u/MattCW1701

NSFL is more accurate, you've been warned.

A while back I started getting an itchy spot on the palm of my hand right at the ball of my pinky finger. I do some hobby metal and wood work so I just figured it was a burr or splinter that got embedded and it would work its way out. It hasn't, if anything, it's gotten worse, and at night, before bed, I had started noticing a smelly yellow crust around the cracked skin in that area. That's when I really started looking for causes. I couldn't pin anything down, until I was brushing my teeth one night, and saw yellow goop on my hand, right where I was holding the end of the brush. I looked hard at the toothbrush holder, and it all made sense. At the bottom of the plastic thing where I keep my brush, there was yellow gunk, right where the end of the brush touched it. My little lizard brain put two and two together and I realized that I've been introducing a fungus or mold or whatever it is, right onto my hand, and the back and forth motion from brushing was probably irritating the skin just enough to get it into the layers. This was two days ago. Since then, I've been washing my toothbrush with soap and water before using it, then washing my hands both before (as I usually did) and after brushing my teeth. I've also been more diligent about cleaning the holder. The cracked, irritated skin has started clearing right up, and it's not even itching now. Before anyone says anything, I keep a cover on my toothbrush regardless so the part that goes into my mouth has always been kept clean. I'm going to look into one of those racks where the end of the toothbrush doesn't even touch anything.

TL;DR: I wasn't cleaning my toothbrush holder well and ended up introducing an itchy fungus into the skin of my hand.

I've written a letter that I've decided I want to send to all members of the legislature, but I really don't want to spend nearly $200 to do it with a stamp from the post office. Aside from electronic means, are there any cheaper ways to do this? Is there a physical dropbox around the capitol for letters to legislative members?

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A last minute advertising campaign got me just enough guests with a fraction of a buffer. No cheats enabled or used.

I'm not sure if this is the right place, but it seems related. Are there any available systems to do visual identification like Merlin's photo id or the various camera bird feeders? I'm basically looking to do the same thing as BirdNet-Pi/Go except with a camera instead of just a microphone. Thank you!

I'm specifically thinking about a town like Helen, GA, but I'm sure the laws around incorporated jurisdictions vary greatly from place to place. Helen is basically a tourist town. There's an estimated 500 actual residents within the city limits, but the town sees an estimated 3 million visitors each year. Spread out evenly, that's 8,000 extra people each day, and it's not spread out evenly. While the town is currently growing slightly per the census, it's definitely becoming more and more tourist/commercial oriented. Hypothetically if its actual residents do start declining and eventually drop to 0, what then? This wouldn't be a typical abandoned town that usually just dies when the population drops to 0, but there wouldn't be anymore voting residents despite an otherwise thriving town.

No picture unfortunately so I'll do my best to describe. Today I confirmed a ground nest of something in my yard. Several weeks ago I got stung on the leg in my yard, then on my eyebrow on my porch as I went inside (~60ft walking distance, ~20ft straight line distance). I evidently swatted the one that got my eyebrow since I found a half-alive eastern yellow jacket on my floor later, that one I positively identified. I couldn't find someone to remove the nest so I borrowed a bee suit from a friend and today, around 6:45pm EDT, mowed the lawn over where I was stung. I never saw anything swarm and I made several passes. I got my gas string trimmer and was going along the fence line when I saw several very small yellow things buzzing around. They were all less than a quarter inch. I saw a depression in the ground where they seemed to be focused and I scalped the ground around it, there's definitely a hole there, and I saw some slightly larger yellow things crawl upward. Since they might have been yellow jackets (and the house next door has young kids), I did move away quickly and then hit the hole with with wasp spray.

But it puzzles me since they don't look or act like the Eastern Yellow Jacket. Every yellow jacket I've seen has been much larger, I first thought these were harmless sweat bees that got disturbed when I cut the very tall grass. The other main thing is they didn't swarm. I've seen videos of people that just get too close to a yellow jacket nest and they're all over the helpless person. I've seen videos of a lawn mower running over them and similar result. I was standing 2ft away at most and they seemed to ignore me even having just passed the string trimmer right over their hole. The sun was low, but it was still warm so I didn't think the nighttime lull in activity would have hit them yet. Can anyone provide some insight into this? Is there another colony-nesting insect in Georgia this could be? Thank you!

