Random Thoughts That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here

[timmae]

Originally Posted by AENeuman

With these new smart phone baby monitoring systems, distance is no longer limited.

So, what do you think is the acceptable distance to be away from your sleeping baby/toddler?

Can I go two doors down and pick up Chinese food? How about across the street for a coffee? or down the block to shop at the grocery store?

I have my own ideas on the subject but as a soon to be 40 year old who has no kids I am certain my thoughts will not factor in the myriad of delicate issues that parents go through on a daily basis. I do however imagine there is the PC answer that most parents provide and then there is the truth. I don't know which is scarier...

[Lathum]

I have 2 kids under 5.

I think as long as you are somewhere that you can get home quickly, and were only going to there a brief period of time it is ok.

There have been many times I have ran to my neighbors house while my kids were asleep, or taken out the garbage.

I think running 2 doors down to get Chinese food, ok, sitting at the bar and having 3 beers, probably not.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by timmae

I have my own ideas on the subject but as a soon to be 40 year old who has no kids I am certain my thoughts will not factor in the myriad of delicate issues that parents go through on a daily basis. I do however imagine there is the PC answer that most parents provide and then there is the truth. I don't know which is scarier...

Curious to hear your ideas on it.

[Logan]

Unfortunately, we'll probably find out an actual legal answer when something tragic happens.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Logan

Unfortunately, we'll probably find out an actual legal answer when something tragic happens.

I used to wonder about that. I lived on the 5th floor of a building in Seattle, there was a bar/ lounge on the street level. I could get there without ever leaving the building. I always wondered if the moniter would work there, and what the legalities would be since I was still in the same building. Never did it, just curious.

[timmae]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Curious to hear your ideas on it.

Nothing to outrageous... just the "don't let them out of your sight" type of thinking. I've seen to many instances where people leave a running car to grab cigarettes (bonus points on that one as they usually light up in the car once they get back in), run into a restaurant to grab food, leave a baby in a stroller while they walk off somewhere (according to nightly news inevitably on a train platform with said train about to coast into the station), leave their kids at a common play area at the mall while they shop, let kids roam free around Chuck E Cheese's, etc. Why on earth would you leave the things that are presumably the most precious to you while focusing your thoughts/energy, whatever on more trivial matters. Again, easy to preach but the practice is much tougher no doubt.

[timmae]

dola: I spent 20 minutes during my commute this morning playing a game of "what makeup will the driver in front of us apply next?" with my wife. My wife won hands down with mascara, lipstick and brushing hair all in the right order.

[Easy Mac]

Was having this thought last night, twice actually.

Took the daughter (5) to the grocery store to pick up some things we didn't know we needed earlier. I was getting some lettuce when the thunder/sprinklers came on for the veggies. My daughter decided to go over to them. There was a mildly nervy millisecond where she shifted on the other side of a fruit aisle and I couldn't see her, but I felt confident since she was maybe 25 feet away.

Then, after we were done we walked over to the froyo place 2 spots down. I had her stand exactly where I could see her so I could walk over to the car. I probably looked backwards 10 times in the 15 second walk to the car. Nevermind that if I had a baseball, the could have thrown a dart and hit her with no problem, but I was a bit nervous about leaving here there. Of course, if she was the same distance away from me at a playground, I would be perfectly fine.

I presume the nervousness I momentarily felt in these situations was almost entirely due to judgment from other parents for not hovering over my child, instead of true fear for her safety.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Nevermind that if I had a baseball, the could have thrown a dart and hit her with no problem

I'm highly confident this is illegal, FYI.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Logan

I'm highly confident this is illegal, FYI.

When baseballs are outlawed, only outlaws will have baseballs.

[NobodyHere]

I think James Garfield would've been a good president if he had not been shot or had incompetent doctors.

[stevew]

The Kanye backlash continues to be absurd.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by stevew

The Kanye backlash continues to be absurd.

Amen.

[Chief Rum]

I haven't seen the backlash, but then I haven't paid attention. I did read an article about what he did, and if it is accurate, he's as much a jackass now as he was when pulled the same stunt with Taylor Swift.

If that's what the backlash is saying, well, the backlash has a point.

[ISiddiqui]

By getting up and faking to take the mic and sitting back down? It got the biggest laugh and applause of the night.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

By getting up and faking to take the mic and sitting back down? It got the biggest laugh and applause of the night.

