I think the bolded might help. If posters know the thread has been reported, the mods won't get inundated with multiple reports. I'm never sure if I should report spam or if I'll just be annoying the mod with multiple reports. Is the convention to always reply with a "reported" message? So if I see spam with no replies, it hasn't been reported? Probably not in the software, but it would be cool if the report button just greyed out after the post had been reported once.

I struggled with that for years and gave up! Now we eat a big hot breakfast together each morning. The time is so much more predictable than evening. Ds and I cook our big meal of the day at lunch. Dh could warm up leftovers for dinner or take them for lunch the next day. Does your dh have a microwave at work? The evening meal at our house is usually just yogurt or cereal, but that is manageable, because we eat big meals in the morning and lunch. This may just work for us because ds and I are morning people, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there. It has made our meal life much more peaceful and pleasant.

I'm looking for some of these to recommend for nearly 17yo ds. I'm hoping someone here either has a better memory or has read them more recently. What were your favorites? And if you remember (which I never do), which you would say would be appropriate for a teen who might not yet appreciate something like Stranger or Friday.

I've wondered about that, but was listening to the author of Excellent Sheep on a radio show and it really made me wonder about the Ivies and such. STEM schools seem to expect more from students, but that may just be a false impression on my part.. I hear you there! I doubt if my university will stay the way it was. The state has decided that colleges and universities will receive funding based on graduation rates, so every student that fails is a loss of funds. I'm sure there will be a push on profs to pass everyone on through.

I totally agree with this! I went to a tough school where we were expected to take care of our own education. Attendance was our choice. Solutions were available for homeworks, so we could check our own. If we still couldn't get it, there were office hours, but no one was going to spend hours grading every problem from the text. Advisement was to touch base, but we were responsible for reading the catalog and figuring out what we needed to take. Prereqs were suggestions. If we wanted to try a class and just self-study the prereq, we were welcome to sink or swim. I really liked being treated like an adult. Now I see classes where the first quiz is over the syllabus. The students have to be told to read and study the syllabus and then be tested over it! Attendance is checked every class. Advisors are like nannies. Some poor soul has to grade every problem from the book for every student, because the students won't do them otherwise. I already treat ds as an adult and would like a college that does so also. Are there any of these left in the U.S.?

They aren't editable, but the CMU OLI project has free online textbooks. We used the Introduction to Psychology one for a Coursera course. I haven't had the chance to look through the others. http://oli.cmu.edu/learn-with-oli/see-our-free-open-courses/

I have taken meds to help me sleep for years because of thyroid and pain issues. As I age they don't help as much, but a few things have helped some. Yoga and meditation helped, but it took me time to get into them. Earplugs and a facemask help loads. I am one of those sensory sensitive people who thought I could *never* tolerate them, but it didn't take too long. Now I can't sleep without them. I hope some of all these suggestions help.

Look up! We had a pair of hawks nest in our backyard years ago. Pretty much everything disappered as they fed the babies and then taught them to hunt that season. They are great at sitting invisibly silent in the trees and then swooping down on their prey. They did move on, but it was a circle of life lesson: "Look a robin...oh, never mind..."

I'm so, so sorry. Many hugs your way!

I'm glad you mentioned the meds not working in so many cases. I find so many family members angry..."if he'd just take his meds...." Though some people have luck, many are not made better by meds and are, in fact, sometimes made worse. Some patients are doing everything they can and everything they are asked and just don't get better. I wish more family and friends were more patient and compassionate. ( I personally have that problem with a physical auto-immune disease, so can really empathize. People really get frustrated with you when you don't miraculously get better.)

I would say life experiences change brain chemistry. An abused child or other victim does not choose to be a victim, but being a victim definitely changes lives and brains. In the same way, things like FAS can change the brain of a child. Or brain change can come in some random malfunction of the cells (just like cancer). And, of course, some people do also make bad choices, though many of those choices might just be the result of the brain chemistry rather than the cause (i.e. someone ends up deep in drug abuse as a way of dealing with the depression that they can't understand.)

I've read a bit about it since there was a local meeting to deal with the "travesty." Maybe I have an odd outsiders view being a science and math teacher, but the hoopla doesn't make sense to me. College history courses (therefore AP) are to teach critical thinking and analysis. If you don't know and understand the contributions of Jefferson, King, and the founding fathers and other fundamentals of US history, you don't belong there. You need to repeat regular high school history. Do we really expect our college classes to reteach the basics that everyone should have learned in elementary, middle and early high school? Also I don't quite understand the governmental connection. The curriculum for AP courses are decided by a corporation not any government. Students aren't required to take the courses to graduate. Maybe I just don't understand the issues?

