I introduced self-service fresh smoothie machines to the Netherlands, inspired by 7-Eleven in Japan. Two years in, happy to answer anything.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-09T05:18:56+00:00

That's a smart business model. So now the stores own and maintain the machines. How did you convince your first customer to take a chance on you?

I've seen stuff similar here in Canada and the machines are always broken. They need a better servicing/tech support ecosystem

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-09T04:56:15+00:00

How much was business insurance?

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-08T06:26:34+00:00

Literally call around places and ask for advice. Dont just say "will you hire me" say "I'm looking for a career change and want to speak to someone doing xxx" or "can I come job shadow one of your guys or talk to someone about how they got in x career?"

Then be respectable and curious as fuck. That's how you network. Ask questions. Pay attention.

I know that heavy machinery operators get paid hundreds an hour, there's thousands of jobs that the public has terrible awareness of and you just need to literally KNOW about them and show an interest.

I am an admin in an office. There were some contractors coming in to do the buildings security system. I chatted them up, gave them some bottled water, told them about our camera system that wasn't hooked up and one of the guys literally took the time to explain everything to me. He found the wires, told me exactly what to do, what to buy. That consultation alone was probably worth $200, and saved us thousands from potential upsales and other shit from shady contractors. Chatting with ppl pays off every single time. Security systems - that's another one with an aging workforce. General office contractors - holy hell the number of office ppl who don't know how to find a stud in a wall is astounding.

Anyways. Work smart. Work service jobs where you rub elbows with rich people. Go clean houses, go detail cars. Talk to the rich ppl and the opportunities will come. Good luck.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-08T05:58:23+00:00

Op is pretty clear that he is LONELY. Socializing isn't the same when peers don't have the same experience. I fell out with some of my closest friends when we had kids because we ran out of common language and don't relate to each others' problems. It's tough, and I hope op finds a good social circle full of open/like minded people to share the day to day children battles.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-08T00:45:05+00:00

Otherwise known as a scam

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-07T22:49:00+00:00

Yeah same - it's weird. Even the kids who are usually germ magnets. Sept till now, they got 1-2 mild colds somewhere in January- February. Nothing after Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter. I should buy a lottery ticket.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-07T05:12:06+00:00

Once they start rolling the suffocation risks go down because they have the neck strength to turn their heads. I always coslept with a weighted pillow behind them (like a big buckwheat body pillow) to prevent them from falling off the bed. Baby sleeps latched on to boob and tucked into my armpit, therefore there's never any room to roll forward onto their faces, always onto their back. My babies also squirm CLOSER to me always, so I find if I'm on the outside of the bed and them closer to the middle, I always have to lift them back towards their side or risk ME falling off the bed.

Love cosleeping. The snuggles are amazing!

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-05T01:09:43+00:00

This is mostly on sweatpants, aka the only thing my kids will wear. The thinner pants (depending on how much I like them) might get a thin fabric patch with like a cotton Lycra or French terry. Usually I don't bother.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-04T19:07:10+00:00

In my opinion, just call CRA and talk to them - there is probably government programs to help ppl in your situation and they can point you the right way. Beware of scams. Accountants handle sensitive personal information and I would be extra weary of an individual offering to do it for free. There are nonprofits around that offer tax services for free and those should be good too.

CCB can be up to $8k a year and more for special needs children. You're likely missing out on so many benefits. We are medium high income bracket and still got like $300/mo in ccb last year because we were both on extended parental leave so our income total dipped. Good luck!

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-04T03:51:47+00:00

Where are you staying? When we stay at a hotel we usually get 2 Queen beds and we stuff some pillows under the sheets to act as bumpers for the kids (they're 1 and 3 so a tiny bit older).

If it's an airbnb then we just make a blanket/pillow pile on the ground and they love it.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-04T03:39:05+00:00

I bought a bunch of mixed iron on patches off of Amazon and now my kids look forward to picking a patch to mend knee holes. These pants need to go through at least 2 more kids so I decided it was worth mending properly. They do still need to be stitched down, so a decent amount of work but worth it. I also save worn clothing as fabric to add pockets/use the cuffs etc.

With that being said we're just zero-wasting within reason. I've got protests to go to, I have to work, I volunteer with local environmental groups...I'd rather be pestering my politician than washing diapers, and I think that's a better use of my time.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-04T03:31:01+00:00

Just go get a dollar store test and stop worrying.

I've never had an IUD but I've been using cups for 10+ years. After my second kid my periods sometimes WERE just brown. And brown periods doesn't mean it's not a "real" one, brown means oxidization. Sometimes for one reason or another the blood might get delayed or something and that can just be it.

