Alabama IVF ruling: What does it mean for fertility patients? - "A ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos are considered children, and that a person could be held liable for accidentally destroying them, has opened up a new front in the US battle over reproductive medicine. The decision has thrown the future of IVF treatments in the state into doubt, with a host of healthcare providers in the state suspending the service."
'Such a good heart': Dessert stall in Bukit Merah gives out free food for Muslims to break fast, earning praise - "TikTok user Shallummaswandi, who goes by Shallum, shared a clip of him visiting Jin Jin Dessert stall at ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre and having a chat with a staff member there. In an unplanned interview with one of the dessert stall's bosses, Shallum learned that Jin Jin Dessert has been actively giving out free food to the Muslim community during the month of Ramadan. And apparently, it's a tradition that has been going on for a few years. Jin Jin Dessert's boss, who wasn't named in the clip, shared that the stall has been providing free desserts to mosques around the area "for the past five to six years". During Ramadan, 100 packets of desserts will be prepared every Friday for Muslims to break their fast. On Saturdays, at about 5pm, Jin Jin Dessert will set aside desserts by the side of the stall for Muslim patrons to pick up at no charge. "For any Muslims, feel free to take," he added."
What would happen if someone gave free fish to Christians on Fridays, or during Lent?
Thousands of older drivers opt for restrictions on how far they can drive rather than do on-road driving test - "Thousands of elderly people in NSW are dodging on-road driving tests by opting for a modified licence that restricts the distances they can drive. In NSW, drivers must undergo annual medical tests once they turn 75 to maintain their licence. Once they turn 85, they must also complete a practical driving test every two years. But older drivers can skip the on-road assessment if they volunteer for a conditional licence, which limits how far they can drive and may stop them driving at night. Judy Kelly, 87, took up this option, labelling the requirement for an on-road assessment "ageist"."
Meme - "Sunday supermarket shopping in Europe
Green: Open
Red: Closed Norway, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, most of Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Montenegro*
Blue: Open 6 hours *France, England, Northern Ireland*
Meme - Frodo Baggins: "Bilbos' gone? this is the worst day of my life"
Gandalf: "the worst day of your life so far. Pick up that ring."
Everyday Aggression Takes Many Forms - "Aggression can take a variety of forms; people hurt one another in a variety of ways. This article summarizes a research program that has examined several questions regarding how people harm one another in their day-to-day lives. The evidence shows that (a) the people that we interact with most frequently (e.g., family members, friends, romantic partners) are the most likely to make us angry; (b) we can hurt people by direct (e.g., physical or verbal attack) or nondirect action (e.g., spreading rumors, giving someone the silent treatment); and (c) the way we hurt people depends on our relationship with them. Whether the harm takes the form of words or blows, aggression is harmful to individuals and to relationships."
Puberty makes teenagers’ armpits smell of cheese, goat and urine, say scientists - "Puberty makes teenagers’ armpits smell of cheese, goat and even urine, scientists in Germany have discovered. The particular chemical compounds that make up pubescent body odour have been singled out, should anyone want to bottle “eau du teenager”. More usefully, the discovery could help the creation of deodorants that mask those particular smells. It has also explained why babies smell better. The study compared infants under three years old with 14- to 18-year-olds and found teenagers had two particular chemical compounds that smell of sweat, urine, musk and sandalwood, which were not present in babies. Infants, on the other hand, had higher levels of a ketone that smells flowery and soapy... The pads from the teenagers’ armpits had two steroids present – 5alphaandrost-16-en-3-one and 5alphaandrost-16-en-3alpha-ol – which smell of sweat, urine, musk and sandalwood. They also had higher levels of six carboxylic acids, which give off unattractive smells including cheese, goat and wax. Babies’ samples showed higher levels of the ketone alpha-isomethyl ionone, which smells of flowers and soap, with a hint of violet... Researchers at Erlangen-Nürnberg’s Aroma and Smell Research Facility said changing body odour in development was known to affect the interaction between parents and children. “Body odours of infants are pleasant and rewarding to mothers and, as such, probably facilitate parental affection,” they wrote. “In contrast, body odours of pubertal children are rated as less pleasant and parents are unable to identify their own child during this developmental stage.”"
