this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2024
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Check-in thread: how are you, comrade? (hexbear.net)
submitted 1 year ago by corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
62 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Despite forgetting my meds earlier this week, i have bounced back mentally and want to spread some good vibes!

So, to that end, how ya doing? Been alright?

Purpose of this thread, for the newer folks, is just to open up a space to tell us about anything cool you've got going on, or vent if ya got something on your mind.

Remember, you are loved Care-Comrade

For my own part, "worked" 85 hours last week, but got paid today. Am officially caught up on rent and my internet bill, gonna chip away on power and gas next. Once those two are down, I'll officially be out of the financial hole that unemployment put me in and can pay back personal debts! Have an interview Friday for another tech job, so I can stop doing the AI training thing if it pans out (but I'd still keep it up enough to buy a nice amp head >.>)

On a not so great note, I've been finding myself craving cathinone stims the past few days. Fortunately, i don't have the money or the sources, so that works out nicely. Another positive note - 8 months without booze!

That's really all with me. Hows about you?

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[–] EstraDoll@hexbear.net 15 points 1 year ago

drinking less, losing weight, buying girl clothes, finally feeling the physicsl effects of HRT, and loving not having to live in my parent's basement. things are finally looking up in life

[–] the_itsb@hexbear.net 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Congratulations on 8 months, that's a big achievement!!

My birthday is coming in a few weeks, and I've always felt much more New-Years-y about that than January 1, so it's a big reassessment time. Unfortunately, I had a couple deeply traumatic incidents around my birthday two years ago, so it's feeling pretty heavy, and I don't want to reassess, I don't want to celebrate my time on the planet - I just want to hide.

I would very much like to go back to having it be a week of pestering everyone I know and telling them how I appreciate having them in my life.

On a positive note, my broody chickens helped hatch more than a dozen guinea keets, and I've got my favorite chicken (Ada Lovelace) penned off from the rest of the flock to raise the babies until they're fledged. She is such a great mom - anytime I bring her treats, she checks to make sure it's safe then calls the babies over before she has any for herself ❤️

Also, the guineas are complete assholes, but we've seen <5 yellow jackets in the yard this year, so maybe they're worth the trouble! I think I would legitimately, no euphemisms, actually fucking lose it if I got swarmed again.

[–] corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hope youre able to find peace on your birthday, and give those chickens some love! They look and sound absolutely adorable Care-Comrade

[–] ReadFanon@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wasn't expecting to see more discussions of chickens here so soon.

Coincidentally, yesterday a different user here managed to provoke a big ol' rambling infodump that included stuff about keeping chickens.

Have you ever thought about establishing a black soldier fly larvae farm to feed your chickens? It's something that can be really simple and effective with minimal effort and virtually zero downsides. Black soldier fly larvae are very nutritious and they're unusually high in calcium, meaning that they're an ideal food to add into a chicken's diet.

[–] the_itsb@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes!! In fact, I have been toying with letting this become my next special interest. I looked at some of the pre-made bins you can get online and have been lightly pondering how I might make one and where I would dig a hole for it. I would need to order eggs too, because our winters are a little too cold for them.

🤩 I have to go find that infodump!!

[–] ReadFanon@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

You can find it in the comments of this post.

I looked at some of the pre-made bins you can get online and have been lightly pondering how I might make one and where I would dig a hole for it.

Honestly I'd advise against buying a purpose-designed bin.

You can have them in-ground if you like, but it's not a necessity.

BSF are attracted to rotting things and they're actually surprisingly common, even in areas where the winters get very cold. Obviously they aren't active when it gets to freezing temperatures but either they lay eggs that go dormant when the winter weather comes on or they recede during the winter months and then rapidly repopulate, moving from the warmer regions into the regions that have just recently defrosted.

If you have a purpose built worm farm, it's worth noting that BSF larvae will outcompete your worms so it can cause a conflict. There are ways to manage this, including physically separating them but as BSF do not tolerate wet environments, you can take advantage of this biological quirk and throw a lot of high moisture stuff into a worm farm or you can even flood it - the worms will manage but the BSF larvae won't.

Also worth mentioning that it seems as though BSF compost/frass is not nearly as rich as a fertiliser compared to what compost worms produce, and my hunch is that this is because BSF are extremely efficient so they don't leave many nutrients behind.

I would need to order eggs too, because our winters are a little too cold for them.

If it's cheap, go for it.

BSF have a remarkable sense of smell. I'm not sure about the science behind it but it's commonly held that BSF larvae emit pheromones that attract soldier flies because once you have a few then suddenly you will find a big influx of soldier flies. My hunch is that it's an evolutionary adaptation which signals to nearby soldier flies that the ideal conditions for BSF larvae have been discovered, so it's like a beacon signalling the soldier flies to converge, breed, and lay eggs right at that particular spot.

You could try taking advantage of this by buying some live BSF larvae from a local reptile specialist store if there's any around. It's not guaranteed to work but it might be a cheaper option.