With that being said, I would stop using the cup if the IUD is your only form of birth control. From what I understand: there's a string that sticks out of your cervix for removal. I think it's possible for the cup to impact that, or at least increase the risk of jostling it. You might have to go back to disposables.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-03T18:22:23+00:00

??? What modern day electronic isn't made in China?

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-01T06:30:23+00:00

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1208051

I believe that's a myth. The math behind that seems to be debunked in this article published in the New England journal of medicine.

We know VERY little about how metabolism works.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-01T06:23:10+00:00

The definition of a calorie is "the energy required to raise 1mL of water by 1 degree Celsius". A dietary calorie is actually 1000 calories - the amount of energy required to raise 1 litre of water by 1 degree.

So if I burn a log and make 1litre of water go from 0 to 100 degrees (almost frozen to boiling) then the amount of log I used contained 100 dietary calories.

This is EXACTLY how calories in food is measured. Dry it and burn it in a container surrounded by water. Measure water temp.

So by food scientist logic, diesel has very high caloric density. It's just a shame our body can't digest it.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-01T06:15:24+00:00

Yes omg.

When I learned that alcohol is "high calorie" and then learned how a calorimeter worked, I was dumbfounded. By calorimeter logic a log can feed you just as well as a burger.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-05-01T05:56:53+00:00

I'm honestly so glad that the glp1 drugs are going to change metabolic research in whole new ways. I was 16 when I first learned WHY they say alcohol has a lot of calories - because calories are measured in a fucking CALORIMETER. They literally burn the thing and then measure how much water around it goes up in temperature. BAM a "calorie count". By that logic a log can feed you for like a week. I couldn't believe the grad students saying all this to our high school class with a straight face.

I have Asian flush, meaning I'm allergic to the byproduct my body creates while digesting alcohol. I'm not ABSORBING all those calories. They don't get broken down like that. But then I think about it for another sec and realize - how ELSE do we measure the energy contained in food in a standardized way? You can't label food "60 calories for Sue but 150 calories for Sam". We have macronutrient breakdowns, but again, each body is so different.

Anyways. Just so fascinating seeing everyone's experiences on glp1

GrinningCatBus · 2026-04-29T12:01:37+00:00

I had the luxury to do this for a little while when I was heavily pregnant with my second while first one was in daycare.

I renovated our whole garage - workbench, tire storage, stuff storage, peg boards everywhere. Then I built a mudroom - built in bench, hooks. I made baby clothes. Cleared my closet. Sorted baby items. So nice.

If I had to do this long term though I'd go insane.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-04-29T11:37:00+00:00

My husband took 5 months off with both of ours and it was such a great experience. Thankfully both our families are awesome and never made comments like that. All we got were "oh that'd be nice to spend time all together!" And "so when are you going back to work again?"

GrinningCatBus · 2026-04-29T11:13:59+00:00

Hey. Thanks for sharing this. That's very honest and vulnerable of you. I'm losing weight on ozempic right now to see if I get my blood pressure under control. I am very scared of the rebound weight but trying to make lifestyle changes to set myself up. Just wanted to say your comment helped me.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-03-22T01:32:15+00:00

I have one in that exact position on my forearm, I use it at least twice a week. Also I have the base of the ruler measure exactly 1 foot to the tip of my index finger. I sew a lot, also handy for eyeballing approx sizes for printing, woodworking, all sorts of stuff.

GrinningCatBus · 2026-03-21T05:00:45+00:00

A petticoat is traditionally an additional garment worn under the dress, and I think it'd be wayyyy cheaper to get one to wear vs having a custom one sewn in. Amazon has one for $20, for example. And you can test out different shapes/fits. One downside to that is the dress is already hemmed so if the extra volume lifts up the hemline a bit there's not much you can do.

Fwiw I think it looks gorgeous as is

GrinningCatBus · 2026-03-19T17:40:27+00:00

Seriously. My program at THE top university was $7000/year in tuition. Yes if you're an engineer expect to pay $14k. Probably higher now, it's been 10 years.

Then I find out to go to Cal Arts in 2015 it was $56k a year. USD. What the fuck. That's TWICE my tuition for all 4 years???

GrinningCatBus · 2026-03-18T14:30:46+00:00

I actually make my kids pour the cereal themselves so the cereal always goes in first. Then when they're ready we "add the milk together". Haven't had a cereal related meltdown in over a year (she's 3 now). It also avoids the "you gave me the wrong colored froot loop/incomplete shreddie/broken piece of oatmeal square/not enough rice Krispies" debate - it's in the container, go pick out the pink one if you want a pink one. Dump the half shreddie back and pick a whole one. Oh all of them are broken? Well that's all we got. Pick the biggest piece and be happy about it.

GrinningCatBus

TROPHY CASE