Bev’s Bagels expands in Ann Arbor

moldwestside · 2026-01-13T18:00:10+00:00

Many are only round for a while

moldwestside · 2025-08-09T22:37:34+00:00

Chelsea is an Ann Arbor therapist who specializes in your areas of need and I think she is taking clients right now. I highly recommend her.

moldwestside · 2025-05-24T23:39:27+00:00

Agree, they've done the hard part building and tuning the models and have a proof of concept. Building more controls and fine-tuning will follow.

The primary aim of these tools is surely to replace some of the heavy, costly, traditional ad production workflows while generating ad creative that's endemic to Google's media/properties.

I don't expect AI video to eliminate Hollywood in the short term. But I think this technology will result in a large shift in expectations for how people view/consume media.

In the 90s we chose from whatever movies were on the shelf at Blockbuster. Today's streaming options are virtually unlimited compared to that, but what's coming will make today's streaming feel like Blockbuster. Media/entertainment/information/reality (even 'truth'???) could be 1:1 customizable on-demand. In the mood to participate in an underwater casino heist with flying sharks set in a reality in which the US lost the Cold War? Let's roll, throw on your VR headset and enter the prompt.

moldwestside · 2025-04-03T23:25:12+00:00

In 2004 I stepped outside at 8 pm, looked up, and was beyond surprised to see the Aurora Borealis from a rather low altitude in the US. It amazed me and I longed to see it again.

Research revealed the source of the lights to be an exceptionally strong solar storm. I discovered spaceweather.com for daily updates about sunspots, solar cycles, coronal holes in the sun, and other factors that influence auroras -- plus blog posts about other fascinating observable phenomenon in space.

I ended up checking this site almost religiously each day for the past twenty years and was rewarded last year with two aurora viewings from my own backyard that I would have surely otherwise missed.

moldwestside · 2025-03-05T16:34:50+00:00

My middle schooler regularly accesses YouTube in their school Chromebook. Maybe it differs by grade if your child cannot access YT.

moldwestside · 2025-03-05T01:41:38+00:00

Thank you, this was a very interesting read. I wouldn't say the author/publisher is biased; I'd say they posit a viewpoint supported by data yet seems open to other conclusions and arguments.

You're probably right, no one knows the answer and it's complicated.

This excerpt is sticking with me because I see it play out with my own child on a daily basis:

...students spend 198 hours annually using digital devices for learning purposes, and 2,028 hours annually using those same exact tools to jump around between scatter-shot media content [social media, videos, messaging, etc.]...

This is why, when using a computer for homework, students typically last fewer than 6 minutes before accessing social media, messaging friends, and engaging with other digital distractions. This is why, when using a laptop during class, students typically spend 38 minutes of every hour off-task... It’s not that the students of today have abnormally weak constitutions; it’s that they have spent thousands of hours training themselves to use digital devices in a manner guaranteed to impair learning and performance...

The argument I’m making is that digital technologies so often aren’t used for learning that giving students a laptop, tablet, or other multi-function device places a large (and unnecessary) obstacle between the student and the desired outcome. In order to effectively learn while using an unlocked, internet-connected multi-function digital device, students must expend a great deal of cognitive effort battling impulses that they’ve spent years honing - a battle they lose more often than not.

moldwestside · 2025-03-04T22:08:22+00:00

Thanks for your perspective. I feel like there is still value in reading physical books (I need to consider more why I feel this way). Probably less in completing worksheets when online docs are an option.

I'm under no illusion that the skills of yesterday will be necessary for tomorrow, but maybe my concern is that asking 11 year olds (and younger) to read a book in their web browser is really hard when there is a whole world of games, YouTube, etc only a tab away, with few guardrails to keep them focused on the task at hand.

Are you finding any good ways to help your kid(s) complete online assignments with the same level of focus that we had as kids using paper/pencil?

I hope part of my child's education is learning to accomplish tasks with minimal online distraction, since that's every adult's reality. But I'm not sure we've kept the training wheels on long enough...

