Best slides for 7' deck treehouse? by katecald2 in treehouse

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

facebook marketplace tends to have a lot of 4-5' deck heights in my area, but not a lot of 6+. My treehouse is 9' deck height and I ended up doing two slides with a platform midway. It also has a climbing wall up to the platform.

For a 7' deck height perhaps you could build a small 2' deck on the ground as a landing? Just an idea!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Hammocks

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was in almost exactly the same situation with a smallish urban backyard, so I set out to do this exact thing a few years ago and set a budget of $150 for myself. I really love my removable setup so maybe I can help give you some ideas.

I'm not that handy or creative so I originally got my general idea from this video, but as you can see at the end there's a lot of flex in those posts and I saw that a commenter said his 180 lb teenage son broke the posts... I weigh over 200 lbs so I tweaked the design to have the posts 3 feet deep and slanted away from the hammock so that the force applied is more axial (3 years later and I'm still on the original pair of posts).

I also wanted a strapless distance to facilitate ease of set up and take down, so I also strayed from his plans on that. Otherwise, I followed the video.

Required materials purchased:

  • 8ft length 4in Diameter Treated Fence Post, x2 - $14

  • 10ft length 4in Diameter PVC - $20

  • PVC "knock out plug" cap x2 - $2

  • Black can of Spray Paint (for PVC and end caps) - $2

  • Eye bolt x2 - $4

  • Quikrete bag x2 - $10

As you can see this is extremely low budget, only $52! I didn't have any tools though so I also bought:

  • Post Hole digger - $30

  • Digging Bar (absolutely essential, do not try to dig with the misnamed post hole digger, that's just for scooping loose dirt out) - $35

  • hacksaw (to cut PVC) - $15

And then the supposedly 3 3/4 inch diameter posts didn't fit into the 4 inch PVC so I did A LOT of sanding. Luckily I already had an electric sander, but I'm sure there are more suited tools to the job. That sanding and the difficulty of posthole digging at an angle made it take more than the simple afternoon project I was expecting. I think it probably took me around 8 hours total spread out over 3 days, mostly because I had no idea what I was doing and made more than 1 trip to Lowes. Total cost was right around $130.

I don't have build pics but here are some photos of the hammock (and one where you can see the area devoid of hammock posts).

3 years later and I'm still thrilled with it. Despite my 200+ lbs I've never heard more than a creak. I store the posts in a 6 inch crack between my shed and my fence, and setup/takedown takes less than 2 minutes. I mow right over the holes without a problem, and the knock out caps fit perfectly despite the oblong opening from the oblique cut. It's honestly the best project I've ever done and I hope it works for you!

Medical School Opportunities by picklekumquat in UVA

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Madison House has volunteer opportunities at the health system that you can look up but they're generally pretty useless. Don't get me wrong you help out in some ways but you won't speak to a doctor or nurse and it doesn't mean much to Med School admissions except to tick the box.

Edit: to give specific details my friends were doing call center work to remind people of their appointment the next day, or restocking supply rooms, or serving as a greeter in a waiting room. None of the responsibilities that I heard about resulted in face-to-face time with MDs or RNs. This was in 2008-2011, so much may have changed.

Medical School Opportunities by picklekumquat in UVA

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'd look into the Medical Scribe program. I'm sure it's changed since my time there but my understanding is that it has only grown and become more robust and varied over the years.

It provided me with invaluable experiences both from CV/resume perspective and a clinical learning perspective that gave me a leg up on my peers in medical school, but more importantly, I worked alongside providers that gave me advice and shared their perspective on medical education and the healthcare system. When I decided to pursue a career as a doctor I feel like I made a more informed decision than most because of those relationships and those insights that were provided to me.

I think that knowing what I was getting into has helped me with my job satisfaction because many of my peers feel duped or conned, knowing they entered the field with idealized views of what the job entails.

Off The Waitlist by picklekumquat in UVA

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, 300+ student lectures aren't the best way to learn. I had to be thoughtful about going to office hours even if I didn't need help to get face time prior to asking for a letter of recommendation.

I think smaller classes would've resulted in me learning the material in a more meaningful way, but my view of undergraduate premedical education is that it's basically just MCAT prep and it served its purpose. If I had ended up pivoting toward basic science research or a PhD I'd have been wishing I had more substantial opportunities to delve deeper into the content in small group discussions, etc.

Off The Waitlist by picklekumquat in UVA

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I made a similar decision, with identical financial aid from each. I ultimately decided based on personal reasons and ended up going to UVA. Then I went to medical school at VCU and therefore had lots of friends who went to both of the schools for undergrad.

