Some detergents say “septic safe” on the container. My folks bought the cheapest option which did not say one way or another, so I had to call the supplier, who then said it was septic safe. It’s a shame that in the 2020s we still don’t have transparency on what we buy.

I recall someone in #chemistry (on freenode) talking about measuring detergent. He could have been a nutter, but stressed the importance of measuring the right amount, saying get a scale and weigh it according to the manual.

The manual for one of my machines is shit.. says look at the program table for detergent amount - then it’s omitted from the table. But what was useful was the manual said what the numbers meant. The lines marked “15” and “25” are for 15cm³ and 25cm³. The brim is 40cm³ and the prewash cup is 5cm³. Those are volumes, not weight. So I calculated the weight I needed at one point and IIRC it turned out that 15g of powder came out to 15cm³ (lucky me!). I don’t recall how I figured out that I needed 15g.

Anyway, these are the variables that influence the amount of detergent to use:

• load size (some manuals make that a factor, but it’s unclear why because it’s always the same amount of water in the tub. The guy in #chemistry seemed to think it was important)
• water hardness
• program selected (I have ~6 or so programs plus a ½-load button, so effectively 12; some have a prewash cycle, some not)
• type of detergent

Some of the short programs imply that slow solving detergents (tablets) should be avoided.

I still have not figured out what the ½-load button really does. Manual just says press it if you have less than half a load to save on water and power. That’s it. WTF? So I asked the manufacturer and they repeated the same useless answer, but said fill only 1 rack. WTF.. which rack? I wanted to know what the ½-load button actually changed the program so I could use it wisely. How does the machine know which rack I chose? I think the “load only one rack” answer from the manufacturer is bullshit. I’ll probably sprawl out my partial loads. The manual should be telling people how much water is used with this setting. I have no idea how it saves on energy since the program choice dictates a fixed water temp. Maybe it just comes down to the fact that it has less water to heat. In any case, I should probably use less detergent on partial loads but the manual doesn’t give the calculation or even enough info to be able to calculate it.

Too much detergent → etching (and waste of detergent)
Too little detergent → repetition needed, which wastes water, energy, and detergent

If you don’t care about etching, then using too much is probably not a big deal.

For visibility, one common trick is to involve the news media. A small group of protesters converge and just stand around and chit chat. Someone calls the press. The press shows up with their cameras and the protesters snap into action.. chanting, shouting, flying flags. They make a show for the camera. The press wants to sensationalize, so they are onboard with this. The camera chooses a distance and angle that tries to make the protest look larger than it is, taking care to ensure that the frame cuts off some people so you don’t get the impression that you’re viewing the whole crowd. They film for a couple minutes or so, interview someone, and leave. As soon as they leave, the protesters go back to hanging out, or they disburse. Because it’s all about reaching the press; not about reaching a few bypassers.

Some protests are actually by hired people. Students are sometimes compensated to show up and act, for the camera. I assume they would agree with the cause but just need a little extra motivation to give up some of their time.

Politicians are likely wise to these tactics of making a protest look bigger than it is but I think it’s a good way to start, to reach the public who might later bring the crowd needed (which apparently is 3.5% of the population according to the article).

The last bullet is interesting for sure. From the article:

‘1960s civil-rights activists “did things like pick cities to protest where they knew the police would be maximally repressive”, he says.’

So it’s a game of being non-violent yourself (so you don’t encourage people to vote for the shitty party of law and order), but at the same time you need the police to act their worst, presumably to get more press. I wonder if it would be sensible to do non-destructive tasks that only appear destructive, to provoke cops. Like give protesters a spray can of something that the rain will remove (not paint, obviously).

I’m ideologically opposed to anything that prevents an adult from doing what they want to their own body.

A couple other comments seem to imply this a full-blown prohibition as well. To be clear, my interpretation is that this is not a total prohibition. From the article:

The government is set to introduce a historic new law to stop children who turn 14 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes in England, in a bid to create the first ‘smokefree generation’.

So IIUC, there is no possession or consumption offense, and anyone at any age can grow their own or import¹ it. They’re just making it inconvenient to acquire by controlling commerce. That inconvenience will certainly add to the cool factor of kids who become the resourceful hookup.

¹ I suppose they will be able to carry it into the country, but probably legit mail order shops will be controlled. Not sure.

On the other hand, a complete ban on smoking in public spaces could be helpful ? I’m not certain if it has been tried

IIRC, the smoking ban in restaurants and bars started in CA or NY, then swept around the world from there. Then NY supposedly banned smoking near outdoor bus stops or something. Not sure if that experiment spread.

breathability is the key criteria for clothing. Polyester and synthetic fabrics are nearly all terrible at this compared to natural fibres.