In all honesty, there's probably BSF around that you don't notice because they aren't a nuisance like blowflies are and unless you know what you're looking for it's easy to assume that little flying insect that flitted past the corner of your field of vision was just a fly or maybe some sort of little wasp.

If you want to go hunting for them, I'd look at any local animal paddocks, especially if there are cows. You are almost certainly going to find BSF in those places.

If you want to lure them, there are a few things that the soldier flies love. Rotting meat is one, which is pretty off-putting for obvious reasons. They also love corn which has gone sour - you could get a jar and add some cornmeal, masa, unpopped popcorn kernels or whatever you have on hand then add enough water for it to soak and get soupy then leave it with the lid on to ripen for however long it takes before it starts smelling really sour. I'd say that you could do a very similar thing with dog or cat kibble, or you could mix corn and kibble together, and it should attract them while not smelling as offensive as last week's roadkill.

When you do open up the jar, I'd try to do it on a warmer day (say about 20°C or more - the hotter the better) with a light breeze. BSF are very strong fliers but if it's really windy they might have trouble finding the source of the enticing odours.

Honestly though, this is probably overkill. If you have a compost heap, especially one that is open air, you probably have some soldier flies lurking around looking for the right place to lay their eggs already.

My first wild sighting of BSF was in an urban environment where there was no agricultural land anywhere nearby. I had an in-ground compost bin with a lid that I would use to reduce my environmental footprint a little. Without any exaggeration, I would open the lid of the compost bin and I'd get soldier flies within seconds. Not swarms of them by any means but typically just one or a few.

If you have any compost or areas where there's a pile of animal shit, especially if it's a bit stinky, you could cut a small piece of corrugated cardboard, affix that to a stake or a stick and plant it so that the cardboard is directly above the pile. If there are any poles or posts near the pile you could also put cardboard strips on them.

It will only take a couple of minutes to put together with scraps that you have lying around - even if you don't manage to lure any BSF this way it's not like it would be any great loss to try your luck.

Up until fairly recently it was commonly held that BSF were too tricky to keep in a greenhouse or that it wasn't possible to do it. More recently I've seen some indoor commercial operations that indicate that it's practical to keep BSF in greenhouses.

My guess is that because the soldier fly itself only lives for like a few days max, people assumed that they were dying because of the greenhouse conditions rather than them dying because that's just what BSF do.

If I lived in a climate that had freezing winter temperatures and I had a greenhouse, I'd probably just try my hand at overwintering BSF in the greenhouse by moving a BSF farm into it. It's not like you'd have anything to lose by trying it out. If it worked out, you'd be able to have a steady stream of BSF larvae year-round which would be pretty neat. You'd just want to make sure that you allow a percentage of larvae to pupate to reach the adult stage to keep the egg supply going.

[–] the_itsb@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There's a perfect spot for a greenhouse against the south-facing side of my house, very close to the gutter drain. 🤩 I can combine my rain barrel wishes with my greenhouse wishes with my BSF wishes and my worm wishes.

I wish I could spend a day with you walking through my daily life and have you tell me all this stuff I wish I knew about all of it. You are amazing, and I am so grateful every time I get to soak up some of your knowledge. Thank you so much!

Please feel free to infodump about greenhouses and rain barrels too! 😂

[–] ReadFanon@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

There's a perfect spot for a greenhouse against the south-facing side of my house, very close to the gutter drain. 🤩 I can combine my rain barrel wishes with my greenhouse wishes with my BSF wishes and my worm wishes.

Oh neat!

Sounds like it would be the ideal place to build a water wall in your greenhouse to use as thermal mass/a thermal battery.

I wish I could spend a day with you walking through my daily life and have you tell me all this stuff I wish I knew about all of it. You are amazing, and I am so grateful every time I get to soak up some of your knowledge. Thank you so much!

That's so kind of you to say. I have a head filled with random information and it's nice to be able to put it to use in a way that makes a positive impact.

[–] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Still recovering from my gallbladder surgery

They gave me one days worth of baby percocet to deal with the pain, so I've just been taking edibles and playing Paper Mario on my switch

Gotta love how they expect you to deal with the removal of an organ with ibuprofen and acetaminophen

[–] PM_ME_YOUR_FOUCAULTS@hexbear.net 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's actually fucked how stingy they are with pain meds now

[–] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 7 points 1 year ago

It feels very much like a teacher canceling recess for everyone because they fucked something up

[–] corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net 5 points 1 year ago

I don't wanna start a "slippery slope" thing here but maybe some kratom would help?

Hope you feel better soon!

[–] allthetimesivedied@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I hate being alive.

[–] corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net 10 points 1 year ago

Well we're glad you are :hug:

[–] PM_ME_YOUR_FOUCAULTS@hexbear.net 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Went and reviewed the art the art for my new tattoo

It's going to be so dope when it's finally finished (it's going to take a while)

Plus I'm officially on vacation comfy-cool

[–] corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Enjoy the vacation! What's the tattoo gonna be of? Once I'm behind on bills, I can finish the touch ups on my Cthulhu sleeve!

