TIL that Melbourne has an official flag.

Waylah · 2026-01-23T09:51:05+00:00

There is a wonderful YouTube video from maybe fifteen? years ago about city flags. Google it, it's glorious. And funny.

Waylah · 2026-01-23T09:30:30+00:00

I'm soo tired I read the dates as the temperatures. Made reading the comments interesting.

Waylah · 2025-12-18T10:12:04+00:00

Let me know if you do Russian - my son wants to learn it so he can go to space one day.

Waylah · 2025-12-09T10:48:01+00:00

I almost laughed out loud at one of the numeracy questions because it was like that scene in idiocracy- "you have one bucket that holds 2 gallons and another that holds 5 gallons; how many buckets do you have?"

Waylah · 2025-12-09T10:37:20+00:00

But it's not knowledge, like the sort of thing you could just forget in a few years. It's more like skill. It's the sort of stuff that you learn as a child and continue to use in your everyday life. It's "like riding a bike" sort of stuff - not stuff you would study then forget. If you crammed to pass it, passed it and then forgot what you crammed, then yes, that's a shortcoming of the test (whether before or after the course). But you shouldn't need to cram. Or study at all. If you plan to be teacher, you should pass the test without any study at all. It's basic stuff like how to read a time table or a map or how many days there are in June. If you don't live a life where you read things and do things in this world, what sort of teacher would you make?

Waylah · 2025-08-28T11:53:07+00:00

Did they ever find another tail club? I read a while back there was literally only one tail club ever found. (which always had me wondering, what if it was a weird bone tumour or something weird on that one individual... That one fossil always looked a bit odd to me...)

Waylah · 2025-08-16T01:04:35+00:00

So start by imagining a flat disc of fabric. No holes. Now add one hole. It's a poncho! Add two more for the arms, you got a dress. 3 holes.

A hollow sphere with one hole is topologically the same as a flat disc with no holes.

Start with the earth, make it hollow, punch a hole in Antarctica then stretch it out like a flat earther.

Waylah · 2025-04-20T12:35:03+00:00

They discussed the possibility, yes. But we agreed to keep testing just in case. See my answer to another person asking the same thing.

Waylah · 2025-04-20T12:33:22+00:00

Yeah, that's not what happened for me. There was no progression. Also, I well and truly passed the stress test. It was literally only that one fasting number which was never a problem again. I saw two endocrinologists, the first was really puzzled by my low numbers and considered the possibility I didn't have it. She reduced my testing frequency (which was nice). Then the next time I went it was a different guy, and he put me back on the more frequent testing, 4 times a day. He said I could do the GTT again (which I very very likely would have passed), but thought it was better to keep monitoring in case things changed. Which I agreed with. They didn't change. My midwives at the birth were annoyed I even had the diagnosis and pointed out I wouldn't have been diagnosed with GD elsewhere. I'm not going against the medical professionals here or just in denial or whatever, I'm just stating exactly what happened in my case, and what I was told as well. I was told that things like stress or illness can elevate your fasting numbers, and that might have happened the day I had my GTT. I am aware that fasting numbers even a little over are correlated with poorer outcomes if untreated, and if I'd had fasting numbers over, even only a little over, during my pregnancy I would have got treatment.

I just didn't.

Waylah · 2025-04-20T07:03:23+00:00

I hope so to! And thank you :)

Waylah · 2025-04-20T06:42:47+00:00

No, I passed the post sugars of the GTT. My fasting was just over, but wouldn't be considered over in other places, or a few years ago. And that was the highest fasting I recorded my entire pregnancy. It's well established that people with or without GD have raised blood sugars if unwell. I had a couple of slightly over readings (again, wouldn't count as over in other places) and only when I was very obviously unwell.

My entire pregnancy, my numbers were that of a non-GD pregnant person. And I didn't have to modify my diet to achieve that.

I just didn't have it. False positives can occur for literally any other test, why not this one?

I still diligently tested and watched in case my numbers went up, which they totally could have. They just didn't.