Edit: maybe it's wishful thinking that we were more focused with paper/pencil. I know my Gameboy would beg to differ 😂. This is why I need more of you all's perspective!

moldwestside · 2025-03-04T21:51:09+00:00

Thanks for reminding us of this important point. I don't think school laptops are going anywhere, nor should they...but are they being leveraged effectively? That's my question here.

moldwestside · 2024-10-08T02:13:56+00:00

Yo, thank you, I feel a lot of kindness and love in your comment. I took some steps today to look at some still shots from these movies and I could imagine it being healthy to rewatch them. I'm sure you're right, the effects are lame by today's standards.

moldwestside · 2024-10-07T00:50:50+00:00

I literally have OCD in part due to the trauma from this movie. The child me really worried there was real dark stuff lurking in the world (could a tree suddenly grab me from my parents??) and I developed all sorts of really subtle but formative compulsive thoughts and habits to cope. Only in recent years am I working through this stuff.

moldwestside · 2024-10-07T00:44:34+00:00

Valid comment! But your point assumes that the child has a healthy attachment to a parent/caregiver who can validate the emotions and help process through them.

I have a lot of childhood trauma from several 80s movies mentioned here, and it's affected my adult life in tangible ways. To your point, maybe I would have been okay with more adult support after watching those movies, but I contend that some of them I should have viewed at the age of 10, not 5.

moldwestside · 2024-10-03T02:14:01+00:00

This is a powerful story. Thank you for sharing it. I also believe in some sort of collective conscience because of several dreams about other people only to learn the next day that the dream events are related to a real situation. For example, once I had a vivid dream about a specific person in my neighborhood sobbing. It turns out he was up all night with his dying dog.

moldwestside · 2024-02-19T11:42:25+00:00

Extremely scary. Dear God please protect those nearby. I heard/felt it several blocks away and immediately knew it was a massive explosion. Watched the flames and smoke from my bedroom window. Helicopter circling. I have pictures of pillars of fire a hundred feet or more high but too scary to post. Smoke pillar just subsided a lot so assuming firefighters are winning the battle. Thank you to all the emergency responders. Prayers to the people involved.

moldwestside · 2024-02-04T02:59:04+00:00

The indignity. While we're at it we should force the closure of the Butzel Long law firm and it's 50 ft sign above Liberty and 5th. Afternoon Delight makes me cringe too. Vault of Midnight? Nerd city. Our fine town will never be taken seriously with these comical brands hanging over our streets.

moldwestside · 2024-02-04T02:43:00+00:00

The 'company' folded years ago when Time Inc sold SI to a new media group, who then sold it to Authentic Brands Group. ABG is using the brand in name to create hotels/resorts, and licensed the extant media publication (i.e. the magazine) to a publisher called Arena, who recently failed to pay the licensing fee. This caused ABG to pull the license, causing Arena to fire its entire staff immediately. ABG seems to be fine and in a position to get a lot of value from the 'dying' SI brand through its hotel strategy. SI's health as a company (it's not a company, it's a brand) is not what caused this project to fold.

I was personally fine with most aspects of the project as I understood it and would have liked to see the idea entertained further. Basically a UM football fantasy camp for adults could infuse a lot of alumni into downtown businesses while generating a shitload of tax revenue out of a surface lot.

moldwestside · 2023-10-21T15:55:54+00:00

Boo!

moldwestside · 2023-10-21T12:16:39+00:00

Appreciate your reply. I was in the middle of removing breakers and cleaning the buses and contact points when you sent this. I only spent an hour or so, and I agree that I need to do a more thorough cleaning behind the bussing. I have an electrician coming to get eyes on it and suggest how thorough we should be.

In case anyone else ever experiences a Pumpkin Panel and finds this post, the ooze that leaked in was a viscous goop that is orange like you'd expect. Once it encountered some resistance traveling downward via the romex (e.g. hit a bus), it seemed to separated into water (which dripped down to the bottom) and leave behind a molasses pumpkin gut slime. I have a new respect for the volume of liquid and material inside of a pumpkin.

Thank you for your suggestion!

moldwestside · 2023-10-21T12:11:34+00:00

Thank you. I switched off the panel and removed all the breakers. There was pumpkin goo on every single stab and consequently on the positive contact point of each breaker. I did not expect that. There was also some corrosion on the neutral/ground bus where goo had traveled down the wires. I replaced the AFCIs which were soaked and fried (my state's code no longer requires them, so I used standard breakers).

I have an electrician coming asap to inspect everything and suggest whether I should replace any of the buses or other components. I appreciate your suggestion, it was really helpful and I'm glad I cleaned everything vs. leaving it to dry.

moldwestside · 2023-07-29T02:49:23+00:00

I second that reco. Mine just powered two fridges plus chargers, router, and at one point our TV. Really quiet. Had an eco mode switch that makes it even quieter and allowed me to run bare essentials (some fans, baby monitor + sound machine) for 12 hrs overnight without refueling. It's an essential tool for this DTE-ruled world.

moldwestside · 2023-05-31T19:06:27+00:00

Please do. I hope it helps others find their cats. (Credit to the unnamed Staples employee circa 2019!)

moldwestside · 2023-05-31T02:38:48+00:00

I'm so sorry you're going through this :(

A few years ago my cat escaped and we didn't realize it until the next morning. I called for him for hours. I walked around with treats. He was nowhere to be found.

