midnight mumbles @shaliomar - Tumblr Blog

Part of the New Internet Grammar: using question marks not to denote questions, but upturns in voice, so that a tentative statement gets a question mark but a flatly delivered question doesn’t.

argumate

why would you do this

pervocracy

It just seems right?

tastefullyoffensive

(via LolitaDixxon / janefondaofficial)

meghanmclovin

You know what’s really hot? Not having to guess someone’s feelings or intentions

highlandcattleofsaarela

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYVnkTWjhnY/

saccharinescorpion

talking about Rosie The Riveter, fun fact: while the We Can Do It picture has become the most-well known depiction of her in modern times, it wasn’t really a famous image when it was made–in fact, it wasn’t even intended to be her

the most famous depiction of Rosie The Riveter during WWII was probably Norman Rockwell’s painting

note what she’s resting her foot on

septemberequinox

i fully support anti-fascist/anti-nazi butch lesbian rosie the riveter

saccharinescorpion

huh i sure do feel like reblogging this for no particular reason today

Softcup or DivaCup?

About five years ago I made the Great Switch and gave up tampons and pads forever. I purchased a DivaCup at my college’s feminist sustainable intersectional co-op coffeehouse (they sold it right there at the counter) and I’ve never looked back. Once I figured out how to use it, the DivaCup changed my life forever and I quickly started spreading the gospel.

After five years of using the DivaCup I am still 100% in love with it and that love has just been renewed after a recent week of finding myself without it.

The DivaCup

A short summary of why I love the DivaCup:

Forget your period! The number one thing that I love the most is that it lets me forget I even have a period for the ENTIRE DAY. I change it when I wake up, I change it when I go to sleep, and that’s that. No rushing to the bathroom to see if my tampon has leaked through, no waiting until I can change soggy pads, no gross feeling of blood exiting my body.

Sustainable and economical! As long as I’m not losing my DivaCups (like I did when I traveled two months ago…) just one will last me years! Say goodbye to wasting money on a box of tampons or pads every few months.

Comfort! It feels better. It really does. I truly hated the feeling of dragging a cotton wad out of my body (especially if it was a light day and the tampon was kind of dry) and the DivaCup gets rid of that feeling. Even if it’s the very beginning or end of my period, I can still use it without discomfort. And of course, no pads, which always felt like diapers to me.

Carefree! You can leave it in for a super long time (in emergencies I’ve definitely left it in longer than the recommended 12 hours) and not have images of Toxic Shock Syndrome running through your head.

Travel friendly! I’ve traveled a fair amount in the last five years to different countries and regions with different products and ideas about menstruation. Having the DivaCup means I never again have to worry about if I’ll be able to find tampons in whatever place I’ll be. Plus, it comes in a cute floral pouch that makes it discreet for carrying.

Another reason I like the DivaCup is that it has made me more comfortable with my body and my menstruation. It makes it very clear how much blood/uterine lining/etc that you’re losing and during what part of your period that happens. It makes me more aware of what is normal for my body and more comfortable with my anatomy as well.

Here are some things to be aware of with the DivaCup:

Cut that stem. It comes with a stem but I had to just cut the whole thing off because it poked me and was uncomfortable. Once I did that, it was perfect and I couldn’t feel it at all.

Learning curve. There’s a learning curve, so use it with a backup as you’re getting used to figuring out the best way for you to insert it and remove it.

Public bathrooms. It’s annoying and difficult to change if you’re in a public or shared bathroom where the sink is in a common area. I’ve done it both covertly and proudly, but it’s still kind of annoying to dump it, rinse it, and then go back into a stall to reinsert it.

I figured I would be using the DivaCup forever and never need to worry about that kind of thing again. However, I recently went on a short trip and forgot to bring my DivaCup! I had some emergency tampons, but after a day of that I immediately remembered how much I didn’t like them in the first place. I didn’t want to go buy a new DivaCup, so I made some calls to the local CVS locations and decided to try out the Softcup.

The Softcup: General

Softcup! The first design for a period product that promises mess-free period sex! Apparently Flex just bought Softcup so now Softcup might be called Flex soon. Either way, it’s a collection cup tampon alternative that claims to give you the option of mess-free sex.

