Jump to content

Mrs Whiggins

Full Members
  • Posts

    15027
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Mrs Whiggins

  1. Thank you for posting that result; Neugebauer is a terrific athlete.

    The decathlon and heptathlon continue today, currently Neugebauer is in the lead for the men while Blazevica is in third for the women.

    Quite a few events on tap for today (Thursday).

  2. On 3/25/2024 at 5:38 PM, utee94 said:

      So I think she'll benefit quite a bit from a course or tutoring that stresses the mechanics of the test, the test-taking techniques and strategy, while also making sure she's got the the fundamentals of the questions themselves firmly under control.

    This is a reasonable plan. Our oldest had very solid academics, was motivated and where using a prep course helped with the process was the mechanics you mention. Result was superscore (old SAT) perfect score and PSAT National Merit. Next oldest also had solid academics, was slightly less motivated but still did very well, I forget the SAT score but ACT was 34 and missed NM by thismuch and ended up commended. Thus far we're sticking with that but we aim, as much as possible, to not stress the kids out about it. Most children want to please their parents, and we get that but we've also emphasized that doing well keeps doors and opportunities open so that they have choices and are in the driver's seat.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  3. Just now, BevoAbyss said:

    Here's what I learned from the Ronna McDaniel hiring/firing. 

    NBC has some MAGA-fascists in top management ... and they tried to see what they could get away with hiring McDaniel, a known fascist election denier.

    Expert more NBC-MAGA efforts in the future. And elsewhere in the media, in the name of #bothsides. Hell, CAA, the top-shelf Hollywood talent agency was repping McDaniel! 

    This article discusses that a little: https://www.yahoo.com/news/led-nbc-u-corporate-media-005621422.html

    • Hook 'Em 1
  4. Alexander Valley Cabernet Franc while cooking some rigatoni tossed with guanciale, tomatoes, onions, garlic and pecorino romano. Bruschetta and buratta baked in the oven for an app for a tomato heavy meal. Had a big salad for lunch so skipped the greens. A bit monochromatic but ya know if you have that second glass of wine that gets overlooked...

    • Hook 'Em 1
  5. From the Associated Press today:

    Quote

     

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed likely to preserve access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year, in the court’s first abortion case since conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.

    In nearly 90 minutes of arguments, a consensus appeared to emerge that the abortion opponents who challenged the FDA's approval of the medication, mifepristone, and subsequent actions to ease access to it, lack the legal right or standing to sue.

    Such a decision would leave in place the current rules that allow patients to receive the drug through the mail, without any need for an in-person visit with a doctor, and to take the medication to induce an abortion through 10 weeks of pregnancy. Should the court take the no-standing route, it would avoid the more politically sensitive aspects of the case.

    The high court’s return to the abortion thicket is taking place in a political and regulatory landscape that was reshaped by its abortion decision in 2022 that led many Republican-led states to ban or severely restrict abortion.

    Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer, said the court should dismiss the case and make clear that anti-abortion doctors and organizations don’t “come within 100 miles” of having standing.

    Even three justices who were in the majority to overturn Roe posed skeptical questions about standing to the lawyer for the abortion opponents. Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh are former President Donald Trump’s three Supreme Court appointees.

     

     

     

  6. 28 minutes ago, Guadaloopy said:

    Due to the camera placement, the vehicle has better visibility around corners than a human in the driver seat does.  Not to mention that FSD is almost to a fault overly cautious of pedestrians.  If a Tesla almost ran you over, it wasn't in FSD mode.

     

    To be clear, I don't usually note the make and model when having these experiences while out and about; it was a general comment.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  7. Has anyone put a Texas DPS official in the passenger seat with one of these self-driving cars and, with no assist from the owner, tested the car to see if it could pass? Also, does the self-driving software enable the vehicle's cameras to look right before turning right because I've almost been killed (pedestrian/runner) numerous times had I not noticed the driver wasn't looking my way. That's all I got.

  8. 7 minutes ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

    he's there now.  just leaving at the end of the year for georgetown.

    Thanks for the update. I think when I read his bio that he's from that area back East plus closer to the topic that he studies so makes sense.

  9. 4 minutes ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

    *former

    Oh? Thank you, did not know that as he was still listed on the webpage. What's the story?

  10. 2 minutes ago, F250 said:

    Yes and it didn't address the discussion we were having about what constitutes a too safe or too dangerous playground other than a statement about there should be some injuries. What does that even mean and how does one adjust for that?

     

    Thank you for your perspective because it's addressing the rather blase attitude wherein Haidt as author/speaker should select his words more carefully or explain himself further and not just wave away thoughtful questions about consequences. With respect to Haidt, there are plenty of activities to which we introduced our children that did not require Jack, Simon, Ralph, and Piggy in order to learn about fear and risk.

