DrBob
@DrBob@lemmy.ca
Recovering academic now in public safety. You’ll find me kibitzing on brains (my academic expertise) to critical infrastructure and resilience (current worklife). Also hockey, games, music just because.
- Comment on What is the origin of aliens looking like humans? Why and when did it become the norm? 2 days ago:
May I suggest Solaris by Stanislaw Lem? The alien is a sentient ocean that doesn’t understand the distinction between past, present, or future, or between dreaming and wakefulness. It causes some issues…
- Comment on Why does the winter solstice mark the beginning of winter, and not the center? 3 days ago:
It’s a modern convention. In the Celtic calendar solstice marked the middle of winter and older Christmas carols mark Yule as midwinter. m.youtube.com/watch?v=1_R3GPkIDeM
- Comment on wtf Cambrian 5 weeks ago:
PRE-Cambrian my dude. The Cambrian explosion of life is associated with conventional body plans.
- Comment on somebody has to do it! 1 month ago:
Behold wonders of the Beaver Deceiver!
- Comment on The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books 2 months ago:
I am a professor. I’m fine with choosing to consume shorter media - I read very few novels any more either. I think the point that the students appear unable to read long form. It actually matches up with my own experience where incoming students have never had to write long form either.
- Comment on The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books 2 months ago:
I’m curious what the downvoted was for.
- Comment on Eat lead 2 months ago:
Thanks! I assumed it was rhetorical question but this waaaaay outside my area of expertise.
- Comment on Eat lead 2 months ago:
Is decay the only way to get lead? I mean if uranium gets synthesized can’t lead get made as well?
- Comment on 2real5me 3 months ago:
Let me introduce you gentleman to Doug Prasher.
- Comment on Is there a difference in meaning between the words *people* and *persons*? 3 months ago:
It may helpful to think of this in terms of human rights; some rights apply to individuals so even though there may a group of them we’d refer to them as persons e.g. displaced persons. Some rights are held collectively and we would refer to them as a people e.g. Indigenous People of the Amazon.
- Comment on how do I accept that a doctor earns more than double what I do? 3 months ago:
This true for every regulated profession. It’s not exceptional.
- Comment on Miku owo 4 months ago:
I’ve done the Burgess Shale hike. I was surprised to hear how few anomolacaris specimens there are. Lots of pieces, but very few segments are attached to each other. The species is now being found in China and I understand that some of those specimens are more complete.
- Comment on East Texas turns out for Ted Cruz’s Keep Texas, Texas Tour 4 months ago:
- Comment on East Texas turns out for Ted Cruz’s Keep Texas, Texas Tour 4 months ago:
Why would Trudeau do this!!??!!??
- Comment on East Texas turns out for Ted Cruz’s Keep Texas, Texas Tour 4 months ago:
Not for long though! Danielle Smith is mowing it down to make way for privatization the way God intended.
- Comment on Actors demand action over 'disgusting' video game sex scenes 4 months ago:
Tell me you’ve never Witcher using a whole paragraph.
- Comment on The Witcher 4 "won't focus on Geralt," but his voice actor says he'll at least be "a part" of the RPG sequel 4 months ago:
Please please please let it be Lambert and Keira Metz squabbling all over the continent as they track something stupid.
- Comment on Why are people downvoting the MediaBiasFactChecker not? 4 months ago:
I blocked that annoying piece of shit. It added nothing to discussion.
- Comment on 5 New Archeological Discoveries Of 2024 - YouTube 5 months ago:
This where I would love an actual written summary. Ain’t no way I’m going to watch it.
- Comment on [deleted] 5 months ago:
We don’t have any contact with candidates after the interview apart from a firm rejection. I’d love to provide feedback and advice to people but legal won’t let us.
- Comment on what is with child names like Aiden, Braiden etc? 5 months ago:
Lol. Check out Denmark. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_law
- Comment on what is with child names like Aiden, Braiden etc? 5 months ago:
Social diffusion is an explanation of how information spreads, not just names.
My understanding is that unique names and neologism have long been a feature of African-American culture where North American Caucasians followed a family naming tradition. I think what has happened is some celebrities have moved towards a unique name scheme. But it feels like a mainstreaming of AA culture more than anything.
The impetus has been there in Europe. Many nations have/had very restrictive rules about names. They’d only have rules against it if people were trying to do it. I had Swiss friends who were very excited that their daughter was born in Canada so they could name her “Sora” which wasn’t in the approved name list in Switzerland.
- Comment on I'm just gonna stick to slotted, thanks 5 months ago:
Robertson! Say his name!
- Comment on Rhamnose 5 months ago:
I’m not sure you can. I can see Sigma Aldrich selling it by the kilogram for research use. I’m not sure there is an approved human formulation. If its because of that gut paper lactulosr is pretty easily available.
- Comment on The 1950s were wild... 6 months ago:
This method is still superior to Heimlich. But its difficult to execute under most circumstances.
- Comment on Objectivity 6 months ago:
OP misunderstood Kuhn maybe.
- Comment on Are all phone calls voip (voice over Internet protocol) now? 7 months ago:
No. But it’s getting there. In business continuity we used to be advised to keep a POTS (plain old telephone service) line around because it would the last service to go down and the first one to come up. About a year ago we were advised that we shouldn’t bother. The copper lines convert to VOIP at a switch station.
- Comment on How come hotel check-in time is always 3-4? 7 months ago:
Because checkout isn’t until 11. It takes time to prep a room between guests. Depending on occupancy and staffing levels you may be able to get in earlier.
- Comment on Google Podcasts is shutting down soon, users urged to move to YouTube Music 9 months ago:
I did too. Moved to AntennaPod when they first announced that bullshit. GPod was…fine. I started using it because it was there and it wasn’t enough of an irritant to switch over.
- Comment on The joy of finding an interesting gap in the literature 9 months ago:
I see you’ve found my publication record.