Like the DivaCup, the Softcup is another type of menstrual product that catches the blood inside of you. However, the design and placement on insertion differ. The DivaCup is designed like a mini rounded silicone shot glass. On the other hand, the Softcup has a semi-rigid rim with a soft shallow plastic-like pouch to catch the blood.

The DivaCup sits just inside your vaginal canal, but the Softcup is inserted so that it sits right below the cervix and the rim is tucked behind the pubic bone. That means it is essentially out of the way of the vaginal canal. Please note that because it sits right under the cervix, the Softcup is not recommended for those who have an IUD. Because the cup part (more like an open pouch) is soft and it is tucked away behind the pubic bone, it leaves the vagina clear for penetrative activities (Softcup is NOT a contraceptive).

So I tried the Softcup for a few days and also happened to be visiting with my partner so I got to find out if this miracle product lived up to its claims.

First, general thoughts:

It’s pretty easy to insert once you realize that you’re supposed to angle it down rather than up like tampons and menstrual cups. Unlike menstrual cups where you have to figure out the right way to fold it, you just pinch the Softcup rim so that it is small enough to insert. I also found it easy to remove—you just hook your finger on the rim and it slides out.

You can’t feel it once it is inside of you, which is good.

It was about $12 at CVS (less with coupons and whatnot) for 14 12-hour disposable Softcups. Apparently they make a reusable kind, but honestly $12 for 7 full days of a menstrual product isn’t that enticing. My $30 DivaCup lasts me literally years so it’s already a better investment after a few cycles (depending on how many days your period lasts).

I noticed more leaking and had to consistently wear little panty liners throughout the whole time I wore the Softcup. Maybe I didn’t get the suction right when I inserted it? But it says that it should mold itself to my “unique internal shape”.

Disposal is weird. When I took it out I just don’t know what to do with it. It seems weird to just throw it into the trash as a cup full of blood but it doesn’t make sense to wash it out in the sink if I’m just going to throw it away? I tried wrapping it in toilet paper but it takes a lot of paper since it’s literally an open pouch of blood.

Honestly I wasn’t overly thrilled with it at this point. It seemed to work as well as a tampon with the comfort of the DivaCup but I was annoyed by the leakage. Of course, this was just the first time using it, so there’s that.

The Softcup: Sex?!

Now for The Test. My partner and I have a long distance relationship, so when we do get to see each other it is very annoying if I’m on my period. I figured this was the perfect time to try out the Softcup.

It was… fine. I know, not a ringing endorsement, but really it was fine. The main thing: it seems to work! I did, indeed, have generally mess-free sex on my period. My partner and I concluded that it didn’t feel that much different, except a bit drier than usual and maybe not as deep.

Later, we tried it out again but I ended up taking the Softcup out. My partner enjoyed it more without it and I agreed, though it wasn’t a huge drastic change. It just felt a little deeper and more lubricated.

I do have to say one thing though: if you have penetrative sex with the Softcup, I would suggest taking it out and reinserting it before going on with your life (like sleeping). I suppose the motion from “rigorous activities” can dislodge it from its suction fit. When I did NOT adjust it after having sex with the Softcup I woke up the next day with bloody underwear 😞

Final Thoughts

So. Final thoughts: Right now I am back at home and wearing my amazing DivaCup and it feels great. As in I don’t feel it at all and I also don’t have any leakage to worry about. The Softcup was a cool experience and I think I prefer it to tampons even with the leaking. Also, the leaking could just be due to me figuring out how to use them for the first time. It is also cool to have the option of mess-free sex.

However, when put up against the DivaCup, I gotta say that the DivaCup wins. I found the Softcup to be less reliable and more messy. Additionally, the price point on a disposable product really is not an incentive. Personally, I would probably keep this on hand only for those times when my period comes at an inopportune time and I wanted some worry-free intimate time with my partner.

But til then, DivaCup still rules my menstrual world <3

#Softcup #menstrual cup #tampon #menstruation #period products #DivaCup

allthingslinguistic

Linguistics Hanukkah Jokes

When do linguists attach multiple candles together into a single word? When they’re menorah-phemes

What sound is produced in the back of the throat by betting on the outcome of a wooden top spin? A drei-ttal stop

What might you have if an injury to the brain leaves you only able to process language related to potato pancakes? Latke’s Aphasia

Okay I don’t actually know that much about Hanukkah so I’m going to have to crowdsource the rest of this one…

allthingslinguistic

Figured out some new ones this year!

What tendencies describe how linguistic dreidels actually have nothing in common? Greenberg’s Nun-iversals

How can we explain every Germanic consonant rotation? Grimmel’s Law

What system can be used to transcribe half the symbols on a dreidel? IP-hey

What’s the best way of putting your gelt into a sentence? Shin-tax

earthstory

humanpersonface

I clicked sound expecting some tumblr shit where there’s some heavy metal playing or something, but instead it was the sounds of its little hooves clapping against the wet sand as a bird gently cried in the distance and that’s so great.

intotheopensea

THIS IS ME I AM IN THE PAPER HOLY SHIT

I made this thing. I mainly painted it in Bali from a picture I took on a walk (which I have probably already posted). It's been years since I've used watercolor (or really any kind of paint). I'm not super happy with the grass and the path, but I had never really painted watercolor clouds before and I think they came out pretty nice. (at Campuhan Ridge Walk, Ubud)

thelastmessagereceived

This is a text I saved from last year, before he died. We were taking a break for some stupid reason, over some stupid fight. I don’t remember what it was about. I don’t even care now. In the end, it doesn’t matter. That’s what death does.

Never take anything or anyone you love for granted.

allthingslinguistic

At Mefi, someone linked to this very interesting account of failure at a programming startup. But I want to focus on this: “The idea is brilliant: Natural Language Processing as an interface to interact with big Customer Relationship Management tools such as SAP.” I’m’a let you finish, but no, it’s not brilliant.

Some really good points from Zompist about things that programmers often miss when they try to process natural language without knowing how complex language really is, or assume that doing something in natural language automatically makes interfaces easier.

The whole post is worth a read, but here’s some highlights:

Posit, for a moment, that the UI works as intended: you can type

I want to edit the info about my contact Jenny Hei.

and the app gets ready to do just that. Awesome, right?

Yes, the first time. When the alternative is looking over an unfamiliar program to find the Contacts button… let’s not even talk about having to watch Youtube tutorials to learn how to use the program, as I’ve had to do with Blender… then just speaking an English sentence sounds very attractive.

The second time, that’s OK too. The tenth time, especially ten times in a row… you’re going to wonder if there’s a better way. The thousandth time, you’re going to curse the programmer and his offspring to the third generation. […]

It’s not that interfaces can’t get too arcane! […] But notice that we don’t edit by saying

HIGHLIGHT THE WORD “CAN”

THE NEXT ONE IN THE FILE PLEASE

REPLACE IT WITH THE WORD “CAN’T”

BOLDFACE IT

MOVE THE CURSOR TO THE END OF THE DOCUMENT

Who has time to type all that? Or say it, for that matter?

Would you want to drive your car that way? No, for the same reason you wouldn’t want to drive it with the WASD keys. Spoken language is just not very precise. (Do you think you could direct a robot on how to change lanes? First, how do you communicate exactly how far to turn the wheel? Second, you probably don’t know how yourself— only your cerebellum knows.)

And this is all assuming that you can program a computer to understand spoken commands. Lawrence’s team evidently didn’t realize that what they were asked to do was implement an AI, at a level that has never been done. […]

If a user agent was really smart enough to understand English, I’d expect it to be smart enough to fill in gaps. Do you need to specify “Contacts” if there is only one Jenny Hei in any name field? If there’s only one Jenny under Contacts, can I leave out “Hei”? Can I define my own categories and tags and use those? If I were talking to a human, I could say “I’m meeting Jenny on the 18th” and they’d break that down into steps: find the table Jenny is in, add a note about the meeting, find the calendar, add the appointment, set up an alarm for the 17th. If your app can’t do all this, you don’t have “natural language processing”, you have a verbose but limited special command language.