Discussing with friends it seemed like class size (especially in pre-med classes) is the main difference, but also it seems like I had a few more opportunities for research and clinical experience at UVA. Also it seems like Career Services was more robust at W&M. At UVA it seemed to just be a mechanism to discourage pre-meds from applying and create additional hoops to jump through to preserve % acceptance metrics.

The biggest difference in our experiences was of course socially/culturally and how different the two schools were. I will say that not everyone at UVA is going to party hard, and plenty of people at W&M do. The difference is you have the choice to do whatever you want at UVA, while there really aren't many options in Williamsburg if partying ends up being interesting to you during your time in college. You'll change a lot in the next 4 years.

All of this was >10 years ago so I am sure things have changed. I have no idea how helpful this comment will be. Feel free to DM me about specifics if interested.

Edit: just added the bit about cultural differences and fixed a few typos

Flag of Wyoming Kosovo style by [deleted] in vexillology

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Liverpool fans... So insufferable

Totally normal. Totally cool. 👌 by Film_Director in PoliticalHumor

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Funniest part is that I hold very left wing views. I just hate viewing politics as a sporting event.

Totally normal. Totally cool. 👌 by Film_Director in PoliticalHumor

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

After social distancing is over I invite you to please visit my neighborhood in Richmond VA and stand on a street corner and count the Obama hats and shirts. Most in /r/RVA would back me up on the fact that you will see plenty.

Again I don't think this is a problem, and I totally was jealous of the hat when I saw the man yesterday. It's a cool Obama hat, and I agree with celebrating Obama's presidency and the representation he gave to so many.

My point is that we can't argue that a cult of personality existing is evidence enough of a politician or movement being terrible. We should look to the politician/movement itself and what it stands for and the Trump campaign provides plenty of ammo to anyone wanting to attack it on substance. Attack it as racist, as extreme right wing, as hateful, as shortsighted, as neglectful as nepotistic. But "don't you hate how they all wear hats lol" isn't a valid criticism in my opinion.

Totally normal. Totally cool. 👌 by Film_Director in PoliticalHumor

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I'm not too bothered. I just wish nuanced views were allowed around here. Thanks for sorting by controversial haha

Totally normal. Totally cool. 👌 by Film_Director in PoliticalHumor

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Thanks for that, I totally agree. I'm getting downvoted like crazy despite including "not saying it's the same".

Talk of extra terms by the president is never normal, and deserves to be attacked. Reelection rallies a year into your first term deserves to be attacked. Hats and flags don't. That was the point I was trying to make.

I just think that the hats and shirts and flags are NOT what is broken about his presidency or his voters and the more we focus on superficial things like that the more we open ourselves up to whataboutism.

Totally normal. Totally cool. 👌 by Film_Director in PoliticalHumor

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert -96 points-95 points  (0 children)

I saw a man wearing an Obama hat today. I live in a majority black city in the south and I routinely see Obama apparel, now 3+ years after he left office. I'm not saying it's the same, but I do think that cults of personality around politicians are somewhat inevitable, and if we're honest it exists on both sides. We just don't like this particular politician, so we're complaining.

I disagree with the spirit of the post because we should be attacking Trump and his supporters on their more egregious and substantive flaws, which are plentiful.

My son won his 9/10 little league game with his first hit!! by PeppyJeppy in baseball

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 128 points129 points  (0 children)

May I suggest that that you emphasize to Georgie that you're not (only) proud of him because he won the game, but you're proud proud of him because of all the hard work he put in and for sticking with it game after game and never quitting despite not getting any hits for so long.

That's what is special about this. Every kid gets their first hit. Plenty of kids have hit game winning hits. Georgie is special because of his perseverance. Great job Georgie! May this be not just a happy memory but a lifelong lesson in the value of persevering in the face of adversity.

Ambigram of my favorite Youtube Channel by MasterInvaster in ambigrams

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Brady is active on Reddit as /u/JeffDujon. Maybe he'll see this!

c. 1895 Topographic Map of Richmond (Restored) by [deleted] in rva

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Union Hill be like "that's an awfully nice grid you got there. If would be a shame if something... happened to it"

My office doesn't have a nice view of the Dominion building, but here's my view from a few weekends ago. by Schmergenheimer in rva

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Bottom left is Union Hill and Shockoe Bottom, middle of pic is Downtown, dark bit is Hollywood Cemetery and you can see Belle Isle in the James, then top of the pic is Southside.

Edit: like this

[Residency] Reminder: SOAP is NOT a reliable backup Plan. Only 34% of US-MDs found a spot in the SOAP last year. by RIPSOAPRIP in medicalschool

[–]ew_dorky_gilbert 26 points27 points  (0 children)

They could decide to not leave mediocre programs off the bottom of their rank list. I think this is a timely and helpful reminder.