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No they haven't, and your likely source doesn't claim that either. Most of these funds have merely been appropriated (govspeak for "earmarked") and not yet spent, while most of the remainder has been donated in the form of weapons: meaning that the money went to the US defense industry and not...

Did you, by any chance, watch the movies "Matrix" and also "Avengers: Infinity War"? For an assessment of the chances that a supercomputer could recreate our current world with all its relations between cause and effect, I would recommend Daniel Dennett's seminal paper "Cognitive Wheels: The...

And what exactly might these different requirements be? I also understand you're saying that the United States would gladly be adopting the same policies as Norway, if only they could, yes? And you're simultaneously saying that the United States would never adopt the same policies as Norway...

At least it won't be organized crime.

I used those supplied by the radiologist. Better call beforehand, as I'm not sure whether every radiologist offers them.

Why do you think that the smaller population makes it hard to compare Norway to the US with respect to the policies I mentioned? Nah. I believe it's more likely that he simply forgot the word "Caucasians" but remembered that he shouldn't say "Aryans." I doubt that he'd have any such inhibitions...

I didn't have any spike or other unwanted outcomes from an MRI after using both Moldex SparkPlugs and earmuffs in combination. Do you have any reason to believe that this won't work for you?

If that were the case, Russia would have an even higher living standard. Norway has one of the highest standards of living in the world because it has a functioning community, and the wealth is shared among the citizens. Their income inequality is the lowest in the whole world. They have free...

No, it isn't. Her response was exactly what you can expect from nearly anyone in a high-pressure situation when put on the spot by a double bind question asked in bad faith. And being the guileless teenager that she was, she perfectly filled her assigned role by walking right into that trap...

Because she flubbed her answer? I don't know that. What I do know is this: When I was her age, if I had been assaulted with a microphone and a question that I didn't think about before, I would have bungled it worse than she did. Does that make me a typical MAGA supporter?

I'm afraid these might be the least of the problems for the US. For starters, the Wall Street Journal posted a good explainer about what Trump's tariffs will do. Note that the Wall Street Journal is anything but a Democrat-friendly publication.

And Americans won't even get a mess of pottage out of this. Only a mess.

It is infuriating that Putin can use this weapon to maim senior US officials by the busload and with total impunity. I don't mean to suggest anything, but I honestly struggle to understand how this is not an Article 5 Casus Foederis.

With November 5 in mind: "Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage." —H. L. Mencken

I humbly disagree with the word "only." This is a momentous decision in its own right. You don't need to wait for the presidential election to determine whether democracy will survive because... It's dead, Jim. Then again, look at the bright side. I do not expect Biden to take the hint or even...

One danger can be the uneven loudness of your headphones/speaker output. For instance, you may adjust your volume to understand what your communication partner says comfortably, but then you're put on hold and assaulted by an insanely loud elevator muzak. If such scenarios seem familiar or...

I'm not sure whether I'm answering a rhetorical question, but I'll try anyway: A baby's scream can be as loud as a jackhammer. While jackhammers apparently don't cause immediate problems in healthy users, they do instantly aggravate pre-existing damage. So it's really no surprise that a baby's...

...these lines of succession would make Kamala Harris POTUS. I'm not sure how many voters think this is an acceptable option. I have read opinions that she could be a Sarah Palin for the Democrats, i.e., a VP candidate that makes voters reject the POTUS candidate out of fear that he might not...

Johnson bowed his head in prayer while showering opened his eyes, and discovered a pair of tiny yet perfectly operable balls.

Heh. I just wanted to alert you to this article in the Washington Post. Then again, that article apparently is mainly a re-telling of the Insider's scoop. Speaking of paying -- the Washington Post wrote (in the article linked above): Congress passed and President Biden signed legislation...

I apologize. I intended to say "there may be a solution." I understand the problem. My Peltor X5As don't really work when I'm wearing my prescription glasses, because their temples produce a gap between skin and cushion which makes the Peltors pretty useless. However, you might want to try...

I'm not sure this is unavoidable. I'm wearing electronic earmuffs (these) outside our apartment and they work quite well. Things sound nearly exactly the same as with naked ears, but, say, a barking dog right next to you is not nearly as loud as it normally would be. They are designed to...

Unfortunately I will be able to participate in this thread: I tested positive for COVID-19 on December 25, which is an inconvenient time to require Paxlovid. I got my hands on it not before today. OT: If I had had to pay the full price for it, it would've been €59.95. I find it bewildering...

First day of Paxlovid. Bummer. After 3 years of wearing industrial-grade PPE in public, I caught it from a family member who didn't do that.

I would like to know what you think about the following statement: If microsuction could damage hearing, we would have more than 50 million with tinnitus. If you believe this is false, then: why? It is the exact same reasoning.

Not anymore. I have not experienced any of the specific scenarios you describe, but various days or evenings when I thought: "I barely hear any hissing. This feels normal right now, almost like it was before 2020. I may have my life back." Of course this hope never survived even one single...

You are distorting the facts when you imply that the Democrats were merely "not saving" McCarthy. They voted to remove him from his post, which is a quite different matter. Now, see if we can rephrase your point: "Why would they not assassinate a lying sack of shit [...]?" This would have the...

I'm not sure this is a laughing matter. For anyone not familiar with the most recent developments: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a resolution to remove Kevin McCarthy from his position as Speaker of the House, because: McCarthy committed the mortal sin to work with Democrats to avoid a...