I think it's that combined with what he said after that moves it into asshattery (even if he's right).

[Scoobz0202]

He interviewed after the Grammy's. He wasn't joking. He wanted to do it again and claims Beck should have given his grammy to Beyonce

e: How could he be right, though? I mean.. he talks about creativity and how giving it to Beck is a shame when Beck has a long history in music and Beyonce has like 4+ writers per song.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

e: How could he be right, though? I mean.. he talks about creativity and how giving it to Beck is a shame when Beck has a long history in music and Beyonce has like 4+ writers per song.

The Cliffsnotes version of how he could be right would be that the words in a song or who wrote them don't really correlate to whether music is good/creative and the albums Beck recorded prior to 2014 don't have any bearing on how good/creative the one he recorded in 2014 was.

[RainMaker]

The music industry seems filled with insufferable narcissists.

[stevew]

I'm semi familiar with all of the records except Beck. I just wonder how many Scientologists are voting members cause any of the 4 other records seem much more worthy. Beck had 0 cultural impact with his record.

[Suicane75]

Well if it's cultural impact you want, just give all the awards to Sia while stroke victims with hard ons and 10 year old girls jump around the stage like they're on mescalin for 3 hours. Maybe they can have a short dissertation by Iggy Azela on the greatest songs ever written about the asshole and the pussy hole halfway through, just to break things up.

[molson]

I don't follow anything music-related, but I think its hilarious that there's a grown-up whose gimmick is interrupting award speeches to interject with who he thinks should have won instead. It's not a Saturday Night Live character who does this, mind you, its an actual human person, and he's one of the biggest stars in the world.

Edit: He also doesn't seem to care for Jews. That's a less hilarious gimmick, but it's also one that doesn't impact his super-stardom.

[Draft Dodger]

I don't believe people take Grammy voting seriously. Jethro Tull, anyone?

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Wow…some vicious reviews. Some hilarious ones too.

The "People Also Viewed..." links are the best part, though now they're skewed by non-nut-jobs who went to look at the book's page. They included:
"My Parents Open Carry"
a book by Lark Voorhies (who played Lisa on Saved By The Bell)
"Raising Boys Feminists Will Hate"
"A History of the African-American People (Proposed) by Strom Thurmond, as told to Percival Everett & James Kincaid"
a vibrator or vibrator simulator thing
"Ted Cruz to the Future - Comic Coloring Activity Book"
"Cancer Is Good For You, a Handbook for Total Healing"

Also, last week, when you looked, it would show a book about using masturbation to get ahead in business...

/tk

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

He interviewed after the Grammy's. He wasn't joking. He wanted to do it again and claims Beck should have given his grammy to Beyonce

e: How could he be right, though? I mean.. he talks about creativity and how giving it to Beck is a shame when Beck has a long history in music and Beyonce has like 4+ writers per song.

Comparing his good nature when he did the fake interrupt and his laughing about it at the time, his "I thought about my wife and kid" are nothing more than retconning.

I'm not sure how long history in music and having multiple writers a song have anything to really do with 'creativity'. Personally, I'd say that Beck's Odelay was very creative, for instance, but his recent album, Morning Phase, is far less creative than Beyonce (the album).

[rowech]

People really should pay attention to Common Core and PARCC testing a lot more than healthcare and immigration. With testing starting next week for high school subjects, I can say this is going to be an absolute disaster for so many reasons.

[stevew]

Screw a regular alarm noise or some song. Owner specific pet puking noises always will make you up and alert.

[AENeuman]

Originally Posted by rowech

People really should pay attention to Common Core and PARCC testing a lot more than healthcare and immigration. With testing starting next week for high school subjects, I can say this is going to be an absolute disaster for so many reasons.

How so?

[jeff061]

I'm not sure how long history in music and having multiple writers a song have anything to really do with 'creativity'.

If that's the case, they should be calling the writers to the stage and awarding them. In Beck's case(and any other musician) that would be one and the same.

Beyonce is talented, but she's just a performer/entertainer. She's no musician. Anyone could execute the material she's being handed, she just has the bankable brand.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by AENeuman

How so?

This is just one piece in it. Will give a start on it.

The Winnetka Wire

I'll be honest and say I'm not actually sure how much I am legally allowed to say given the I have signed certain forms already.

[AENeuman]

Originally Posted by rowech

This is just one piece in it. Will give a start on it.

