Lurker > Zanzenburger

Fam_Fam posted...

plot twist: YOU are sterile

she still got pregnant tho...

Okay, I laughed.

But I did get tested and my doc says I am super fertile. :)
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

DifferentialEquation posted...

Zanzenburger posted...

DifferentialEquation posted...

Zanzenburger posted...

And generally, no, long wait for appeals aren't because mods know the user is right. Oftentimes, it is because there is a valid case to be made on both sides,

You said that that's generally not the case. So you admit that that does happen some of the time, though?

I say generally because I cannot speak for other mods, only myself. And no, if I know a user is right in a dispute, I overturn immediately.

I'm not calling your honesty into question. But the way you worded that, it sounded like you're aware that it does happen occasionally from other mods.

It didn't mean to come across that way, I apologize.

I, personally, have not seen a moderator or group of moderators intentionally delay a dispute or appeal because they didn't want to admit they were wrong.

At worst, sometimes the research it takes to decide who was right in a dispute is such a daunting task and it is just a matter of finding a moderator that is willing to take it on.

I have seen week-long arguments between mods who cannot agree whether or not a post should be overturned and that can sometimes cause a delay as well.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

NeoShadowhen posted...

Heh. That's a surprisingly common phenomenon. What made you think your wife couldn't get pregnant? I assume you tried for a while.

Oh, and congratulations. That's really wonderful and amazing news.

Thanks!

Literally had a doctor tell her she couldn't get pregnant after a series of tests.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

DifferentialEquation posted...

Zanzenburger posted...

And generally, no, long wait for appeals aren't because mods know the user is right. Oftentimes, it is because there is a valid case to be made on both sides,

You said that that's generally not the case. So you admit that that does happen some of the time, though?

I say generally because I cannot speak for other mods, only myself. And no, if I know a user is right in a dispute, I overturn immediately.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

For those not familiar with my previous topics, my wife and I are foster/adopting three kids. We had no children prior and my wife couldn't get pregnant.

Lo and behold, 5 months with the kids and my wife is pregnant. She took the test twice to be sure and has a dr appt next week.

We do have the option to "return" the foster children still, but we decided pretty quickly that option is off the table.

Can the Zanzenburger household go from 0-4 kids within a year? Find out next time on Dragonball Z.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Or it could be that there are tons of moderations in the queue and a limited staff that can review them all. And as we approach the holiday season, more people are out and about and likely have less time to look at appeals.

And generally, no, long wait for appeals aren't because mods know the user is right. Oftentimes, it is because there is a valid case to be made on both sides, and further research must be made before making a final decision. Oftentimes a mod will consult another mod for a second opinion, or look at a user's post history, or read the topic for context, or research the game/show/current event being mentioned in the post. That takes time, and admittedly, sometimes getting started is the hardest part. Like starting a paper you know will take a while to finish.

I have no problem admitting if I messed up a moderation and will overturn a post as soon as it is deemed necessary.

But no, mods are out to get you, they don't want to admit being wrong, etc.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Pretend you are catfishing them.

"Let me be honest Cutie_Kitty69, I am not a 25 year old basement dweller like I look in my profile. I am actually a blonde cheerleader who creates fake ugly profiles to see what life is line for the other side."
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

HitTheGroundWal posted...

I remember a DCOM called Pixel Perfect, but not Pitch Perfect.

Lol, you are correct. It is past my bedtime.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Because as awesome as it would be to have games off of recent superhero amd action movies, they would suck cause they are cash grabs.

Guardians of the Galaxy would be a dancing game ala DDR (but worse, think that Happy Feet game(
Thor Ragnarok would be a crappy beat-em-up with clunky mechanics.
Civil War would probabky be a lame platformer where the climatic fight scene would be happening in the background with NPCs while you are playing the Winter Soldier dodging Spiderman's web shots in a 2D sidescroller.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

I sang that in my head before even clicking on the topic.

That tune was simultaneously lame and hype when a new movie was gonna come out. I still remember watching that before Pixel Perfect.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Agents of Shield Season 5 is amazing right now. Really tense coming from a great Season 4

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 3. The whoke show is a breath of fresh air from a lot of sameness out there. It is funny, has a lot of heart, and tackles real world issues most showd are afraid of diving into.

Ghosted is pretty funny. I have been enjoying that.

