Vanilla bean frappuccino (basically a vanilla milkshake). They have a whole lineup now of flavored, non-coffee ones, too - I just checked their menu. Lavender, strawberry creme, chocolate, pistachio. They have a bunch of non-frozen drinks like flavored lemonades and flavored coconut milks. Pink drink, paradise drink, all sorts of stuff! Our closest Starbucks is 45 min away, so I never get it unless I'm somewhere out, so it's still kind of a treat place for us. We have 3 Dunks within 10 minutes though!

Club soda w/ a splash of cranberry juice and lime wedge is my go-to "drink" when I'm out.

Not enough - I would guess that was the problem. And yes, we looked into getting an electric car and having friends who can barely make it 40 miles in the winter before needing to charge again makes it a nonstarter for us right now. I love the idea, but it has to be more practical for where we live before I could do it. Aunt and uncle update from this morning - when my uncle woke up in the middle of the night, he peeked out the window and there was STILL a line. This morning, it was down to about 15 cars. I feel so badly for them! I think most Vermonters were excited for the influx of tourists during a normally non-touristy month. Many towns were going to block off roads and have block parties with food and good viewing. I'm hoping that we were welcoming and friendly to those who came from out of state. We are used to getting large numbers of tourists during ski season and leap-peeping season - just not normally during mud season! I'm also hoping that not too many people tried to venture off the main roads and attempted the dirt roads yesterday. We just had over a foot of snow last week that turned the dirt roads into disasters and without good tires, people could have had some really rough driving.

That is exactly what happened here! I was able to watch it up at my mom's house - we live near each other - and it was really cool. Traffic cams show crazy traffic and according to one of our local papers, people started heading for their cars as soon as totality was over. Also, anyone driving a tesla in Vermont is having a bad day. I passed a charging station and there were over 60 teslas there waiting for 1 of 4 chargers. They will be there for HOURS.

I like playing 2248 - it's a number puzzle game that you can play for a few seconds or a few minutes (or longer). No ads. I have no idea why it's rated 17+, it's literally just numbers and letters on the screen.

I'm kind of like a rotisserie chicken and rotate all night between side, back, and stomach. 😂 I like having a fan on me, and DH hates it, so we have a tower fan that's almost silent, and it's on my side of the bed, angled away from him. I like listening to podcasts when falling asleep, so I have sleep headphones that have flat speakers in them. I used to be a terrible sleeper but once DS was born, I was suddenly (and thankfully) able to sleep really well - and I still fall asleep quickly and only wake up to use the bathroom or if he wakes up for something.

Was it in the episode Legacy? Ishara Yar? "Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) leads an away team to the surface, where they find the colonists initially unperturbed by their presence, but soon end up in a standoff with one of the colony's two remaining warring factions, the Coalition. Their leader, Hayne (Don Mirault), reveals that the other faction, the Alliance, holds the Arcos survivors hostage, and offers the Enterprise the Coalition's support in exchange for Federation weapons, a proposal that Riker rejects. Hayne, however, after learning of Tasha Yar's service aboard the Enterprise, instead offers as a liaison Ishara Yar (Beth Toussaint), saying she is Tasha's sister. Picard accepts Ishara aboard; although the crew is initially skeptical, DNA tests support her claim, and she gradually gains their trust. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), who was especially close to Tasha, becomes friends with Ishara, who seems ready to leave behind her life in the colony." (From Wikipedia)

DS is finishing his third year of writing at WTM Academy with Ms. Bouse and adores her. She's a great teacher and his writing has improved so much.

Yes! It is great for longer term PTSD but it's just as effective to help process a one time event. Some situations I have heard of where it's helped: after a home invasion, after a wasp attack, after a fire, anything unexpected and traumatic. One or two sessions can be very helpful.

seconding!

Oh this is a fun thread! Ok, my current rewatches: Frasier Big Bang Theory Star Trek Voyager (I also love Strange New Worlds and TNG) Criminal Minds Schitt's Creek Currently enjoying: Ghosts All Creatures Great and Small

I completely understand your frustration with AI algorithms, especially when they fail to provide accurate information. It's incidents like these that highlight the limitations of current AI systems and the importance of critical thinking. Your example of petrified hail is fascinating and underscores the complexity of nature. It's unfortunate that the AI couldn't recognize this phenomenon, especially considering its geological significance. It serves as a reminder that while AI can be incredibly useful, it's not infallible and should always be approached with caution. Thank you for sharing your experience and shedding light on this interesting topic. It's discussions like these that help us better understand the capabilities and shortcomings of AI technology. *written by Chat GPT* It's a little stilted and not my usual writing style, but it's not a bad reply overall. I think of AI as a tool, and like all tools, we need to know what their functionality is. I love AI to help me create rubrics for assignments, come up with phrases for sympathy cards or letters of recommendation, and help level text for students. I can paste in a few paragraphs of text, specify the Lexile level I'd like to change it to and ask it to rewrite. This is great when you need to differentiate in a classroom. I tend to change tense when I write, so I can paste writing into the text box and ask it to scan to make sure I didn't do that. I haven't thought to ask too many factual questions yet.

Working in public schools, cell phones are the bane of teachers' existence. Kids as young as 4th grade use them to text each other to meet in pre-determined spots to vape. Kids use Snapchat and TikTok to bully each other during the school day. Parents text their kids all day, disrupting class. They use them to cheat on tests. And this is all in schools where phones are required to be turned to silent and kept in backpacks. Kids hide them in hoodies and wear their earbuds under hoodies as well. Then they can watch YouTube all class. Lunches are much quieter now because kids are all staring at their phones (they are allowed to have them out during lunch). I get kids wanting to keep their phones on them to be able to reach a parent in case of an emergency, but it's frustrating, and in my opinion, causing harm to student learning.

DS has done a lot of labs on the Labster website through his WTMA chem class. They're really well done labs and it looks like there's a home school option - $139 for the year. https://homeschoolbuyersclub.com/products/labster?variant=46655739330874

School funding comes through property taxes here, and homeschoolers do not get any funding, so I would imagine the more people homeschool here, the bigger the benefit to public schools as they would have the same funding with fewer students. Districts are able to choose if they want to allow homeschoolers to attend for part-time classes or extracurricular activities. The district we live in is happy to let DS join for after-school theater club and would have no problem if he were to take a class or two at the high school.