What an interesting zombie thread though!

If there is a standard American pronunciation (as for Michelangelo) I use it when speaking English. When speaking a foreign language, I use *their* pronunciation for English place and person names as well. Basically, proper nouns are words like any word; most have a pronunciation in the language being spoken that is appropriate to that language.

This is why scientific studies are blinded. It is very easy for a human brain to feel a "pull" where it expects to feel and pull, and to feel none where it expects none. When studies are not blinded (as your little trial was not) the results are far too easily influenced in the direction we anticipate.

The official interpretation is that the phrase "hot drinks" as used in the Word of Wisdom refers to coffee and tea. These are explicitly forbidden. Extending or not extending the prohibition to other caffeinated beverages is largely left to each individual's discretion. I would say that drinking at least some caffeinated beverages such as caffeinated sodas is more common than not, and I don't personally know anyone who avoids hot cocoa because of the Word of Wisdom (though I've heard such people are out there. The mate of choice in Bolivia was mate de coca, made from the leaves

My next-door neighbors when I was young were Jehovah's Witnesses. And I'm Mormon so have been surrounded by those my whole life 🙂 The schools I went to had more Catholics and Jews than anything else. There were a handful of Muslims in my last high school and a smattering of various Protestants though I rarely knew specific denominations; one of my college roommates was Muslim. My best friend in 8th grade was baptized Russian Orthodox but her family weren't religiously active. I lived in Japan so knew lots and lots Buddhists (most Japanese people practice some Shinto rituals as well,

You probably made their day; Latter-day Saint missionaries are usually delighted just to find someone to have a friendly chat with 🙂

Interesting. I think saliva tests are by far the most common in my state.

This one is a foam nasal swab but if you have a provider who would order it might be covered by insurance? https://www.labcorp.com/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/providers/labcorp-home-kit-provider-information

Can you check different locations to see how they are currently doing PCR tests? Around here most of them are saliva tests, and some of the nasal ones are just the front of the nose. Not all PCR tests are the tickle-your-brain kind. The saliva ones might even be available as a home test mail-in option.

Percentile as far as I know always means "the percent scoring below this score" OR "the percent scoring at or below this score" (exclusive or inclusive usage). So a student who scores at the 60th percentile scores higher than (or higher than or equal to) 60% of students. The percent of students with "this score or higher" would be about 40%; that is percent of students but not a percentile rank.

These look like onomatopoeia words. I would render them in English as "Wah, wah!" for the baby and maybe "swish, swish" for the seaweed/sea plants.

Yeah I saw your quote show up when I posted and was confused myself!

Some things my kids with IEP's have: Extra time for assessments and assignments. Permission to complete all written assignments on a computer (this allows a word processor program with spell check). Testing in an alternate location. Breaks as needed throughout the day. Things I have heard of other kids getting: Shortened assignments (only half the usual problem set assigned for example). Scribe for written assignments I can't remember more off the top of my head but google IEP accommodations for anxiety.

The state with the 15th percentile rule appears to be Oregon; I looked it up and the actual regulation seems rather reasonable. If the child is below the 15th percentile, they must retest the following year (tests are not normally required every year, just in certain grade levels). If their test the next year is at or above their original percentile, nothing is done. If testing is below the 15th percentile and DROPS for three years in a row there is a review. An alternative individual plan can be set up if a child has learning disabilities and, if memory serves, a child on such a plan may be a

Tinkercad Blender