Superstore is also awesome if you haven't watched that. It's great cause it's so relatable.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

I do agree with the article that rather than using the P-value as the end-all-be-all for significance testing is pretty narrow in scope. Using it as part of a bigger formula involving theory, experimental design, and other external factors would really help tighten up the rigor.

I also like the idea of publishing design procedures before the study. That's what I'm doing with the dissertation proposal defense. I have to justify my study, and the procedures I am going to take, in front of a committee. If they approve it, I have to do my study the way I intended. I can't just go fishing for significance, because I have written documentation of what I was and was not going to do. It keeps me accountable and focused on the problem.

Doing this outside of dissertations would not only have the benefit of keeping researchers on track, but it would add more publications to researchers. While the "publish or perish" culture we have is unhealthy and needs major transformation, the additional published articles coming from "proposals" would provide a temporary band-aid to better digest the added rigor in statistical studies.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

COVxy posted...

It's not like the large majority of scientists don't understand the statistical methods they use.

I disagree with this statement. There are plenty of colleagues I know that only have a surface-level understanding of some of the quantitative methods they use.

The article correctly states that research education programs typically spend more time teaching students how to do quantitative research to meet published norms and customs, not to question the validity of these established norms and customs. There just isn't enough time. Unless you are going for a statistics-heavy degree, you're only going to get a cursory glance into it, at least enough to run the software needed for your analysis and maybe a little into the history of the theory.

I'm going to defend my dissertation proposal in January, which is a mixed methods study using both quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. As such, I have a mix of statisticians and social science researchers in my committee. I am getting crazy conflicting information from my committee, and it isn't a quant vs. qual thing, it's a quant vs. quant thing.

The social science researchers (who have done statistical studies before) are telling me that I can't do certain things with my study (like trying to take two statistical results and trying to compare them qualitatively), and one even got offended when I attempted to question her opinion. I'm trying something that hasn't been done before (at least in my field), and there is a fear through a lack of understanding of the quantitative principles I am employing.

I do think that scientists in the soft sciences aren't really that comfortable with statistical methods and only know enough to get by. Once you start to question the tried-and-true methods, they panic because that is all they know.

I agree there needs to be a culture-shift, but better methodology education is very important in the non-statistical fields.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

I have it and I love it. It's the closest thing to an online radio that only plays songs you like. Thing is, I don't want to just listen to the same songs I know and love. I love that Pandora will play songs I like but even introduce me to new ones based on my preferences.

I also pay the $5 monthly fee to get rid of ads and it's truly worth it. Not knowing what song will come up next kind of gives it the nice feel of radio, but with the added ability of voting down a song I don't like that snuck in there.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

REMercsChamp posted...

Come on now son. Look at your list:

- Bachelor, Master, PhD degrees, currently a student
- 3 kids, wife, mortgage, car payments etc
- Opening own business, running for office
- Latest video game systems with entire library

I'm not sure how any of that is unbelievable. Though let me clarify, I meant the Switch 1st party releases. That's a relatively small number... <_<

Again, set up "me time" during the day and evening, and incorporate your kids into the things you do the rest of the time. And a lot of those things were achieved before having the kids (business, masters), but maintaining them isn't that difficult once you have a routine.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

CapnMuffin posted...

Sounds like all airlines?

Most "upscale" airlines have a lot of these amenities included in their higher ticket prices. American, United, Southwest, Delta, etc. typically will allow you a carry-on for free, and some still allow up to 1 checked-in bag for free. The in-flight drink is complementary, and on most flights, seats don't cost extra unless you are travelling first or business class.

Budget airlines like Spirit, Allegiant, and Frontier sell cheaper flight tickets for people who do not want or need any of the amenities. It's an a la carte flight that's best for single passengers who don't take much with them. They will charge you for everything, including carry-on luggage, any seats that aren't middle seats in the last three rows, check-in baggage, drinks, and even services like early check-in or printing your boarding pass. On the flip side, if you don't use those features, you get to fly for super cheap and they typically offer nonstop flights that other airlines don't offer.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

REMercsChamp posted...

Right, we all haven't inherited a trust fund or whatever enables you to do all this with seemingly limitless energy

Bruh, I grew up in poverty in a home with no hot water.

It's about setting boundaries, prioritizing properly, following the things you are passionate about, and never letting one thing overtake all the others (even the kids know when it is "dad time" and they need to leave me alone to do my thing).

Parents who say they live for their kids will stress themselves out and once the kids leave, they will feel empty inside. It's more helpful to incorporate your kids into your lifestyle so that they don't fight it, they complement it.

