[Malankazooie]

Could have posted this to the Messing with Groove thread, but it is weighted more towards making me happy, so some from column A, more from column B, if you get what I'm saying.

So, I receieved a manly bar soap collection for Christmas. The collection has bars of soap of various scents. I decided to start with the "Frosty Peppermint". Gosh darnit that is an invigorating expirence, but probably not the best one to start with during the middle of winter. Flippin' hell that is some cold feeling my skin is vibrating with when I get out of the shower. Should have saved this scent for the summer and started instead with the "Roasted Cranberry, Sage and Pine" scent. The Frosty Peppermint definitely will be a good wake me though for those mornings I need a kick in the ass before getting caffeinated.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'Many Scientists Now Say Global Warming Could Stop Relatively Quickly After Emissions Go to Zero


[...] Recent research shows that stopping greenhouse gas emissions will break the vicious cycle of warming temperatures, melting ice, wildfires and rising sea levels faster than expected just a few years ago.

There is less warming in the pipeline than we thought, said Imperial College (London) climate scientist Joeri Rogelj, a lead author of the next major climate assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"It is our best understanding that, if we bring down CO2 to net zero, the warming will level off. The climate will stabilize within a decade or two," he said. "There will be very little to no additional warming. Our best estimate is zero."

The widespread idea that decades, or even centuries, of additional warming are already baked into the system, as suggested by previous IPCC reports, were based on an "unfortunate misunderstanding of experiments done with climate models that never assumed zero emissions."

Those models assumed that concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would remain constant, that it would take centuries before they decline, said Penn State climate scientist Michael Mann, who discussed the shifting consensus last October during a segment of 60 Minutes on CBS.

[...] "It's a dramatic change in the paradigm that has been lost on many who cover this issue, perhaps because it hasn't been well explained by the scientific community. It's an important development that is still under appreciated.""It's definitely the scientific consensus now that warming stabilizes quickly, within 10 years, of emissions going to zero,"'

https://insideclimat...TH3yPV3ltY_BBTk

'Researchers Uncovered a 5,000-Year-Old Crystal Dagger Buried in Spain




[...] made of rock crystal. Dating back to at least 3000 BCE, these weapons include an incredible crystal dagger that would have taken enormous skill to carve.

The incredible find was discovered in the megalithic tomb of Montelirio tholos, which is located in southwestern Spain. This enormous site is made from large slate slabs and stretches over 143 feet.





Since there were no crystal mines nearby, the materials for these items would have been sourced from far afield. This contributes to the idea that they were intended for an elite few who would have been able to afford to gather such materials and have them shaped into weapons.'

https://mymodernmet....BAnVuesHpMlhiv0

[Malankazooie]

Love it when the moon is hovering close over the mountains in the morning. If you get the right perspective that frames it in a way that all of the clutter of the modern age is blocked out it feels like you are on an alien world. Feels like Destiny <<<< see what I did there?

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

Cochlear implant was turned on today. If I know someone is talking and I concentrate on what they are saying, I can understand speech already. Sure, everyone sounds like staticky Daleks on Valium and the concentration required is absolutely draining, but I can freaking understand speech. It's been about a year since I last had a conversation that didn't require people writing things down or using a smartphone transcription app. It is fantastic and only going to improve with time.

High frequencies are weird. I can tell there is some stimulation in the ear area, but I don't hear anything yet. It will take some time and work to get that part of hearing back again, but then those are frequencies I lost 10-15 years ago so it's not surprising they aren't audible immediately. More testing and mapping tomorrow, but I am already hearing sounds at normal hearing volume and I haven't had that above 500hz for years.

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

Second day of sound/frequency mapping done, and that was exhausting. Retook some of the speech recognition tests I did during the evaluation almost exactly a year ago. On the easier test, scores went from 14% (while wearing my hearing aids) to 67% and on the tougher they went from 8% to 37%. And that's only day two. Clear tones sound like the actual tone at some of the higher frequencies, which is fantastic. Things like the backup alert on a truck and the elevator arrival ding, I haven't heard the elevator ding in a long time.

The amount of accessories they give you with implants is almost crazy. I took a full back pack of stuff home each day, all of which needs recharged somewhere. Note to self: buy another power bar or two.

Going to relax for a bit this evening, finish reading Uprooted, (probably spend too much time paying attention to the Georgia senate races) and then mess around with all the stuff I have that beeps, whistles, clangs, what have you, to see how much of it I can hear now.

