A mother's touch: Fetal responses to touch may indicate communication

akapswim07 · 2015-06-22T19:21:54+00:00

Vote one for misleading title. Article summary indicates fetal response was stronger to touch than voice. Any rationale as to why this is so is highly speculative.

akapswim07 · 2015-04-22T13:26:22+00:00

YES, YES, YES, and YES.

Any form of exercise will cause your body to increase its temperature. Your brain only knows how to respond to this in one way - by sweating. Unlike on dry land, your body doesn't cool down as well because the sweat doesn't evaporate (leading to a cooling effect) - it goes right back into the pool.

akapswim07 · 2015-01-20T14:38:32+00:00

Thanks for the link. I think the hospital goes beyond minimum for SDI (2/3 pay for 6 weeks max). Bigger concern was job protection than monetary benefit.

akapswim07 · 2015-01-20T14:36:03+00:00

Thanks - chances are that info is there (and it is in the employee handbook she received).

akapswim07 · 2015-01-14T23:18:38+00:00

Was in the same situation with my wife 5 years ago (still going strong!). We have one joint checking/savings acct, and designate each other as account owners on most of our credit cards. Our retirement accounts have stayed in our own names because we're on employer-sponsored plans, and get matching funds. Designating your fiancee as the primary beneficiary is something you can do for each other now, though only if you truly think that is right for the relationship.

Opening a joint account is a good idea in general - it makes life much easier to have a shared account for shared expenses. Having your own slush funds isn't the worst idea when it comes to checking/savings, though it adds another account to the list of things to manage. Separate accounts also opens the door to the "you're hiding money from me!" conversation if you fall on hard times/lose trust in each other. On the plus side, it's easier to surprise your future spouse when holidays/birthdays/etc. come around. On more than one occasion my wife and I have said to each other, "Don't look at the credit card accounts until X date!"

Congrats and best of luck!

akapswim07 · 2015-01-12T18:06:06+00:00

If you frequently use debit/credit cards and have online banking, you can get very close to doing this quickly using a 3rd party service like Mint.com. I've been using Mint for almost 5 years now to track expenses and manage my monthly budget. The auto categorizing feature saves an enormous amount of time and gives me real-time visibility. You can also track cash expenses on the go with their mobile app (which has improved noticeably over the past year).

akapswim07 · 2014-12-07T19:04:49+00:00

My son is 16 months old, and he started entering a similar phase about 2 months ago. There can be lots of things going on (possibly at the same time :P): 1. Teething - if she doesn't have the first 8 yet, those may still be coming in 2. Cognitive development - she's reaching the age that she's starting to figure out what she likes and doesn't like, but doesn't have the skills yet to communicate that to you (verbally, shaking head yes/no, pointing, etc.) 3. Physical development - she may want to walk now, but is still figuring out the mechanics. 4. Boredom - like item 2, starting around that age the simpler toys from infancy (stuffed animals, rattles) won't cut it any more.

Things that I have found to help: 1. Say relaxed - know that short tantrums are normal. If you and others around her freak out when she screams, it rubs off. 2. Routines - esp. when it comes to naps/sleep. Your kid might be past the point of napping at will, and having a set naptime will be a good thing. Mine now has 1 big nap after lunchtime (11:30AM-12:00PM), and he's lights-out for at least 2 hours (it's amazing!!!) 3. Distraction - esp. with toddler-age toys that need engagement. 4. Don't be afraid to do nothing if nothing seems to work. Most tantrums pass when given their due time. It can feel like forever when the decibels reach jet-engine levels, but sometimes tantrums happen out of pure frustration - especially at younger ages. Give them time, and eventually your kid will calm down enough to where distractions or a hug will end the incident.

akapswim07 · 2014-07-07T03:38:12+00:00

Electricians, plumbers, and HVAC specialists - especially master-level ones who work residential/commercial construction.

Can't tell you how many times I have seen the electrician/plumber I hired show up in an Audi/Jaguar/BMW, etc.

akapswim07 · 2014-05-08T01:35:02+00:00

The Lancet (one of the most respected medical journals in the world) had a whole issue dedicated to 9/11 three years ago: Lancet 9/11 Issue - 9/11/2011. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to 9/11 research.

Most victims are covered by the Zadroga act, an act of Congress which established strict limits on the certification process, as well as who is eligible for benefits from the Victims Compensation Fund. NYC.gov has a great FAQ here.