I workout when I play soccer with my kids. I teach them to play video games so they can enjoy playing with me or watching my wife and I play. When I'm doing PhD work, I have them doing other writing/reading assignments so they feel like they are as well. When I am working my laser tag business, I use them to seed games and even sell games to walk-ins (as I've learned they're really good at selling passes).

Nothing about them really interrupts my life as they complement it nicely.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

I currently have three kids through foster/adoption.

- Looking to gain 20 to 30 pounds and lose your fitness? Have a kid
I've actually lost 20 pounds since I got them. I'm much more active since I'm more intentional on getting the kids outdoors to do more physical activity.
- Remember all that money you didn't have? Now you have even less
The state pays me money for these kids. Plus I get free daycare, free insurance, and transportation reimbursement.
- Those personal goals, interests and ambitions? Gone
About to finish my PhD, working on expanding my laser tag business, about to publish a book, and running for office next year.

On the flip side, without kids:

- Can do whatever the f*** you want whenever the f*** you want
Already do. Spending time with my kids counts as what I want to do.
- All the money you make goes into looking out for #1
Yes, my #1 is my family.
- Can develop your career, education
Already have a bachelors and masters and getting phd. See above.
- Can have hobbies and a life outside of work
Already do. See above.
- More time to play video games! Take a look at the PS4 upcoming release list, people with kids don't have time for this s***!
I've bought every Switch release so far and am even going through a backlog of 360 games that I play with my wife after the kids go to bed
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

This case will get tossed out. It even says in the article that no investigation has even started yet. Just the charges filed. Looks to me once they see the details surrounding the case they'll see it as a non-issue.

It certainly won't help that the school hasn't done anything to address the bullying.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

The problem with statements like this (and their perception) is that it only tells one side of the story.

Although people shouldn't steal, they still do. And there are programs (both preventative and rehabilitation programs) to try to reduce crime. However, authorities still tell you to do your part and keep your property safe by locking your doors and using good judgement. Not that it's your fault if you get robbed, but prevention and education only go so far. We have to tackle it from both sides.

People assume that when someone tells a woman to not dress "provocatively", they are blaming the woman if she gets harassed or assaulted. While it is true that we must stop the source of the attacks (rapists and harassers), there will still be people like that out there and everyone has to do their part to be cautious.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Having recently gone from 0-3 kids through foster-adoption, I can answer this question pretty easily.

From my experience, the shunning is not intentional. It's just that kids take up so much of your time, that parents tend to participate in activities that are child-friendly. This means going to the playground at the park, cheaper restaurants with kid's menus and play places, community fairs, art classes, youth sports games, etc. Childless adults generally have no reason to go to those types of things, and parents with children can't go to bars, clubs, theaters, or even your upscale eatery without paying for a babysitter for the kids.

I felt shunned from parents because I just felt like the conversations were always about the kids, and they were usually held at a place where you would feel awkward if you didn't have a kid there (like try going to a splash pad full of kids if one of them aren't yours).

Since having my kids, though, I get invited to birthday parties, playdates, community fairs, and all sorts of other fun things. There's usually stuff for the kids to keep busy while the parents talk amongst themselves. Sure, we'll talk about our kids at first, but then we move on to other subjects. Childless adults generally have no reason to be at these events because they don't have kids to entertain.

With that being said, I make sure to throw the occasional gathering or trip where the kids stay home and we go out with other adults. I was that childless parent once and I don't want other childless adult to feel excluded.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

I think you're supposed to just assume that these things happen off screen. It's about the equivalent of superheroes eating dinner or using the bathroom. They don't show it in the movies, but you just assume it happens off screen because it serves no narrative purpose to devote screentime to it.

Case in point: Although we never witness the death, it isn't until the lady confronts Tony Stark in Civil War that we find out about the death of her son and the grieving that took place because of it.

That death (and the following grief) showed a narrative purpose so we saw it. Those other deaths, well, we assume that the appropriate people grieved and the proper investigative procedures happened. We just didn't need to see them.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Irony posted...

I did a paper on this in high school and got called to the principal's office. He subtly threatened me and told me to back off if I wanted to live longer.

Does he work for the porn mafia?
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

It's a bit complicated for me and ranges from low to high risk and low to high reward.

