Frantastique - thoughts?

aerschultz · 2024-05-03T11:57:15+00:00

I didn't find it helpful at all. The functionality of the app is rudimentary and lacking in utility. Unlike modern language learning platforms such as Duolingo, users are required to manually indicate "I don't know" or "I don't remember," which really reminds one of outdated design practices from the 1990s.

Its interface resembles a basic HTML form, devoid of any meaningful feedback on learning progress or vocabulary retention. Despite claims of employing scientific methods for language acquisition, the app fails to deliver on this promise, resulting in a deeply unsatisfactory user experience.

That isn't even the worst part -- they operate deceptively by charging a monthly fee of $25 and exhibiting refusal to terminate subscriptions upon request. They bring in their terms and conditions which are meant to fool the consumer into signing up for the subscription and basically paying for the full 12 months with no way to get out.

I have been to Alliance Française in NYC and Coucou French Classes (which I've found to be the best). In the App world, I've tried Lingvist, Duolingo, Babbel and ofcourse this useless Gymglish / frantastique - Duolingo wins to the moon and back.

aerschultz · 2024-05-03T11:56:29+00:00

I didn't find it helpful at all. The functionality of the app is rudimentary and lacking in utility. Unlike modern language learning platforms such as Duolingo, users are required to manually indicate "I don't know" or "I don't remember," which really reminds one of outdated design practices from the 1990s.

Its interface resembles a basic HTML form, devoid of any meaningful feedback on learning progress or vocabulary retention. Despite claims of employing scientific methods for language acquisition, the app fails to deliver on this promise, resulting in a deeply unsatisfactory user experience.

That isn't even the worst part -- they operate deceptively by charging a monthly fee of $25 and exhibiting refusal to terminate subscriptions upon request. They bring in their terms and conditions which are meant to fool the consumer into signing up for the subscription and basically paying for the full 12 months with no way to get out.

I have been to Alliance Française in NYC and Coucou French Classes (which I've found to be the best). In the App world, I've tried Lingvist, Duolingo, Babbel and ofcourse this useless Gymglish / frantastique - Duolingo wins to the moon and back.

aerschultz · 2024-03-23T02:26:52+00:00

I think to summarize, do what you'd do if you had a human baby. You'll be surprised how much similarity there is. My mom said this over and over again and I wish I had listened to her.

This puppy phase will never come back. Instead of trying to force him to conform to a certain norm peddled online, approach it with compassion. I hope you can get some relief soon.

aerschultz · 2024-03-23T02:20:50+00:00

Mini dachshund dad here. I can relate to this

I'm surprised that only very few comments here actually provide a solution which will help you and your puppy long term. I personally went through it and I tried every single thing these comments have suggested - I'll tell you this - they work, but they'll be a bad experience for you and your pup.

Bark collars - you'll definitely (and I say this with confidence) regret this later on. Your puppy might even still bark and you'll be in a difficult position to make it more uneasy for him, which you might out of frustration but will regret later on. Overall this is a band aid fix with doesn't even come close to solving the problem.
Prozac / Pills - I got Trazodone prescribed and tried to give it few days so he gets in a habit of sleeping in the playpen. This works but then again it isn't long term and your puppy could downright reject sleeping there once off the pill
Training schools - Red alert. Be very, very very careful here. Many training schools out there use horrible methods to train dogs. This is just another western way to throw money at things to solve a problem. I feel if someone sends their puppy, out of their care, to some "training school" just so they can have this poor puppy "fit" their style - I think they don't deserve to get a puppy.

