My youngest son, on his own, went out and got himself an after school job so that he can stop asking me for money for the things he wants. This is one of those moments as a parent where I am just... so proud. You teach them, and you hope, and then they do something like this.
@pyrephox said in The Work Thread:
One of the complicating factors is that pretty much none of the schools which went virtual or hybrid did so with any real understanding of the support that virtual learning requires for teachers. Which isn't unusual: even a lot of purpose-made virtual schools aren't aware of best practices in virtual instruction and don't provide their staff with the training and support necessary to really succeed at virtual learning. It's not as simple as chucking a teacher without specific training in front of a Zoom and having 30+ students log on, give the teacher no additional assistants or support, and expect that to go well. It's not.
I think it ended up burning out a lot of teachers and students, and convincing districts and many parents that virtual learning was a non-viable option, and now everyone is exhausted and stressed and at the end of their mental ropes. Everyone, from the kids all the way up.
This is a HUGE thing. I try to keep in touch with my son's teachers. I want to make their job easier if I can, and I know my son's disabilities can make things difficult to accomplish even small tasks. A number of them were excited about virtual learning, they'd done research over the summer, they'd found different tools and means of teaching that were maybe not super conventional but would make virtual learning easier and less stressful all around. And then school started. And there was little in the way of IT support for them, and some of the tools they'd been excited to use were deemed to be outside the allowable range of what they could access. Some of them required fees that the school wasn't willing to pay. So it became a battle for them, every day, on what they could use since what was typically allowed wasn't an option. They wanted teachers to stick to the pre-pandemic curriculum and methods, even though a lot of them don't translate well or at all to virtual teaching or learning.
Now even the ones that were excited approach it warily and cautiously, and the ones that were already cautious don't want it at all.
@Ganymede What's infuriating to me is this 'Do This or Fail' stance they've taken. They're holding basic employability or secondary education over my son's head like some fucking Sword of Damocles. Put your health (physical and mental) at risk, or you will never be eligible for even the most basic fast food job or community college. Regardless of any other requirement for employment/schooling/training, the one thing everyone requires? A high school diploma/GED certificate. Something that ALL of us take for granted is being used as a weapon to keep him in the building. He will be present, or he will be denied the one thing he will need to have any sort of life as an adult. And they know it.
Exactly. As mentioned, I have absolutely nothing but wonderful things to say about my son's teachers. They've been working hard under impossible conditions and they still do everything they can to help him succeed. I wish I had a more adequate way to show them my appreciation for their efforts.
My issue comes in with the administration of the school telling me that my son cannot access something that is currently in use by other students, even though they provided him with the tools to access that very thing that is currently in use, and that by NOT allowing him to access it, they are directly impacting his mental health negatively and putting his physical health at great risk. People that are fully vaxxed and boosted are getting Omicron, and Delta is still circulating.
The school has so many students and faculty in quarantine or out for positive COVID tests that they've CANCELED midterms. But he's still not allowed to school from home using the tools and teachers that are already in place and in use.
I want a garden so badly. I even HAVE a balcony that I could make use of. Unfortunately my upstairs neighbors are filthy assholes that like to dump shit over their balcony... right onto mine.
@macha I couldn't help but think to a conversation I had with my mom recently where she was upset because 'at my age' I shouldn't have any issues with managing my money or dealing with unexpected expenses ($600 vet bill, in this case). And I couldn't help but think that had she not been so consumed with making sure she was financially comfortable, maybe my issues wouldn't have gone undiagnosed for so long. She constantly worked 60-80 hour work weeks so she could sock money away. I was a latchkey kid, learned how to make myself dinner because she was rarely home for it, let alone having the time to really notice that I wasn't just being 'lazy' like my teachers insisted. Or that I spent so much time out of the house so I wouldn't have to deal with her constant criticisms.
@wretched It's 3am and I'm doing dishes... totally fine! 
I just made tofu for the first time last night. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was very pleasantly surprised with how it came out! I've been trying to aim towards a more veggie-heavy diet this past month and I've been amazed and thrilled with how well it's turned out!
The best part is that I can par-cook a load of veggies and toss them into the fridge them just pop them into the air fryer for about 5 minutes when I'm ready to eat.
@Macha Yes! So, I have been cooking pretty much everything in my air fryer lately. Takes less time, less mess, I've really come to love it.
My current 'blend' of veggies is yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, and onions. I add in rutabaga if I want something potato-like that isn't just potatoes. Set the air fryer to about 380 degrees, toss the veggies in a light drizzle of avocado oil (mostly so the seasoning will stick), coat with whatever seasonings desired, then throw those bad boys in for about 10 minutes, make sure to shake the basket at the halfway mark. I do 10 minutes because I tend to slice and cube thick, and because I like a little char on the onions. But you could only do maybe 6-7 minutes and get some really good veggies.
I'm trying to play around a lot with seasonal veggies, so that I can buy fresh from local as much as possible, but something like mushrooms and onions are pretty year round, so I try to always keep them in there. I prefer baby bella mushrooms, and vidalia onions, but ymmv. I'm going to be trying a blend of brussels sprouts with rutabaga on my next go, since the sprouts are in season currently. Oh! And corn on the cob! Comes out AWESOME in the air fryer. But really, you can toss most anything in there. The biggest hurdle is just making sure that whatever you're cooking has like temp/time needs.
But yes, this has been /invaluable/ in getting me to eat healthier. I did up a veggie medley with some tofu, and I was super happy with it. The tofu doesn't /feel/ heavy, but it was filling enough that the whole shebang split into two meals worth!
@Ganymede The venn diagram of people who bitch about both things and who do not understand how public school funding works is pretty much just a circle.
Far Cry New Dawn is amazing thus far. I'm not terribly far into it, but the graphics are wonderful, the gameplay is excellent, there's a real sense of urgency and danger without making it seem impossible. And the characters are great.
@faraday Conversely, if people can't handle some constructive criticism (and I don't think you can call anything I've said acerbic or hate-filled or even derogatory) then they probably aren't the people that should be running games. I made my initial observation and left it at that. I even qualified it by saying that was my observation but to take it with a grain of salt. You've been the one continuing to harp on people being negative and dragging it out further.
But since you mentioned it. HorrorMUX is a retread of Lovecraft, they're the same game by the same people. And neither HorrorMUX nor Stranger Things were high-magic, which was my point from the start. Not the urban fantasy. High magic. That's what people have been wanting lately. Welcome to the only game other than Arx to advertise magic for players.
@Ghost A friend of mine Twitch streamed his first run of WWZ. It was niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. A little L4D, a little Vermintide, a LOT of fun.
"I'll need to place you on a brief hold while I verify that information."
I need to go have a smoke so I can calm down enough to not get fired.
@Sparks Simple and Clean Kingdom's Heart. The second I hear this song, I think of the game, and vice versa. Have since the very first game, and its carried through every single sequel they've made.
Clearly none of you has seen Manos, Hands of Fate.