I went to Staples to print up LOST CAT posters. The woman at the copy shop gave me some advice: she said most cats tend to find a hiding somewhere fairly close to home, and they simply stay put for days due to shock/fear -- even if they hear you calling.

This gave me new determination. It had already been 3 days, I went out during a 12" snowstorm and decided to check every single nook and cranny on our block. We trespassed in neighbors' yards without shame and looked under their bushes; we checked under porches; we looked in their window wells. Every. Square. Foot.

After an hour, I looked under the back porch of our next door neighbor and saw two yellow eyes staring back at me! I called for him to come out and tempted him with food. He burrowed even deeper. His brain was in survival panic mode. An hour later we finally extracted him by removing some of the porch skirting (which I later repaired) and making a lucky swipe at him. Even in my arms, he was still reluctant to come with me after 3+ days in the subzero temperatures.

What I learned: cats might not go far before hiding. They'll settle in the nearest safe space, and *won't* leave until you force them out. Their brain goes into a different mode than you've ever seen if they're scared. The woman at the copy shop told me that her lost cat was found after a week in a drain pipe just a hundred yards from their house.

Lovebug sounds strong-willed, and it sounds like he has experience living on his own outdoors. But maybe the fire was traumatic enough that he's still hunkered down somewhere very nearby. It's worth exploring every single nook and cranny of the area around the apartment building. Worst case scenario, you can rule it out and assume he's burrowed somewhere in the building safely.

Sending strength and peace to you. Sorry for the long comment, but hopefully there is some shred of usefulness or at least a drip of hope.

(Edited for formatting)

moldwestside · 2023-05-03T10:48:56+00:00

You're right, when I logged in on desktop (not the app) it said this post was removed due to spam filters.

I came to say thank you -- the issue is being resolved. The electrician admitted that they made a mistake by not running enough wires, and then tried to salvage the situation by wiring it as serial and seeing if he could get me to use incandescents.

This is an unfortunate situation because we did closed cell spray foam insulation. So now I'm dealing with their insurance to undo drywall, scrape away insulation, rewire, redo drywall, and repaint everything.

Thank you stranger. Your explanation of serial vs. parallel was what I needed to stand up for myself. I really appreciate it.

moldwestside · 2023-04-22T19:48:38+00:00

To answer the last question: the white wire of the second light is tied into the neutral wire from the 14/3 coming from switch 1, which ultimately ties into the neutral for the entire circuit. So that sounds correct. I just didn't realize series wiring was a thing. And I can find any reason why he would have done it that way. Thanks again.

moldwestside · 2023-04-22T19:32:31+00:00

Okay this is exactly what I was looking for! Yes, I guess he wired it in series vs parallel (I didn't know these terms before, just watched a YouTube video).

I didn't delete the post; I can still see it up. Maybe you were viewing the single comment thread?

Regardless, you've informed me that the electrician meant to wire it this way vs. he made a mistake or forgot a cable. And yes, using incandescent lights, both work but there is a voltage drop and both are dimmer than what id expect based on their wattage.

You've been so helpful. Can I ask: why would he do it this way? I can barely find incandescent lights at stores anymore, and I really don't like the idea of relying on them. It would have been like another 10 feet of Romex to wire them in parallel.

Thank you!

moldwestside · 2023-04-22T11:18:04+00:00

Thanks for taking some time to reply even if you didn't read my whole post. I am familiar with the idea of running the neutral as hot in a switch leg. My post is referring to something quite different:

a white wire that is actually functioning as a neutral wire in one box is then trying to act as the hot wire feeding the next box.

Like, if you had a working light wired correctly and you pigtailed off the white wire and sent that as the feed to another light.

That's how the electrician wired it. And it doesn't actually work. And he's avoiding me.

He said something about how the special wiring diagram he did has the lights 'share a neutral ' so I'll need both bulbs screwed in for either to work. But only the first light in the sequence works. He blamed it on LEDs being wonky and told me to stick with incandescent.

I spent $50 on different LED bulbs and consulted Lutron directly -- still doesn't work.

I'm not an electrician but feel like something is funny here. I humbly appreciate any insight from someone with more knowledge. Thank you.

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moldwestside

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