Why idiots? You think that GOP voters don't actually want fascism?

"The Suicide Squad" (2021) with Margot Robbie, Idris Elba and John Cena. With 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it stands heads and shoulders above its failed 2016 predecessor "Suicide Squad" with Will Smith and Jared Leto. This 2021 film is an unapologetically ultra-violent slapstick...

In 1990 IIRC, I have seen, and briefly talked to, a rock star named John Searle.

Not "might." I think there is a wide consensus that sound power is not proportional to the perceived loudness, but varies with frequency (google "Fletcher-Munson"). IMO this would only be a nitpick if perceived loudness were equal to the risk of harm. Do you think that this is the case?

I am not sure you understood the point @Quintus tried to bring across. Look at this (click to enlarge): The blue graph shows the frequency analysis of white noise, the pink graph shows that of a pure sine tone. When measured in decibels, both are equally loud. But it is easy to see how the...

This may be a fallacy. I think you overlook indirect use. The average guy needs goods and services that are delivered with the help of those chips. Ergo, the average guy does need those chips. Whose life, I wonder? Certainly not mine.

Why not. Although it reminds me of the (apocryphally purportedly Einstein) quote that "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." That "same thing" would be an extinction event in this case. Life might start anew, but we already had five big ones (with life...

To be honest, I'm quite reluctant to publicly accuse anyone of misconduct that I cannot prove. Where I live, this would mean inviting a lawsuit for defamation that I would automatically lose. I would have less of a problem with publicly excoriating a doctor for, e.g., writing a prescription...

The future of AI: Google autocompleted "girl enc" into "girl encourages boyfriend to kill himself" after I browsed the Suicide thread here.

That's the problem right there. The ENTs get away with their perfunctory and vestigial diagnostics because patients have no point of reference, they don't know what an ENT is supposed to do for them. In Germany there are guidelines published by the German ENT Society. The recommended...

Oops. Sorry, I had a pavlovian reaction to the word sequence "Bose high quality speaker," with the assumption that you want high audio quality, while ignoring your requirements. My bad. I understand that you want speakers that are an all-in-one solution for video conferencing as well as home...

I have suffered from severe tinnitus since December 2020, but never experienced any hearing loss until recently. Then, in the last four months, I had three SSHL incidents, on 3 April, 27 June, and 16 July (today): My right ear went basically deaf, accompanied by a (slight) feeling of fullness...

I don't want to start a religious war here, but I'm not sure you are aware that Bose speakers have a somewhat mixed reputation for quality, to put it mildly. It would probably be harsh to say that "Bose high quality speaker" is an oxymoron, but in terms of quality for the price paid (aka "bang...

I insert a dummy plug (see photo) into my ANC headphones' audio input socket. This prevents the headphone from trying to establish a Bluetooth connection. Should work with your Bose QC whatevers too.

That made me quit as well. I wonder whether one should try the Japanese underground rock band Les Rallizes Dénudés instead. They sound basically the same but for some reason aren't quite as obnoxious.

Interesting. Instinctively (i.e. without ever having read these instructions), I tried basically the same method, just not with piano sounds but with frequency-matched sine tones. It didn't help but made my symptoms considerably worse: My wife's voice sounded screeching and distorted, other...

Please link peer reviewed, conclusive research that confirms your unproven assertion.

Interesting. Your link points to an article with a different headline: "Nato and EU sound alarm over risk of Ukraine weapons smuggling" Additionally, the very same news outlet writes today that: "Kyiv quells fears of weapons smuggling from Ukraine" A fear that, to me, would seem patently...

Was always too miserly to spend 100+ EUR on the GOT saga, but now found seasons 1-6 for 30-ish quid on Amazon.co.uk :D

I don't remember my last day of silence, if there ever was such a thing. I believe I have always had some kind of low background noise that was perceptible in very quiet environments. But I do remember my first day of pathological tinnitus, when I was wakened at 5:30 am by screeching noise.

Pure sine tones are to your ears what laser beams are to your eyes. Don't play with them unless you know exactly what you're doing.

Clever :D I'm not sure whether this is an invitation to clarify. The New Toy is a teleconverter, pictured inside the blue frame.

Brilliant idea. I'm sure they would be thrilled to have a 60-year-old weakling in their ranks who never came near any weapon in his whole life, let alone fired it. Yes it would. You ask my wife, she'll tell you. Off.

First experiments with a new toy :)

Sounds unlikely to me. I'm not a doctor, though. I had a Cipro course in the summer last year. The received wisdom seems to be that Cipro ear drops are not ototoxic unless the eardrum is ruptured, or has some other hole. My experience is consistent with that theory: The treatment didn't do...

I don't see @Damocles's comment as hostile, just exasperated. Likely coming from somebody who does not want to say "told ya so" when it's too late. BTW, there are many shades of grey between "living as a hermit" and "stop caring." Personally, I'm using Peltors to do the dishes, noise...

Oops. I was just about to alert you to that very article :oops:

There are solutions to that problem. What you want is a device called "limiter", a.k.a. "brickwall limiter" or "audio limiter". These things are well established and long known in recording studios. Limiters are available as standalone devices, or included in some "Hi-Fi" gear as mentioned by...

I'd think that's like going to the gym with a broken bone. Not a good idea, because the fracture will never heal as long as you do that.

America's problem is that Trump lost the election, but Biden didn't win either in any meaningful sense. And of course the voters blame Biden for not giving him a majority in the Senate that he can work with.