Natural fibers cannot be grouped together in this way because there is a huge variation.

This is where cotton fails and synthetic microfibers come out ahead. Cotton retains water, swells when wet, and suffocates as water tension spans the threads that are thickened by the swelling. Synthetic microfibers wick moisture away, and do not swell when wet, which gives excellent breathability. Cotton is fine as long as you don’t sweat. Or exceptionally, if it’s extremely hot in some windy situations the water retention can be a plus. I used to don cotton and hose myself down before getting on a motorcycle on a hot dry day. The evaporative cooling effect worked wonders with the high relative wind. But outside of that niche, such as sports, microfibers are king which is why sporting goods shops fetch high prices for high tech synthetics. As someone who sweats profusely more than normal, cotton is a non-starter in warm climates. Evaporation from soggy cotton simply cannot keep up with the rate that I add sweat. So a cotton t-shirt gets soaked in sweat and remains wet the whole workout session, and for days thereafter.

I used to wear tighty whities which made my gear sweat. Switched to Pategonia boxers and wow what a difference in breathability.

Wool and synthetics are similar w.r.t. comfort hence the term “smart wool”. But indeed natural wool is pricey and non-vegan.

HUGE amounts of clothes are being trashed, many of them new; never worn. I wish I kept the link around. There were several articles in the past few years showing massive piles of clothes along the coastline of some poverty-stricken countries, with all the dyes leeching into the ocean. Fast fashion is the culprit.

Probably what disgusts me the most are political campaign t-shirts. Surely it’s the worst instance of obsolescence by design in clothing. Andrew Yang claimed to be an environmentalist yet his campaign t-shirts were made of non-sustainable cotton. Attempts to spotlight that were censored by Reddit.

If it’s OK and just doesn’t fit I donate it.

All the charities collecting clothes in my area are fussy. They want no flaws, and they want clothes to be cleaned. Apparently there is no infrastructure for repairing them or even simply washing them. Neighbors don’t bother.. they just stuff a trash bag with clothes and put it out with other trash. Sometimes someone notices that and tears open the bag and rifles through it for stuff. I’ve moved into places where the previous tenant just left clothes and blankets behind. I dumped them in the clothing donation bins anyway, without washing. But it’s dicey.. I could just be adding to their burden and have no idea if the clothes and blankets get used.

i’m not sure what that means in terms of the fedi architecture. I have mod privs in a few communities and there is no merge button.

Any city that still hasn’t got their shit together & built a cycling infra in the next ~5-10 yrs should be ghost-towned. Those cities are not participating in society. Nonetheless, the burden of a car commute on the environment is shadowed by the cost of heating and cooling a house for a full day.

Good points.

So this leaves us comparing the inefficiency of fixed-angle panels to the inefficiency of transmission over a grid. IIUC, grid inefficiency is huge. So wouldn’t it be wise to upgrade the home kits to add sun tracking and a motor?

Bingo. Indeed you caught on to the problem with this rebate program.

The article fails to mention that retired cars worldwide go to Africa, where the average age of a car at the time of purchase is 21 years. So the clunkers continue to emit GHG and EV buyers falsely assume they’ve done something good for the planet. They only move the emissions from the US to Africa.

In that whole article, there is only ONE sentence that covers where the clunkers go:

“The clunkers go to a nonprofit that breaks them down to recycled scrap and pours the proceeds into scholarships to train car mechanics.”

Sounds encouraging, but it’s hard to be convinced that they are actually melting down the metals. I want direct 100% reassurance that they are doing the right thing. In fact, melting them down is only the right move if the frame is trash. If the frame and everything apart from the engine and transmission is good, the environmentally sound approach is to convert them to an EV (to thwart the purchase of a new EV). And for engines that are still good, the best move is to convert them to power generators which would only be used during power failures.

I’m skeptical because if they really are just melting the metals, I would think the revenue is only enough to cover the wages of the scrap workers.. not sure about scholarships. But say it’s true that there is spare money in the end. It should go to cycling infrastructure, not cars in any way.

#fuckCars

Likely, yeah, but I replied in an on-topic effort.

I mostly agree though, and oppose advertising in general. There’s nothing wrong with self-promotion of a business on the premises of the business, but apart from that most advertising forms are harmful. I would most certainly be in favor of overturning “Citizens United”, which gives corporations 1st amendment rights.

To be clear I think only the stem folds and the seat post lowers. The rest of the frame is rigid but small. I think he tried to keep the body roughly not much longer than a scooter so you can easily carry it up stairs. I guess the idea is that it’s small enough that it doesn’t need to be folded in a lot of situations.