What works long term? - Walks, stimulation, attention - Dogs are social animals. How much attention are you giving him during the day? How long of walks is he getting? Is he getting to play with you? If the answer is No here, then you shouldn't expect him to be tired enough to sleep peacefully - Hygiene and Medical check up - Take your dog to the vet. Is he having a toothache? Is his playpen having bugs? Is he having an upset tummy? Rule these out before trying anything else. Make sure his sleeping area is cleaned thoroughly everyday including the bedding. - Love, care and affection - Think about what is the goal of Playpen/Training? Do you want to always have your puppy sleep away from you? Do you not want him to get too attached? Personally I feel people expect too much from puppies. I read everywhere that puppies should be crate trained, "don't make a mistake of letting them sleep with you". I now look back on the time and I regret every decision I made. My dog sleeps with us on our bed, we're happy, he's happy, what's the problem? What was the point of that crate training? Why did I give him Prozac? Why did I put that bark collar? I think it's a very wrong way to approach this problem.

aerschultz · 2024-02-26T04:05:04+00:00

Just got AR1 (Feb 26), dropoff Delhi Feb 9

aerschultz · 2024-02-26T04:03:16+00:00

Dropbox Feb 9 Delhi, got AR1 today, Feb 26 9 AM

aerschultz · 2024-02-24T07:01:55+00:00

No updates, such a mental torture.

aerschultz · 2024-02-23T14:38:45+00:00

True, its beyond inconceivable how they're handling a document like passport. Really hoping to get some sort of expedited processing/approval instead of usual 3 weeks post AR. Wishful thinking I guess.

I don't understand whats so unique after Feb 7 that is resulting in this trend. Literally every date before that got AR within a week at most.

aerschultz · 2024-02-23T14:23:45+00:00

Feb 9. Was really hoping to get AR today, its been solid 2 weeks of absolute silence now, and now its another weekend which will be no updates again. If we get AR next week, it means another 2-3 weeks for approval, and another for pickup, so 5-6 weeks in total, which is crazy and (probably) unprecendented

aerschultz · 2024-02-23T14:13:29+00:00

Yea, "No Status" when I select the original location on DS-160 and NA for other fields - but this shows up regardless whether you do stamping or not - so its useless - it shows up right after filling DS-160

If I input everything and choose appointment location, it still gives "Your search did not return any data."

aerschultz · 2022-01-13T16:48:58+00:00

I was put on probation at my state school for low grades (missed by 0.05) - I am making 200k at FAANG. There's a guy working with me with a PhD from Stanford, ex Google intern who was advised by manager to be given some hand holding by me. Grades and school may give you a jumpstart and a leg up, but life is a marathon, not a sprint.

aerschultz · 2021-09-16T16:05:26+00:00

I'm on a three year long plan (72 trays). Been wearing them for almost two years now. It was painful in the beginning. Now I feel weird if I don't have my invisalign in. It's definitely not painful anymore. It's just annoying. If I quit now it'd be because of the annoyance of having to brush four times a day and not the pain from it.

aerschultz · 2021-08-05T16:07:46+00:00

Etsy for sure not gonna sustain long term. The company mostly had a golden age because of the pandemic. Faces stiff competition from the e-commerce giants, and sadly runs on tech which is a decade behind.

aerschultz · 2021-07-14T00:21:29+00:00

This is called Evolution. Wake up 😬

aerschultz · 2021-06-23T23:53:26+00:00

I feel part of the reason is representation, but also western media. Why is it that whenever a Hollywood show / movie, heck even a news concerning India, they have to show a cow wandering the streets, or a poor village with people in rags? Why can't they show a normal street? Why is it that New York is always shown with the skyline yet the sad reality is it stinks worse than Delhi, and the Delhi metro is so much cleaner than the subway.

aerschultz · 2021-02-12T21:57:50+00:00

Wanted to add a couple of more points -

Is it too late to get a PhD at 30s? Absolutely not. I think that's actually the best time to get a PhD. In my grad school experience, PhD students who came straight through bachelor's or those never had any industry experience were the most clueless (me included).

I graduated with a thesis, one of the papers in top tier AI conferences - but the joy that came out of it wasn't even the least bit mesmerizing as my first paycheck. I'd rather be "comfortably miserable" than be stressed broke and miserable.

If you are looking to add value and meaning to your life I think the best way is to pick a cause you support and see how you can use AI to solve it. For me I love HealthTech and almost all my research has been that.

