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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 18th, 2023

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  • Quoting from the red cross FAQ:

    The waiting period is required due to these drugs interfering with viral replication and thus possibly altering the detectability of diagnostic and screening tests for HIV, including extending the window period prior to detectable infection or a delay in producing antibodies.

    The Red Cross and the FDA support individuals making responsible choices for their health and the broader health of our communities. The Red Cross and FDA are involved in ongoing research, data collection and assessment related to transfusion safety, including the use of HIV preventative medications, and will continue to seek opportunities that could potentially help lead to additional changes. The Red Cross does not encourage individuals to stop taking these medications in order to donate blood.


  • Just discovered these rule changes based on your comment. Unfortunately my partner and I still can’t donate blood (they’re on PREP, and I was in a vaccine trial that disqualifies me), but it’s cool that they’ve finally eliminated the worst of the queerphobia in the US.

    I experienced the reverse of you - as soon as I transitioned I was disqualified as a trans man who has sex with men, even if the sex was identical pre- and post-transition. These were the previous “updated” rules that were supposed to be less queerphobic, but obviously weren’t hitting the mark.



  • Loved this list and just added those measuring spoons to my house’s wish list. To the home automation front, for Home Assistant users I really like IKEA’s line of zigbee controllers. With HA and a cheap dongle you can control any smart device with them, not just IKEA stuff.

    • I have one of their speaker controllers hooked up to my partner’s Google smart speakers, so I can turn down the volume and play/pause without shouting at the voice assistant.
    • We have a five-button light controller on each of our nightstands so we can control our lamps and overhead lights (on/off, brightness, color) without getting out of bed. Great when my partner leaves their lamp on - I don’t have to reach over them to turn it off. (Now if only I could turn off their TikTok stream when they fall asleep watching it…)
    • Their $10-$12 light switches to control the lamps and overhead lights in all of our rooms. Tap once to turn everything on or off, double tap to turn on just the lamps for some gentler lighting.

    And this isn’t IKEA, but I need a colder bedroom to fall asleep, and my partner wakes up pretty early and wants it to be warm. I have a space heater connected to a smart outlet and a Bluetooth thermometer. At 4am it will start heating the room until we reach a comfortable temperature, idle until the temp drops, and turn itself completely off after I’m out of bed at 9am. If you need to buy the space heater or equipment to set up Home Assistant, this definitely breaks the $50 budget, but if you’ve already got those the thermometer and 15A rated smart plug will be maybe $30 total (cheaper if you can wait for longer shipping).



  • Adam Ragusea on YouTube might be the vibe you’re looking for. His video style varies a bit, but he often tries to show the whole cooking process (speeding up boring stuff like dicing a bunch of onions, but not cutting it out) because he thinks it gives a better idea of how much work the average home cook will actually need to do. His philosophy is to make food that’s approachable for amateurs and also discuss why he’s making the choices he’s making, because what works for him might not work for you. As far as ingredients go, I often see him spooning flour directly out of the bag while he cooks, but the video quality is still pretty good so it’s pleasant to watch.

    Alternatively, if you like comedy in your cooking shows, check out You Suck At Cooking. Also very unpretentious, but maybe not a great how-to channel.