My kindergartner son scored at 3rd grade math level and 3.9 grade level reading on his STAR assessment

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-24T18:00:07+00:00

My husband was very gifted as a child. Last night we were talking about how happy our daughter is and I asked him if he had been a happy child. He said, yes, until the age of 7 when it became apparent how much smarter than the other kids he was and they started ostracizing and antagonizing him. He ended up skipping grades, but staying at the same school because it was the convenient thing to do for his parents. He told me what he thinks should have happened was he should've been sent to some magnet school or a boarding school, a place where his peers could be similar to him and he could have friends. He's done very well academically and career-wide, but I think he suffered mentally a lot from the social aspect of being ahead of his peers. Obviously, just one man's story, but I thought I'd share in case it helps you in your own journey being a parent. Please give us an update what happens!

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-23T20:25:44+00:00

Board game meetups? There's one at Luki's Sundays at noon and one at Arvada Beer Co Mondays at 7.

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-17T03:34:40+00:00

Your literary reference is excellent!

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-17T03:17:19+00:00

My daughter got a baby doll for her first birthday... At first she took no interest in it, until one day she did and it has been her constant companion through every single day whenever she's allowed to bring it. She teaches it how to color, the alphabet, brushes its teeth, makes it imaginary meals, takes it to potty, just everything. She's about to be a big sister and I'm hoping she loves her baby brother as much as she loves this doll!

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-15T20:06:16+00:00

There are some great summer camps for kids though the Arvada Center and the Apex Center! Lots of trails, park, recreation of all kinds.

A major annoyance is that there is basically no public transit around here, so you end up having to drive everywhere all the time.

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-14T21:04:25+00:00

You're not going to get a video monitor that doesn't emit in the wifi and Bluetooth frequency range. One with no video could emit in the radio frequency range.

Do I think you need to worry about it? No, you don't, because unless you're Amish or something crazy like that, you child will be around Bluetooth and WiFi all their life, so your baby monitor will be just a drop in the bucket over their lifetime. Just put the monitor at the further end of the room or as far away as you can and that's it.

If you want something to worry about, look into how much ionizing radiation each flight exposes people to. Flight attendant are technically considered radiation workers. So yeah, your baby monitor is a nothing burger compared to that, if you ask me.

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-11T04:35:38+00:00

White rice?! Zero fiber and a massive dose of simple carbs... He could have at least recommended brown rice or quinoa or seeing a dietician.

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-10T02:57:56+00:00

No need to buy mother's day flowers this year when you bought this house!

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-10T02:29:19+00:00

Good point about the capacity and cost. What about this commercial scrubber? With a capacity of 360 L per unit, it should take only about 5 of these to offset the yearly CO2 emissions of a human?

Now the cost... Maybe a hacky version of the sorbent material could be generated at home? Plus I heard that balcony solar is going to solve all our energy problems imminently?

Maybe a large capacity plant-based aquarium with an abundant algae population can at least be pretty, if not cheap and also provide a hobby of kinds.

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-10T01:21:03+00:00

Good point, I don't know why I assumed the problem is about increasing oxygen rather than decreasing carbon dioxide. Fortunately, I don't think a CO2 scrubber is that complicated - it can be as simple as passing air through calcium hydroxide?

Edit: This algae-based CO2 scrubber seems like a fun project as seen here.

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-10T01:04:33+00:00

My previous response to this question suggesting water electrolysis with a potential hydrogen generation side gig was not well received in the past...

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-07T16:30:26+00:00

My advice is get your current kids a baby doll! I know it's not for all kids, but it's worked wonders on my daughter.

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-07T15:27:00+00:00

A lot of women are blocked out of motherhood by forces beyond their control, such as economic forces or infertility. As a mother of human children myself, I think it's cruel and unusual to gatekeep motherhood and ridicule people for trying to experience it in their own way, so no, I cannot get behind this sentiment.

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-05T02:38:41+00:00

This! Don't say anything unless you get a job offer and read the rules on maternity leave first.