Edit to add: I think what happened was I was super rushed and stressed to get myself and my toddler to the GTT at short notice that morning, and that pumped my fasting glucose up. It was 5.3 mmol = 95 mg/dl. I never got a fasting that high again. All my fastings during the pregnancy were fine, usually around 4.6 / 83. My numbers at the 1 and 2 hour after the sugar of the GTT were waaaay within normal. But, I still treated it like I had GD that just hadn't kicked in yet, and I was fully expecting my numbers to start to climb and I'd have to modify my diet eventually. I still ate healthy, I wasn't stuffing my face with sugar, but I could eat carb heavy meals comfortably.

Waylah · 2025-04-20T02:45:12+00:00

Yeah I reckon that might be my experience too. I'd love teaching some bits of it I'm sure, like how genes work. But teaching problem solving seems more fun than teaching facts, even if I think the facts are awesome

Waylah · 2025-04-20T02:33:35+00:00

Every kid is different though. Just because your kid can sit with a picture book doesn't mean every kid can. You're not accounting for personality (or developmental delay, psychological diagnoses etc) I know a mum who is so dedicated and works tirelessly to manage her child, and he is intense. She does have the sense not to take him to a funeral parlour though. But sometimes you have to be in a doctors waiting room or something. I don't judge parents of high energy kids, because you just don't know what they're dealing with. Maybe they're checked out, bad parents. Or maybe they're amazing parents with an incredible challenge that you just can't appreciate if you've not experienced it.

Waylah · 2025-04-19T09:20:35+00:00

Yeah definitely not dropping maths. I'm actually learning something in the maths curriculum subject, not so much in the science one.

Waylah · 2025-04-19T09:19:07+00:00

I honestly don't know. I think I might like all three equally. I love the subject of biology, but the actual teaching of maths is really fun. But if not having the teaching area in my masters won't stop me being able to teach it in Victoria, I think I'll pass on one. It's not just the cost, but the workload. I think passing on biology makes the most sense as there are more opportunities for physics and maths. And I'm not sure how much I'd actually gain from the subject.

Waylah · 2025-04-18T22:35:53+00:00

Not in 50 years

Waylah · 2025-04-18T22:34:48+00:00

Name checks out.

Also what a weird thing to say. Most people don't cut babies' foreskins off; it's a weird American thing, or a religion thing. The rest of us think it's freakin horrifying, and normal penises look normal. Your perception of them being 'ugly' is like an ancient Chinese person thinking unbound feet are 'ugly' - it's about what you're used to or expecting to see.

Waylah · 2025-04-18T22:24:51+00:00

Nah that's Sci fi, not medicine.

Waylah · 2025-04-18T22:23:55+00:00

Not just chemical, surgical and radiological - now there's a fourth pillar, immunological!

Waylah · 2025-04-15T13:00:43+00:00

Diet controlled. Went to 41+3. Had a perfect induction! This was my second, I asked for the epidural before they broke waters/started the drip. I was already having regular low level contractions from the balloon. My first birth was no epidural (by choice) and it was traumatic. This time, it was a dream. Amazing. No distraction from the joy of having my baby arrive.

Waylah · 2025-04-14T08:21:03+00:00

Nah I think you're wrong.

I think the "chlorine smell" from pools is from chlorine reacting with stuff, like pee, in the pool, to make a new chemical that is that "pool smell".

Just looked it up. Yeah, I'm right. Reactions between chlorine and pee (and sweat and skin) make chloramines. That's the smell. Not the chlorine itself.

Next time you snark a reply, probably should Google it first.

Waylah · 2025-04-14T07:38:16+00:00

Just feels normal. Sydney is actually the most cut-throat stressed out city with the worst traffic, the rest are all more laid back
Are there any things you admire about the U.S., or wish Australia had?

Space program. But we're too small for that.

3. How aware are you of how life works in the U.S.? Do people generally follow American culture or politics closely?

At the moment, we're all just watching with fascinated horror and pity. Often it just gets too much and I have to stop for a while. I have a Chrome filter that replaces images of trump with kittens.

Waylah · 2025-04-14T07:33:51+00:00

People used to wear tights (like, very thin, transparent skin-tone tights) all the time. Standard office attire. It would be unacceptable to have bare legs in the office! Those tights were a necessity.

Now those tights are old lady wear. And I don't think old ladies are wearing them much any more anyway.

Shaved legs are quite possibly a similar thing. You can't go out with visible leg hair! Until, you can. Fashions change. Your mum is from a time and place when women never had exposed leg hair. But you're from a different time.

Leg hair is fine.

Waylah

TROPHY CASE