No picture unfortunately so I'll do my best to describe. Today I confirmed a ground nest of something in my yard. Several weeks ago I got stung on the leg in my yard, then on my eyebrow on my porch as I went inside (~60ft walking distance, ~20ft straight line distance). I evidently swatted the one that got my eyebrow since I found a half-alive eastern yellow jacket on my floor later, that one I positively identified. I couldn't find someone to remove the nest so I borrowed a bee suit from a friend and today, around 6:45pm EDT, mowed the lawn over where I was stung. I never saw anything swarm and I made several passes. I got my gas string trimmer and was going along the fence line when I saw several very small yellow things buzzing around. They were all less than a quarter inch. I saw a depression in the ground where they seemed to be focused and I scalped the ground around it, there's definitely a hole there, and I saw some slightly larger yellow things crawl upward. Since they might have been yellow jackets (and the house next door has young kids), I did move away quickly and then hit the hole with with wasp spray.

But it puzzles me since they don't look or act like the Eastern Yellow Jacket. Every yellow jacket I've seen has been much larger, I first thought these were harmless sweat bees that got disturbed when I cut the very tall grass. The other main thing is they didn't swarm. I've seen videos of people that just get too close to a yellow jacket nest and they're all over the helpless person. I've seen videos of a lawn mower running over them and similar result. I was standing 2ft away at most and they seemed to ignore me even having just passed the string trimmer right over their hole. The sun was low, but it was still warm so I didn't think the nighttime lull in activity would have hit them yet. Can anyone provide some insight into this? Is there another colony-nesting insect in Georgia this could be? Thank you!

It appears they updated My.Scouting.Org last night and I can't find where to download my SYT certificate. I know they updated it last night since I accessed it last night, but didn't have a printer handy, so I was going to do it today. So how do I get it through the new system?

My string trimmer died and I've bought a new one. The old one, and all my previous ones, use 40:1 fuel. I've always just bought the premixed fuel from my local hardware store since I'm residential and a can lasts me more than a cutting season. My new one uses 50:1 fuel but I still have plenty of the 40:1 left. I'm sure going the other direction would be an issue due to less lubrication, but is there any issue running the higher amount of oil?

In a Star Trek book I'm reading, the Romulans slam ships into different planets at 125c. Obviously, the physics of superluminal flight are beyond any kind of realistic discussion. So let's do something we do have the math for. If an object of say 10,000 tons slams into a planet at 0.9...c what would that practically look like? And yes, I fully realize that the more 9s you add between the decimal and c, the energy goes up incredibly exponentially. Are we talking Death Star-like total destruction? Or "just" revenge of the dinosaurs?

EDIT: I didn't include mass originally which is a pretty critical part of this. Post body updated.

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I have the central unit pictured here, installed in 2015. The metering device failed. My current HVAC company is recommending full replacement. They've recommended a Daikin DC4SE with a full purchase/installation estimate of ~$6000. Just replacing the metering device would be ~$4000. I can do 0% financing so it's a smaller immediate hit to me, but still wanted to see if this seemed like a reasonable price based on what I'd be getting and what it's replacing. Thank you!

Monorails seem to be doing well in China, Japan, and the southern hemisphere, but have found very limited use in Europe and Norhth America. Something I've turned over in my head about why it could be is the evacuation issue. Just about every other transit offers an acceptable, if not easy way of getting people off the vehicles, even disabled individuals. But monorails are much more challenging. Is this one of the major reasons transit authorities haven't adopted them?

So before the Gringotts break-in, the gang encounters Travers who greets Hermione as Bellatrix and Hermione being Hermione responds with "good morning." In the book, the initial interaction is different with Travers questioning her being outside Malfoy Manor and Hermione is able to give a suitably contemptuous response. But in the movie version, what would the expected response be? "hail voldy" or something? I truly cannot imagine what Bellatrix would actually say to a simple greeting like that. Any ideas?

I’m looking for advice from other Play Console developers on a confusing policy rejection.

My app is a U.S.-only park finder / park map. It helps users find nearby parks and amenities like playgrounds, restrooms, dog parks, sports courts, walking paths, etc. The core data source is OpenStreetMap. The app does not claim to be affiliated with any government agency, does not provide government services, and does not provide official rules, permits, closures, emergency notices, or hours.

