IJBMer Updates

Stormtroper

So I woke up out of breathe again, as it's occurred a couple times already, but this time I also became unable to easily swallow my own saliva (can't do it until I accumulate some of It on the back of my mouth). I don't feel my throat is blocked or anything.
I wonder what that means, at the very least it's annoying that right now it's not something I can do non-consciously.

lrdgck

I wonder what that means, at the very least it's annoying that right now it's not something I can do non-consciously.

For one, it means we're at that point in our lives when our health problems become an acceptable small talk topic alternative to the weather. Medically speaking though, I don't quite recognize the symptoms (which was perhaps inevitable). But waking up out of breath sounds like common enough that you should be able to come upon some easily available solution?

fourteenwings

an acceptable small talk topic

I'd chip in about my being somewhat younger but there was that time I sprained my shoulder in my sleep.

I'm not even under 25 anymore so there's no point to claiming 'youth' now.

glennmagusharvey

GMH's Guide to staying in a store overnight, based on watching various videos of people doing this:

0. Don't do it.

1. Scout out the location, including factors like proximity to cameras, restocking tendency, proximity to other locations, proximity to bathrooms, etc., ahead of time. Don't do the scouting on the fly.

2. Don't bring soft plastics, including any wrapped products, as they are loud. Don't bring canned soda, as they are loud. Have a plan to deal with all of the trash you will create.

3. Sleep. Seriously, just frickin' do whatever you can to fall asleep. This will make the time pass very quickly. This may make a boring stream, but I'm not in the business of how to make your videos clickbait. Sleeping also means you have less of a problem with needing to pee, poop, and fart. And you will also probably be quieter when you sleep, assuming you're not snoring.

4. Do not set off fireworks in enclosed spaces. Especially so if those spaces are barely larger than you are.

Stormtroper

How to manipulate chatbot AIs.

fourteenwings

I try not to eat as much sugar nowadays so I end up having a lot of thoughts about foods that have sugar in them.

For example, all the major (local-ish) dairy food brands around here suddenly decided that the one flavor of double cream yoghurt they needed to just really overdo was lemon cheesecake. Brand 1 and Brand 2 are actually indistinguishable aside from the size of their lemon zest pieces (which are in there for what reason exactly?).

However, Brand 3 made a super big move by replacing 70% of the sugar with sucralose. It's immediately noticeable, and possibly a crime (not really, also at least it's not xylitol). I guess Brand 3 has "ethics" that prevent them from putting that much sugar in one product (especially something as fatty as double cream yoghurt), but honestly they might as well have not made it at all.

glennmagusharvey

I'm surprised you'd think that but aybe it's just that I don't usually eat that much sweet stuff to begin with.

Also lemon cheesecake is at least a half-decent flavor.

Also, sidenote: plain yogurt cannot be substituted for sour cream.

glennmagusharvey

Incidents and injuries
Some instances of attempted spectacular special effects at gender reveals have caused injury, death, and even large-scale damage:

The 2017 Sawmill Fire in Arizona was caused by a gender reveal party that combined blue powder and Tannerite. Other dangerous stunts have involved fireworks and alligators.[15]
In 2018, "gender reveal burnouts", in which cars emit billowing clouds of pink or blue smoke, became a popular fad in Australia. The Queensland Police Service warns that this practice is dangerous, and that a number of attempted "burnouts" have resulted in flaming vehicles and arrests.[16]
In September 2019, a plane crashed in Turkey, Texas, when a low-flying crop duster was attempting to drop 350 gallons of colored water for a reveal. The pilot was not injured and the passenger received minor injuries.[17]
In October 2019, a woman was killed in Knoxville, Iowa, by flying shrapnel from the explosion of a homemade device meant to reveal her grandchild's gender. The device, made from a metal cylinder packed with gunpowder and colored baby powder, was intended to project a display vertically, but the tape covering its top caused it to instead explode in a manner similar to a pipe bomb.[18]
In September 2020, a gender reveal pyrotechnic device started the El Dorado Fire near Yucaipa, California, destroying homes, prompting evacuations, burning thousands of acres,[19][20] and causing the death of one firefighter.[21]
On February 21, 2021, the accidental explosion of an in-development gender reveal device in Liberty, New York, killed the father-to-be and injured his younger brother.[22][23]
On March 29, 2021, two people were killed when a plane crashed in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Mexico while carrying a trailing sign that read "It's a girl!"[24][25]
On April 20, 2021, 80 pounds of Tannerite were detonated during a gender reveal party near Kingston, New Hampshire, causing mild to moderate damage to buildings surrounding the radius of the explosion.[26]
On May 31, 2021, a gender reveal party near Fort McMurray, Alberta, burned half a hectare of forest after the shooting of an exploding target. The organizers were fined $600 under the province's Forest and Prairie Protection Act.[27]
On September 25, 2022, a couple in Mato Grosso, Brazil, dyed a waterfall blue as part of a gender reveal party. The 18-meter (59 ft) tall waterfall is located on the Queima-Pé River, the main source of fresh water for the city of Tangará da Serra.[28] Mato Grosso's environmental protection authority has charged them with a violation of federal law.[29]

what the fuck are you people doing

or perhaps, what the non-fuck are you people doing, because if only you just had a giant fucking orgy instead you might not have done stuff like causing forest fires

glennmagusharvey

[Smokey Bear voice] "Only you can not do gender reveal parties, you fucking idiots"

glennmagusharvey

okay that felt gratifying to post lol

fourteenwings

I don't know why but some "Epic" Gender Reveal stuff came into my recs a while ago and I was surprised to learn that apparently this is still a thing. I don't think it could escalate beyond the levels from 2017 but it's still surprising to learn people haven't stopped.