     

     

    • Hook 'Em 1
    • Haha 1
  11. On 3/21/2024 at 11:44 AM, Brisketexan said:

    Bolded for emphasis.  That concept is what many of us ledge-dwellers have been sounding the alarm about for years now.

    "The Rule of Law" is just an agreement by a society that we opt in to a set of standards and norms, to be applied based on relatively objective rules of interpretation and evidence.  Yes, it is a human system, and human nature/fallibility/bias always injects some play into the wheel, but it's within a degree of tolerance.  Take away good faith.....and you have revoked your agreement to follow the standards and norms known as the Rule of Law.

    Over in the Hobbies>Books>Whatcha' Reading thread I mentioned I'm almost finished with Stephen Vladeck's The Shadow Docket: How The Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings To Amass Power And Undermine The Republic (2023). It's a good read by the UT Law prof and I've enjoyed his background into the origins of the shadow docket and how the Court elects to take on cases vs not taken on cases vs issuing unsigned and unwritten opinions vs arguing cases upon merit. More and more it has become difficult for the public to even learn the why or the who (w/o a public disclosure, which the shadow docket does not recquire) of rulings and/or votes by the Court due to the shadow docket rulings being handed down and the Court is increasingly using those methods in lieu of trying cases on merit. Quite the eye-opener it's been although admittedly I had little knowledge of the inner workings of SCOTUS (and am set to begin Jeffery Toobin's The Nine also about SCOTUS and one I'd heard of but never read).

    Anyway, Vladeck was commenting upon the Court post justice Kennedy's retirement and how the Court "might even be said to see the public less as its audience than as its enemy--a nuisance to be kept away from the justices as much while they're working as while they're not." (A nice little bubble if you can afford it, right justice Alito and justice Thomas? I mention Alito as he was the justice who seemed most upset at the criticisms lobbied at the Court recently after being accused of partisanship) But back to Vladeck--here is a quote within a quote from his book that is very relatable to your above comments Brisket:

    "...it's easy to see the wisdom in something my friend and former dean Ward Farnsworth wrote two decades ago, that 'those who accuse the majority of having partisan motives underestimate the good faith of the justices; but those who acquit the Court of partisan behavior may overestimate the utility of good faith as a constraint on wishful thinking.'

    Trust is earned.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  12. Another difference between the two meets (besides the timing of the Texas Relays & District meets) is that the Bluebonnet Invitational was HS only whereas the Texas Relays is a longer meet with both HS and collegiate athletes. Texas sets the HS fields based on marks submitted and depending upon that (each year) as well as separate divisions for small/large schools it isn't always easy to qualify. For example, in some of the longer races (1600m/3200m) only the top 16 and 20 times respectively are admitted. The relay events are slightly more generous with entrants as it is the hallmark of the meet for almost a century. For Bluebonnet, it was top 90 athletes per gender for individual races and more events were held for those (i.e. Texas Relays does not hold 800m individual races). In addition, the Texas Relays offers the steeplechase whereas the Bluebonnet held a mixed relay (4x400). So it's a little of this and a little of that. Both tracks are great venues, I've enjoyed meets at the new A&M facility and it's hard to top the Texas Relay's atmosphere on a beautiful spring day so I'm happy that both are available.

    As someone who supports XC & TF, it's great to have choices for athletes and teams. For those of you with children participating in upcoming meets, good luck to them; it's a great sport with something for everybody.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  13. 3 minutes ago, Captainant said:

    IMO you're missing the bigger picture if your end course of action is to demonize a particular type of website. The bigger problem that enabled and fuels and allows the micro targeting and doomscrolling, is that it's open season on buying and selling user data. My wife bought some pregnancy books on Amazon, and all of a sudden Instagram was pushing all sorts of horrific pregnancy stories to her feed. It was like as soon as one entity knew, they all knew, and they all wanted to put the most upsetting thing in front of her that would keep her scrolling. 

    Yes, social media was the mechanism that actually expressed the negativity - but it would not be so all encompassing and overwhelming if people had any sort of right to privacy on the internet. THAT is the larger and more common denominator, moreso than any one type of website

    Same--wedding related purchases, announcements push weight loss regimens and diet products to women....relative was relating this to me and it's really maddening and also sad.

  14. 4 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

    Haidt has been tracking this for some time now.  His previous book "fragility of the American mind" addressed this as well.  Story is behind a paywall, but I've followed him on enough podcasts to know what he's talking about - specifically regarding cell phones.  He teaches as at NYU.  He asked his class why so many are on social media.  The primary answer all parent hear is that everyone else is.  His next question was if everyone else was off, ie., these sites were shut down, would you support that.  Almost all said yes.  The kids see the problems, they are just sucked into the gravity of all their peers being on them as well.

    His new book has four steps he's pushing for to try and get these kids off these damn sites.  They escape me at the moment, but the point was it wasn't covid that sent so many into a tailspin.  The rates were already skyrocketing well before covid.