The Winnetka Wire

I'll be honest and say I'm not actually sure how much I am legally allowed to say given the I have signed certain forms already.

I'm also not looking forward to it, mostly due to the redundancy it puts on at/above level students and burden it puts on the bellows.

But the thing I'm most shocked by is how awesome your Superintendent seems. I've never had one even mention teacher/classroom time when rolling our their agenda/vision/mandate.

[timmae]

Winnetka is surely a unique place!

[rowech]

Originally Posted by AENeuman

I'm also not looking forward to it, mostly due to the redundancy it puts on at/above level students and burden it puts on the bellows.

But the thing I'm most shocked by is how awesome your Superintendent seems. I've never had one even mention teacher/classroom time when rolling our their agenda/vision/mandate.

That actually is not my superintendent. She is the superintendent of the wealthiest district in the nation as I understand it. My superintendent, along with many others, have recently written to Ohio's superintendent of schools about it though. No joke -- for the next three months, February, March, April, and start of May, we have testing somewhere in our district every week. At our high school, all but two of those weeks have some sort of testing in them.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by timmae

Winnetka is surely a unique place!

It surely is. It is not the wealthiest district in the nation (I don't know what is, but a neighboring community is wealthier) but is certainly highly affluent. The new Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, who is estimated to be worth a billion dollars, lives there. This affluence actually puts it in a good position to be against the testing since its students will probably do well compared to others so it's not sour grapes and its parents have enough influence that they'll be listened to. While I currently work in a private school, a short term decision that turned long term in no small part due to standardized testing, my many friends and colleagues in public schools share rowech's pessimism about the test - for so many reasons.

[ColtCrazy]

Indiana's ISTEP is facing a similar overhaul. We just got informed that the test for March will be just under 11 hours. This is just phase one of the test. In the past, BOTH phases took a total of about 6-7 hours. The first phase calls for 3 hours of practice testing (cue Iverson's practice speech here).

Now the state is backpedaling due to the public outcry. The governor and superintendent of schools, who have been embroiled in a bitter power struggle since the superintendent was elected, are pointing fingers.

The entire process is going to be a disaster.

[Butter]

Just got finished with my taxes... we are getting back in a refund from the state almost exactly the same amount that we owe in federal taxes (within $5 of each other).

That, my friends, is called NAILING IT.

[nol]

Originally Posted by jeff061

If that's the case, they should be calling the writers to the stage and awarding them. In Beck's case(and any other musician) that would be one and the same.

Beyonce is talented, but she's just a performer/entertainer. She's no musician. Anyone could execute the material she's being handed, she just has the bankable brand.

It's "Best Album" not "Best Songwriter" or "Who can play the most instruments." There are different awards for that, and I'd think it's incredibly naive to ignore the collaborative process that goes into making any album. In fact, that's why the stuff that wins Grammys ends up winning - the types of people involved in executing Beck's material (numerous session musicians, engineers, and producers) are just better-represented among the Grammy voters than Beyonce's or the other nominees'. This also happens for albums that are better than Beck's (Random Access Memories), and when you add that effect up over many years you get something as insular and out-of-touch as the Grammys.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Just got finished with my taxes... we are getting back in a refund from the state almost exactly the same amount that we owe in federal taxes (within $5 of each other).

That, my friends, is called NAILING IT.

Just finished mine, and absolutely love paying non-refundable amounts of city tax to depressed Ohio localities that we don't live in.

[molson]

I don't even know how you can compare albums by Beck and Beyonce and decide which one is just "better" for award purposes. How you can isolate out your own subjective preferences regarding what kind of music you like.

I guess you can say the same thing for movie awards. But I always felt like there was relatively less diversity there, in terms of what great movies try to do. But even there, once a movie, or an album, or a song, or a Broadway play, or any kind of art reaches that level of greatness where there wasn't any "mistakes" or sub-par performances, it seems like it would be a inherently flawed exercise to say which one was the "best" - especially when the candidates are in completely different genres.

[Lathum]

It is really sad we live in a world where adults feel the need to cheat at little league baseball.

[stevew]

The whole All Star process seems like a lame beauty pageant

[Grover]

Seems like there's a huge number of "Guests" viewing the Dynasty forums these days. I'm around 930 views for 31 posts on my Georgia Dynasty. In past months I'd probably have around 330-350 for the same number of months.

