Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

73349

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    9,274

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by 73349

    Getting an older person to buy in to diet changes

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    13 hours ago, Emba said:

    Thanks for all of these suggestions. I haven’t tried any salt substitutes because the one my mom bought was so bad. Is Stardust better than average? Have improvements been made over the years in salt substitutes?

    I like the flavor of Stardust enough to have greatly reduced how much salt I use in cooking. It's not potassium chloride or anything; it's a mix of powdered dried veggies and actual spices. I think salt is used so widely because it's cheaper than other spices more than because of its addition to flavor. I also add a little powdered mushroom seasoning to a lot of soups/casseroles/etc. for more depth.

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

    Getting an older person to buy in to diet changes

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I think the idea that "Better drives out worse" could work in your favor, if you can make sure they have on hand...

    - fruits like blueberries, sliced melon, and bananas

    - a salt substitute (I like Stardust, which is only sold online)

    - lower-sodium canned goods to the extent possible (Here's a soup that's only 270mg per half-can serving.); frozen vegetables if possible, because they usually don't have anything added; or frozen things you've made for them

    - veggie burger patties (This page compares nutrition labels so you can choose one low in sodium) and suitable buns so they can have a burger at home.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

    Railroad crossings

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by 73349

    On foot, or at a crossing without signals: stop, look, and listen. I grew up close to train tracks and I think the school I went to for K-2 made it the #1 priority for kids to learn to stay away from train tracks and when necessary, to cross safely.

    If there's a signal, I obey the signal, and I make sure traffic doesn't stop me on or close to the tracks.

    State law in NC is obey the signal, or look for a train if there is no signal. ETA: There are no crossings without signals near me,

    Quote

    Obedience to railroad signal.
    (a) Whenever any person driving a vehicle approaches a railroad grade crossing under
    any of the circumstances stated in this section, the driver of the vehicle shall stop within 50 feet,
    but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail of the railroad and shall not proceed until he can do
    so safely. These requirements apply when:
    (1) A clearly visible electrical or mechanical signal device gives warning of the
    immediate approach of a railroad train or on‑track equipment;
    (2) A crossing gate is lowered or when a human flagman gives or continues to
    give a signal of the approach or passage of a railroad train or on‑track
    equipment;
    (3) A railroad train or on‑track equipment approaching within approximately
    1500 feet of the highway crossing emits a signal audible from that distance,
    and the railroad train or on‑track equipment is an immediate hazard because of
    its speed or nearness to the crossing; or
    (4) An approaching railroad train or on‑track equipment is plainly visible and is in
    hazardous proximity to the crossing.

     

    • Like 2

    Thanks

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    The message kids get needs to be, "If you don't feel safe, reach out to us and we'll be there for you," not, "Trust the judgment of the person who's making you uncomfortable."

    Even if the driver isn't impaired in a legal sense, a passenger with doubts is completely right to secure another ride.

    I would be happy to go pick a loved one up.

    • Like 9
    • Thanks 3

    s/o things that are changing because fewer kids are being born

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    28 minutes ago, SKL said:

    For my kids, it's obviously totally up to them whether to procreate or not, but I do wonder whether, 60 years from now, there will be a lot of elderly people dying alone because their generation was afraid to have children.

    Presently, some people die alone even though they did have children.

    I think it's reasonable that some people would take their chances on dying alone over their chances of seeing their  kid(s) or grandkids die or suffer deeply because of disasters and/or ensuing instability. And some people take the opposite bet.

     

    Looking at my extended family more broadly, there's an interesting pattern: Kids who grew up in a household with 4 or more kids do not have that more than 4 themselves, and more often fewer. Those who grew up in a household with 3 or fewer kids often choose to have as many as, and sometimes more than, their parents. It would be interesting see what the numbers look like going back farther.

    What is something you’re not so good at that you think most people are good at?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Sooo many things.

    I can't picture things/people in my mind well. The more I've seen someone, the harder it is to pull up an image. I don't spell by picturing words. I don't turn a book I'm reading into something visual in my head.

    I can't suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy a whole play/opera/movie/etc. To stay focused enough to tolerate most podcasts and videos, I have to move the speed up to at least 1.5x.