He might enjoy the Test of Faith video series: http://www.testoffaith.com/film/ "The relationship between science and faith is often represented as a battleground. The claim is that science has pushed God into the margins. But is the truth more complex? Talking to leading scientist-believers, we probe the issues at the heart of this debate. Has science really murdered God? Or is the God question being redefined in new ways by science? Does the possibility of a Creator remain an ineradicable challenge?" Episodes: Beyond Reason? – Science, faith and the universe (28 mins) An Accident in the Making? – Creation, evolution and the environment (32 mins) Is there anybody there? – The brain, freewill and ethics (28 mins)

Put it in writing! Do not make your family have to deal with the courts to determine custody. Even if the courts decide exactly what you would have, you have put your family through unnecessary paperwork, time and stress to get there. They will have enough on their plates. If a judge has a legal will, the process is quick and so much easier on everyone. I'm sure this varies from state to state and country to country, but it is one thing that you can do to help if the unthinkable happens.

I had a family member in the hospital for 3 weeks and it was so hard to be there for that long and ensure she got proper care. I can't even list all of the things that went wrong. I learned quite a bit during that time. They do spend a good bit of time charting, but the charts don't seem to actually have enough information to care for a patient properly. After two days, I realized someone needed to be there at every shift change (7am and 7pm) to explain to the new nurse what surgeries she had had and what we were doing. Nearly 40 shift changes and over 20 different nurses. (I cried with joy when I had a repeat nurse that I could just update.). Paperwork is done at the beginning and end of the shift with the current nurse and relief nurse together. There is practically no care for patients between 6 and 8, so plan pain meds accordingly. If I was able to be relieved I always arrived back before 6 and didn't leave until after rounds 14 hours later. The nurses have way too many patients. If it seems like your family member is ignored, it may be because they know you are there and they are spending more time tending to patients who are on their own. I'd say over 75% of the nurses appreciated the family members' help. A few resented us and made that 12 hours hellish. And pack a cooler. There is no way to talk to doctors except during rounds (at completely random times). If you pop to the vending machine or cafe while the patient sleeps, the docs will appear and disappear during that time. They will not wait for family even if the patient is asleep or unconcious, so your questions will not be answered and you can't explain problems or request med changes. I think there needs to be a new business concept that provides "nurse advocates" to patients when the family members need a break. You could be in contact by phone, but at least be able to tend to kids and pets and rest a bit. After a week, I would have paid SO much $$$ for a reliable, trustworthy, independent advocate. Something for enterprising nurses or former nurses to think about!

Two more years and I'll be 48. I'll be going back to work to fund college and retirement. I'm hoping that will take the pressure off dh and get him to a less rat-race type job. I hope to go back to my career, but with an 18 year absence I may be doing something completely different.

There is a season for all things and it sounds like yours overseas may be coming to an end. You may be entering the season of "kids in colleges." Moving back won't just set up residency, it will mean you won't be a whole ocean away when your kids are setting out on their young adult lives (assuming that they go to colleges in the US). I don't know what, but I bet there is another great adventure waiting for you back here, if you decide that one is at its end.

We have automated book return now. It's like an ATM that you feed books into. It checks them in and then prints you a receipt. Similar to this one: I always wanted my books checked in right away. This accomplishes that without annoying anyone.

Probably partly the chlorine, but for me it is also the yelling. I have something similar happen when we go to the skating rink or other loud places. I talk very softly most of the time and a whole day of speaking loud enough to be heard over the din (practically yelling for me) just wears my voice out. I used to think it was too many people and germs, until I spent whole days hanging with my dad who refuses hearing aids. Same thing happened. The fatigue for me may be introversion, but my throat is always swollen and I think it sends the message to my body that I'm sick and must rest.

Harold McGee has a website: http://www.curiouscook.com/ I'm reading Cooking for Geeks by Jeff Potter in prep for doing something like this spring semester with ds. Kitchen Science by Howard Hillman is also on my nightstand. Sorry that I can't help with a schedule yet. I usually just pick the source that I like best and treat it as a spine, draw my schedule from that, and then match the chapters/videos from the other sources to the spine.

I think stress increases the likelihood and severity of allergic reactions. Both times I have suffered anaphalaxis I was under a great deal of stress. ETA: I agree with the Benadryl. I always carry the liquid gels. To get a fast dose, I bite them and then stick them under my tongue to squeeze the liquid out. It works fast and well. Of course, I also carry an epi, but hopefully will never have to use it again!

Loved the article. That line from Monty Python comes to mind to me often when I am reading the news This needs to be said more often:

I've seen announcements for these events in our area. Can anyone tell me what they are like? We went to one of the big college fairs (NACAC) and it was a madhouse. Thousands of kids lining up to talk to reps. We only got a few minutes with each and it was so loud that we could hardly hear what they were saying. Ds is a quiet introvert and would like to have a real conversation with a rep (even a short one), but we can't afford to visit as many colleges as we would like.

Thanks for saying this. I've always wondered about this same issue. The same people who were hysterical over the idea of Sharia law a while back were also pushing for laws that are based on the Bible (DOMA and others). Not that I would begin to debate with them, but I've always wanted to ask,"If you pass laws based on religion now, what happens if someday you aren't in the majority religion?" (It seems like this falls vaguely under the golden rule idea.)

They do have a box fan in each of the palatial rooms ;-) We stayed at the Marriott Renaissance. It was wonderful, but I'm not sure what the cost would be without points. Marriott does run specials, though, so may be worth checking out.