![smoldragon](https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/pictrs/image/Ex2V3xeRML.png?format=webp&thumbnail=64)
They/Them. Transmasc nerd. Also @smoldragon on blahaj.zone.
They included the wrong parts in the Build A Baby blue light special at K Mart.
Your Sweaters Are Garbage: The quality of knitwear has cratered. Even expensive sweaters have lost their hefty, lush glory.
The quality of knitwear has cratered. Even expensive sweaters have lost their hefty, lush glory.
![Your Sweaters Are Garbage](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/796d6099-1003-462b-8474-169433824843.png?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/8621726
> Archive link > > > As the sheer quantity of clothing available to the average American has grown over the past few decades, everything feels at least a little bit flimsier than it used to. > > > The most obvious indication of these changes is printed on a garment’s fiber-content tag. Knits used to be made entirely from natural fibers. These fibers usually came from shearing sheep, goats, alpacas, and other animals. Sometimes, plant-derived fibers such as cotton or linen were blended in. Now, according to Imran Islam, a textile-science professor and knit expert at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, the overwhelming majority of yarn used in mass-market knitwear is blended with some type of plastic. > > > Knits made with synthetic fiber are cheaper to produce. They can be spun up in astronomical quantities to meet the sudden whims of clothing manufacturers—there’s no waiting for whole flocks of sheep to get fluffy enough to hand shear. They also usually can be tossed in your washing machine with everything else. But by virtually every measure, synthetic fabrics are far inferior. They pill quickly, sometimes look fake, shed microplastics, and don’t perform as well as wool when worn. Sweaters are functional garments, not just fashionable ones. Wool keeps its wearer warm without steaming them like a baked potato wrapped in foil. Its fibers are hygroscopic and hydrophobic, which means they draw moisture to their center and leave the surface dry. A wool sweater can absorb a lot of water from the air around it before it feels wet or cold to the touch > > > A significant amount of polyamide or acrylic is now common in sweaters with four-digit price tags. A $3,200 Gucci “wool cardigan,” for example, is actually half polyamide when you read the fine print. Cheaper materials have crept into the fashion industry’s output gradually, as more and more customers have become inured to them. In the beginning, these changes were motivated primarily by the price pressures of fast fashion, Islam said: As low-end brands have created global networks that pump out extremely cheap, disposable clothing, more premium brands have attempted to keep up with the frenetic pace while still maximizing profits, which means cutting costs and cutting corners. Islam estimates that a pound of sheep’s wool as a raw material might cost from $1.50 to $2. A pound of cashmere might cost anywhere from $10 to $15. A pound of acrylic, meanwhile, can be had for less than $1. > > > This race to the bottom had been going on for years, but it accelerated considerably in 2005, Sofi Thanhauser, the author of Worn: A People’s History of Clothing, told me. That year was the end of the Multifiber Arrangement, a trade agreement that had for three decades capped imports of textile products and yarn into the United States, Canada, and the European Union from developing countries. Once Western retailers no longer had meaningful restrictions on where they could source their garments from, many of them went shopping for the cheapest inventory possible. > >
I call it my brain getting deep fried. I tend more towards losing words. One time I did spend five minutes wondering what Stede Bonnets first name was... by asking my friend "What is Stede's first name?" (It's Stede. Which I said in the moment.)
My doctor has me using Ajovy because he said that it tends to stick around longer in his patient’s systems. (Apparently some people will get migraines close to when they’re due for their next dose, which tracks with my experience using an injectable for chronic hives.) I’ve only taken the first dose as of a week ago so I can’t really report anything yet.
Monitors for Graphic Design/Best Monitor Specs
I’m a graphic designer who works from home and I have an ancient monitor with a 60 hz refresh rate. I’m pretty sure that’s not helping my migraines so I’m looking to get something with a higher refresh rate to help with the flicker. I don’t think an EyeCare monitor is a great pick for me because of my job, but ideally I’d love the ability to set custom brightness profiles so I can toggle between “working at vampire light levels” and “checking color fidelity”. My current monitor lets you set one custom profile.
From what I’m seeing online getting at least a 70 hz refresh rate can help with migraines. Are there any other specs I should pay attention to as I shop?
Transmasc but I would unironically buy those. I fucking love sour patch kids and they’d only be improved by having them in trans colors.
Tears of the Transmasc
![](https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/9d247179-5622-460b-9e62-fcedbe11f29c.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=128)
![](https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/9d247179-5622-460b-9e62-fcedbe11f29c.jpeg?format=webp)
Drawing of Link from Legend of Zelda in his Tears of the Kingdom tunic. Text: can my uterus not cramp i have he/him in bio.
Between lawful evil and neutral evil since mine is both the name of a character I like and a noun. I can multi-task.