Quiet quitting is just Gen Z's new name for an old work concept | Fortune - "Quiet quitting is just a new term for an old concept that every generation discovers anew: doing the bare minimum at work. The caption to @thelizjane’s video says it all: “Quiet quitting isn’t just a Gen Z thing or a new phenomenon—people have worked like this for years.” (Or not worked like this for years, critics would say.)... You might know quiet quitting by another term: disengagement, Stephan Meier, professor of business at Columbia Business School and Chair of Management Division, tells Fortune. He points to the statistics: More than 67% of U.S. employees and more than 86% of employees worldwide report not being engaged in their jobs over the past 15 years. “It’s possible that this has increased somewhat after the pandemic, but it is not a new phenomenon,” he says."
Meme - Dasha & Varg Do America: "I have a soft spot for the last logos movie studios used before they all converted to CGl. *Universal. WB. Paramount. 20th Century Fox*"
How Can I Dress to Not Look Like a Tourist in France? - The New York Times - "Once upon a time it was easy to spot Americans abroad (or so the cliché went, anyway): They were the loud ones in jeans and T-shirts with fanny packs and baseball caps. Now, of course, everything once out is in again, and, as is its wont, fashion has embraced all of the above. The erstwhile gauche is now global and can even be chic, depending on your appetite for irony. That does not mean, however, that there aren’t certain … national stereotypes that still apply. Since I have spent the last week at the couture shows in Paris, I took the liberty of asking some locals what pieces scream “American” to them. The answer, almost always: leggings. Or, for that matter, other sorts of workout wear worn as daywear: sports bras, bike shorts and the like. There is no word for “athleisure” in French. Honestly, that term shouldn’t even exist in English. It is the new fanny pack. Also, on the other extreme, anything too “Emily in Paris.” (French people have a lot of feelings about “Emily in Paris.”) Translation: anything that is too colorful (it’s the clothing equivalent of loud), complicated and appears to be trying too hard. Including hairdos that are overly blow-dried, obvious makeup and stilettos. Instead, think neutrals: black, white, beige, navy, olive green. Which, in any case, can be mixed and matched at will and are thus good for packing. Think understatement; think the marketing executive played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu in “Emily” rather than Emily herself. Think sneakers, but in classic white, not in wildly clashing neon. Denim, as long as it is worn almost as if it has been tailored. Also a trench coat, a shirtdress, a white shirt, a black blazer. And think the single strategically chosen accessory: a scarf, a wide belt, some big earrings, though worn one at a time. Ditto logos. They are OK, but not in multiples. As Inès de la Fressange, a woman who is so quintessentially French that she became the model for Marianne, the face of the nation, once said: “In France, women put on less things. If they have a necklace, they don’t put on earrings. If they have nail polish, they don’t put on all their rings and all their bracelets.” (As it happens, she has a line with Uniqlo, so if you want to see what she means, you can find it for yourself.) The point is: There’s nothing basic about basics when you’re traveling; they are now universal. It’s the basics you choose that give away your point of origin."
