GoldenTongue

Is that really an indictment against DeSantis? I hadn't followed the story too closely, but there were a number of articles which seemed to point to the fact that the woman who won was a prominent public figure with a favorable reputation among many, who proved capable of remaining clean from some right wing attacks of her character. The impression I got was that the results of the election were really more the relative popularity of the candidate, than a repudiation of DeSantis. Although I might well be discounting that too much, considering that she did win despite the R's having a stronger turnout than the D's, so she clearly won the support of the centrists. Which is precisely what the left needs to focus on doing everywhere else.

Not terribly surprising. A sizeable plurality, if not outright majority of new drug interventions for mental illness over the past decade have been drugs originally used for treatment of other conditions: anti-convulsants used for treatment in OCD, anti-seizure medications used in treatment of depression/BPD, hell, I think there was a drug used for treating osteoporosis which was repurposed for treatment of schizophrenia. It's been great, considering that in many of these instances, the side effects are significantly less severe and intrusive than those of drugs which were traditionally used. Semaglutide's been an interesting one to watch as its use has grown from diabetes treatment, to weight management, with a fairly strong success rate, although like many pharmacological interventions, it isn't uncommon to see rebounding once the treatment ends.

The variance of bone density to which you refer is orders of magnitude removed from the difference in bone density between biological males and females. Stop being obtuse.

The problem is that many of the arguments regarding testosterone (in particular) are poorly framed. There are some who suggest that a trans woman is competing on a level playfield because their testosterone is in line with cis women athletes...disregarding the fact that 10,15,20 years of living as a male with elevated testosterone levels (respective of cis women) leaves a lasting biological marker that cannot be undone with short-term hormonal therapy. But the real issue isn't that - it's that most discussions on the topic are highly emotionally charged, as often as not, and (as others have mentioned) the arguments/debates themselves about the issue are often raised to offer a reductive point (that is more easily digested) within the context of a much larger and more complex discussion.

Anyone watching? Wife and I absolutely adored Season One; phenomenally creepy, suspenseful survivor horror tv that has a small bit of a LOST vibe. I hadn’t been keeping an eye out for Season Two announcements but just got an email that it’s starting today. Time to reactivate my MGM+ subscription, although tbh, I’d had no idea that Epic had become (or been absorbed into?) MGM+.

Seems a bit stupid comparing athletes from one sport, to another, as though they all follow the same type of training programming. But seeing as how each sport has specificity principles applied to resistance training/conditioning as well as the sport-specific training/practice, it seems myopic to try to compare one to another, especially considering the fact that a number of athletes have performed well in multiple sports at the professional level, and it isn't terribly uncommon to see some degree of crossover at lower levels.

I've seen some of those articles, but the ones I read were usually more about hating THE LAST JEDI (or any aspect of SW that offends sad white males threatened by any degree of diversity or inclusion) than staunch defense of JJ. I must have clicked on the wrong article(s) a few times too many, since my FB feed is now littered by all kinds of poorly written articles pissing and moaning about Gunn/DC's mistreatment of the Snyderverse, any hint of diversity in the MCU (so, so much hatred for the cast of THE MARVELS), etc. And sadly, closing the articles and noting them as irrelevant hasn't done much to remove them from my feed. [EDIT] Oh yeah, and in the past few days, I've definitely seen a slew of articles making an admirable effort to support Majors as ardently (and with as little context) as detractors expressed the moment he was charged last month in NYC.