Thanks for this! I personally find most of Hexbear annoying on a personal level, but that’s a problem I can personally solve with community blocking (and I mostly surf my subbed communities anyway). The way the original metathread devolved put them on thin fucking ice as far as federation is concerned. They seem to have a large proportion of people who are assholes for assholes sakes and haven’t learned that just because you believe you’re right about something doesn’t mean you have a pre-ordained right to be a fucking asshole. Or at least I’ve seen a lot of those folks, which has left a bad taste in my mouth.
I lost it in my backpack on the way home from school.
Sourdough Discard Biscuits
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Made these yesterday and they turned out perfect. This recipe is now my holy grail biscuit recipe. Recipe source: https://littlespoonfarm.com/sourdough-biscuits/
Glad to be back and thanks for your hard work!
Kept on having issues today but was finally able to log in. Glad to be back :)
Seconding tape! I have what’s considered to be a larger chest but mine are not very dense. I’ve noticed that helps me a lot with getting my chest to look right with trans tape. From what I’ve heard/seen online, tape is harder to use if you have denser chest tissue.
The other thing I do in hot weather is wear a moisture wicking under shirt under my binder. It helps a lot with general sweat and making sure things aren’t too swampy under there. I like the Uniqlo Airism shirts, but anything moisture wicking and thin will work great.
Hey I think you meant to post this to c/196. This is c/blahaj.
Making your own starter isn't hard! You just need flour, water, and a food scale. (I started with the cheap scale from Walmart.) Feed your starter equal parts flour and water for about four days. Easiest amount is 113g. Keep it at room temperature so it can start fermenting. Once it's bubbly, you can maintain it by keeping it in the fridge and feeding it once a week. I usually remove about half when I feed it and keep the discard for waffles.
Here's an article that goes into more depth: https://www.thekitchn.com/sourdough-beginners-guide-23004397
I’m honestly mad I could identify the artist from the thumbnail alone.
I'm transmasc, but I came out as enby at my previous job (a call center). This involved a new name and they/them pronouns. I felt safe doing it after conversations with the department head about trans stuff. I'd definitely try to get a vibe on the general company culture towards trans people before coming out. I'd also definitely try to get a pulse on how supportive your boss will be if there are any issues, especially if you're in a customer facing role.
Pros: all of my coworkers were chill with it, or if they had problems with it they kept it outside of work. I did have to spend a while correcting people on my name/pronouns, but that just comes with the territory. I think it took about two weeks to a month for the name/pronouns situation to settle.
Cons: The job I worked was the type where we had "frequent flyer" customers we'd support. No one was directly transphobic to my face. But a few of these customers would ask to speak to Deadname instead of my actual name... months after the switch. They never did this to my face. They always somehow managed to remember my name when talking to me. But when they got any of my coworkers on the line, they magically only remembered my deadname. The co-workers on my team were fantastic about forcing the customers to actually use my name. I talked to my boss about this, but unfortunately there really wasn't much we could do besides correcting them. The last incident of this was about six months after the name change. Not a problem I have anymore because I got laid off in the tech layoffs lmao.
They have at least one community named after a trans slur which is not great. Unfortunately I was on mlem when I saw it so I couldn’t report it.
Yeah for instance bottom surgery discussions usually get tagged NSFW in a lot of places because that's inherent to the subject matter.
I had this issue earlier but it seems to be working for me now.
Test
Resources for the Sidebar
I just updated the sidebar with some more formalized rules and a couple of resources. Right now its The Trevor Project and Trans Lifeline, as well as the Gender Dysphoria Bible and a list of where to get binders/packers. Anything else I should add?
I’m also considering making a Google doc or some sort of wiki so we’re not limited by the physical space available in the sidebar. Maybe a pinned post? I’d love suggestions on helpful resources that might be too much info for the sidebar or where to keep the extra resources.
The Blahaj Has Come
![](https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/pictrs/image/9swqw1BBHO.jpg?format=webp&thumbnail=128)
![](https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/pictrs/image/9swqw1BBHO.jpg?format=webp)
Text: It is shark week my dudes. Text is written in a yellow/orange gradient and is 3D Microsoft word art. Background is a trans flag. In front of it is a 3D model of Yakko from Animaniacs in a T-Pose. There are transparent flames and a transparent closeup of Yakko’s face.
Posting Languages should be fixed now
Just noticed that the language of this instance was set only to English, which means if you had undetermined selected as your profile language you couldn’t see/post here. Updated the language to undetermined and English. Let me know if there’s any issues!
FtM/Transmasc Community
I noticed there weren’t any FtM trans support communities on Lemmy so I created https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/c/ftm. This group is for anyone who falls under the transmasc umbrella, whether they’re FtM, nonbinary, genderqueer, or some other flavor.
Made an FtM Community
Noticed there wasn't a space for the guys so I made a community. Feel free to join at https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/c/ftm!