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[–] BountifulEggnog@hexbear.net 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am actually doing fairly well, although the more I think about it the more I think I'm trans, so that's new and interesting. I'm sure everyone is shocked that a they/them is not cis.

[–] HelltakerHomosexual@hexbear.net 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

trying to unionize

uh i should probably do something about my fucking gender

[–] corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

Good luck unionizing!

[–] Zuzak@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

Good luck with your fucking gender!

[–] Mokey@hexbear.net 4 points 1 year ago

Sad grandma not doing well. I hate work. I miss my partner. I feel alone and isolated all the time. I relate to no one and i desperately want someone irl to reach out and care

[–] Comp4@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I finished Dungeon Meshi. I really enjoyed that show! Thanks to it and the Frieren anime, fantasy fans are eating good.

I'm feeling okay. Can't wait to be done with work this week.

[–] corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

Hell yeah! My partner and I finished Soul Eater last night, and we're back on One Piece now. Started the Thriller Bark arc, and im not sure who is more amusing - Brook or Chopper

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[–] 2Password2Remember@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

coming to the end of my long ass trip though south america and europe in two weeks. originally i'd planned on nine months but i miss my family and money is running out fast so six months will have to be good enough.

i'm doing well though. figured out pretty definitively that i don't want to get back with my ex and instead i want to get a remote job and then use that to get a visa to move to spain or italy, then buy a house outright (ie without a mortgage) as quick as possible. then once i've got a permanent residency (either through marriage or living long enough in the country) i should be able to start a family and only have to work part time because i wont be paying for housing. a debt-free life in my 30s is looking very possible, and that feels really good, even if there are a lot of steps and what-ifs between now and then.

also i'm now over 200 days without porn, which used to be a big problem for me. all things considered it's looking good

Death to America

[–] corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

Hell yeah! Death to America

[–] NoLeftLeftWhereILive@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A bit tired with studying and working full time at the same time. But doing better with it than ever before with my late arrived understanding of my neurotype.

Having conflicting feelings about the clients I have to try and help in my work when they bring forward fullblown nazi thinking, it also sometimes makes me feel a bit unsafe. Struggling a bit with that, but doing my best and hoping to nudge people towards a more material understanding of their position.

Glad that I have a decent paycheck finally and am now able to help my also neurodivergent kid pay their rent over the summer.

My little backyard garden tomatoes are looking amazing.

[–] arswaw@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm taking a trip to Northern Europe. Looking forward to visiting East Berlin.

[–] corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Fuck yeah! Anything in particular on the itinerary?

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[–] robot_dog_with_gun@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

wondering if decades of untreated depression can directly cause cptsd normal

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[–] Des@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

partner got a local job instead of the thing they were doing that you know about!

the loneliness was killing us both. plus side is it pays significantly more. so i might be able to exit the public work sphere finally to do some gendering stuff. my workplace feels increasingly hostile and riddled with "jailhouse politics" as the store managers recede away from actually managing and resources tighten up.

congrats on staying sober from alcohol and if you ever crave cat again just think of the gross heart-racing, anxiety-ridden comedown lol

only thing i ever flushed down the toliet

[–] corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

Thanks comrade! Glad to hear things are on the up and up for ya!

[–] EpicKebabEater@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Finally on the road to getting therapy. I did go to a psychologist, it just turns out my country does not have therapy in hospitals, just specific companies that hire psychologists to offer therapy. At least going to the psych at the hospital put me on track for a legal gender change.

I am actually using this summer well, making sure to read at least a little every day and working out consistently. Going to buy men's clothing when money isn't so tight(next month).

[–] LeylaLove@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm doing pretty good! Really need to move out of my ex's. You buying me a coffee for tomorrow was a nice pick me up. I got put back on zoloft (think I said that in the mutual aid post) and that has been really great. Makes me pretty much who I remember myself being without the depression, and I think it'll be easier not to drink now that I'm on it. 8 months is really cool, I'm glad you've been able to get there. Alcohol is truly the shittiest thing I've ever been addicted to. Stim cravings are super hard too though. Never got addicted to any stimulants, but still get random extremely strong cravings for them even after extremely long periods of sobriety from them. So I'm glad you don't really have a way to get it right now. I mean I like being totally broke some days because it helps me not drink.

That job is so cool. I'm really glad you're getting caught up on finances. It makes such a big difference in stress levels to start getting by again. I really love that for you.

meow-hug meow-hug

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[–] ashinadash@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I'm going off tramadol for however many days to see how bad the withdrawal is. (Please tell me about how I am going end up destitute and addicted) If it's more than slightly bad I'm off for good, and I'll have to accept being a completely busted corpse instead of a mostly busted corpse.

Also accounts are a meme, technology is a meme

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[–] HarryLime@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wish I felt as happy as the night the Celtics won. That sounds corny, but I was at a bar that night that was packed with fans, and there was this incredible feeling of shared happiness and community. Kind of veered between anxiety and sadness since then, with some relief with distractions.

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