    We absolutely ran into some of this with our children and the worst offender was the ISD and I told them so. Setting aside peer pressure (and that goes for adults pressuring other adults as well), we had made the decision: no phone until 8th grade and had stuck by that but the *schools made it more and more difficult with classroom techniques ('everyone pull out your phones and ____") and so on. I met with teachers, administrators, etc but it was yelling into the fog. We used the phone as a tool, rather like a map, but many adults use it like a pacifier--both for themselves and for their children.

     

    *All of our children were post 8th by pandemic occurence.

    • Hook 'Em 3
  15. 7 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

     

    Quote

    McDaniel, who is joining NBC News as a political analyst after exiting the RNC earlier this month, told the outlet that the Capitol riot “doesn’t represent our country. It certainly does not represent my party.”

    “We should not be attacking the Capitol; we should not be having violence,” she added. Asked why she didn’t offer such condemnation as RNC chairwoman, McDaniel responded, “When you’re the RNC chair, you kind of take one for the whole team. Right now, I get to be a little bit more myself.”

    NBC may believe that they are offering sanity in lieu of the bsc lunacy of the rank and file GOP by hiring McDaniel but they are craven for doing so, IMO. she needs to be a little bit more BY HERSELF i.e. ALONE instead of "be a little bit more myself." Bitch, please.

    • Hook 'Em 2
  16. The text of Florida SB1365 is here for any who wish to read it; it's fairly short: https://m.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/1365/BillText/er/PDF

    As @Sawbonz pointed out, there is a push/pull aspect to this and for me, it is what is unwritten where things could easily go off the rails. For example, what is to stop a county from having a revolving carousel of migrating homeless people wherein the law (enforcement arm of the govt) drops off 'offenders' in another jurisdiction--I've heard this kind of happens now from rural to urban areas because rural areas lack social services, but I cannot vouchsafe for that rumor--which leads me to a different thought after perusing the bill/law: since counties/munis are on the hook for the land, services, etc and residents, business owners, and the AG can file civil suits (according to the bill lines 117-120) is another intended/unintended consequence to bankrupt these municipalities? I note this because a lot of the redress that a city (under financial difficulties) might have is regulated through the state (office of children and families) and seems like it would be possible to pick and choose whom to offer relief vs punish (cutting to the chase: blue county vs red county).

    I agree that criminalizing homeless persons is not only troubling but an indictment on our society--all of us. However, I have no solutions to offer but that this one has some aspects that could be positive or abused and per usual the vague and airy waving of hands about the details probably ensures that Abbott will encourage the Texas Lege to adopt this and then go after Houston, Austin, et. al.

    As I am not one of the Surly legal eagles, if anyone reads the signed document and has any thoughts to the above speculation, please offer them.

    • Hook 'Em 4
    • Like 1
  17. 12 minutes ago, tchookem said:
    7 hours ago, 'stache said:
    She thinks that Uncle Ruckus is the protagonist in Boon Docks, doesn’t she.

    Pardon my serious reply, but I don't think she does. I don't think she believes in any of it. She's a nihilist that's found a way to monetize her lack of decency.

    I concur. Her past would indicate that she is an apt pupil of geometry and an acute observer of all the angles.

    • Hook 'Em 1
    • Like 1
  18. ^^^This^^^^

    Our children have 529 plans and thus far the oldest ended up with the fortunate situation of scholarships rendering much of it unused but will pass it along to the next generation (that's the plan anyway). Next oldest had a mix of scholarships and then whatever that did not cover then we pulled out the remainder each year via the fund directly paying the school through the portal (first time was a simple phone call until we got electronic set up). Will still have some left over and IIRC will have some time before a decision will be necessary as to naming another bene or transferring $$ to another type of account. We determined that the funds were each theirs and left the decision with them as opposed to passing it down to the next in line.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  19. Almost finished with The Shadow Docket. It's been a solid read thus far although I wish Vladeck had provided a glossary for the legal terms. Although I believe he wrote the book for the general reader, I'm one who will look up the meanings of terms I don't know as well as pronunciations as I go.Took me forever to read certiorari over and over again before my brain finally decided on one of the *six different ways various SCOTUS judges pronounce(d) it. FTR I settled on the pronunciation ser-shee-or-RAHR-ee, (rhyming with Ferrari) because I adopted the accent of Luigi from the movie Cars. Jokes aside, it's a book worth reading. I'm considering reading The Nine: Inside The Secret World Of The Supreme Court by Jeffery Toobin next as I never got around to reading it and although it would be somewhat out of order considering this last tome, might be a good supplement to what I've just finished. Anyone else read that? Thoughts?

    Or I may switch to fiction for awhile as I've been on a long nonfiction run.

     

    *Article here regarding law professor James Duane and the variances: https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/how_is_certiorari_pronounced_even_supreme_court_justices_disagree

×
×
  • Create New...