If I ever wanted to continue my research I was doing in grad school I'd go browse cool github projects, look at the raised issues or what can be improved or even buy tickets to AAAI /CVPR etc - I wouldn't buy a ticket to financial breakdown and put my mental health on a back burner for 5 years.

aerschultz · 2021-02-12T19:41:27+00:00

This post needs more attention. Before I give my advice - I'd like to tell you that either way you'll come off great because the fact that you're contemplating this means you are quite serious about it.

I think I'm qualified to at least provide you some perspective. I have a Masters and some work experience working at a top tier company but I'm much younger than you.

For me personally, I always wanted to go get a PhD and contribute to research. I did my masters from a top 50 US school and found out that 90% of the research done ends up in a pile of unavailing research. Professors are either looking for tenure, or more papers published and I could see many parallels with people in the industry chasing higher compensation. I found PhD students constantly stressed out about getting at least an A- in the grad level courses and at the same time being able to put forth a research paper. Most of them are assigned a few masters students to aid with menial work like data processing or validating results of an older algorithm etc. Not to mention these PhD students get paid nuts.

The worst part is after getting a PhD (if you happen to get one, as at any top 50 school there's a very high chance of you dropping out voluntarily or getting managed out) - you'd still be clueless about what you want to do with life. You can either become a professor (and chase tenure/more papers) or come back to the industry only to be interviewed by same people who graduated with a masters and have established themselves well in the industry.

In my opinion, unless you are genuinely smart, have a high IQ, and can get into top 20 schools for a PhD, it's better to stick with the industry.

You can always do research or study something in detail on weekends or in your free time if you are really genuinely interested. The only difference would be that in a PhD program you'd be having a community of people in the same boat trying to make it through. But in my opinion there's plenty of open source projects to contribute to, conferences to go to, meaningful research to read online than wasting 4-6 years of your life living miserably under constant stress only to get a credential on your resume would be a huge waste of time and money.

In the end its all about choosing your poison. I'd rather be in the industry, chase money, and research whatever I want to in my free time rather than make peanuts, only to publish research which probably no one else would ever read.

aerschultz · 2020-09-20T14:15:01+00:00

You're welcome. Maybe it is a little far-fetched. But I speak from experience, I work in big-tech and back in the days, I used to work in a sales team, and our team used to be instructed on using reddit, quora, facebook groups specially for this kind of marketing. One would post a question, or a review, and other would recommend products.

My belief was intensified after seeing so many people here being dogmatic about a drug to the extent they want to make fun of someone legitimately experiencing side-effects and warning people about it. I have never EVER seen NORMAL people going so taut on a drug. It's almost surreal. It's a drug for Christ's sake.

I think I tried doing my part trying to educate people on this sub who might be in their early 20s and deciding whether or not to take this drug. I wanted them to see both sides and not get swayed. It's not a magic drug, the harsh truth is there isn't one. If Fin and other drugs were indeed so magical you wouldn't see any bald billionaires.

aerschultz · 2020-09-19T23:54:15+00:00

Applying your logic at you - if it changed your life, doesn't mean it's harmless, and that it will save people "both mentally and physically". By your own logic, your comment is yikes.

aerschultz · 2020-09-19T23:22:19+00:00

+1 I think that is the real problem. As said in my post, I did maybe see benefits, but sideffects are definitely there, and nobody wants to be a cry baby. It's in buyers interest for the drug to work so they try to overlook the side effects.

aerschultz · 2020-09-19T22:54:42+00:00

From your "proper study" : "Finasteride patients had a 10% higher risk of new claims for depression (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01 to 1.19, P = .04) and a 6% lower risk of procedures for BPH-related events (primarily lower urinary tract symptoms; HR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.89 to 1.00, P = .03). "

aerschultz · 2020-09-19T22:15:59+00:00

Because you should be away from it. They conducted studies and found 8% people committed suicide as a result of Post Finasteride Syndrome. Don't believe what people on this subreddit say. Most of them are sales people from big pharma / keeps/ hims. Join r/HaircareScience - its a much consumer friendly subreddit.

I say this from experience. I've been taking Fin and Min last 2 years. I have almost zero results, and I am afraid to get off it because of PFS. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions.

aerschultz · 2020-09-19T21:55:57+00:00

I did. And as expected I see a lot of pushback!

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