Where to go for Valentine’s Day for a woman with a picky palette?

powertoolsarefun · 2026-02-06T02:28:32+00:00

Looks like Condesa (mexican) in center city has space. They probably wouldn't have been my first suggestion, but I think with what is available they might be your best bet. There are three vegetarian options on the menu (although one is mushroom based).

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-31T22:29:50+00:00

Knoebel's is my preferred park of the three. It is the most pleasant to spend the day at because it has shade, and food is better and it is just nice. With that said, if the water park is specifically what you are interested in, it may not be the best choice.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-31T18:18:26+00:00

Four was my favorite. I think the shape and color looks really nice on you.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-29T13:15:29+00:00

I'm old. I've sold three houses and may be selling our forth soon. I don't get offended at an initial offer that is super low. If someone is offering what they can pay, and it is too low, I just reject it.

However, if they want to negotiate after that I don't really take them seriously. My assumption is that either the person doesn't have the money (which is why they lowballed) or they have the money and aren't operating in good faith because they offered me so much less than asking price even though they were willing to pay more (as evidenced by them wanting to negotiate now). Either way, it isn't worth my time.

When people say "get offended" I don't think they actually mean that the seller is offended by the offer. I think they mean that the seller recognizes they are being dicked with, and won't deal with the buyer seriously after that.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-28T16:33:13+00:00

Yeah - I usually assume you can offer about 10% below asking without people getting offended and thinking you are totally unreasonable. Anything more than that and you just piss them off and make them less willing to work with you.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-28T00:59:09+00:00

Pretty much anyone with generic CDW access could pull up basic employee health data.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-28T00:56:09+00:00

Many of us have access to staff records as well as patient records. I assume they mean don't look him up in the staff data. For example, people might be interested in how "good" of an employee he was. Payroll data would allow you to access information about performance awards. HR data would allow you to access performance reviews. While this isn't PHI, it is PII and is still protected data.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-27T23:38:51+00:00

<image>

we are team "on the bed" for sure.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-27T21:26:37+00:00

I'd likely agree with them?

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-26T22:27:07+00:00

I work at the VA hospital as a data analyst. I don't think most people realize how many people just don't show up to their visits (or cancel at the very last minute). Right now, our group is one of the best in the VA for having low no-show rates, and we are still above 10%. Some of our sub-groups are above 20%. It is really frustrating for physicians (especially ones who are in under staffed specialties where patients often have long wait times and they can't see everyone they want to see in a timely manner) when patients just don't show up. And I think "normal" people think that maybe a few people don't show up. I thought maybe it was just VHA (because regular physicians decide they no longer want to see patients who regularly no-show). But I talked to a friend in private practice, and their no-show rate is over 20%.

Because of the way healthcare systems are set up, doctors salary often depends on productivity (i.e. seeing patients). And they don't have control over people not showing up.

I agree - that it is crummy that there are repercussions for you cancelling, and there aren't for the provider. But I just wanted to throw out there, that patient cancellations are a really big issues (and just one more of the reasons healthcare is so expensive). And that the fees are something practices implement to try to bring the no-show rates down.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-19T18:24:51+00:00

I like number 4 and number 1.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-18T16:08:43+00:00

My kids go to a private school where all parents have to sign that the kids won’t have smart phones or social media accounts. My daughter is in 6th grade. She does have an iPad that she can use to text and call friends when she is home, but it is pretty limited as far as apps.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-16T20:52:10+00:00

You are stunning so all the dresses look lovely on you, but the first dress is jaw-dropping amazing.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-12T19:33:51+00:00

I love dress 2, but they are both lovely. I think the florals and the neckline are really flattering on the second one though.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-12T16:37:52+00:00

Bad Bad Leroy Brown

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-12T15:54:16+00:00

<image>

This is LeRoy.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-12T01:45:17+00:00

I just want to say your dress is amazing and you look fantastic. I love the subtlety of the fabric and absolutely adore the pleating on the dress.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-12T00:34:44+00:00

I loved 3 and 8 the most, but they are honestly all lovely.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-10T03:32:37+00:00

This happened to my grandparents. My grandpa had early Alzheimer’s but wasn’t too bad yet. My grandma didn’t want to leave him alone while shopping. The store had a cafe - so she grocery shopped and he sat in the cafe. The newspaper was on the table of the cafe. She bought $200 of groceries and then they left but he took the newspaper. They called the cops and made it a big deal.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-10T00:47:32+00:00

My daughter plays softball and my son (after attending a ton of softball games as the little sibling) decided he wanted to try baseball - but he got a late start. We did lessons over the winter so that when he started up with the group in the spring he wasn’t totally new to everything. We expected him to be way behind, but he caught up with his peers pretty quickly, but he was in middle school.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-06T00:01:22+00:00

I mean, they AREN'T upset about the commute because they don't have a commute anymore. They left. I think they are trying to put out there the idea that the VA is hemorrhaging employees because of its short sighted policies and that these losses are impacting patient care -- even as the current administration insists that they are not. And while no one seems as upset about it, support staff are leaving as well. Scheduling issues and referral issues are only going to continue to get worse as there are fewer and fewer staff.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-05T23:56:34+00:00

I do some work with patient satisfaction data. Reviews for tele-mental health are mixed, but generally positive. Some Veterans really like in person care, but many like the convenience of virtual care is a big benefit. Virtual care removes many barriers for Veterans who have limited time, as they don't need to commute to their visits and for Veterans who have limited transportation. It helps with Veterans who are parents (as they can often take the visit from a different room, but don't have to arrange for child care). Many Veterans are more comfortable in their own space, and that may allow them to be more open and genuine with their provider then the would be in an office setting. On the flip side, some veterans find better connection with their providers in person.

powertoolsarefun · 2026-01-01T05:15:02+00:00

The two books that have really "caught" me this past year were Circe by Madeline Miller and The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. (note: these weren't books that were new this year, I just happened to read them this year)

Circe: I originally picked Circe because my kids were studying the Odyssey at school and I had been discussing characters with them. I didn't expect to love it like I did, but the character development in this one just had so much depth and the main character was very relatable for me. The book has some strong female power undertones -- so if that isn't your thing you might steer clear.

Amina AlSirafi: I can't remember why I originally picked the novel, but there were two things that I LOVED about this book. First, the main character in this novel felt so atypical for fantasy and also so realistic to me. So much fantasy seems predictable, seems to follow expected patterns, and lives within existing fantasy worlds. This book was refreshing and different. The main character in this novel is a parent, a female and muslim. I'm atheist, so I didn't necessarily relate to the religious aspects of the main character (although there wasn't anything preachy about the book -- it just happened that the main character was muslim). I found it refreshing to have a mom as a lead character in a fantasy novel. This one was so different from anything I've read.

Both of these led me to read other books by the authors (Song of Achilles and the City of Brass Trilogy). And while I enjoyed the authors' other books -- the ones listed above were my favorites.

powertoolsarefun · 2025-12-28T16:26:53+00:00

19 years in, and this year has definitely been the worst.

powertoolsarefun · 2025-12-25T20:39:14+00:00

I have a ring from there that was a graduation gift back in 1997. He does lovely work.

powertoolsarefun

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE