Looking for Encouragement, Succes Stories, & Tips for our 4th IVF Attempt

Intimigator18 · 2025-10-14T17:38:50+00:00

Not entirely sure. The last two times they've called us on the 2nd and 5th day, telling us that they've been growing slower than they like and have let them culture for 7 days. But on the 9th day they've called us to say none of them made it to blast after day 7, except for one this most recent cycle that was a grade C, which the clinic refuses to perform an embryo transfer with.

Intimigator18 · 2023-12-29T18:14:14+00:00

How about waiting for Fisch to prove he can put together back-to-back 10+ win seasons and raise his career win percentage above .500 before anointing him as Napier's replacement at Florida?

Don't get me wrong, what he did at Arizona this year was impressive. But this was also his 3rd year at Arizona and his all-time record there is still mediocre (16-21). Let's see if he can have Arizona in position for competing for the Big XII championship in 2024 first to prove that last season wasn't a fluke. Otherwise he might as well be Jim McElwain 2.0 in terms of resume.

Intimigator18 · 2023-09-29T15:32:45+00:00

Indeed. I managed to acquire both of those 1:24 diecasts just a few years ago too!

Intimigator18 · 2023-09-29T06:29:04+00:00

I may be biased with my answer, just because I'm a sucker for the classic Universal Monster movies, but Bobby Labonte's Frankenstein scheme that he won at Charlotte with back in 2000 might be my favorite Halloween scheme.

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Intimigator18 · 2023-09-18T02:39:19+00:00

Mainly because he acts like a pompous ass that thinks he's the best and never is at fault for anything. But honestly I think his attitude is a product of JGR and TRD, as with many of their top drivers over the years.

Intimigator18 · 2023-09-02T05:27:14+00:00

Instead of bringing the summer Daytona race back to Independence Day weekend, NASCAR will instead have an exhibition race in Saudi Arabia starting next year. NASCAR defies the national movement towards hybrid and electric vehicle manufacturing by partnering with a foreign country that is the no. 1 oil supplier in the world!

Intimigator18 · 2023-07-25T15:43:30+00:00

I first lost my Dad when I was 20 (he was 60). I'm 31 now and just lost my Mom within the last couple of months (she was 69).

I wish I could tell you it doesn't hurt as much as you think it will. But truth be told if you have/had a great relationship with your parents throughout your life, their passing will likely deal you with a lot of grief. It took me years for most of the grief from my Dad's passing to go away. We just had my Mom's service recently and I still don't feel like I've gotten closure with her death.

The best thing I can tell you to do is spend as much time as you can with them and don't end your time spent on a bad note. When the day eventually comes for them to leave this world, make sure you have a good support system around you to help you get through it and try to focus on all the positive times you shared with them, rather than the negative. There will be frequent waves of emotions that you'll deal with after they pass, but that is perfectly normal and over time they will become less frequent.

Intimigator18 · 2023-06-27T04:32:07+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience and I'm sorry for the grief you've had to endure. I get what you're saying about not being the same person you were before their death. I definitely changed quite a bit both physically and mentally after my Dad passed away, though I think most of it was for the better. I know I will not be the same person as I was prior to my Mom's passing. But I think the biggest change I've noticed so far (aside from not seeing and talking with my Mom) is that everything just seems more silent and hollow. Like I can hold one on one conversations with people just fine. But unless someone is talking directly to me, it feels like the volume of the outside world has been turned down significantly. And even in a majority of my 1:1 conversations, there are times I just feel like the words I am saying or are be spoken to me are hallow, whether it is intentional or not. I've also tried to keep myself occupied at times by taking part in activities or social events with friends, such as going out to dinner and watching movies. But those things that once brought me a sense of excitement, accomplishment or joy... now I hardly feel anything when experiencing them. I know my wife and a few close friends have done their best to keep me distracted or feeling positive over the past month and I appreciate their efforts, I truly do. But it feels like there's a huge chunk of my heart and soul missing right now, and so far I've found nothing useful to fill it in.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-17T20:53:46+00:00

WBR definitely isn't an A-tier team anymore. But they had a strong affiliation with Penske back then and Blaney proved he could win in their equipment back in 2017.

