I'd also like to point out that the underlying model may well be unsustainable in the way that it is offered at the start. Who benefits when a for-profit company operates at a loss? We, the customers, do. We get low prices and customer-friendly practices that are genuinely enjoyable. That business can't operate in that way indefinitely, as the early investors are not funding it as an act of charity.

Eventually, the bill comes due. The shareholders have funded the company on the premise that, after losing lots of money on customer acquisition, it can restructure and monetize those customers and recoup their investment, hopefully with a lucrative return when they decide to capitalize their holdings and find a new company with which to repeat the process.

There is absolutely no reason not to enjoy the perks of the early stage of the customer acquisition process; the shareholders are subsidizing your product at no cost to you. But we shouldn't be surprised when the shareholders stop subsidizing and start squeezing their formerly pampered customers in the hopes of getting their money back (and more, of course).

This doesn't excuse unethical or abusive practices, but it does mean that, even without them, the experience of those early days probably wasn't going to last forever.

[-] _different_username@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

As a preliminary test, you might look at a "sleep apnea adjustable mouthpiece" for sale online. I don't know how well these work, but my custom sleep apnea dental device has been amazing for me. It may be that the boil-and-bite varieties also work well. If so, you might get relief without having to interact with the healthcare system.

You might find more information here.

As for the sleep test, many factors are important, but you could learn a lot from monitoring your pulse oxygen while you sleep. A casual search turned up several very affordable fingertip pulse oximeters that connect via Bluetooth. This would let you create a record of your pulse oxygen levels while you sleep. If you are dropping below 92% while you sleep (link), then you might be sleeping poorly because of sleep apnea.

In fact, you could record your SPO2 levels with and without the sleep apnea device to rule its use in or out without spending a ton of money on doctors visits and the like.

I hope things get better for you.

[-] _different_username@lemmy.world 14 points 2 months ago

For anyone who feels this way after waking up from what should have been "enough" sleep, consider getting a home sleep test. Going from moderate sleep apnea to none was life-changing. If this is how you feel regularly, it doesn't necessarily have to be this way.

[-] _different_username@lemmy.world 16 points 2 months ago

Because crystallography and solid state chemistry is the foundation of every modern convenience?

But it's also beautiful. If they've never heard of Bravais-Friedel-Donnay-Harker, then you can't really blame them for not knowing.

[-] _different_username@lemmy.world 19 points 2 months ago

Is that the symbol for bleem?

[-] _different_username@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

Plenty of trees could be planted with $500 billion, but the timeframe to sequester the carbon the biosphere would be greatly extended. The reason that the author of the article discounts tree planting as a strategy for sequestration is that, as you may have noticed, trees release much of their carbon back into the biosphere in winter when they drop their leaves onto the ground. These leaves are then converted back into CO2 by the many fungi, bacteria, and detrivores on the forest floor.

As a result, there is more disruption caused by climate change. I think planting trees is an excellent idea, and that we should definitely do it, but it's not an atmospheric carbon mitigation strategy.

If you are interested in this, look into carbon sequestration rates of switchgrass and elephant grass.

[-] _different_username@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

This seems like a pretty clear cut case for air capture and carbon sequestration. At $22 trillion and $100 per tonne, you could amortize it over 40 years to drop the cost down to $500 billion per year, substantially less than the FY 2024 U.S. Department of Defense budget request. Expensive, but not impossibly or exorbitantly so.

In this light, it could be claimed that global warming is merely the cost of war in externalities. Rather, the peace dividend from world peace would easily pay for the remediation of anthropogenic carbon. Conversely, the funds that might be used to pay for mitigation of global warming will likely continue to be used to fund warfare until the countries of the world commit to disarm and cease hostilities.

The most effective way, then, to raise the funds needed to pay for decarbonization is to advocate for world peace and universal disarmament.

[-] _different_username@lemmy.world 13 points 3 months ago

Same here. I've come to the conclusion that, if I was unwilling to accept anyone that wasn't of the calibre of Carl Sagan to fill his shoes, I was probably going to wait a long time. I think Degrasse Tyson's advocacy for black scientists is admirable, as is his willingness to promote religious reconciliation. These weren't areas of focus for Sagan, but that's ok. They can be different people, even imperfect people, and maybe that's good.

[-] _different_username@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago

Yeah, if that's what Johnny Cash was talking about, then what was Trent Reznor talking about?

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_different_username

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