The frustrating part is that this app has already been approved on Google Play several times with the same core purpose. A recent update only changed sharing behavior to use the OS-specific share sheet instead of copying a link. After that, Google rejected it under Misleading Claims / government information. But they aren't even pulling the app from the store, at least that would make sense. The latest update didn't change the core app at all.

I updated the store description with:

• A clear non-government affiliation disclaimer
• OpenStreetMap as the primary data source
• Language saying data may be incomplete/outdated
• Language saying users should check the responsible park operator for official information
• Example official U.S. park agency links like NPS, USFS, BLM, and USFWS

The appeal was still rejected, with Google saying the source link is not from an official government entity. That seems strange because the app is not presenting official government data; it is a general map/discovery app using OSM. By that logic, every OSM-based app could be treated as government-information apps whenever they show parks, schools, libraries, transit, etc.

I’m now adding an in-app “Data Sources & Disclaimer” screen with the same disclaimer and links, then submitting another build.

Has anyone dealt with this specific “government information” classification for a mapping/discovery app? Is there specific wording or in-app placement that got your app approved? Should I avoid terms like “public parks” entirely and just say “parks”?

Disclaimer: bulk of post was written by ChatGPT since I'm currently furious with Google and their "reviewers." Entire post was reviewed by me before posting and is completely accurate after minor modifications. I expected stuff like this from Apple, but not Google.

I received a call that came through as "spam risk" so I was already on edge. The person said "this is about your ADT service, please provide your zip code and verbal password." I absolutely balked at that and asked what the purpose of the call was. He just said "I cannot provide this information without your security passcode" I immediately told him off that I do not give out security information from being cold-called and that I would call ADT using the known number I have. I did, and found out that they were trying to call me as a followup from an issue from over two months ago. I informed the CSR that I called that cold-calling someone and asking for security information over the phone was absolutely unacceptable, that is cybersecurity 101, I literally take compliance courses every year at my job that emphasizes this exact scenario. If they had called and said "please find our number and call back" that would be one thing, or sent an email saying to call, but cold-calling and asking for the codes that give access to my house? Not a chance!

Second playthrough, I'm goofing around in Ch4 and occasionally when I go into Valentine the bank is able to be entered. There's a teller behind the "window" and lawman in the lobby. I can greet/antagonize both, but that's it. I saved and tried to rob the bank by shooting the security door with explosive ammo and planting dynamite, but nothing happened except getting mobbed by the law. Is there a particular point to this? Again, this is Ch4 after the gang's robbery of this bank in Ch3.

Normally steam engines only have a few cylinders and use complex valve gear systems to manage the valves. This is part of what makes steam locomotives fun. But instead of the typical arrangements, what about a system where there's a single high pressure steam line that goes through a throttle valve, then is distributed to multiple cylinders (like a v6 or v8), and the admission of steam into each cylinder is controlled by poppet valves off a camshaft like an ICE engine. Would this be feasible? Better or worse than conventional steam engine designs? I see a pro over an ICE engine as the cylinder has a power stroke on every other stroke. A con over a conventional steam engine is the cylinder only has a power stroke on every other stroke.

I recently launched a mobile app called Everyday Parks, and I thought this subreddit might be interested in the technical side of how I’m using OpenStreetMap data.

The app is commercial, but it is not meant to be a shallow OSM wrapper. The work is in building an information-rich interpretation layer over OSM data so users can search, filter, and understand parks by real-world needs. The basic user problem is simple: “I want to go to a park. Where should I go, and what can I actually do there?”

That turns into questions like:

• Is there a nearby public park?
• Does it have a playground, picnic tables, benches, sports fields, restrooms, etc?
• Are the paths paved, unpaved, mixed, or unclear?
• Are there steps or curb-related mobility issues mapped?

The app is US-only right now. OSM is the core data source, but the mobile app does not query OSM directly. I run a backend pipeline that turns OSM data into an app-specific park dataset.

The biggest architectural lesson so far is that map rendering and park search are separate systems.

For visual rendering, I use a vector tile pipeline and MapLibre in the app. That part is mostly about giving users a fast, readable map.

For park discovery, though, tiles are not enough. Vector tiles can draw parks, paths, roads, labels, and amenities, but they are not the right structure for answering product questions like “show me nearby parks with restrooms, playgrounds, dog parks, and paved paths.” For that, I import OSM data into PostGIS and build a separate search/detail layer.