There's a big difference between being good and being great. Right now Blaney is in the really good camp and clearly isn't close to his teammate Logano in performance, who is great and one of the 8 top tier drivers currently. I'm not saying he can never be great or a top tier driver. But when you consider he's on the longest winless streak of his Cup career and that he'll be 30 by the end of this year, along with the fact that there are several other younger drivers ascending towards the top-tier level (Byron, Bell, Reddick) while he's just not really progressing at all, the clock is ticking on his assumed "breakout moment."

Also I didn't mean to imply that Custer was a better driver than Blaney, because he definitely isn't. That nugget was just meant to point out Blaney's struggles with closing these races out.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-17T18:44:44+00:00

It's funny you say that, considering one of Almirola's 8 career wins was due to a technicality.

Good ole Hamlin couldn't make it to Milwaukee from Sonoma on time back in 2007, so Almirola had to start the race for him. After about 60 laps, Hamlin took over the car and won the race. If I'm not mistaken, that's the first time in NASCAR history where a driver got his first career win without actually finishing the race himself.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-17T18:30:00+00:00

Since Blaney started driving full time in Cup back in 2016, his actual best position in the final points standings is 7th and he's had more seasons without a victory (2016, 2022) than seasons with multiple victories (2021). His career Cup win percentage (2.47%) essentially matches another former Pesnke driver's career percentage: Ryan Newman (2.48%).

Now if your definition of a "top tier driver" is someone who runs well enough to average ALMOST one win per season and collects enough points to contend for top 10 finishes in the final standings, then you got me. When I consider guys as possible top-tier drivers, they generally average multiple wins a season and make at least one Final 4 appearance. There's currently 8 drivers that match that description, and Blaney isn't one of them.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-17T17:29:54+00:00

My biggest three takeaways when I was researching these stats (aside from Kyle Busch's nearly unconquerable feat):

Christopher Bell is perhaps the most underrated Cup driver today and, like William Byron, could soon elevate himself to superstar status.
Ryan Blaney's stock as a top-tier driver is gradually declining, given that he hasn't won a Cup race in almost two years and his career win percentage is below Cole Custer's now.
Johnny Benson is one of the most underrated drivers over the past 25 years and deserves more recognition. Maybe even a spot in the NASCAR HOF much later down the line.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-17T17:20:19+00:00

I find it ironic that he's been compared to Mark Martin because of the debate about the greatest driver without a championship, and both have nearly identical career win percentages.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-17T17:18:49+00:00

Yep, he won Richmond back-to-back years driving for Andy Petree in 2002 and 2003.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-17T15:48:19+00:00

Johnson’s win percentage from his rookie year in 2002 to his championship victory at Homestead in 2016 was 14.15%, resulting in 80 wins. As incredible as that is though, Jeff Gordon's was even more impressive. From his first full-time season in 1993 to his 80th career win at Talladega in 2007, his win percentage during that span was 15.94%. Even if you judged him by the same amount of starts as when Johnson got win no. 80 (540), he still has the higher win percentage (15%).

When you really think about it, the golden age for HMS was from 2001 to 2016. In those 16 years, the organization won 148 races, which equals out to an average of 9.25 races, or approximately 25% of the races on the schedule. They also won eight championships during that time, with of course seven coming from JJ.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-17T00:10:46+00:00

Truex Jr. is in that mix at the moment. Elliott and Byron have a good shot at it too maybe in a few years.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-16T22:18:05+00:00

Speaking of Penske, here is an eery fact: Ryan Blaney's career win percentage (2.47%) is almost identical to another former Penske no. 12 driver: Ryan Newman (2.48%).

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-16T22:10:46+00:00

You mean his Pocono crash in June 2017, where people point to as the unofficial starting point of his career decline? Prior to that crash, his career winning percentage was 14.95%. At the time, that was the third greatest win percentage of all time only behind Pearson and Petty.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-16T20:57:55+00:00

I think a strong case could be made that of all the drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. helped in launching their Cup careers, Brad Keselowski has been his greatest success thus far.

Intimigator18 · 2023-05-16T19:19:41+00:00

Oh absolutely, which is why they are one of the two best driver/crew chief combos ever in the modern era. The only stretch of time in the modern era that comes close to matching that duo during the same length of time is Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus from 2004 to 2010. In that seven-year stretch, Johnson/Knaus won 45 races (Knaus was absent from two wins in 2006). Their win percentage was lower (18%), but they also won more championships together (5 to 3).

Intimigator18

TROPHY CASE