Marcus du Sautoy: Escape by numbers - "Several of the Lebanese hostages incarcerated for years in the 1980s described how exploring numbers in their heads helped relieve days of isolation. Prison wardens can deprive inmates of hard-earned TVs and games consoles if prison rules are breached. But even the harshest regimes can't strip you of the tools necessary for digging a tunnel out to the mathematical world... Mathematical history is peppered with examples of stunning breakthroughs (rather than breakouts) made by prisoners. In 1831, Evariste Galois, a 19-year-old French revolutionary, was imprisoned for wearing a banned military uniform and threatening the life of the king, Louis-Philippe. Although his actions failed to incite political turmoil, his scientific achievements inside the notorious Sainte-Pelagie prison eventually caused a mathematical revolution. The memoir he wrote in prison is the foundation stone for the modern mathematical theory of symmetry. In 1940, the pacifist and mathematician André Weil, brother of the famous philosopher Simone Weil, found himself in prison awaiting trial for desertion. An Indian friend of Weil's had once joked that "if I could spend six months or a year in prison, I would most certainly be able to prove the Riemann hypothesis" - the greatest unsolved problem of mathematics. Now Weil had the chance to put the theory to the test. During those months in Rouen prison, Weil made a breakthrough on a problem closely linked to Riemann's conjecture. He wrote to his wife: "My mathematics work is proceeding beyond my wildest hopes, and I am even a bit worried - if it is only in prison that I work so well, will I have to arrange to spend two or three months locked up every year?" On hearing of his breakthrough, fellow mathematician Henri Cartan wrote back to Weil: "We're not all lucky enough to sit and work undisturbed like you..."... There are also stories of those condemned by terminal illness who have sought solace in mathematics as a way of surviving beyond their deaths. Julia Robinson was given only years to live after contracting rheumatic fever as a child in the 30s. She dedicated her life to solving one of the 20th century's major unsolved problems: Hilbert's 10th problem about solving equations... Mathematics has also been a sanctuary for those social misfits unable to cope in the turbulent emotional world around them. While fellow humans can react in an unpredictable and contradictory manner, the world of mathematics offers a safe haven where certainty reigns and results don't collapse. Euclid's 2,000-year-old proof that there are infinitely many primes is as valid today as it was in ancient Greece. Maybe this security is what makes mathematics so appealing to those who suffer from Asperger's syndrome, such as Mark Haddon's character Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Simon Baron-Cohen's book The Essential Difference documents several leading mathematicians with autistic leanings. Mathematics is responsible for creating and explaining much of the physical world we live in, but it can also offer an alternative world in which to escape the pressures of reality."
Where Did the Prohibition on Combining Seafood and Cheese Come From? - "“It definitely originated in Italy, there’s no doubt about that,” says Julia della Croce, a cookbook author, teacher, writer, and one of America’s foremost experts on Italian cuisine. “Italians are very religious about mixing cheese and fish or seafood, it just isn’t done.” I spoke with several food historians and nobody seems to disagree on this point: The prohibition, and its aggressiveness, come from Italy... A common explanation is that seafood is very delicate and cheese very strong, and that cheese can overpower the flavor of seafood. This is, of course, ridiculous: plenty of seafood items, like clams, mackerel, oysters, and sardines, are very strong in flavor, and plenty of cheeses, like ricotta, mozzarella, queso fresco, and paneer, are very mild. Della Croce says that the Italian objection to seafood and cheese is more based on preference. “The reason it isn’t done is, as the Italians will say if you ask them, they’ll just tell you that it really muddles the flavor of seafood,” she says. “Seafood is just not meant to be served with cheese, the flavors just don’t work together.”... To declare something “traditional” suggests that it is static and unchanging, when of course it must have changed many times before becoming what it is. In order to create something that can be referred to as “traditional,” a large group of people must decide all at once to dig in their heels and defend against any changes. It naturally follows that there must be some kind of large event to trigger this; otherwise why would everyone simultaneously decide that the way their grandmother made polpetti is the only way?... “Italy changed enormously after World War II, so people became very protective of their local traditions, because they were eroding away,” she says. “The war ruined Italy. Everything became modernized and Americanized.”