Nefara
@Nefara@lemmy.world
- Comment on How do you think early humans survived without water bottles? Did they just live next to water sources all the time? 2 weeks ago:
Yes, humans used to live much closer to water sources. On a town level, if you didn’t have a creek or river nearby you just didn’t settle there. Available water was absolutely necessary for domestic animals, cooking, washing, and of course drinking. On a personal level, you would go in the morning to a central well or water source and gather your water you would need for the day. Depending on the household needs it might be multiple trips with heavy, full vessels. You would put the water in to household water vessels, like a basin for cleaning or a ewer for washing or your cook pot. If you were thirsty at home, you would take a dipper (basically a ladle) and take some water from the household supply.
Where did you get the impression we didn’t used to have water bottles? They weren’t made of plastic or metal but humans have carried water with them for probably as long as we’ve used tools. You can carry water in drinking horns, in clay pots, wooden buckets, in dried out animal bladders or leather skeins, and there’s literally a type of gourd called a “bottle gourd” which has been dried out and used as a personal water bottle for milennia across any region that can grow them. Don’t underestimate human ingenuity, we didn’t always have access to the same technology and materials but we have always been able to problem solve. - Comment on want to be a woman 5 weeks ago:
It’s pretty common to wish to be a woman and not have gender dysphoria. I’d bet something like half of all humans experience this.
- Comment on What is your favorite indie game? 1 month ago:
Banished, you can’t get more Indie than just one guy’s passion project.
I don’t know what it is about that game but it really struck a chord with me and I’ve come back to it over and over. It’s my favorite game to play when I’m sick and can’t do anything. It’s relaxing and peaceful and cozy while also being complex and ruthlessly challenging at the same time, so it’s like spinning plates. Seems easy when you get the hang of it but it can all come crashing down if you make a bad enough mistake. It’s spawned some copy cats, and I’ve tried them, but the original just gets me somehow.
- Comment on What's the point in getting married? 2 months ago:
This exactly. It’s an easily recognizable legal shortcut to a bunch of systems, rules and privileges that apply to the situation of two people wanting to live their lives together. Doesn’t have to cost much, if anything, and doesn’t have to have anything at all to do with religion or rituals. Can be just two people showing up at the town hall if you want it to be.
- Comment on OG Guild Wars sees an all-new Steam concurrency high during its anniversary celebration | Massively Overpowered 2 months ago:
It’s definitely not Guild Wars 1, but it does still have a “low level cap” in the way that it’s extremely easy to get to max level doing a variety of content, then the vast majority of content is done at that level. You probably reach level 80 within completing about 5%-10% of the total available content, so it’s just a number. The way you “advance” your character is through gear and cosmetics, and there’s an account leveling system called masteries you unlock at 80.
- Comment on OG Guild Wars sees an all-new Steam concurrency high during its anniversary celebration | Massively Overpowered 2 months ago:
As a long time fan and proud GWAMM, honestly it doesn’t need the “classic” treatment. It’s still online, and the last major content patches didn’t change anything significant enough to alter the gameplay in a way that would make people “miss the old days”. They added some end game content and some quality of life improvements and some tools that allowed players to more easily solo content, then left well enough alone. It still has a small core of regular players, and has the event schedule going on auto. I suppose they could do some graphical improvements but it’s still a very good game as it is
- Comment on Thought others might want to know too 🤷🏻♀️ 2 months ago:
Considering how famously hard to kill werewolves are, it would probably have to be a chocolate wrapped in silver and then eaten with the foil on to do any real harm.
- Comment on Are there any games you don't play as it was intended to be played? If so, what game and how? 2 months ago:
For a while, I played the MMO Guild Wars 2 as a music simulator. It has playable in game musical instruments that you can equip, and play with the number keys. A-G are represented as numbers 1-8 with 9 and 0 swapping an octave lower or higher. Killing monsters? Doing dungeons? Raids and world bosses? Nah I’m just chilling in a beautiful forested cliffside near a waterfall figuring out an arrangement for the Lord of the Rings theme.
- Comment on Zoomies Cat Racing Demo Gameplay 2 months ago:
Cute idea, but disappointed that it’s just a reskinned car racing game. I read the title and I imagine a “cat scale” racer, running around indoors having to jump sofa arms and climb cat towers or doing an obstacle course in someone’s yard, going under bushes and through kids forts etc. Just realizing now a cat parkour game like Mirror’s Edge would be good silly fun.
- Comment on Quick, what's your secret TP flipping tips? 4 months ago:
Whenever I’ve needed a big chunk of cash, I make a legendary and sell it. That won’t work for everyone but at least at the rate I go through money it sets me up for a long time and makes the effort worth it. Another option for slow and steady progress is flax farming. Park a bunch of alt characters at the circle in Mount Maelstrom with reaper’s sickles and then sell vials of linseed oil. For the effort and time it’s a good return.
- Comment on What MMORPG are you playing, and why? 6 months ago:
By Droknar’s hammer, what a savings!
