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u/TheReadingExplorer

▲ 68 r/montreal

Why is it so hard for people in Emergency Room waiting rooms to wear a mask when they’re actively coughing?

Yesterday I was at a downtown hospital emergency room waiting area, and something really stuck with me.

There were several people coughing in the waiting room. Only a few people were wearing masks.

One person in particular was coughing nonstop. At one point, she coughed so violently that visible mucus came out and landed near someone sitting in front of her. That’s when a serious argument started about why she wasn’t wearing a mask.

And it made me wonder:

Why does wearing a mask in this exact situation feel like such a difficult thing for some people?

An ER waiting room is not a normal public space. You’re surrounded by people who are sick, vulnerable, elderly, immunocompromised, or waiting for urgent care. It’s basically the highest-risk indoor environment you can be in.

I was thinking, what about people that go to libraries, coffee shops, restaurants, or other public places for hours and cough, sneeze non-stop etc.

From a public health standpoint, masks aren’t about fear or politics. They’re about source control, reducing the spread of respiratory droplets when someone coughs or sneezes.

And the evidence for that is actually very consistent:

- Masks reduce the spread of respiratory droplets at the source

- Surgical masks significantly reduce how far particles travel when you cough

- When used properly, masks lower transmission of respiratory infections in healthcare and community settings

For example:

Watch this video: High speed camera captures how different types of face masks work

So this isn’t really a “debate” in the moment. If you’re actively coughing in a crowded ER waiting room, wearing a mask is one of the simplest ways to reduce risk for everyone around you.

What surprises me is how this basic act, protecting the person sitting 2 feet away from you, has somehow become optional.

Genuinely curious how others see this.

u/TheReadingExplorer — 10 hours ago
▲ 499 r/mcgill+1 crossposts

TIL under MKUltra Subproject 68 at McGill's Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal, the CIA funded a "Sleep Room" where unwitting patients were comatose for 86 days. Helmets blasted looped phrases 500k times, while LSD and 150V electroshocks reduced them to a wiped, infantile state.

en.wikipedia.org
u/TheReadingExplorer — 1 day ago
🔥 Hot ▲ 11.5k r/montreal+1 crossposts

TIL during WWII, Britain hid its wealth 3 floors under Montreal's Sun Life building. The vault had microphone alarms, walls made of abandoned railway steel, and a door needing 2 blind, simultaneous codes. 120 secret workers sorted billions under strict oaths to keep the entire operation hidden.

acresofsnow.ca
u/TheReadingExplorer — 2 days ago
▲ 87 r/religion+1 crossposts

Narcissists tend to view God as a punishing figure who owes them special favors. Different aspects of narcissism correspond to specific, often self-serving, patterns of religious engagement. Narcissistic individuals tend to use religion as a tool for personal gain, status, or emotional comfort.

psypost.org
u/TheReadingExplorer — 2 days ago
▲ 33 r/worldnews

Shutting Down USAID Led to a Rise in Global Violence. Protests and riots increased by 10%, incidents of armed fighting rose by 6.9%, and battle-related fatalities grew 9.3%. The uptick in violence began almost immediately after the aid stopped and remained elevated for months.

time.com
u/TheReadingExplorer — 2 days ago
▲ 2 r/firefox

Firefox CPU usage rises to around 60% when I have 5 tabs open, each displaying a different Proton Mail account, while running Mozilla Firefox 150.0.3 for Mac

Firefox please fix.

reddit.com
u/TheReadingExplorer — 2 days ago
▲ 83 r/montreal

Why aren't radios banning 1-877-Kars4Kids all across Montreal etc?

Kars4Kids, known for the “1-877-Kars4Kids” jingle, was barred from airing its ads in California after Judge Gassia Apkarian ruled they violated false advertising and unfair competition laws. The court found the ads implied donations broadly helped needy children, while most funds actually support Oorah’s Orthodox Jewish programs for children, families, and some adults in New York, New Jersey, and Israel. The judge called the omission of this key information a “material omission” and ordered compliance changes.

https://www.app.com/story/news/local/jackson-lakewood/lakewood/2026/05/15/cars4kids-banned-advertising-in-california-ads-cited-1877-kars4kids-scandal/90108751007/

https://www.jta.org/2026/05/14/united-states/california-judge-says-kars4kids-misled-donors-by-omitting-orthodox-jewish-mission-from-ads

https://abc7.com/post/kars4kids-jingle-pulled-california-airwaves-orange-county-judge-false-advertising/19108826/

https://blog.charitywatch.org/costly-and-continuous-kars4kids-ads-disguise-charity39s-real-purpose/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID93O3o0Frg

u/TheReadingExplorer — 3 days ago
▲ 4 r/perplexity_ai

Perplexity Mac app (v26.19.0) — no way to quit + missing startup control feels like a serious UX problem

I downloaded the Perplexity Mac app (v26.19.0) and ran into something that honestly feels like a pretty big design issue: I can’t properly quit the app, and I also can’t control whether it launches at startup.

Right now:

  • There’s no clear “Quit” option in the menu bar
  • The app seems to stay running in the background with no obvious way to fully exit it
  • I can’t find any setting to disable “open at login / startup”
  • No obvious preference panel where these basic controls usually live on macOS

This might sound minor, but on macOS this actually matters a lot.

Why this is a problem (from a user perspective)

1. Users should always control background behavior
If an app runs in the background, it should be a deliberate choice. Otherwise it starts to feel like something is happening to your system instead of with your consent.

2. Startup control is a basic expectation on macOS
On macOS, almost every serious app gives users a simple toggle:

  • Launch at login: ON/OFF Not having this feels incomplete, especially for a productivity app.

3. “Can’t quit” creates distrust
Even if the app is lightweight, the inability to fully quit creates a perception problem:

  • Is it always running?
  • Is it consuming resources?
  • Is it collecting data in the background?

Even if none of that is happening, the lack of control alone is enough to make users uncomfortable.

4. Good UX is about predictability
Users shouldn’t have to hunt for system workarounds (Activity Monitor, force quit, login items in System Settings, etc.) just to control basic app behavior.

What would fix this immediately

  • Add a visible Quit Perplexity option in the menu bar
  • Add a simple Settings / Preferences window
  • Include a toggle:
    • “Launch at startup”
  • Optionally clarify background behavior:
    • “Keep running in menu bar” vs “Fully quit”

Final thought

This isn’t about bashing the app, Perplexity is genuinely useful. But these kinds of macOS fundamentals matter a lot for trust and polish.

Right now it feels less like a native Mac app and more like a cross-platform shell that hasn’t fully adapted to Mac expectations yet.

If Perplexity has intentionally chosen not to include these options, then I’ll have no choice but to remove the app and move somewhere else, and I hope others will at least consider doing the same. These kinds of controls shouldn’t be optional or “etched in stone” as a fixed experience for users, they should be standard.

reddit.com
u/TheReadingExplorer — 4 days ago
▲ 89 r/montreal

Le modèle financier des villes n’est plus soutenable. La crise des infrastructures et les responsabilités complexes engendrent des dilemmes financiers dans les hôtels de ville du Québec.

ici.radio-canada.ca
u/TheReadingExplorer — 7 days ago