Edit: One of the crazy things to me about the speech recognition stuff, is that conversations with actual people are with everyone wearing a mask due to Covid. Every audiologist and ENT I've ever dealt with has been blown away at how well I speech read. Prior to my hearing diving off again in the last two years, I would have ten minute conversations with an audiologist without hearing aids or asking for clarification on anything, then go into the booth and score under ten percent on any speech recognition test (difference from score noted above is that these ones would be without hearing aids). If it weren't for masks, I could probably handle any face to face convo fine right now.

This post has been edited by Gwynn ap Nudd: 06 January 2021 - 04:08 AM

[amphibian]

Gwynn that's such a big improvement and I'm super happy for you.

I have 90-95% loss in all frequencies. I rely so much on lip reading too because very few people know sign.

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

Thanks Amph, it really looks to be a big positive change for me.

I have some hearing left in really low frequencies, but 750hz and over there is no space left between my threshold hearing and when sound becomes uncomfortable (threshold is around 110db - for anyone curious and not knowledgeable about sound volume/hearing, that roughly means if I was sitting in an otherwise dead silent room and concentrating as hard as I can, I might be able to just make out the chainsaw running two feet away from me).

I thought about learning sign a few years ago, but I don't know anyone who would be willing to learn it with me and didn't think it would be possible for me to learn without being able to practice with someone else. And no one I work with would be willing to make the effort, which would defeat half the purpose.

Are implants an option for you?

[amphibian]

I wear behind the ear hearing aids and they get me to approaching normal hearing. When I'm old and closer to totally deaf, I may try it or just accept the deafness.

If you live somewhere close to a community college, they usually have a sign language class available in the evenings. I'd recommend it. My wife went to one and it really helped us.

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

Ahh, if you can get close to normal hearing with aids, then definitely stick with those.

There is a community college near me that has sign language courses. I took a couple lip reading course there previously and am still in touch with the instructor from those. I may look into taking sign language courses once in person classes resume and I am adjusted enough to the implant that I am not spending much time on exercises for that.

[Tiste Simeon]

Do you ever get a moment where you're reminded once again why you're with your partner?

We've been doing jigsaw puzzles in the evening and today Mrs Tiste said "We should stick Lord of the Rings on while doing the jigsaw!"

[Slow Ben]

Keeper

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Tiste Simeon, on 11 January 2021 - 08:27 PM, said:

Do you ever get a moment where you're reminded once again why you're with your partner?

We've been doing jigsaw puzzles in the evening and today Mrs Tiste said "We should stick Lord of the Rings on while doing the jigsaw!"

I think when Mr Not a Blacksmith's suggestion for Valentine's Day a few months into seeing one another was "Do you want to come over for a meal and we can put Fellowship of the Ring on?", I was pretty sure he was the one!

[Macros]

Is he though? I note a serious lack of blacksmithing ability...

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Macros, on 12 January 2021 - 08:51 AM, said:

Is he though? I note a serious lack of blacksmithing ability...

Nobody's perfect!

[Tiste Simeon]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 12 January 2021 - 09:01 AM, said:

Macros, on 12 January 2021 - 08:51 AM, said:

Is he though? I note a serious lack of blacksmithing ability...

Nobody's perfect!

You realise that should you get married you are legally obligated to add "Not A Blacksmith" to your name?
Or he has to become a Blacksmith.

Either's good.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

My bad. When getting married was discussed I did not stipulate this. Back to the drawing board!

[Tiste Simeon]

Also me and Macros are bridesmaids but that's a given.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

100% not disputed!

[QuickTidal]

Viral Sea Shanty TikTok is the energy we need in 2021.

Credit to the original artists stitched in this multi-dueted video (he's the main voice you hear) is Scotsman Nathan Evans.

I sing this song to my son at bedtime now and he loves it.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 13 January 2021 - 05:33 PM

[champ]

QuickTidal, on 13 January 2021 - 05:32 PM, said:

Viral Sea Shanty TikTok is the energy we need in 2021.

Credit to the original artists stitched in this multi-dueted video (he's the main voice you hear) is Scotsman Nathan Evans.

I sing this song to my son at bedtime now and he loves it.

I've had this bloody song stuck in my head all day. I heard it yesterday on Reddit where a couple of guys were singing it on a road trip and it's never left my thinkymeat. Bully in the Alley is another great shanty.