... Food is Italy’s greatest cultural export. Easily. Everyone freakin’ loves Italian food. But with increased globalization comes a struggle. Italian food, like widely dispersed cuisines from China and Mexico, would be changed upon landing on other shores. And change, at that time, was something that scared the hell out of Italy, because it seemed inevitable and oppressive and overwhelming. So—and this is obviously a generalization, but one that the data backs up—Italians locked in on what they grew up with. The way their grandmothers did it, that was the only way to do it. Any other way was wrong, and to do it wrong was potentially disastrous... The food thought of as “traditional” Italian food is often, though of course not entirely, from the late 19th century. Pizza margherita, bolognese, risotto, osso buco (in its current form), and many more, can be dated to that era, and no earlier. These were the dishes of the grandmothers of those who survived World War II. They became tradition, even though they are not, objectively speaking, all that old; there are many cookbooks and written descriptions of Italian food from the 18th century and earlier, and they do not mention these dishes. Instead they were the green bean casserole of their time, albeit much tastier. Another element: Italy has always had fierce regional pride. The country itself has only been unified since 1861, and had prior to that been an area of competitive and sometimes hostile individual nations and city-states... It’s worth mentioning here that pretty much everyone can get touchy about the right way to prepare and eat their food. But usually the things people get touchy about are specific dishes, not basic rules like the combination of two widely eaten categories (at least in the West)... Ken Albala, a food historian and professor at the University of the Pacific, suggested something else: This was originally a medical prohibition. From the time of Hippocrates, in the fourth and third centuries B.C., humorism was the dominant medical theory throughout what is now Italy. The theory relies on balancing of the four humors (humors in this case meaning bodily fluids): black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. Good health was considered to be a result of proper balancing of the humors. One thing that could throw the humors out of whack, or be used to re-balance them, was food, and types of food were considered to have different effects on the humors."
Meme - lin @_nkemtwin: "Celebrities With Loyal Partners Since Childhood
9. Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Bryant
8. Will Smith and Jada Smith
2. Jay-Z and Beyonce"
Author Richard Brittain attacked reviewer with bottle - "An author tracked down a teenager in Fife and hit her over the head with a bottle after she gave his book a bad review, a court has heard. Richard Brittain, a former champion on the TV programme Countdown, travelled from England and used Facebook to find Paige Rolland, 18, at her work. He admitted assaulting Miss Rolland with a bottle to her severe injury on 3 October 2014 at Asda, Glenrothes... Glasgow Sheriff Court heard Brittain uploaded part of a published book of his called The World Rose onto a website called Wattpad, where people can read and critique literature written by others. Miss Rolland read the excerpt of Brittain's book and left comments about it... a month before the attack on Miss Roland, Brittain stalked a university classmate, Ella Durant, 23, who moved from London to Glasgow. He used her Twitter and Instagram accounts to find where she worked and turned up on two occasions to speak to her. Brittain, whose address was given as Palgrave, Bedford, pled guilty to engaging in a course of conduct which caused Miss Durant fear or alarm by repeatedly pursuing her, approaching her, following her and publishing a story about stalking her in September 2014."
Social Experiment Or Attempted Murder? The Morality Of 'The Push' - “The Push sees UK mentalist and magician Derren Brown conduct an elaborate, choreographed, highly manipulative experiment: can he get an entrepreneur who believes he’s attending a legitimate charity fundraiser to push a man off a roof? While Kingston chooses not to push the man to his supposed death, Brown eventually reveals that he has conducted the experiment three more times. And, each time, the participant went through with ‘the push’.
A man who 'hopes he runs out of money' before he dies explains why you may not need as much cash to retire as you think - “"Retirees who had $500,000 or more right before retirement had spent down a median of only 11.5% of that money 20 years later or by the time they died," he writes. And, this pattern held true even for those with smaller savings. "Retirees with less than $200,000 saved up for retirement ... had spent down only one quarter of their assets 18 years after retirement."”
