u/ForTheLoveOfBugs

Please forgive my ignorance, communications tech is not my forte. I’m not even sure what to start searching to figure out if what I’m looking for exists.

TL;DR, we’re having a lot more severe storm warnings lately, and have been spending some time in our basement storm room. When the power is still on, I can use wifi to access weather reporting and emergency contacts, but the power inevitably always goes out. Being underground and with no windows, I can’t get a cell signal, and even radio (AM, FM, and NOAA) is spotty. In other words, we’re cut off from the outside world and have no way of knowing when it’s safe to emerge.

I feel like someone has surely found a solution to this, I just have zero experience and don’t know where to start. Are there “extenders” for cellular data and radio waves like there are for wifi? Something I can just stick near a window or outside wall that will bounce a signal down the hallway to our storm room? The signal would only need to make it past a normal interior door and maybe an interior wall depending on placement.

TIA for any advice!

I have lots of Walstad aquariums, and often have waste water leftover from experimenting with different setups and waste recycling methods. This waste water is basically the result of plant material decaying in the water and being broken down by aquatic macro and microorganisms, but there is no visible material left once I siphon off the water.

I’m trying to figure out if this waste water has been processed sufficiently by the aquatic fauna to be used as a liquid fertilizer.

Since soil test kits require you to basically soak soil in water and then just test the water (which is more or less what my waste water is), would it work to see if this waste water has an adequate nutrient and pH balance for plants? If it matters, I have a Luster Leaf Rapitest on hand.

Yes, I’m aware water test kits exist, I’m just curious if this method will also work for my purposes since I already have the soil test supplies leftover.

A family member has arthritis, and carefully picking up and dropping the correct number of pills into their little pill boxes is very hard for them. They mentioned once seeing a device that’s basically a tube of some sort with a plunger, and depressing the plunger dispenses one pill at a time. They think this device would be a huge help.

I tried every search term I could think of and haven’t been able to find anything like that. I’ve seen the pill counter trays that basically just streamline the process of sliding pills around to count them, but counting isn’t the issue. Then there are the “pill poppers” for dogs that are literally just a huge syringe you shove down their throat, but that doesn’t control how many pills come out at once.

Anyone know what this device is called and if it’s available to the public? TIA!

ETA: Not looking for alternatives like larger boxes or pre-packaged pills from the pharmacy. There’s a reason behind the madness, and I’m really just looking for this specific type of tool, or something that accomplishes the same function.

TL;DR: Anyone know of a compilation of Matt narrating calm/soothing scenes, or even just an episode that has a lot of that kind of exposition? Asking for a friend with insomnia. 🤣

Background: I have a friend who has pretty bad treatment-resistant insomnia. They keep asking me to show them Critical Role, but every time I turn it on, they immediately fall asleep. They genuinely want to get into the show and keep asking me to put it on, but where all manner of white noise, sleep music, meditation, and other sleep techniques have failed, Matt’s voice inexplicably soothes the savage insomnia beast in mere minutes, no matter what exciting or interesting stuff is going on in the campaign. It truly defies science, but I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Since they can’t watch CR themselves, I’ve been looking for a YouTube compilation of soothing Matt voice, or individual episodes that are pretty low-key, so I can put together a sleepy-time playlist for them. I’ve tried every search term I could think of and have only been able to find sound effect compilations and random unrelated CR clips.

If anyone has a favorite Matt Mercer sleepy-time video, I’d love to see it!

Long story short, I’m disabled, and due to the extremely dynamic nature of said disability, I can’t hold down a regular schedule because my body could just decide to break at any moment. That said, I have plenty of “spare” time to do online tasks, just not on a set schedule.

Yes, I googled transcription and editing jobs, but I like to get opinions from real humans about their personal experiences in the field, and most of the posts I’ve found about transcription jobs are years old, many even before the AI boom.

Qualifications: MA in biology, BA in psychology, and a good amount of medical knowledge (as a volunteer patient advocate, no actual degree). I’m excellent at editing, proofreading, grammar, etc. I’ve tried a few freelance sites for editing and such, but you can’t get any work without a substantial history of experience, and while I know I’m overqualified, all my experience happened in grad school where my peer editing is protected by student privacy rules.

1. What kinds of medical or scientific transcription/editing jobs are out there that actually pay something? (I’m not greedy, I’d just like to build up some emergency cash. Also open to non-science transcription/editing, just figured the specialty would pay more.)
2. What kind of certification do I need, if any? (Besides the little skill tests on LinkedIn)
3. Do most transcription jobs let you work *literally whenever* and just earn commission instead of pinning you to a set schedule? Does this change with more specialized transcription jobs?
4. Does anyone have experience just putting themselves out there and proposing their skills to doctors’ offices, labs, etc.?

TIA for any and all suggestions. This is kind of my last option.

I know there are apps for knitting and crocheting that help you keep track of what line you’re on in a pattern/set of directions, but is there anything like that for friendship bracelet patterns? I have ADHD and manually keeping track is really difficult for me, and it keeps me from attempting more complex patterns that I know I can physically do, but just can’t keep track of mentally. TIA for any tips!