Idk. In hindsight, the only thing that really stands out to me about the episode now is that it feels a bit like part of the storyline was developed later than they might have liked, somewhat forcing them to shoehorn in a lot of expository detail in a way that feels largely detached from the main Mando-esque narrative. But even still, I enjoyed the episode, and (for the most part) agree with several of the points that Kal had mentioned in this thread. Some of the...criticisms...from earlier in the season reminded me (SO F'ING MUCH) of some of the pissing and moaning about Battlestar Galactica back on the IGN Sci Fi board back around the time of Season 2. There was a 2-3 episode stretch in the second half of the season where people were just losing their shit about how bad the show was getting...right before the last 2-3 episodes of the season which were jaw-droppingly phenomenal. And while the kvetching wasn't as bad here, it definitely felt similar to back then. But anywho - loved the finale, for the most part. It did feel as though things were wrapped up just a bit too tidily - if I didn't know anything about the show, I would have been checking after it finished to see if this was a series finale. And Grogu's appearance early on felt kinda ridiculously convenient, although that little bastard is cute enough that it's hard to not give him a pass most of the time...especially with the "voice" enhancement he got. And I definitely spent some time wondering how much was spent on CG during the aerial firefights. I'm really curious what the budget was for the finale, as so much felt like a legitimate live action cartoon, in the best possible way.

Feels like I'm sharing the thread with a buncha culinary cowards, tbh.

It can vary a bit depending upon the indivudal. What BloodyHell said is more or less accurate, with the qualification that stress response(s) can be similarly amplified when someone is on a cycle, or coming off one without proper post-cycle therapy. With that said, it is more common to see "roid rage" like tendencies from select derivatives like Tren, as opposed to pure testosterone, which can be a meaningful distinction, as there are some whose steroid use is largely limited to supraphysiological doses of testosterone. It's become increasingly common with growth in the TRT sector. From what I've read so far (with no comments on the accuracy of the reporting), it sounds as though Majors is just an asshole. If the stories are true, then he would be more the type for whom the steroid usage amps up aggressive tendencies in general.

But but but the episode with Pershing was rly rly dumb.

Fox News has something like $4B in cash holdings. Gross profits for 2020-2022 were $4.496B, $4.872B, and $4.857B, respectively. And based upon Murdoch's track record of big-ticket payouts for settlements, I would absolutely consider this a win for him. He's paying a fine that he can absolutely afford, and this allows him and Fox to resume business as usual (without any apology or public admission of guilt), as opposed to the alternative of a protracted trial which would have kept him, and a host of Fox News personalities, under public scrutiny for an extended period of time. Anyone expecting this settlement to result in a meaningful change in how Murdoch does business is naive or delusional. The Smartmatic suit, depending on how it plays out, might have a different impact, but if it's another settlement, then it amounts to another win for Fox.

Snackie, lol.

Semaglutide FTW. I could swear I see commercials for about three different types/formulations a night while watching TV.

Jus stop, please. Type 2 diabetes is not reversible. It is possible, in some instances, for select populations, to bring the condition into something akin to remission. And it is important to note that claims of reversal and remission are based largely upon studies in which drastic interventions were applied, most of which are unavailable or not realisticially sustainable for significant portions of the population. And while there are plenty of reasons to criticize Big Pharma, the progress made in management of Type 1 Diabetes over the past ~10-15 years has been extraordinary. Advancements in real-time/remote CGM, CGII, LGS, etc., have improved the quality of life (and reduced probabilities of complications of T1D) in profound ways, based upon efforts which must be credited in part to Big Pharma.

You mean, aside from the fact that the series did continue, with support from original showrunner? K. Like I said, there's nothing wrong with saying you don't like the show post-season five. It's okay. But if you enjoy the cognitive contortionism required to argue the point that Supernatural episodes which follow the finale of S5 are fundamentally less than, then by all means, have at it.

No need to start the mental gymnastics required to prove your point. Just say that you don't like Supernatural post-season five. You don't need to try to justify it by arguing some point that really can't hold up under scrutiny.

I'm not really sure what your point is. I don't see a meaningful analogy between sucrose/HFCS, and the glycemic loading you describe. Does the manner of cooking (along with subsequent cooling) change the glycemic load of a starch? Yes. But that (relativistic) effect is common for all, even if there are acute differences in glycemic response from one person to the next. The initial point that I posted, is that, contrary to what any number of media sources have reported, HFCS is not some nutritional bogeyman to be avoided in favor of a "healthier" alternative like surcrose. That is a claim perpetuated by (I can only assume) SI who oppose the increasing market share of HFCS, and in fact, based upon current available evidence, there isn't any data to support the notion that HFCS has a greater effect on obesity, diabetes, etc., than sucrose. Is it possible that HFCS is better (or worse) for some individuals because of some semi-unique allergy or physiological condition? Of course...but that isn't a legitimate basis for an extrapolated claim of one being better than another because of "health reasons" which are actually limited to a marginal portion of the population.