I quit sugar for 6 months and this is what it did to my face and body - ““That said, the daily recommended added sugar is less than 50 grams (about 12 teaspoons), so having some sugar won’t cause inflammation. These studies look at people who eat more than the recommended amount. Generally, skin inflammation presents as pimples or acne, but it may also cause eczema flares, which is linked to dry skin,” she adds. She also says that artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, have been shown to have the opposite effect on skin. “That said, the studies with aspartame use really high doses and are usually performed on animals, so they aren’t the most conclusive.”… “Eating more than the recommended amount of sugar on a daily basis may cause weight gain, which may present as bloating or puffiness. The inflammation that the excessive sugar causes may also cause some slight bloating,” Rizzo says. But the transformation didn’t stop there. Oh no, my energy levels experienced a renaissance of their own. No longer was I subject to the erratic highs and crashing lows that had plagued me for so long. Instead, I found myself sustained by a steady, reliable source of energy that carried me through the day with ease.”
8 surprising (and bizarre) federal tax deductions you can actually claim on your return - “Crutches... Without any certification or prescription. So, technically, even if you bought the crutches to pull a prank on someone or as a prop for the student film you were making, you can claim them as a medical expense…
Living with your parents... Kind of. The Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit is a new refundable tax credit that applies if you do renovations to create a secondary unit in your home where a senior or disabled adult, such as an elderly parent, would live. You have to make sure both you and the person living with you are considered "qualifying individuals" with a "qualifying" relationship, but if all that checks out, you can claim up to $7,500.
Food... But only if you're a bike and/or foot courier and you might have to go to court over it. Basically, in 1998, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that a man named Alan Wayne Scott could write off extra food he required due to physical exertion from his job as a bike and foot courier. His argument was that he considered it fuel — much in the same way you can write off fuel for a vehicle if you use it to earn business income. If you want to try your luck, this precedence exists, but it might not be worth ruffling the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)'s feathers over.
Firefighting and search-and-rescuing... But only if you're a volunteer. You can claim up to $3,000 for the volunteer firefighters' amount or search and rescue volunteers' amount but not both. Also, you must have completed 200 hours of eligible volunteering at either service.”
Scientists have discovered the maximum age a human can live to - “Research conducted in The Netherlands has found that the maximum ceiling life span for a female is 115.7 years. For men, it is slightly lower at 114.1 years but even so, that's a long time. This conclusion was come to by statisticians at Tilburg and Rotterdam's Erasmus University who studied data from 75,000 people who have died in the Netherlands in the last 30 years… These findings correlate with a study carried out in America, where a similar lifespan bracket was discovered by researchers. They determined that a person's maximum lifespan plateaus in their nineties and was unlikely to ever increase beyond 115.”
Kim Jong Un bans dogs and certain haircuts in North Korea - “the national broadcaster had censored a pair of jeans worn by British TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh after a repeat of a BBC show was aired. The offending item of blue denim jeans are viewed as a sign of US imperialism and have been banned in the country since the early 90s… North Korea’s Rejection of Reactionary Thought and Culture Act had an addition made. Officials declared that any woman who wears clothing that does not sit below the knee line defies the principles of “socialist etiquette”. According to an anonymous North Korean resident, the crackdown on women wearing shorts or anything above the knee came amid 30 degree Celsius temperatures… “A few years ago, they were cracking down on wide-legged skirt pants, saying they were Japanese fashion. “Many women are complaining, asking why men can wear shorts and women can't. They are saying that the authorities are discriminating against us.”… Keeping dogs as pets is also banned because it “is incompatible with the socialist lifestyle”. According to a source who spoke to Daily NK, the new rule was told to the Socialist Women Union of Korea… Authorities labelled the practice of keeping dogs as pets as having “the stench of the bourgeoisie”. They claimed: “Dogs are basically meat that’s raised outside in accordance with their nature and then eaten when they die. Therefore, such behaviour is totally unsocialist and must be strictly eliminated.””
Charlie Munger lived in the same home for 70 years: Rich people who build 'really fancy houses' become 'less happy' - “"[Buffett and I] are both smart enough to have watched our friends who got rich build these really fancy houses," Munger said. "And I would say in practically every case, they make the person less happy, not happier." A "basic house" has utility, said Munger, noting that a larger home could help you entertain more people — but that's about it. "It's a very expensive thing to do, and it doesn't do you that much good."