What gives? More bots? More actual people who aren't registering with the forum but obviously should? Very strange.

[timmae]

Started using an electric toothbrush earlier this week. I think I like it... Teeth feel very clean afterwards.

[Logan]

I've been watching The West Wing on Netflix, as I never caught any of the original run and it seemed like something right up my alley. I'm rounding through Season 4 and there's an episode called "Life on Mars". Matthew Perry, in what I presume is a guest role, is playing a lawyer and he gets some help getting into his office by a character he is surprised is so young. She explains that she's 22 and a law student.

I think I recognize her immediately as the stripper friend of Vivica A. Fox in "Independence Day" and her larger role in "Saved by the Bell: The New Class." But then I think...this episode is 10 years after SbtB and about 7 years after ID4. There's no way she's playing a 22 year old. So I look up the cast for the episode and sure enough it's Kiersten Warren. Conservatively speaking, she was 37 or 38 years old when that episode was shot. I wish I could ask Sorkin either a) why they used her or b) why she had to play a 22 year old.

Visiting her IMDB page did also lead me to find out she's married to Alvarez from OZ.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Logan

I've been watching The West Wing on Netflix, as I never caught any of the original run and it seemed like something right up my alley. I'm rounding through Season 4 and there's an episode called "Life on Mars". Matthew Perry, in what I presume is a guest role, is playing a lawyer and he gets some help getting into his office by a character he is surprised is so young. She explains that she's 22 and a law student.

I think I recognize her immediately as the stripper friend of Vivica A. Fox in "Independence Day" and her larger role in "Saved by the Bell: The New Class." But then I think...this episode is 10 years after SbtB and about 7 years after ID4. There's no way she's playing a 22 year old. So I look up the cast for the episode and sure enough it's Kiersten Warren. Conservatively speaking, she was 37 or 38 years old when that episode was shot. I wish I could ask Sorkin either a) why they used her or b) why she had to play a 22 year old.

Visiting her IMDB page did also lead me to find out she's married to Alvarez from OZ.

This reminds me of some Adam Carolla rant from a month or two ago on John Cusack from the movie 2012 showing a driver's license that shows him being born in 1979 despite that Cusack was born in 1966.

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

So I'm interviewing two people this afternoon. Looking at their resumes, and I just don't get why this isn't rule #1 in resume building: Use Your Name Or Something Similar As Your Email Address.

Some stupid handle @ gmail.com just makes you look unprofessional from the start.

I'm not quite sure what's worse...CW's complaint (which I agree with completely), or the issue I'm having with a resume I just received as a referral from one of our current employees. This resume doesn't have ANY contact information at all on her resume. No email address. No phone number. No physical address. Nothing.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

I'm not quite sure what's worse...CW's complaint (which I agree with completely), or the issue I'm having with a resume I just received as a referral from one of our current employees. This resume doesn't have ANY contact information at all on her resume. No email address. No phone number. No physical address. Nothing.

Once when I was re-formatting my resume to try and fit it on one page, I managed to omit my name from it. I actually sent a few of them out before I caught the mistake.

[britrock88]

Are any of you keeping up with the updates on the shooting in Chapel Hill? One of the victims was a classmate of my sister. It's surprising to me, but even from a great distance, it's a difficult event for me to try to comprehend/cope with. I can only hope she's doing better.

(This is approaching seven years after another prominent murder in Chapel Hill. That time, Eve was a classmate of mine. Strange and sad that this is a recurrent phenomenon in a community that is typically idyllic.)

[Grover]

Originally Posted by britrock88

Are any of you keeping up with the updates on the shooting in Chapel Hill? One of the victims was a classmate of my sister. It's surprising to me, but even from a great distance, it's a difficult event for me to try to comprehend/cope with. I can only hope she's doing better.

(This is approaching seven years after another prominent murder in Chapel Hill. That time, Eve was a classmate of mine. Strange and sad that this is a recurrent phenomenon in a community that is typically idyllic.)

I can't believe the media is trying to say this is all over a parking dispute. Who shoots three innocent people through the head over a parking space?

If this was one Muslim killing three white people this would be a terrorist attack. But instead we're told it's over a parking dispute or the shooter may have had mental disabilities. The media makes me sick.

[jeff061]

I hate the idea of a "hate crime". He murdered 3 people, I don't care the motive, give him the chair.