cook food during emergencies. The alcohol-burning personal/tabletop fire pits I see listed on amazon all look like pretty fondue burners to me. If you want wood-burning, maybe consider a wood camp stove like a solo stove Titan? It's meant for cooking; you could use to cook during power failures/emergencies, or take it camping.

I've have this Biolite Sunlight for a few years now. I use it for personal lighting. It illuminates my small backpacking tent very nicely. Always works. I've never run our of charge. At home, I keep it on my windosill -- this keeps it charged, even in winter. It wouldn't be bright enough for groups, or to illuminate a campsite, though.

We had 6 trick-or-treaters last night. Over the years, we've seen anywhere from 1-20. I just buy candy that we all like. Then we eat the left overs 🙂

Yes. Like Korean Tteokbokki "rice cakes", that to me seem more like really thick noodles. (Which are completely different that the "rice cakes" found in most Canadian grocery stores, used as alternative to bread or toast!)

So many kinds of cake: fish cakes, cakes of soap, cakes of yeast, dung cakes......

Apparently, in Califormia, hotdogs are sandwiches by law.

Advance planning resources. Details will be state/province specific, but the ones listed below also contain good general information Speak Up Ontario workbook Advance Care Planning Ontario

CBC did a piece on this last year: Why is it Alexa, not Alex? A century of hard-coded sexism in tech, experts say