- Comment on What MMORPG are you playing, and why? 6 months ago:
Been playing GW2 since beta, but haven’t been that active since I had my a baby. I’ve played thousands of hours, have over 40k AP, was even mildly famous in the community for a bit, but I just haven’t had the time for any games lately. It’s still my favorite though, I love the art, the music, the player centric design and how they really try to make a fun experience and not waste your time. I tried Star Trek Online because I heard they had screen writers from the shows writing some of the content, and had enough fun to max a couple of characters and upgrade a ship or two and then they raised the level cap on me and made it all obsolete. I quit. I have no patience to put up with that kind of crap. I’ve been spoiled by GW2’s design philosophy, and they’ve proved worthy of my trust and time. I recommend it to anyone looking for an MMO.
- Comment on What do you call your first cousin's child? 8 months ago:
Your grandmother’s sister is your grandaunt, and you use grand and great the same way you do for mother/father but with aunt/uncle.
So I think your fourth cousin twice removed was on the Thresher but someone may correct me.
- Comment on How do I get my clothes to smell like I just bought them at the store? 8 months ago:
They use some rather consumer unfriendly chemicals, like formaldehyde as others said, but also things like flame retardants, pest deterrents, anti molding agents etc to preserve the clothes if they’re stored improperly. You should ALWAYS wash new clothes before wearing them, even ignoring the possibility of others having tried them on. Maybe consider another scent for your clothes.
- Comment on What's a good gift for a 2-year old? 8 months ago:
Every kid is different, but if you’re not able to ask the parents then a safe bet is a duplo set. Bristle blocks are also great. My kid is currently 2 1/2 so these are what I know would be hits with him and his friends.
You could also get one of the following books:
Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site
Don’t Worry Little Crab The Little Blue Truck (it’s a whole series, the Halloween one would be appropriate) Bear Snores On or any other book in that series - Comment on People seem to really dislike Destiny 2. Why haven't they ended it yet? 9 months ago:
I appreciate the shout out to Guild Wars there. Aside from the opaque learning curve it’s one of the most player friendly live service games going.
- Comment on Is overwatch 2 really that bad? 9 months ago:
This is really well articulated and puts into words the reason I stopped playing. I was one of those non FPS players who really thrived on Sym and Moira and Mercy and I felt welcomed and appreciated when it first came out. I just had fun and that made me want to try to get better and kept me coming back. As they kept retooling things, especially with Sym 3.0, I felt they were deliberately pushing me and people like me out. Instead of having a fun, wild and playful team game for my friends to all have a good time in, it became just another FPS game.
- Comment on Good game soundtracks? 11 months ago:
I’m a sucker for a cello. When I’m testing new audio equipment I put on Austin Wintory’s soundtrack to Journey. So, so beautiful.
- Comment on Good game soundtracks? 11 months ago:
Stellaris has a fine soundtrack, but I found myself vibing way more playing it with FlyByNo’s soundtrack for Endless Space. Endless Space didn’t have the staying power with me that Stellaris did but that soundtrack is chef’s kiss .
- Comment on What is the actual point of a bra? 11 months ago:
Hmm I didn’t know that, thanks for the info. There’s probably a major factor of sample bias in that perception too, as Western women who wear bras and whose breasts naturally look like the African women’s wouldn’t be recognized as being similar, unless you’re intimate or sharing a home. It seems I fell for the propaganda, or “bra-paganda”, if you will.
- Comment on What is the actual point of a bra? 11 months ago:
Correct, in fact size, shape, perkiness, all of the cosmetic factors seem to have no correlation to milk production. The major factors seem to be age, genetics, stress and hormone levels.
- Comment on What is the actual point of a bra? 11 months ago:
It can cause some damage, in that the tissues inside the breast can lengthen and lose their firmness. It doesn’t damage function in any way but it could be considered premature aging. There’s that picture of the white woman with the African tribeswomen and they’re comparing their breasts, because the African women were so interested in how her breasts were a different shape than theirs. If you’ve seen pictures of people from cultures who don’t wear clothing that supports breasts, you can see the difference in shape that constantly fighting against gravity makes.
- Comment on What is the actual point of a bra? 11 months ago:
Breasts can get heavy, and the sensation of the gravity constantly pulling down on your skin and soft tissues can be very uncomfortable. If you get sweaty, moisture can get trapped underneath and cause rashes or fungal infections. Moving about, they can get in the way of your arm movements and if jumping or running the movement can be downright painful. Imagine piercing your ears with a heavy weight and then shaking your head. You would want to minimize their movement!
Historically, women have used woven cloth bandeaus, breast bands, belts, straps, stays, corsets, bralets, bodices and all sorts of things to try to minimize movement and support breast tissue. Bras are just the most common contemporary thing.
