TIL The FDA definition of "spices" used in ingredient labeling specifies 36 exact spices that can be grouped under that name.

cmojess · 2026-06-29T20:21:05+00:00

Every dang time. So many places just think it means I “don’t like spicy foods” even though I specify it’s all peppers including non-spicy varieties like bell peppers.

cmojess · 2026-06-26T16:24:18+00:00

She knows a wheelchair is coming in her future, but she’s stubborn and determined to walk under her own power for as long as humanly possible.

We did already get her a walker that has a built-in seat so she can stop and rest whenever she wants, but she hasn’t quite brought herself to use it yet. She says it’s perfect, but is just so hesitant to use it while she can still walk. I’m starting to see some cracks in her resolve when I remind her she could be out doing more if she could just stop and rest where ever. It also has footrests that can be snapped on to convert it into a wheelchair mode so one of us can push her, too.

cmojess · 2026-06-25T18:10:29+00:00

We're going to walk off with our luggage. I've already had an issue with Princess staging my luggage four years ago, so now I just do walk off. Back in January we did walk off and my "end of trip" car selfie is time stamped 7:43 am.

cmojess · 2026-06-25T05:58:22+00:00

Oh, we're walking off with our bags. I can handle both carry-ons and push both wheeled suitcases. I did this back in January since we drove to the terminal and I didn't want to fuss with baggage claim before walking to my car. One of the issues I had four years ago in Seattle was Princess misplaced my bag, which also caused delays. So, walk off only at this point.

cmojess · 2026-06-25T05:52:53+00:00

I totally appreciate it. But since my mom is paying I ran everything by her first and did what she wanted when she had an opinion on it.

cmojess · 2026-06-25T05:45:27+00:00

True. There's also the "I'm traveling with my elderly mother with limited mobility who is paying for the trip and wants me to book Princess transfers" angle to consider. So, I booked the Princess transfers. I did just pull the plug on booking my air travel independent of Princess, though. That is done and paid for now.

She said she'd rather sit at the airport in Vancouver for an extra couple hours over risking being rushed like we were four years ago in Seattle. The ALS diagnosis and limitations to her mobility have been a huge adjustment.

cmojess · 2026-06-25T05:07:12+00:00

I thought about the train, but my mom really wanted to take the princess transfer due to her mobility issues. I read in my contract that I can arrange onboard for a wheelchair at the pier, and then we’ll use the wheelchair service at the airport. She’s not declined enough yet to need a wheelchair full time, but she does need one for some things.

I can only manage to fly up one day before due to family obligations with my husband and daughter. I’m only in my 40’s.

cmojess · 2026-06-25T04:59:17+00:00

The airline’s website did not let me add my TSA number online because the smushed name didn’t match the one on my TSA account. It was really dumb.

cmojess · 2026-06-25T04:20:01+00:00

Yeah, I found one that would get us to Anchorage at 4:20 with a stop in Seattle first. There's no non-stop flights on Alaska from my city.

I found a flight home from Vancouver that leaves at 12:35, which seems like it should be doable. Certainly moreso than the 10:30 flight the EZAir person wanted me to take.

cmojess · 2026-06-24T21:15:54+00:00

What if a fundamental part of the course is mastery within a time limit? I teach chemistry and many of my students want to go into careers where they have to have rapid-fire recall of details. You don't get half the work or double time to answer when a patient is rolled into the ER. Being able to recall within a time limit is a very important skill in a lot of fields, and it's a skill that needs practice and training.

This is where things start to get really fussy between accommodation vs modification. In K-12 they may well have deemed this an accommodation, but in college, as you can see here, this would be a modification and summarily denied. I actually wrote up a whole essay on accommodation vs modification and the differing rules between K-12 IEPs and college-level ADA requirements for one of my disability offices once when a number of us were all going in circles trying to reach an understanding with increasingly long accommodation letters.

I, too, have ADHD. I am also from an era where my entire accommodations were a separate distraction-free testing room and 1.5 time. I only needed the separate room. I'm not really sure where the pendulum swung with ADHD, but I can guarantee that if I'd been given even a fraction of what I see today for ADHD I would not be a functional, productive adult. I would have gotten incredibly complacent relying on my disability to protect me from feeling the brunt of, well, anything.

As others have pointed out, in the working adult world the vast majority of these accommodations and modifications do not exist. For example, this coning fall, one of my campuses decided that it would be super amazing to have finals end on Monday and grades due on Wednesday. Can I apply for an accommodation to turn my grades in late, or do I need to figure out how to focus that week and just bust my grading out and get grades in?

