I worked a precinct that was right next to a huge nursing home. One guy who was 98, came in and after getting his ballot fell down and was unresponsive. Luckily the home had their own staff join the groups that came to vote and resuscitated him and he continued exactly where he left off at tortoise pace.

Also lots of people who were not registered or at the wrong polling place but insist on voting anyways despite me patiently explaining and showing them how to solve the issue. They demand to “vote” so they get a provisional ballot that we dutifully process which likely will be rejected. All of them are certain we are stealing their ballot, or trying to keep them from voting. I always say to them, “you seem like you are someone who knows a lot about the election process and has the time, we need people like you to volunteer” while offering them the volunteering paperwork. They leave pretty quickly after that.

Ultracrepidarian

An ultracrepidarian—from ultra- (“beyond”) and crepidarian (“things related to shoes”)—is a person considered to have ignored this advice and to be offering opinions they know nothing about.

The word is derived from a longer Latin phrase and refers to a story from Pliny the Elder

The phrase is recorded in Book 35 of Pliny the Elder’s Natural History as ne supra crepidam sutor iudicaret[1] (“Let the cobbler not judge beyond the crepida”) and ascribed to the Greek painter Apelles of Kos. Supposedly, Apelles would put new paintings on public display and hide behind them to hear and act on their reception.[2] On one occasion, a shoemaker (Latin sutor) noted that one of the crepides[a] in a painting had the wrong number of straps and was so delighted when he found the error corrected the next day that he started in on criticizing the legs.[2] Indignant, Apelles came from his hiding place and admonished him to confine his opinions to the shoes.[2] Pliny then states that since that time it had become proverbial.[2]

If you’re down for a retro RPG via an emulator, Earthbound. The overarching story is about dealing with traumatic events as a child and coming of age while hitting the endearing but quirky note similar to games like Undertale that was a cult classic on the SNES. It came boxed with a full color, complete strategy guide made to look like a travel guide so it’s intended not to be too difficult and really experience the story.

I will second Nethack. The depth of that game for it’s size is astounding.

I remember getting a legendary bat that did more damage the more drugs you were in withdrawal from and I renamed it “step dad”.

The Mafia/Werewolf social deduction type games can be played without any equipment if someone knows the rules well enough. Alternatively you can use the free companion app that is meant for the One Night Werewolf version guides you through it.

Just listened to it and god she is amazing. Great recommendation!

If you want to hear a surf rock instrumental cover that is actually phenomenal check out The Surfrajettes. Also amazing name.

I can’t make you love me by Bonnie Raitt

I recently found out about the Zelda: Link to the Past randomizer community. Essentially there is a method to modify the original game to randomize the item locations and other aspects of the game while ensuring the game can be completed. Each game has a seed so you can look it up if you get to stuck. I played through it once and it was a really interesting challenge since I didn’t get the bow until 60% of the way through the game.

I got access to a really nice VR system through work and binged through Half Life Alyx. I was in a room that was large enough to walk around in, but for larger moves you use the controller to teleport a short distance. Also you can gravity attract items within a few yards with your gloves.

After playing the first time I went to cook dinner and got embarrassingly frustrated when I tried to summon a spoon with a hand gesture.

I played Like a Dragon with no background and it was a great experience. Really wacky in a satisfying way. Only grievance is there is ~10 hours of cut scenes to beat the game.

Depending on the complexity of the part either Fusion 360, Tinkercad, or even just 3d Builder. I usually can find something close already existing and just modify that.

As someone who has been in the 3d printing space for awhile, I am amazed at how cheap and featured the entry level printers are. For ~$150 you can get a printer with auto bed leveling and a magnetic bed. At $15/lb of filament, you only need a few projects to pay for itself.

For example, I printed the housing for a USB hub for a friend which is a clone for a ridiculously expensive one that fits Lovesac couches and he paid me $50. It cost ~$2 of filament and ended up printing a few more for others. That alone paid for the cost of the printer.

For anyone who is thinking about it, now is a great time to enter the hobby.

I commented this elsewhere, but to answer your question,

Zolgemsma is a modified version of adeno associated virus and has to be grown under specific conditions. It costs $500k-$1m per production. It’s also a one time injection that functionally cures the person of the disease. There are a couple other options but for comparison, the other therapeutic is Spinraza which is an intermittent intrathecal infusion which is $805,000 for the first year of therapy and $380,000 per year thereafter for the rest of your life.

SMA type I also is 100% fatal by year 2-3 and the baby dies without being able to even lift their head. It’s a terrible prognosis.

To be clear, I think we should bear the actual costs of research, development, and manufacture as a society and not profiteer off the sick, but there are some contributory reasons for the price.

Zolgemsma is a modified version of adeno associated virus and has to be grown under specific conditions. It costs $500k-$1m per production.. It’s also a one time injection that functionally cures the person of the disease. There are a couple other options but for comparison, the other therapeutic is Spinraza which is an intermittent intrathecal infusion which is $805,000 for the first year of therapy and $380,000 per year thereafter for the rest of your life.

To be clear, I think we should bear the actual costs of research, development, and manufacture as a society and not profiteer off the sick, but there are some contributory reasons for the price.

Zolgemsma is a modified version of adeno associated virus and has to be grown under specific conditions. It costs $500k-$1m per production.

No one has given you an actual reply just assuming that the manufacturing costs for the drug are low. Zolgemsma is a modified version of adeno associated virus and has to be grown under specific conditions. It costs $500k-$1m per production.

I would say Robin Hobb. She writes easy to read, character driven fantasy novels that gracefully deal with a gamut of difficult topics (e.g., orphanism, otherness, sexual violence, mortality, etc.). The books really helped me build empathy for people and concepts that were far afield of my own experience.

I used a coiled cable and put my audio interface to my side higher up on a shelf. That way when I am seated the headphone cable barely touched the ground.