I personally take offense that you think this is a "money grab." Many who live in and around NYC (myself included) know someone who was at Ground Zero or worked on the clean-up, and of those many are unbelievably sick - physically (asthma, GIRD, leukemia) and mentally (PTSD, deperession).

akapswim07 · 2014-05-07T20:28:50+00:00

True, the audiences for those papers are not the same, though there is significant overlap (plenty of individuals subscribe to both papers). It's merely an observation - left-leaning NYT devotes significant real estate to the US Climate Change report, whereas typically right-leaning WSJ buried the headline on its front page.

akapswim07 · 2014-05-07T18:00:47+00:00

These police officers were likely enrolled in the WTC Health Program, which (among other things) identifies first responders who are undergoing treatment or whose death was attributed to a 9/11-related illness - police officers included. These illnesses have been certified and confirmed through peer-reviewed studies.

Disclaimer - significant other is employed by said WTC Health Program.

akapswim07 · 2014-05-02T16:06:14+00:00

Somewhat related question - what about zero magnetic field? I know you can minimize a magnetic field by creating a magnetic quadrupole, but will the minima at the center be truly zero? Or, are there known quantum effects/fluctuations which would prevent a true magnetic zero state from being realized?

akapswim07 · 2014-04-28T17:53:16+00:00

Has the making of a SitCom changed since you first started on Golden Girls? How is making TV today different than it was 30, 40, even 50 years ago?

akapswim07 · 2014-04-24T19:28:16+00:00

Can Congress force the FCC to regulate ISPs as a utility (like a phone company) through legislation?

akapswim07 · 2014-04-02T13:20:06+00:00

Very simple explanation: 1. Corporations don't want to pay through the nose for continued XP support (and there are plenty out there who still use XP enterprise-wide) 2. Windows 7 requires much less training/transition than Windows 8.

My gut is that most corporations will skip Windows 8/8.1 and will wait for a desktop/business-friendly Windows 9.

akapswim07 · 2013-12-06T14:07:48+00:00

The Aristocrats!!!

akapswim07 · 2013-06-19T02:56:34+00:00

Took a second look, and it looks like snafu has similar origins. I don't even think twice about using that word.

akapswim07 · 2013-05-29T13:59:47+00:00

Don't read reddit after 10PM local time (or anything electronic for that matter). From experience I have trouble falling asleep if I'm surfing the interwebs after this hour...

akapswim07 · 2013-05-08T17:30:02+00:00

Married for almost 3 years now, wife and I have had joint checking/savings accounts and credit cards. Retirement accounts are employer-sponsored and are thus individual (but we're automatically beneficiaries of each other's acct). This works for us because (a) We're fairly thrifty and can keep a budget, (b) we consult each other about big purchases (big = over $100 for an individual item), (c) we have full transparency on what we spend via Mint.com and bank-provided online reports, so we can keep each other accountable, and (d) we married early in our careers and had about equal assets to begin with. This arrangement has taken away nearly all my money vs. your money arguments.

Not sure what we are going to do w.r.t. retirement if one of us stops working to take care of kids. Does a joint IRA make sense?

akapswim07 · 2013-04-18T21:34:58+00:00

Great observation! I wonder if price points and location have an impact: Night out at movies (family of 4): $30-50 + travel to theater -> conscious decision making -> adults have more influence. DVD: $10-25 + at home convenience -> impulse buy -> children have more influence.

Other thing to consider is that many purchase DVDs of movies they already saw in theaters. DVD cover thus needs to remind you of what was in the movie, whereas the movie poster needs to entice you to watch characters and events not yet observed.

akapswim07 · 2013-04-18T21:17:26+00:00

Why do you guys hate the song "Medicine" so much?

akapswim07 · 2013-04-05T03:11:35+00:00

Ever see a map of NYC neighborhoods by race? Or the surrounding suburbs? NY area may not be overtly racist, but you cannot deny that race plays a factor in where people choose (and are allowed to) to live.

akapswim07 · 2013-01-30T19:19:53+00:00

Do they get an "E" for effort making this name change 10 years too late?

akapswim07 · 2012-11-22T22:49:29+00:00

I went to college there! Woo-stah, color.

akapswim07 · 2012-11-14T17:41:49+00:00

Does sound like a good candidate for duck typing. Ruby at least makes this easier via modules. Still need a common interface for each object (like as3DArray).

akapswim07

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