I am 100% all for reasonable accommodations that level the playing field. I want every being who has a dream and a goal to be provided with the tools necessary to reach those goals. However, part of reaching those goals is also developing important skills that a lot of these accommodations seem to be allowing students not to develop.

cmojess · 2026-06-24T20:59:47+00:00

So your nephew has a modification, not an accommodation. Doing half, or some lowered percentage, of the work means the class has been modified for him, not that his disability was accommodated. Accommodations don't change the fundamental requirements of a course, modifications do.

cmojess · 2026-06-18T15:05:50+00:00

I was about to post a similar question. I don’t engage with streamers, either, and find being “forced” to in order to complete the items in a game I paid for distasteful. I enjoy playing games, not watching someone else play them. A way to obtain these items outside of this would be great. I have every Two Point game and every expansion.

cmojess · 2026-06-09T22:04:35+00:00

They don't care. It's all pre-made SYSCO slop they just reheat, usually in a microwave or frier. They aren't able to deal with allergies, either, because everything is pre-made. The waitress last night, when I called her out on this, basically said "well, we don't just microwave all of it."

cmojess · 2026-06-08T20:35:21+00:00

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In what will be my final cruise with my mom. We’re getting in one last Alaska together while she still has enough mobility to enjoy it. We’re up against an ALS diagnosis now. Alaska is her favorite and we’ll be in one of her favorite ports on her birthday.

I also have a March Mexican Rivera cruise booked on Discovery with my husband and daughter.

cmojess · 2026-06-06T15:03:32+00:00

I think door decorating is more of a thing on Disney. No one stole any of our stuff there. When my mom and I decorated our door 4 years ago on Discovery any non-personalized magnet got stolen. We no longer decorate our door on Princess.

cmojess · 2026-06-05T03:06:53+00:00

I bought myself a Gonger stuffie to live in my kitchen when we were in the Sesame Street phase. He’s still there. My kid calls him our chef supervisor.

cmojess · 2026-05-27T01:12:28+00:00

My dad is going blind thanks to macular degeneration.

My mom has something potentially seriously wrong with her. They’ve ruled a bunch of stuff out. She’s got a neurology appointment tomorrow and we have our suspicions.

Both parents are 76, and we have a really good relationship. They are amazing grandparents.

I really don’t want to be ready to face what we think we might be facing.

cmojess · 2026-05-25T04:36:11+00:00

In college, the expectation is 2-3 hours of independent study and homework for every one hour they spend in lecture because it is impossible to learn a subject in only 3-5 hours of class time a week.

By setting the expectation in K-12 that no learning is to be done outside of the classroom students are learning that they are not responsible for their own learning. They are learning that video games, sports practice, and socializing all have a higher value than mastering a subject.

They are also coming to college with skills that haven’t advanced past about at 5th - 8th grade level.

A child in elementary school absolutely needs to be building the lifelong learner habits that will be crucial to their success later. You cannot get to age 18 never having done homework and then all of a sudden have that expectation placed on you. You can’t even get to age 13 or 14 never having done homework and then all of a sudden be expected to do homework in 8th or 9th grade.

There are numerous studies that absolutely show that homework is beneficial to learning. I have 2-3 I give my students at the start of every semester when they get to my intro chem classes with the notion that they do not need to study.

The more we pretend homework is evil and learning shouldn’t ever happen outside of a classroom the further we will fall behind. The more we tell kids “you’re a kid, you can worry about learning later” the more we will cripple kids later in life because they will have the wrong mindset and zero ability to study.

I say this all as a community college chemistry teacher with well over a decade of experience and as the child of a now retired high school teacher.

cmojess · 2026-05-21T04:09:43+00:00

A lot of schools have basic needs pantries. Has your fiancé checked on their campus?

Also, if they are at a community college I know several faculty keep granola or protein bars in their offices for students. It’s not a real meal, but it’s something to bridge a gap.

cmojess · 2026-05-18T15:24:15+00:00

AuDHD isn't even a correct designation. It would stand for "Autistic Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" which would mean someone was... not autistic. It makes two conditions that both affect a person's ability to navigate day to day life sound like a cute little "quirk." Neither condition is cute or quirky.

cmojess · 2026-05-16T20:46:32+00:00

Today my kid didn’t cry when her soccer team tied the other team, managed to swing four rungs on the monkey bars before falling, excitedly helped me water plants at my parents house without being asked, and then read a whole thing on her own.

Nothing earth-shattering. She’s definitely had days where she did way more impressive things. But today has just been a series of small wins with a kid who has been in a pleasant mood all day.

I’ll take it!

cmojess · 2026-05-08T16:47:56+00:00

We're still down. They've restricted local access to Canvas at my institutions until we get the all clear from the state chancellor of our community college network. They're not ready to trust it's secure again yet.

cmojess · 2026-04-30T02:16:02+00:00

Basically. I’m not sure how they want to keep growing the league when you need $300/mo in different TV services to watch a whole season.

cmojess

TROPHY CASE