This just seems like a modern Mom Wars thing like the previous crazes of Sweet 16s and Toddlers in Tiaras but with the added bonus of not even having to share the spotlight with your as-of-yet-unborn child.

I'm surprised you'd think that but maybe it's just that I don't usually eat that much sweet stuff to begin with.

I don't mind the taste of sucralose and other sweeteners like sorbitol in certain products but they just don't go with the creamy texture of yoghurt.

glennmagusharvey

I don't think I have much opinion on artificial sweeteners designed not to be digestible, aside from that I just avoid them since I've read that it sorta confuses the body that there are these sugars coming in but the body can't use them.

High fructose corn syrup, though, I just regard as basically sugar by a different name. Sure, it's obviously not the same, but I don't go out of my way to avoid it any more than I just generally don't go gaga for sweets. (Not that I don't like them, of course I like sweet foods, but they're not the irresistible delights to me that they are for some folks.)

Stormtroper

I'm surprised you'd think that [not liking too much sugar]

Must've been all those moe anime avatars.
Also, apparently I'm physically unable to notice when my phone autocorrects me wrong.

fourteenwings

aside from that I just avoid them since I've read that it sorta confuses the body that there are these sugars coming in but the body can't use them

Well yeah I see BAP-gymbros warning everyone not to ever consume artificial sweeteners and I don't actively ever seek them out but I've happened upon them enough to form opinions on them. However, Donald Trump drinks Diet Coke (and that has aspertame which has the worst reputation of all artificial sweeteners) and he's still alive so iunno.

I know that xylitol has extremely quick laxative effects if you go over certain amounts.

Typically though I'll prefer processed cane sugar over whatever if I'm going to do sweets.

glennmagusharvey

well a lot of people have eaten products with artificial sweeteners, myself included so i doubt it's too acutely harmful, but if i ever need an excuse to not buy something here's one

Stormtroper

We hadn't had many blackouts lately, but just now there was one followed by the sky bright with colors in what I assume was an electrical substation blowing up.

glennmagusharvey

I've noticed that a certain transformer down the (major) street from our complex has visibly exhibited smoke (and noise, for that matter) like every other big rainstorm, corresponding to power outages for us (and a number of surrounding neighborhoods).

These days I basically expect there to be a power outage if there's a big rainstorm event.

Ironically, there wasn't much of an outage when Hurricane Ian was affecting us. I think the power went out only briefly. So maybe someone actually fixed something.

fourteenwings

bright with colors in what I assume was an electrical substation blowing up.

Talk about pretty colors/terrible outcomes.

lrdgck

Just so we have a full picture, I'm no stranger to power outages, but they've been a rare experience for me for quite a good while.

glennmagusharvey

There's a lot of things that are more spectacular when they explode, but a prerequisite to being spectacular via exploding is that it has to be exploding, which is generally a bad thing.

glennmagusharvey

Wario is not an accurate representation of the capabilities of a human body.

fourteenwings

14w: I wonder what I'll be talking about on IJBM today.
[10m later]
14w: So there were these dolls once, and this other time, and a third time, and also this other tangentially related doll line.

Stormtroper

I wonder what I should think about AI art, it kinda seems like learning to draw won't be worth it as a pursuit in the near future (at least not in the traditional way), though it's not like I was making progress at that, while AI is here to be used.
I hope it takes a long time before something similar happens to 3DCG.

lrdgck

Guys, you know those car fragrance stuff you hang on your back-view mirror, right? The kind where you can have "a brand new car" as a smell? Well, today I saw one of these with the smell of "woman". From the looks of it (I couldn't, like, just rip it open and take a whiff right there in the shop) it seemed to be some sort of generic floral aroma reminiscent of a women's perfume, but still. I can't quite make up my mind if that's more cringe-y or sad, depending on who I should expect to actually buy that stuff.

glennmagusharvey

¡Hoy es mi cumpleaños!

lrdgck

Did Glenn just have one of these moments like when you hit two keys at once and somehow your keyboard switches into some another language?

glennmagusharvey

no, no tuve tal momento.

I definitely no tuve.

glennmagusharvey

(I had Spanish class this morning.)

glennmagusharvey

also, happy halloween!

fourteenwings

Happy Halloween!/Happy Birthday GMH~! (though I'm kinda late)

I saw one of these with the smell of "woman"

Efficient Capitalism continues to reveal the sadness at the core of man's soul.