- I have a 401k with decent amount built up
- My wife just needs to work 5 more years in her job and she gets a guaranteed pension
- My laser tag business is in a building I purchased that I will have paid off in 7 years. With the improvements, that building could sell for $200k without the business, or projected $400k with the business and equipment if I needed to (or I can just keep the business and live off of profits)
- Currently planning on opening two more businesses- a daycare and a Chick-Fil-A. Again, looking at either selling those off or living off their profit later in life
- Possibility of franchising my laser tag business and sell franchise rights to other owners
- Also, I don't ever plan to retire. When I am done with my full time work, I plan to travel and do contract work from motivational speaking, to politics, to consulting.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

How will this work with internet privacy? Like, will this change companies' ability to do as they want with your internet browsing habits (i.e. search histories, spending habits). I know there is already some liberties with that now. But would the end of net neutrality impact this in any way?
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

All three girls had a good day at school/daycare today. That is rare, especially on a Monday. Usually one will hit a teacher or run away.

This has been a good day.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

We used them tonight to seed games at our laser tag place.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Doe posted...

My Physics C teacher told me that when he had to defend his thesis or dissertation or whatever (it was for a masters not a PhD I think) he wrote his defense so that it would have a bunch of traps in it. So he'd exclude obvious bits from his defense with the knowledge that his superiors would question him on it to see if he knew what he was talking about.

Whenever this happened he had giant stacks of slides prepared to painstakingly go through it (it was before PowerPoint I guess, I think they just used a projector). They only had so much time to question him and additionally whenever he embarrassed one like that it would shut them up for the rest of the defense.

The way he described it all, the professors/superiors or whatever really take advantage of you when you're doing that program and they liked to try and fuck you over one last time before you became 'on their level,' so it was justified

Wow, at least in my program, that seems so unnecessary.

In my Master's defense, we spent the whole time just discussing the possibilities of my study. Perhaps cause education isn't as "hard-sciency" I am able to talk through any concerns feom my committee.

I imagine my phd defense will be similar.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

IllegalAlien posted...

Wow that was quick, didn't you just pass your quals a year ago? Maybe it was two years by now.

Yes, I passed last December. I wasted no time working on my dissertation.

Eevee-Trainer posted...

Is this like "suggesting a potential research study" sort of thing or is this like "here's my research and result" kinda thing?

It's both. The proposal defense is me justifying a research study. If I pass, I then actually conduct the study and then I have to defend the results.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Studying student transitions to college. Getting data to understand where students struggle the most amd why.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

20 of those pages is just the reference list.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Took me a year to get done. Hopefully I can get the study done in half the time.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Returning_CEmen posted...

Do these girls look like they could be your daughter?

It actually works out pretty nicely. My wife is white and blonde, and the girls are white. The two younger ones are white and blonde so they could totally pass as my wife's kids, but the older one has darker brown hair and more native american facial features, which makes her look like more like my kid (I'm hispanic).
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Melonfarms posted...

If the bio parents got their life together some time in the future would you allow them to visit/see their kids? Or do you think the damage done is too great and prefer them to go away forever?

Good question.

I'm of the mind that if/when the girls eventually want to see (or in the case of the 2yo, meet) their bio parents, and they're old enough I think they can handle it, I'd absolutely let them see each other. Otherwise they'd always have this void in their hearts of wondering and may go looking for them anyways. I'd rather be a part of the process so they don't build any resentment towards me for not letting them.

With that said, I don't plan to ever make friends with those parents or invite them to any family get-togethers. If they see the girls, it is for closure/curiosity purposes only (for the girls, not them).
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

It seems the girls will have to testify on the stand in front of everyone. But it is very likely they will remove the parents as their presence could compromise the honesty in their testimony.

We have an appointment with their lawyer in two weeks who will prep them for the stand.

It will be nice when this is all over.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

josifrees posted...

Wow

Do you get to be in the court room?

Yes, as we too will likely be forced to give testimony.

AvlButtslam posted...

What do you tell the schools/babysitters/daycares etc? Like do they understand the full situation and prepare for it or do you just hand them over and be like that may have a few behavioral issues good luck lol

We tell them enough so they are prepared. We stay in communication often and have developed behavior plans together.

SusanGreenEyes posted...

In addition you may need to get a few letters of reference from people who know the situation and believe you would be the best parents for the children.
The daycare owner should be able to write a good letter for you as there have been behavioral improvements.

Our case worker is already working on all that.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Dang, lots has happened since my last post. Apparently the parent termination trial was pushed forward from February to two weeks from now. Meaning that the parents could lose custody of their children by early December and then the girls would be available for adoption.

