fireweed @ fireweed @lemmy.world

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413

Joined

2 yr. ago

That's not how supply and demand work at all. Otherwise why would median monthly rent in Spokane, Washington be $1395 while median rent in Coeur d'Alene across the border in Idaho is $1800, given that the minimum wage is more than double in the former compared to the latter?

Meanwhile Idaho right next door is still at the federal $7.25 minimum wage. How Idaho border town min wage jobs stay staffed I have no idea.

Holy crap that's complex. And for what? We know that the more complicated a system is the more prone it is to loopholes and abuse, while simultaneously letting tons of folks who should qualify for assistance to fall through the cracks. If you're a single parent working three jobs, or a foster kid who just aged out of the system and are newly on your own, or mentally disabled, or undereducated, or simply trying to keep your shit together while trying to deal with something like addiction or mental illness or recent homelessness or what have you, you're undoubtedly going to be leaving a shitload of money on the table by not having the time/energy/wherewithal to fully take advantage of this convoluted system, even though you're part of the exact population that needs the most assistance. UBI experiments (and similar examples from the charity world) have been pretty clear: just give people the fucking cash, no strings, no fine print, no hoops, and that will have the best result for the recipients, and the least overhead for the givers.

I'm really confused why the If You Care brand would have been flagged for PFAS. Unless they have another product I'm unaware of, their bags are made of uncoated paper. In other words, no plastics or waxes are used to make the product. They're even home compostable. Either they're lying out their ass, their supply line is compromised, the study/reporting on the study is wrong, or...?

I can think of literally zero examples of this. Apparently I'm watching the wrong shows? (Or perhaps, the right shows?)

🌻 Fuck grass, plant native wildflowers 🌻

That's a 2.24x price increase. That's even beyond Argentina-hyperinflation levels of increase. Are we sure this is an apples-to-apples comparison? Like, was there a sale or bulk discount that made the shorter can relatively cheaper? I'm struggling to believe a retailer would engage in such a brazen markup in a single week. (Not to say it's not possible, but it's extreme enough that I'm not taking the word of some random hand-written graphic on the Internet.)

That's a great resource! I know some places put together "native wildflower seed packs," but I've heard mixed reviews. Some plants in the pack inevitably outcompete others (leaving you with minimal variety), and I've seen packs that contain species that aren't actually native to the region. Your group's version sounds like more work on their part, but likely with better end results.

It's a mixed bag. Some natives grow easily, as they are naturally adapted to the climate, but some can be tricky little bastards as they are only adapted to very specific conditions that may or may not exist in your home yard (or they would do well once established, but getting to that point is difficult). Introduced species can be easier to grow, because they're overadapted to the climate (that's what makes invasive species so, well, invasive!).

Your example of growing catmint is a bit of luck on your part: mint is often considered a weed for growing so vigorously, so it's a great choice for novice or "brown-thumb" gardeners. These are the types of plants we should be specifically promoting, so new gardeners don't have to rely on luckily stumbling upon easy-to-grow natives.

On that note, might I advertise my namesake plant, "fireweed" (Chamaenerion angustifolium)? Beautiful flowers, easy to establish, self-sufficient once established (it's called fireweed for a reason!), and beloved by bees. Native to much of Canada and the United States (and maybe northern Europe/Asia?). https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/chamerion_angustifolium.shtml

I have been really disappointed by the times I've ordered from a shop online (even one that came highly recommended on forums) that I hadn't previously visited in person. So now I default to a shop that I stopped by on a trip to Chicago once: https://www.coffeeandtea.com/. They have a good supply of the basics (eg English breakfast tea) that are decent quality and very well priced, perfect for everyday tea. For special occasion teas, I was very impressed by a place in Portland, OR I visited: https://thejasminepearl.com/. A lot more expensive but quality to match.

Nowadays I try to make a habit of stopping by tea shops when visiting new cities, and taking note of which specialty teas each has, their price points, etc. I've about five or so that I rotate ordering from at this point.

You shouldn't really use metal on stainless steel; stick with wood or silicone.