At a high level, the backend flow looks like this:

1. Import OSM data using osm2pgsql flex
2. Normalize park objects and keep stable OSM identifiers
3. Handle nodes, ways, and relations explicitly
4. Build park geometries, centroids, and bounding boxes where possible
5. Identify park-like public features, primarily from park-related OSM tagging such as leisure=park
6. Extract relevant amenities, paths, sports features, dog parks, playgrounds, restrooms, parking, and water/play features
7. Associate those features to parks using spatial relationships such as containment, intersection, and sometimes proximity depending on the feature type
8. Classify raw OSM tags into app-level filter categories
9. Serve the resulting data through an API used by the mobile app
10. Render the map separately through the tile pipeline

One thing I had to account for early is OSM object variety. A park may be a way, a relation, or in some cases only a node. Ways and relations are much better for park boundaries and detail mapping, but ignoring nodes entirely would miss some real places in areas where mapping is less complete. So the app treats them differently, but does not simply discard them.

The amenity association layer is where a lot of the practical work happens. The app is not just showing green shapes on a map. It tries to answer visit-oriented questions by grouping relevant mapped features with parks.

Examples of raw OSM concepts that become user-facing app concepts:

• amenity=toilets becomes restrooms
• leisure=playground becomes playgrounds
• picnic-related features become picnic areas or picnic tables
• dog park tagging becomes dog parks
• sport/pitch/court tagging becomes sports filters
• parking-related features become parking indicators
• pool, splash pad, fishing, viewpoint, and water-related features become more specific visit filters where the tagging supports it

The path and mobility side has been especially interesting. OSM has a lot of useful detail, but it is not always present, and it is not always something normal users can interpret directly.

For the app, I classify path context into simpler categories such as:

• paved
• mixed or unknown
• unpaved
• steps
• curb-related warnings where available

That can involve tags like surface=*, highway=footway, highway=path, highway=steps, and curb-related tagging where present. The goal is not to claim perfect accessibility information. The goal is to present useful context when it exists and avoid overstating certainty when the mapped data is incomplete.

That has been one of the broader UX lessons: OSM-derived consumer apps need to communicate uncertainty. Coverage varies a lot. One city may have excellent park polygons but sparse amenity detail. Another may have playgrounds and sports courts mapped well but very little path surface data. Another may have paths mapped but not surfaces. The app has to present “this is what is known from the available map data,” not imply a complete inventory.

Another lesson is that product boundaries matter. A playground can be useful as a destination, but in this app it usually makes sense as a feature of a park. A sports pitch may be useful to show, but it does not necessarily mean the surrounding area should be treated as a general public park. A large park relation may contain amenities, paths, buildings, parking, and other features that all need to be interpreted differently. Those are product decisions built on top of OSM, not decisions OSM itself is necessarily trying to make.

Some implementation choices that have helped:

• Keep raw OSM identity available as long as possible
• Treat nodes, ways, and relations as different cases
• Use PostGIS for spatial joins and filtering rather than pushing that complexity into the mobile app
• Separate the tile/rendering pipeline from the park search/detail pipeline
• Build app-level amenity categories instead of exposing raw tags directly
• Cache API responses, but keep the import process repeatable so the dataset can refresh as OSM improves
• Design the UI around incomplete data instead of pretending coverage is uniform
• Preserve attribution and make it clear that OSM is the underlying data source

The commercial side is also worth being transparent about. Everyday Parks is intended to make money. The cost and effort are in the import pipeline, classification logic, spatial joins, caching, API design, mobile UI, map presentation, backend hosting, and ongoing maintenance.

I’m sharing this mainly as a technical case study for anyone thinking about building an app on top of OSM data. The main takeaway from this project is that OSM can be an excellent foundation, but a consumer app usually needs a separate interpretation layer between the raw map data and the user-facing experience.

For Everyday Parks, that layer includes park classification, amenity association, path and surface interpretation, spatial joins, caching, uncertainty handling, and UI decisions about how much detail to expose. The hard part is not putting OSM on a map. The hard part is turning rich, variable, community-mapped data into a focused experience that helps ordinary users make a practical decision.

I’m trying to be careful not to overstate what the data says, especially around amenities, path surfaces, and mobility-related details. In many cases, the right product behavior is not “this park definitely has X,” but “this is what is currently known from the mapped data.”

That has been the most interesting part of the project so far: treating OSM not just as a map, but as a rich data source whose data that can be extracted to be useful in a specific consumer workflow.