The downside is the girls have been subpeoned to testify in court about what happened to them. Yes, the 4 and 5 year old.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

SpoonRebooted posted...

PSA: I didn't want kids. Now I have six of them. Having lots of sex is directly tied to having lots of kids. I'm not saying that you have to choose, but......

Six kids?

Funny, I currently have my 3, and I'm aiming to have 4 total. But I always wondered what it would be like raising 6 kids.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Our 4-year-old was suspended today for running around the school and trying to escape. When put in her room, she kept screaming she doesn't want to live in the house anymore, and that she wants to go away.

In the spur of the moment, I picked her up and took her outside and placed her in front of me. I told her "Okay, so now you're not in the house. Now what?" She stands there and looks at me for like a solid minute, then starts crying and hugs me and screams she wants to go back into the house.

I managed to catch her bluff and told her why saying things she doesn't mean is bad. I'm hoping that sticks.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Soy Tim Kaine!
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

zhangliao1 posted...

can someone post the transcript since the vid is not avaliable here

I doubt you will find a transcript anywhere cause it's an SNL sketch. Basically makes fun of the DNC's attempt at being relevant again after the recent Democratic victories in a few swing states, despite lacking young voter engagement and generally being out of touch.

Try this link:

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/message-from-the-dnc/3618252

(Adblocking software would have to be disabled)
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

bump
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

josifrees posted...

I was thinking about your statement concerning people saying parenting aint easy and how its relatively easy for you and a few things came to mind.

1) you are using daycare which pretty much limits your responsibility to your children. This inherently lowers the amount of time you have to deal with the short term needs of your children.
2) the ages of your children means you are pretty much past the point of having to change 10-20 diapers daily or have a child crying with no means of communicating their short team needs. Your kids are old enough that they can tell you when they are hungry, tired, want attention, are cold or hot, or need to use the bathroom. The first year of traditional parenting where your kid has limited methods of communication seems to be a lot different than once they can start communicating
3) from what I understand from people whove had kids that have grown up, the older they get the bigger the problems are and the harder it is for your children to respect your authority. You may have it somewhat easier in that respect though because your older ones have an idea of how good theyve got it with you rather than their biological parents

These are some good thoughts and good points.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Thrillwell posted...

1NfamousACE_2 posted...

As someone who works with kids in a psychiatric program, God bless you.

Share some thoughts and stories pls.

Seconded
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

lol
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

I appreciate that they took a break from the GOP for second. This was hilarious.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

In other news, Nancy Pelosi is looking pretty hot right now.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

r4X0r posted...

What happened to the iPhone 9?

It went out partying with Windows 9 and never came back.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

josifrees posted...

Good job TC. The posts in this topic do make me feel really bad for children who dont get a functional and loving home like yours. Especially those kids that get bounced around homes until they get in legal trouble or reach 18.

I've been volunteering at adoption fairs since I got these kids. It really is depressing.

For one, adoption fairs are exactly what they sound like. You have groups of interested parents in this large auditorium (usually at a church or school) looking through all the foster kids and trying to find one to adopt. The kids are treated like shelter animals as parents go to talk to them to see if they want them as their kid, and of course, certain kids get all the parents looking while others don't get any inquiries at all.

I went to just one of these as a possible adoptive parent and hated it so much I never went again in that capacity. I go now as a volunteer to provide support and play games with the foster kids who are obviously uncomfortable at these things. They hate being there but they know this is one of their only chances of getting adopted if they're older than 9.

Many of these kids only get worse as they get older thanks to all the rejections from possible parents and foster parents. After a while, I almost feel like they are more damaged from the moving around home-to-home than the original tragedy that got them in this situation in the first place.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.

Tmaster148 posted...

BlazinBlue88 posted...

Zanzenburger posted...

Tmaster148 posted...

At least you found it. Having to report a lost/stolen id and getting a replacement does not sound like a fun task.

Not at all. We had to firmly explain to the girls that if we didn't find the ID, that mom would lose her job and we would all have to leave this house. I hated to scare them that way but they needed to understand how big consequences can get for careless actions.

Is that actually true or were you just embellishing to make a point?

Pretty sure that's not true. I work with a clearance and there's a whole process in place in case you lose you id.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure she would have been fine ultimately. But her boss already doesn't like her so it definitely would have been another point against her if she reported lost.
---

Congratulations! Your post was deemed response-worthy.