Thanks for reminding me. I now have subscriptions to Wirecutter and some things on Patreon/Substack but wish there were a better way to incentivize good content than subscribing to entire news sites, especially when 99% of articles on many news sites are vacuous.
This is true, but I’ll expand the discussion to somewhere more niche than I normally see it go: consider getting a tool like ublock origin and using custom filters to remove distractions.
When I see other people use the internet, it boggles me how many parts of web pages are useless to them but allowed to stay for no reason. I take out things like cookie warnings I’ve seen countless times, the very distracting sidebar on StackOverflow[1], or anything else that has a risk of dragging me off course.
I mention this because I notice people usually associate these programs only with ads, when a philosophically anti-adblock person could get a hell of a lot of benefit out of removing annoyances instead, while never doing anything they think would hurt the webpage’s wallet.
There’s rarely a time I don’t want the answer to some pedantic and obtuse question about math, tabletop games, or whatever else, but the time is equally rare that I am on SO and am not, for example, trying to solve a bug or something.
Many people don’t realize how effective migraine treatments are. High-dose aspirin, tryptans, and preventers all work really well, and can often reduce migraine severity by 50-90%.
Also, most don’t yet realise how effective semaglutide is for weight loss, due to the fact that weight loss drugs have generally been much less effective, or had much worse side-effects previously.
Balding treatments (finasteride and topical minoxodil) are also pretty good for a lot of people.
Many people don’t even realize that they have migraines, and treat their recurring headaches with NSAIDs or acetaminophen, instead of the vastly more effective triptans. And as you say, few are aware of the new and miraculous CGRP inhibitor class of migraine preventative drugs.
Permethrin-treated clothing is effective against bugs like ticks and mosquitoes, although for the flying kind, you probably still want some DEET for any exposed skin. Don’t bother with DEET-treated bracelets (yes, that’s a thing); the short range of effectiveness means they will only protect your wrists.
There are lots of bug repellents. Being from a dry climate I have little experience with this, but Wirecutter recommends picaridin-based repellents, and I expect a tiny bottle of 100% DEET to be practical enough to carry around everywhere.
While “100%” DEET products were available last I checked, more than 50% does not improve duration or effectiveness. It’s also a solvent that can dissolve (or permanently soften) plastics, as well as synthetic fibers used for clothing. And it makes sunscreen much less effective. The recommendation there is to allow the skin to absorb the sunscreen for 30 minutes before applying any DEET, so combination products are probably a bad idea.
And how do you apply 50% of the 100% formula? Apply it to your left side only? I suspect it would be difficult to limit the dose and still cover all your exposed skin; it can only be spread so thin before it’s absorbed. Beyond a certain concentration, you would have to dilute it first.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET#Concentrations claims that Canada banned concentrations over 30% since 2002 due to health risks. More than 30% doesn’t seem to be any more effective, but does last longer, at least up to about 50%, which might still be worth the risk in areas with malaria. More than that doesn’t seem to help, but is more likely to have side effects or damage your clothes.
Studies suggest that DEET efficacy tends to peak at a concentration of ≈50%, and that concentrations above that do not offer a marked increase in protection time against mosquitoes.
Unfortunately, it does not cite which studies, but it’s a good reason to assume they exist, if we want to go digging.
Other things that are optional:
sunburn
bug bites
lactose intolerance
running out of phone or laptop battery
ads
paywalls
Ads and paywalls are only optional if you’re ok freeloading.
(I can see arguments for either blocking ads or bypassing paywalls, but not both with the same views.)
Thanks for reminding me. I now have subscriptions to Wirecutter and some things on Patreon/Substack but wish there were a better way to incentivize good content than subscribing to entire news sites, especially when 99% of articles on many news sites are vacuous.
This is true, but I’ll expand the discussion to somewhere more niche than I normally see it go: consider getting a tool like ublock origin and using custom filters to remove distractions.
When I see other people use the internet, it boggles me how many parts of web pages are useless to them but allowed to stay for no reason. I take out things like cookie warnings I’ve seen countless times, the very distracting sidebar on StackOverflow[1], or anything else that has a risk of dragging me off course.
I mention this because I notice people usually associate these programs only with ads, when a philosophically anti-adblock person could get a hell of a lot of benefit out of removing annoyances instead, while never doing anything they think would hurt the webpage’s wallet.
There’s rarely a time I don’t want the answer to some pedantic and obtuse question about math, tabletop games, or whatever else, but the time is equally rare that I am on SO and am not, for example, trying to solve a bug or something.
Many people don’t realize how effective migraine treatments are. High-dose aspirin, tryptans, and preventers all work really well, and can often reduce migraine severity by 50-90%.
Also, most don’t yet realise how effective semaglutide is for weight loss, due to the fact that weight loss drugs have generally been much less effective, or had much worse side-effects previously.
Balding treatments (finasteride and topical minoxodil) are also pretty good for a lot of people.
Many people don’t even realize that they have migraines, and treat their recurring headaches with NSAIDs or acetaminophen, instead of the vastly more effective triptans. And as you say, few are aware of the new and miraculous CGRP inhibitor class of migraine preventative drugs.
Bypass paywalls doesn’t work on the mobile browser.
How do you avoid bug bites?
Permethrin-treated clothing is effective against bugs like ticks and mosquitoes, although for the flying kind, you probably still want some DEET for any exposed skin. Don’t bother with DEET-treated bracelets (yes, that’s a thing); the short range of effectiveness means they will only protect your wrists.
There are lots of bug repellents. Being from a dry climate I have little experience with this, but Wirecutter recommends picaridin-based repellents, and I expect a tiny bottle of 100% DEET to be practical enough to carry around everywhere.
While “100%” DEET products were available last I checked, more than 50% does not improve duration or effectiveness. It’s also a solvent that can dissolve (or permanently soften) plastics, as well as synthetic fibers used for clothing. And it makes sunscreen much less effective. The recommendation there is to allow the skin to absorb the sunscreen for 30 minutes before applying any DEET, so combination products are probably a bad idea.
Why would applying half the amount of 100% DEET be worse than the full amount of 50% DEET?
And how do you apply 50% of the 100% formula? Apply it to your left side only? I suspect it would be difficult to limit the dose and still cover all your exposed skin; it can only be spread so thin before it’s absorbed. Beyond a certain concentration, you would have to dilute it first.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET#Concentrations claims that Canada banned concentrations over 30% since 2002 due to health risks. More than 30% doesn’t seem to be any more effective, but does last longer, at least up to about 50%, which might still be worth the risk in areas with malaria. More than that doesn’t seem to help, but is more likely to have side effects or damage your clothes.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2024/environmental-hazards-risks/mosquitoes-ticks-and-other-arthropods (a reasonably reputable government source) claims
Unfortunately, it does not cite which studies, but it’s a good reason to assume they exist, if we want to go digging.