[What would you do about a birthday present you didn't want??]

4 minutes ago, Katy said:

Haha.  I'd guess antique porcelain doll.

Ooh, even creepier!

[What would you do about a birthday present you didn't want??]

11 minutes ago, Katy said:

Happy birthday!   Did I miss it or did you decide to tell us what it is?

Yes, happy birthday, @Not_a_Number.

I don’t think she told us what it is, but she did say it was creepy. And there are little pieces. My guess is https://www.skullsunlimited.com/pages/bonebox 
😜

As for what to do, I’d say just pretend that the gift giver is anyone but your mother. How would you react then? I imagine graciously, so go with that. 

[help finding errata for college textbook/supplement]

17 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Even if he is the author of the text, he almost certainly isn't the author of the student solution manual. 

I didn’t even consider that, you’re right. None of the textbook authors I know have written the type of books that require solutions manuals.

[Is this a faint positive Covid test?]

Even a faint line should be considered positive. Swabbing the throat may give you a darker line if you need to convince someone.

[help finding errata for college textbook/supplement]

4 minutes ago, cintinative said:

Unfortunately, I have no idea how to find his email address other than by contacting him at his college, and that doesn't seem appropriate.  

It’s entirely appropriate. Professors receive emails all the time. If he wants to answer you, he will. If he doesn’t, he won’t.

[help finding errata for college textbook/supplement]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

I just contacted sales. There was no option to contact someone with text questions. HMH is a huge company. I kind of hoped the author would have his own website (occasionally that happens), but not in this case. 

Why not try emailing him directly? You never know, you might get a response more quickly.

[Have you had "mild" Covid? No big deal, no worse than a cold? Just curious.]

34 minutes ago, skimomma said:

I had what I assume is omicron last May.  I was fully vaccinated and boosted.  I experienced "bad cold" symptoms.  Nothing terrible.  But it got me on the back end with months of difficulty breathing, lingering cough, loss of taste, high heart rate, and general fatigue.  I am a runner and I have still not regained my pre-covid pace. If I did not have the measure available, I would assume that I am now back to "normal."  I have years of heart rate and pace data that confirms I am still not 100%.  

I was also fooled by how mild I thought it was and probably pushed activity too hard and too soon....so partially my own fault.  

This is very common. Lots of new POTS and cardiac patients too. My sister is also a runner whose symptoms were much milder than yours - she barely had any - and seemed just fine until a few weeks later when the brain fog, exhaustion, and orthostatic issues began. She's not sure she’ll ever run again. It’s very frustrating.

[Can ya'll help make a college visit list?]

1 hour ago, ScoutTN said:

But Jackson, MS is not a great place to live, imo. 

Btdt. Happy to live elsewhere. Lovely people, but a poor state and an unsafe city.

Obviously, I know some people who disagree with you as they’re quite happy at Millsaps, but good to have other opinions. 🙂

[Can ya'll help make a college visit list?]

Is Millsaps too far? Small and very supportive, with some excellent professors.

[colleges with interviews by alums - prepping?]

There a several reasons why an interview can go badly, but I doubt that not stalking the interviewer and letting them know it is one of them.

The prospective students are there to be interviewed. Should they have some questions of their own prepared? Absolutely. Should those questions have anything to do with information they gleaned from the interwebz regarding their interviewer? Absolutely not. 

[colleges with interviews by alums - prepping?]

1 minute ago, KSera said:

I wouldn’t go looking for his FB page or TikTok account, but I would look to see if he has a Linked In and if there is anything about him connected to work at MIT (like searching his name and MIT). Anything on a Linked In is definitely fair game and is what he wants people to know about him. 

It’s all fair game, and I would absolutely look. I just wouldn’t let him know that I had. 

[colleges with interviews by alums - prepping?]

Some people actually find that really creepy and a turn off, so tread carefully there. Maybe have him do the research and know things about the interviewer’s field of interest and if it comes up he can be all “oh, isn’t that funny, I was just reading about” rather than creeperish “yes, I know all about your involvement because I was stalking you in the internet.” 

[Okay, you guys convinced me!]

1 minute ago, Terabith said:

So, my youngest child isn't sure Roland is going to work as a name, since she either plays D&D with someone named Roland or maybe his character is named Roland?  She says it will be confusing, or that we would have to get him a little sword.  So I might need to ponder names.  

Too late! We’ve already named your cats. 😜

[Okay, you guys convinced me!]

1 hour ago, Spy Car said:

Or perhaps "Juno-60."

Bill

Ooh ! I like it !!

[Okay, you guys convinced me!]

I see only two possibilities for a name to go along with Roland: Barthes or Chanson

Congratulations on the new additions.

[I recall, from long ago, posts about the Shakti Mat]

4 hours ago, Quill said:

Do you lie on it on a regular basis? 

I haven’t recently, so thanks for the reminder. I used to use it regularly. My experience is very similar to that of Lori D., although I don’t think the initial pain lasted as long after the first few times. Once you get through the pain it is wonderful. I would often fall asleep on it.

[I recall, from long ago, posts about the Shakti Mat]

Yes, it’s very relaxing. 

[Loose tea or tea bags? Which do you prefer?]

Loose for tea, always. Sometimes I’ll buy linden or apple tea in bags for convenience, but I find the flavor inferior.

[Need hiking boots recommendations - with ankle support]

Another recommendation to go to REI where someone can help you find what will work. Boots are an investment. If you have small enough feet you can get away with kid’s boots, which are usually much less expensive.

[School Profile Question]

Nuts. I thought I was going to get off easy with the college classes, just copying the descriptions. Back to work. Ugh. I also really doubt that we’ve held onto the syllabi from a while ago. 😭 

[School Profile Question]

3 hours ago, mlktwins said:

Thanks for sharing this!  Mine look like your NEW ones, except for the DE classes.  I do need to cut down my 5 pages of English descriptions (for 4 classes) though.   

For the DE classes, do you just list the description found in the course catalog/on the syllabus, or do you provide more detailed information ?

[Anybody else panicking?]

4 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

So here is another dumb question of the day - is self reporting SAT scores enough until after acceptance? or should I be requesting official score to be sent to individual schools? 

If the school allows self-reported scores I can’t imagine there is any advantage to sending them in before acceptance. Save your money.

[Almost 3 years in to Covid I ought to know but don’t]

Thank you for the update, @MEmama. Sending lots of love your way. I know that you’re a wonderful, caring mother. 🫶

[Almost 3 years in to Covid I ought to know but don’t]

1 minute ago, kbutton said:

Wasn't there a college-age child of a homeschool foreign language provider that died of Covid in the dorm between checks (early in the pandemic)? 

Really, this needs to be addressed right now.

This is not helpful. I’m sure she’s quite worried enough.

[How often do you clean your bathtub]

I think it’s about time for @Spy Car to advertise the Neat steam cleaner, which will make child’s play out of cleaning your bathtubs. 😉