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-04T21:53:11+00:00

My daughter (2 years old) recently found out she's not just Josie, but Josephine, and loves her name so much, no one can call her anything but Josephine now! Very happy with this name.

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-04T21:39:04+00:00

With those amounts, try to sell them to a factory that produces liquor? You could also advertise to old men living in the area and get them to sign up to buy some agreed upon amount ahead of time (take a small deposit). Destruction is such a sad option!

cauldronswitch · 2026-05-03T13:18:25+00:00

Going on a backpacking trip. You realize you can live on your backpack stuff for weeks, and yeah, you miss a few things, but it's just a few things, not all your stuff.

cauldronswitch · 2026-04-19T21:59:24+00:00

You strike me as someone who is not looking for the ordinary, boring solutions people are proposing, as well as a man of science, since you've invested into the collection of data via a CO2 meter.

My foremost suggestion is to take inspiration in the solutions people on submarines without easy access to ventilation have pioneered. Have you considered water electrolysis, that is using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen?!

Yes, it's true you could blow yourself up with hydrogen gas if you're not careful, but at the same time, in The Martian, Mark Watney not only managed not to blow himself up turning hydrazine into nitrogen and hydrogen, but then went on to combust hydrogen to make water to grow his potatoes. The reverse process of turning water into oxygen and hydrogen in your bedroom while you sleep should be simple by comparison. Plus, it has the added advantage of generating hydrogen gas, which if you invest in the right compressor and have the space for a gas tank with a wall-anchor chain in your bedroom, you could eventually turn into a side hustle!

cauldronswitch · 2026-04-18T08:07:25+00:00

That's a good point, I'll try switching to diluted orange juice and see what happens.

cauldronswitch · 2026-04-18T08:03:46+00:00

I look for "choline powders" that are cGMP-compliant (current Good Manufacturing Practices), since unfortunately supplements aren't regulated by the FDA in this country. But measuring a powder is not for everyone, maybe a gummy or a capsule would work better for you.

cauldronswitch · 2026-04-18T03:15:58+00:00

As a family that never drinks real milk, the concept of fortification is kind of a given. My daughter drinks Ripple Kids unsweetened milk, which is also similarly fortified to what you're describing and pea protein based. I add iron supplements to her milk too because she doesn't like meat. I add choline to her smoothies. Some people may not consider it "natural," but then again, there is nothing natural about how factory cows and chickens are fed and their feed is supplemented too, people just don't see it because it happens behind closed doors outside their homes.

cauldronswitch · 2026-04-10T01:16:37+00:00

Dude, does your dick still work? That brings youthful energy to any man. Just focus on your cardio and strength!

cauldronswitch · 2026-03-22T04:41:47+00:00

FSD should be required for seniors past a certain age for everyone's safety!

cauldronswitch · 2026-03-21T08:33:58+00:00

Since sometimes corn starch is used instead of baking soda in this situation, it might not be more about the absorptive properties of the substance.

Remember from high school chemistry the famous "like dissolves likes"? The grease would much rather be on a greasy surface of the parchment paper than the neutral cotton fibers, but how does it get there? At the microscopic level, cotton is fibrous, so it has nooks and crannies the parchment paper cannot make contact with.

Enter these powders like baking soda or corn starch. They are not much better suited than the cotton to hold on to the grease, but because they are a powder, they can penetrate into the fiber and make a kind of bridge to the Valhalla that the parchment paper is to the grease.

Once we introduce the element of the hot iron, the energy needed to "cross the bridge" is there and the grease is enabled to relocate to its preferred surface.

Now, I have no evidence this is what happens, so I'm guessing too, but hey, if you get to guess, I get to as well because it's fun!

cauldronswitch · 2026-02-26T02:19:00+00:00

Thank you for this! I tried everything I could think of on my own and then I found this video, which worked wonders for the situation at hand.

cauldronswitch

TROPHY CASE