It would indeed be convenient to have a single spokesperson or organizational structure that could give give a precise answer when people have questions about what Black Lives Matter believes about <insert question here>. It would be nice to have such a thing for Christianity too, so that when someone asks “What do real Christians really believe about <insert question here> there would be a place to go for a definitive answer. But it’s not possible, because Christianity isn’t a single organization, and neither is Black Lives Matter. The idea that there’s some hidden organization behind the whole thing with secret goals beyond affirming that black people’s lives are as valuable as every other human life is a baseless conspiracy theory.

Possibly next week. I’m working on application materials for a tenure-track position at the moment and can’t start any new projects until they’re done. (Kind of a long shot, and don’t know what me going full-time will mean for homeschooling, but . . . )

I can think of situations where paying people to get vaccines would be very squicky. If it was a riskier-than-most vaccine and we paid poor people to get it to create enough herd immunity that the well-off people didn't need to would be one example. But Target gives a $5 gift card when you get a flu vaccine and that doesn't bother me.

Smokey Mountain Knifeworks in Sevierville apparently has an indoor river/waterfall and animatronic bears. https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g55328-d1018189-i120769128-Smoky_Mountain_Knife_Works-Sevierville_Tennessee.html

I have done individual cheesecake, chocolate pots de creme, and creme brûlée in 8 oz mason jars. I cooked them souse vide, but I’m sure baking in a water bath would work.

That sounds like a really good idea to get him started. In my experience people who don't know how to cook only learn from cookbooks if they're motivated by wanting to learn to cook. If he's already depressed about this a cookbook is just going to be overwhelming.

Happymom, this stuck out for me in your post. Maybe you already know and the language here is a holdover or only a description from your childhood, but just in case — it’s okay to make a mistake. It doesn’t make you a bad person. Right and wrong can mean correct and incorrect or it can mean moral and immoral. Those aren’t the same thing. It sounds like your dad’s behavior conflated the two meanings for you and that was wrong in both meanings of the word.

The OP did not start a thread asking for support or help regarding an incident with her daughter. From the title and the opening post this is a thread about a social phenomenon affecting “this generation” in which she used her daughters as an example in her argument. It is fair in such a case to question whether the examples, as presented, are an example of the phenomenon described and whether they support the argument. (Argument being used here as “support for a thesis,” not “fight.”)

Do you see any irony in this framing at all?

I was thinking about using the average actual ratio over the previous 30 days as the multiplier for predictions. That would take into account both changes in testing and any improvements in treatment. I've noticed looking back that, while always close to the predicted curve, the actual death line tends to be slightly below the prediction when the curve is flat or decreasing and above it when it's increasing. Right now it's increasing steeply. We're going to be back where we were in April fairly soon. 😞

Ears pierced on my 10th birthday, wore earrings regularly into my 20s, sporadically since. I’m not sure whether I’ve ever gone a full year without wearing them but definitely 6 months or more. They haven’t closed.

Florid/Florida the same, Oregon/oregano differently, but it’s not the first vowel that’s different, it’s the second and third. Watching British cooking shows we laugh at Oregon-O.

There is a town in Iowa that is spelled the same but pronounced with a long a like in way or pay. Ne-vay-da. For five years I lived near enough that hearing the town name was much more common than hearing the state name. Then I moved to an area where I don’t hear or say either of them regularly and now when I try to say the name of the state I get as far as “Ne . . “ and then my brain freezes and I have to stop and think about which pronunciation is which.

If the count comes down to Pennsylvania “naked ballots” will be this year’s hanging chads.

Keep them outside, but let the son who might need a break come in by himself if he needs it.

I would not bring a puppy into a household with this adult son unless you have clearly stated agreement from him not to kick, hit, or pick up and throw the puppy no matter what and trust him to honor that agreement.

Exactly that sort of “hug blitz” is how I know it’s been around for at least five years.

It's specifically anti-semetic, not just white supremacist. Putting multiple parenthesis around the name to mark someone as Jewish has been a thing for at least five years. I think it started as a 4-chan thing. I'm not sure the number three is significant in the code.

Those can absolutely be stress symptoms, but best to check it out. Hugs to you, and I hope it turns out to be nothing more to worry about.

Same.

Family room. My older son started Zoom lessons during the shut down and we’re going to keep it that way for as long as his teacher will do it. Not having to drive him to lessons is such a timesaver.

Coming back to add — I would absolutely not say anything to him about it. If he’s cheating and she’s gathering evidence, don’t tip him off. You can tell him you don’t appreciate being used as a cover after she confronts him.

It may be that she already suspects something and “did he leave his wallet” was her excuse for checking his story. I don’t think you need to do anything more.

I was at a church workshop once where this was described as the difference between “friendly” and “welcoming.” Churches that describe themselves as being very friendly tend to be friendly to the people who are already a part of everything and not realize that what they perceive as a super-friendly atmosphere doesn’t feel the same to newcomers.

Behind what? Will you have to some day delay your children’s high school graduation by a week if you take time off now? If not, don’t worry about it