Meme - Enfant: "Maieuh... j'veux pas me laver !"
Femme: "Allons...tu n'es plus un bébé !"
Enfant: "Si je me lave je deviendrais un grand garçon ?"
Femme: "Oui ! Et tu me rendras très heureuse !"
Enfant: "Alors d'accord !"
*L'enfant entre la chambre à gaz d'un camp d'extermination et la femme souriante est est une aufseherin*
Jail for Taylor Swift concert cheat who claimed he was a fan but did not know any of her songs - "A man who was arrested after he was involved in a Taylor Swift concert scam claimed he was a fan of the American pop star during investigations. But Yang Chenguang was unable to sing any of her songs and could not provide a good reason for why he could not do so. On March 28, the 29-year-old Chinese national was sentenced to three months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal trespass and another of cheating. Swift’s Eras Tour concert at the National Stadium was held over six nights from March 2 to 9 and attracted more than 368,000 concertgoers. It has also been linked to at least 960 victims of ticket scams... In mitigation, Yang, who did not have a lawyer, said this was the first time he had left China and that he was remorseful. He added that his wife had died two years ago and that he wished to return to China as soon as possible to be with his two children. He promised to teach them not to commit any offences."
"This makes it sound as though it's criminal to claim to be a Taytay fan but not be able to sing her songs."
Coconut Shell Bearing Rescue Message – All Artifacts – The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum - "On the night of August 1, 1943, the PT boat commanded by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy was sunk after being hit by a Japanese destroyer in Blackett Strait, south of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands. Four days after they had been given up as lost, Kennedy and his surviving crew were discovered by Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, two indigenous Solomon Islands scouts working for the Allies. Kennedy carved the message into this coconut husk that 11 crew members were still alive and passed it along to two Gasa and Kumana, who carried the message to a nearby Australian coast watcher. The chance encounter with the islanders resulted in the rescue of PT-109's crew. Joseph P. Kennedy had the inscribed coconut shell fragment encased in plastic and mounted to a wood base for his son. The object became a treasured memento, one that served as a reminder of a turning point in young Kennedy's life that would shape him as a man and a president. He kept it prominently displayed on the desks he used throughout his political career. The coconut husk was on the President's desk in the Oval Office on the day he died."
Meme - "When she doesnt look like her pic, but you just drove 8 hours *man having sex with alien*"
Meme - Chaya Raichik: "It's so cringey to see middle-aged men wearing Nirvana brand t-shirts like they're trying to fit in with young people. Like shouldn't you have your own style from your own era?"
Meme - "Top 7 Italian Restaurants in N.J.
Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
Olive Garden Italian Restaurant"
What evil prank have you pulled off? : AskReddit - "Two of my friends have never met eachother. Before they spoke I told both of them that the other is a bit deaf. They shouted at eachother for a few minutes before they realized that I'm an asshole."