From a health and nutiritional standpoint, there is no meaningful difference between sucrose and HFCS. It's past time that that myth died.

Lol at the "teh show ended with S5" nonsense.

I've struggled with my mental health at various points in the past, and while I'm able to manage it fairly well at present, I still find myself exploring new forms of self-care at times. Journaling may be the single most productive practice I learned to embrace. By nature, I try to be very deliberate and clear when writing, and that effortful thinking was/is very helpful when trying to write out how I am feeling. Forcing myself to really channel my feelings into something that reads (to me) coherently led me to also consider questions of why/how, along with exploring if a surge in feelings after XXX happened was really because of XXX, or because of something(s) else that I'd repressed until it boiled over. I spent a large part of my life repressing my own feelings, which meant that until a few years ago, I was rather hopelessly inept when it came to dealing with many types of personal issues in a healthy and productive way. Overcoming the fear of dealing with those feelings, of learning how to understand them, and learning how to process them, has taken A LOT of work, and if I'm honest, remains a work in progress. But while that journey does continue, I'm immensely thankful for how I've grown, and for the help I've gotten; it's helped me accept the fact that asking for help is okay, that not having all the answers is okay, and that struggling to understand the questions (let alone the answers) is also okay. Feel free to add my name to the list of open DM's. My own compulsivities have prompted me to study certain aspects of mental health pretty extensively, adn while I am far from any sort of professional, I'm happy to share what I have learned in the context of how I've been able to apply it to my own experiences.

A Brazilian once every 6-8 weeks or so > shaving once a week. Although tbh, I’m leaning toward trying out a personal IPL device. There are some with really solid reviews and can pay for themselves within a year or so.

I think that that is an important distinction; one that far too many fail to understand/recognize. But it is an incredibly nuanced and challenging topic. My wife was the only white person in her class when working toward her MSW a couple years ago, and she became involved with a number of "conflicts" with other students based upon arguments and ideas that intersect pretty closely with some of the points noted by SFLU, sbl, and you. As one example: there were several instances in group-based work assignments where my wife ended up taking on a somewhat managerial type of tact in terms of delegating work, because she felt as though the group (after multiple meetings) weren't making any progress in terms of assigning any sort of structure for workflow or responsibility. Her assigning responsibilities and defining workflow caused a lot of friction with several team members who commented on all the micro-agressions that she was guilty of. From the perspective of those other members of her cohort, it was (another) example of a white person taking charge of things because they felt that the minorities were incapable. And when my wife tried to make it clear that race/culture had nothing to do with it, that she was just trying to facilitate a way in which the work could be done by the team...it almost seemed as though that made it worse, as though she was acting almost condescendingly in how she responded. There were quite a few incidents along those lines during the course of her classwork; she learned a tremendous amount, as did I, in terms of how behaviors which seem entirely benign/normal to us can very easily be perceived in a much more negative light by those who come from a marginalized background. If I'm being honest, I really struggled with some of the incidents that my wife told me about - she had/has definitely evolved her views to be much more closely aligned with what SFLU is striving for, but for me, I still struggle with this notion that in certain contexts, when in comes to discussions which involve those from one of those marginalized backgrounds, it may not matter if I am factually correct regarding certain particulars, simply because my own (privileged white male) background/upbringing precludes me from being able to speak with any real authority. A few books I read back then (WHITE FRAGILITY, and SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE, in particular) helped me gain a more nuanced understanding of those other perspectives, although I'd be lying if I said that I am as evolved as I would like to be.

Lol. That was a reply to skillz’ speculation about my next big bad comment.

What is the title of the next Avengers movie?