At least upgrade to silicone. I'm baffled that cooking utensils even come in nylon. Options should only be metal, wood, silicone if intended to use near heat.

The article mentions home size, but the other half of the equation is lot size. The lot equivalent of the empty nester couple living in a five-bed three-bath house is the the 1-2 acre property that's almost entirely grass, with a handful of ornamental shrubs and maybe a tree or two. Rural farmland is getting absolutely gobbled up by people who complain about having to mow the law every other week in summer (or how much money they "had" to spend on a riding mower). Every square foot of every lot not covered by building is space that, collectively, could have been productive land (like a farm/community garden), public land (like a park), more housing ("our city is full" the fuck it is, you could fit a sixplex in your personal backyard), or wildlife habitat. No, your English Laurel is not habitat, it's an invasive species. No your neighborhood isn't a thriving ecosystem because there are deer everywhere; in fact that's pretty good evidence that the food chain is missing a link. Maybe I'm just bitter because I'm currently having to meticulously plan out every square inch of my apartment postage-stamp yard to maximize vegetable production in a part-shade environment alongside the building in a pitiful attempt at self-sufficiency while I'm surrounded on all sides by huge (10k sqft - 1/2 acre) properties with full sun grassy yards that I have never once seen used by the owners for any activity except keeping said grass meticulously mowed. Like JFC if you're not going to use your yard at all at least throw the local bee population a bone by letting the dandelions flower on occasion. And then there's the transportation impact of sprawling cities: of course everyone drives long distances to get anywhere and there's no public transit option: there's only a few dozen houses in the miles between here and the grocery store so not enough density to support a bus, nor enough density to support a closer grocery store. And now people here are so used to driving everywhere that there's no incentive for cycling or walking infrastructure either because "everyone drives so no one would use it." There's a lot of talk about how bigger houses are climate disasters because they're more energy intensive to operate, well we should also mention that bigger lots are also climate disasters for inducing more driving (and create bizarre standards for minimize size housing because "smaller houses wouldn't fit in with the existing neighborhood character").

Commercial properties aren't exempt; standalone chains (like many fast food restaurants, banks, car washes, etc) especially seem to always get built on oversized lots, especially if a drive thru is involved, even in fairly urban settings. But people tend to be less possessive of these properties; it's not often someone whines that replacing the local Arby's with more commercial density would "destroy the neighborhood" like replacing single-family housing with even slightly denser single-family housing ("oh no, the eye-sore skinny houses are invading!" skinny houses are only ugly because they're required by code to include built-in garages you architecturally-illiterate cretin).

It's possible that the link worked when the post was made and when (at least some of) the upvotes were cast.

Link is broken (leads to 404 page)

The article: "a bunch of us are worried about the potential rise of fascism in the United States, so we're moving to Italy"

Tell me that you are oblivious to international politics without literally telling me that you are oblivious to international politics.

More to the point, if Americans were the type to "flee in droves," left-wingers would have left states like Texas and Florida en-masse for bluer pastures. Moving within the United States is a million times easier than moving overseas, and if they're not doing the former in the face of fascism/degradation of human rights in red states, why on earth would they engage in the much more difficult latter? Definitely sounds like a case of taking anecdote and non-committal musings online too seriously.

Firewatch is more in the visual novel category. I did in fact give it a replay with completely different choices to see how it changed things, and was disappointed to find that all choices are merely for aesthetics and make zero difference in the plot. However it's a well-made enough game (especially dialogue and voice acting) that it was still kinda fun to play again.

I would somewhat disagree with Subnautica. There are lots of different settings you can tweak to make the game harder or more survival-oriented that might warrant a replay (although probably only one) if your first play-through was on a simpler/easier mode. Plus there are the creation modes where you can create your own base without restrictions, which sort of counts as replay? Mostly though the setting in Subnautica is quite unique, and short of playing Below Zero you won't be able to find that vibe anywhere without playing the game again. However as a story-oriented game I'd agree it has lower-than-average replay value.

I can't believe anyone thought it would be possible to lure Trump supporters away with a female POC candidate lol (even if she is white-passing)