- Comment on Planning to propose in a few months, what should I look for in a good value engagement ring? 11 months ago:
Body chemistry is weird. There are people who tarnish silver by wearing it, people who are allergic to silver or even gold and break out in hives where it touches their skin but can wear something like titanium or surgical steel. My skin turns green or gray with some of my costume jewelry but sterling silver I wear consistently never tarnishes. It’s just a highly personalized thing that should really be up to the person who’s going to be wearing it.
- Comment on Planning to propose in a few months, what should I look for in a good value engagement ring? 11 months ago:
For the record, whether or not silver tarnishes when worn is a matter of body chemistry. Some people’s skin oils contain sulfur compounds and some don’t. Silver jewelry does scratch, but some people never need to polish their jewelry if it’s being worn regularly. It’s another reason to make buying a ring a collaboration.
- Comment on Planning to propose in a few months, what should I look for in a good value engagement ring? 11 months ago:
Also, she wants an expensive ring regardless of what she told you. She wants a giant rock on her finger when she shows it off…
Nope, no. No no. As a married woman with married friends not a single one of them wanted a ring any more expensive than $500 or so, the average was about $300. Big rocks get left in the jewelry box because they get caught on things. One of my friends has two engagement rings, one with the big rock and another she picked out with her now husband. Guess which one she wears? This is from a sample size of about 25 women I know personally with a 0% instance rate of what you describe. My own engagement ring was about $35 with shipping because I like sterling silver and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 year ago:
I think one of the biggest issues with BE attempting to follow in AC’s footsteps is that the factions were not distinct, and it felt extremely generic. BE’s factions were all similar, played similarly, and all had the same options for development and could all take the same evolutions. In AC, not only were the faction leaders ideologies revealed in quotes in the tech tree and secret projects, it was inescapable in the game mechanics. The reason I feel Stellaris is a closer sibling is that it managed to mimic something of how it felt to be an idealogical leader attempting to make sure your values and your goals for the future were the ones that were supreme. BE was “civ in space”.
- Comment on Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds announced! 1 year ago:
Arenanet has been notoriously oblivious when it comes to what players want from housing. Here’s hoping they listened and let the community create places they feel like home in.
- Comment on car insurance 1 year ago:
Not everybody has a choice or an option, there are so many places in the US where the place you live absolutely necessitates the use of a car to do literally anything related to living your life. Living in places with actual transit infrastructure that allow independence from cars are sometimes too expensive or have high COL’s
- Comment on This is $87 worth of shopping. Please feel free to use the space below to critique my purchases 1 year ago:
Processed food is usually more expensive per portion than the ingredients alone. The farther you get from how a food is manufactured the more expensive it gets. Plus, you’re eating all sorts of junk ingredients.
I had about ten years of experience with a very tight food budget to learn what was good value for effort/ingredients.
Good:
Flour, sugar, canned tomatoes, spices, frozen veggies, fresh produce
Bad:
Presliced or pre-grated cheeses, at least in my experience, are marked up 1.5x to 2x the cost per pound of a block. Another commenter said that wasn’t the case in their store, but check and see if that is true for you and if the cheeses you got are available in blocks. You can even go to a place with a deli counter and they will slice cheese for you for free, and you will get exactly how much you want with less waste (yes it’s an interaction with another human, it’ll be alright).
Uncrustables/swiss rolls/mac and cheese… it’s not for me to judge what someone chooses for an indulgence, maybe those things are what get you through your day, but you can definitely do better value wise. Mac and cheese from a box is cheaper than those individual cups, and homemade mac and cheese from scratch is even better and extremely easy if you have any kitchen experience. Uncrustables will always be more expensive than just making the sandwich yourself. The swiss rolls… well you know they’re a treat. In my opinion if you’re going to treat yourself to something unhealthy spend the extra dollar and get something luxurious.
Breads and muffins, again if you could learn how to makeover them yourself you might be impressed with the results. Bread can be a tricky balance of time, effort and cost of ingredients, and homemade fresh baked bread is incredible, but if you’re short on time there’s nothing wrong with buying it. Muffins are a quick bread though that you could make at home in under an hour in a mixing bowl and a cupcake pan, and then you could control exactly how much sugar went into them and have hot, fresh muffins. It’s worth making yourself at least once to see if it’s something you can add to your routine, you can get a cupcake pan for cheap from a thrift store if you don’t have one.
Sauces and dips, as other people have said, they are a lot simpler than you might think to make yourself. In my experience they are one of those things you should challenge yourself to make at least once or twice and see how much effort and time it takes you, and then re-evaluate the jarred/canned stuff. Maybe after making it you realize it is worth the extra dollar or so to save yourself the effort, but maybe you realize it’s not that hard and you’re able to save money in the long run and have more control over the quality and ingredients.
All this stuff is incremental, and any one thing isn’t going to magically fix food costs. Plus as the amount of time in your life to spend on meal prep fluctuates you might find it’s worth it to spend the extra money on convenience. However it’s important to at least get some experience with the alternatives so you understand what amount of time and effort you are buying by getting those processed foods. Good luck :)