The Louder the Monkey, the Smaller Its Balls, Study Finds - "Howler monkeys are the loudest land animals on Earth, capable of bellowing at volumes of 140 decibels, which is on the level of gunshots or firecrackers. Not surprisingly, male howlers frequently use this power to advertise their sexual fitness, catcalling females with their ear-splitting roars... a louder, small-balled monkey is more likely to develop a harem of females with whom he has exclusive breeding access. The quieter, well-endowed monkeys, on the other hand, tend to end up in larger groups containing many males and females that copulate freely with each other. In this non-exclusive group, males compete for paternity quite literally with their balls. The bigger a male's sperm count, the more he is to edge out all the other males that are mating with the same females. In this way, howler monkeys have evolved two sexual strategies—calls versus balls—to the exclusion of each other... Naturally, Knapp warns against anthropomorphizing these findings, and she is completely right"
Opinion: School boards should focus on academics and order - "After months of meetings, the Waterloo Region District School Board in Ontario finally released its new strategic plan. Its key feature? An upside-down organizational chart that puts students at the top and the director of education at the bottom. Of course, the chart is nonsense. The district has not given students the power to hire and fire staff, nor can students tell the director of education which programs to cut or even what time they want school to begin in the morning. Anyone who wants to know the actual chain of authority in the district won’t get much help from this chart. The rest of the strategic plan isn’t much better. It’s filled with lofty promises about “preparing students for the future” and catchphrases such as “celebrating the gifts of each and every student.” The plan also focuses on preparing students for the 22nd century — when most current students will be retired or dead. What we don’t see in this strategic plan are concrete measures to improve academic achievement. Sadly, Waterloo is far from the only school board to focus on everything except academics. The Toronto District School Board recently dropped its skills-based entrance requirements for specialized schools and the Vancouver School Board has eliminated its honours programs, mediocritizing schools in the name of “equity.”... the Ontario Human Rights Commission released a damning report (Right to Read) about Ontario’s approach to literacy in public schools. According to the report, students need much more phonics instruction than many of them are currently getting in school... School boards also need to ensure that students can learn in safe and orderly classrooms. Prioritizing student safety means giving teachers the power to maintain order and discipline in their classrooms. Violence in school should never be tolerated. This might seem obvious but it’s a serious issue in some schools. For example, there have been numerous media reports about serious violent incidents in Saunders Secondary School, which is part of the Thames Valley School District based in London, Ontario. A recent CBC story quoted an anonymous teacher who described Saunders as a “tinderbox of violence” where students regularly challenge teachers to fistfights. Incredibly, instead of addressing the problem, school board officials argued that the violence at Saunders was no worse than at other schools. The district’s director of education also wants to reduce the number of student suspensions, which might make sense if suspensions were unwarranted but is absurd when dealing with real incidents of violence. It would also help if school boards hired fewer consultants and put those resources into classrooms instead. In far too many cases, consultants feel the need to justify their own positions by recommending the creation of additional programs. The end result is that teachers spend less time with their students because they’re required to attend professional development sessions staged by these consultants. Finally, school boards, particularly in large urban centres, need to empower families by encouraging more choice within the system. Instead of making all schools follow the same cookie-cutter model, schools should be able to specialize and families choose the school they want. The Edmonton Public School Board has successfully used this model for decades. More school boards should follow the Edmonton model."
From 2022
Meme - "Workout ball
$15
Sold
Seller: Jeff
Description: Used only once, cleaned with vinegar. Still in great condition. *purple ball with 2 handles and dildo sticking out*"
Michael Shermer on X - "Question: Is the "sharp rise in adolescent depression" (and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, suicidal ideation, ADHD, etc.) due to exogenous causes like social media/smart phones, parental coddling, life history theory, etc? What if the cause is endogenous—an artifact of the pathologizing of things teens used to normally get upset about (and recover from quickly), and instead are now being labeled with diagnoses like depression, ADHD, autism, anxiety disorders, etc., and then a feedback loop is created in which the kids are instructed to ruminate, cogitate, and wallow in their negative emotions, which only fuels the problem, and THAT is what has caused this spike? I don't know the answer but am curious what readers here think."
Meme - Glinda: "We've had to adapt, Dorothy. Nobody uses imperial weights these days."
"The Wizard of 28g"
Ultimately, there are 10 Basic X-Men Plots : i will not apologize for art - "1. Aliens ruin Scott Summers’ day
2. The teenage female audience surrogate (Kitty, Jubilee, Armor, etc.) does something cool
3. Bigots ruin Scott Summers’ day
4. Storm wrestles with her leadership position
5. Time travelers ruin Scott Summers’ day
6. Everything connects back to Wolverine
7. Literal demons rise up from Hell to ruin Scott Summers’ day
8. Professor Xavier turns out to have done a Bad Thing
9. The other X-Men ruin Scott Summers’ day
10. The Phoenix shows up (most likely to ruin Scott Summers’ day)"