    I can't dance, though I think I could improve with instruction. And I have no sense of direction, navigating by landmarks, which I understand to be common in women. (Interestingly, I think I'm better at sensing elevation, but there's very little use for that.)

    I can't initiate friendships. I can't keep a conversation on one topic or remember what we discussed five minutes ago.

    I can't improvise and be spontaneous. It's not just that I don't enjoy it--I mean I can't come up with anything on the spur of the moment.

     

    Ignore this thread!

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by 73349

    iChurched.

    In looking to answer a chat thread question, I looked at family history and found out one of my great-great-grandmothers was Canadian and left surviving siblings in both Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. I hadn't known anybody in my family was farther north than Vermont.

    • Like 2

    s/o things that are changing because fewer kids are being born

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by 73349

    22 hours ago, SKL said:

    I am curious ... how many boardies and their siblings had more, less, or the same number of kids as their parents?

    My folks had 6 kids, though I think they only intended to have 3.

    Of the 6 kids, the two oldest each had 1 kid (not counting steps).  Then me, I adopted 2.  Younger sib had 2, and the others had zero.  So all told, my folks' 6 kids had a total of 4 biological grandkids.  (There won't be more, given our ages.)

    Why?  I think the fact that we didn't marry young (or at all) may have been the biggest factor.  Partly that it led to more mature choices, partly that it may have impacted the couples' fertility and related things.  Also a likely factor was better birth control options.

    My grandparents were one of three, one of ten (one died in infancy; none would grow up to have more than four), one of two, and one of two. So only one family was a larger size than would be typical today--and even then, there was clear judgment from others because they were having more than they could afford (e.g., having to pay the OB by doing his laundry) or perhaps manage (turns out twins run in families 🤷‍♂️). Cars and college were not considerations, and all my great-grandmothers were married by age 27 AFAIK.

    Both of my grandmothers started having kids by age 18; one would have just two and the other four. Those six children would go on to have a total of 12 (at least 2-3 unplanned), seven of them raised at a standard of living lower than their parents' as kids, three higher, and two about the same.

    Of the 12 of us, each has 0-2 (including stepkids) except one outlier (3 bio, not all planned, plus a stepkid). I do not know of any who want more, though I'm not close enough to a couple of them to be 100% sure. Personally, I was married in my early 20s and chose to have one.

    I need to buy a vehicle that meets these very specific requirements

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by 73349

    A report from an American symphony:

    The medium-height tuba player has a Toyota Highlander hybrid and they tell me they can fit in 6 tubas, but IDK how many passengers at the same time. He recommends looking at a Prius 5 for taller folks.

    Bass players include some cars and a Lexus RX 350.

    The two harpists have minivans, one a Sienna and the other a Pacifica.

     

    I cannot advise personally, as my people are tall but we leave the drum kit at home and never need room for more than 3 people + camping gear for a weekend. The tuba guy (who also teaches band, so pretty familiar with lots of instruments) suggests you visit CarGuru.com and Doug Demuro (tall auto reviewer) on YouTube.

    ADHD medication shortage

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, ShepCarlin said:

    I keep seeing articles it's not just ADHD, it's so many other medications including cancer drugs which just frightens me for cancer patients. Just what is the root of the problem?

    I think the root of the problem is money: manufacturers will not increase production beyond what they're absolutely sure they can sell (and adding capacity costs money). Then if anything goes unexpectedly--shipping issues, a small uptick in diagnoses, etc.--there's a shortage. Profits are the first consideration, not ensuring that patients have medicine; pharmaceutical companies are not going to work any harder to prevent selling out of a product than sneaker companies or other corporations.

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 2

    If your family is from the South

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    My grandmother was from Texas, but her parents were from northern states and moved there. My ancestors AFAIK were mostly UK-origin New Englanders, Mayflower and otherwise, and one Native American (Blackfoot). One from each side served in the same Vermont regiment in the Civil War. It's unlikely though not impossible that somebody along the line kept someone enslaved.

    However, many of them would have benefited from slavery indirectly, such as by being able to buy cheap sugar, and cotton for their clothing and linens. Folks along the coast benefited from the shipbuilding boom whether they participated or not.

    • Like 2
×
×
  • Create New...