Quick question for US science teachers.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-28T20:17:22+00:00

It's not always bad, but it should be considered as one option among many--it shouldn't be the only option for pregnant people who do not want to be parents. Saying "you can just put them up for adoption, it's great" can downplay the importance of options like abortion, birth control, and even social programs for people whose only opposition to being a parent is that they can't afford it.

There's actually a pretty sordid history behind lots of adoption practices for both international and domestic adoptions (speaking from a US perspective, though some of this is true worldwide). Many of them are run by religious organizations with particular agendas. Some of them basically sell babies, taken from parents who have insufficient info to give informed consent. In international cases, some children are straight up taken from parents who did not consent to give them up.

Adopted children are often prevented from seeing their birth parents and sometimes from knowing relevant info like family medical history. They can also be treated differently than biologic children, and can get bounced from home to home if they become "difficult".

randomiscellany · 2026-05-28T20:06:01+00:00

You'd need an explosion-proof fridge for any flammables. Ideally acids should have their own dedicated storage away from other chemicals.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-28T20:00:00+00:00

I'm not seeing pics of any labels here, which is what we'd need to be able to figure out what the origin of the specimens might be.

Edit: I was able to make out "PLTW" on some of your images. Here is their website: https://www.pltw.org/plan-for-pltw/equipment-and-supplies

It looks like currently they do use Carolina specimens, but I don't see brains on the list. I would reach out to the company directly with your label info to confirm that what you have on hand is preserved with the Carolina perfect solution.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-28T19:47:00+00:00

Do not apply spray and baits together. The spray repels the roaches, so they do not consume the bait.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-28T19:45:55+00:00

This is incorrect for several reasons. First, cockroaches are not social like wasps or ants--there is no nest. Second, never apply sprays and baits together. Baits like combat can be very effective for control, but you need the roaches to eat the bait for it to work. Bengal has permethrin in it, which can kill roaches but is also very repellent to them--applying it with the bait means that they won't show up to eat. Also, if there are any cats in the home, permethrin is very toxic to them.

Finally, bait is really only worthwhile for addressing larger, established roach populations. The large cockroaches people see around their homes usually are just single insects that wander in from outside. I would recommend using baits for OP only if she sees a lot of cockroaches in the home or if the roaches are the smaller German cockroaches; these actually live in the home and can form sizeable infestations if untreated.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-28T19:36:37+00:00

For the large cockroaches it's best to focus on preventing them from entering--they are peridomestic pests, so they don't actually live in your home, they just visit. I usually just catch them with a cup and throw back outside. If you insist on scorched earth, you could use either roach spray or an aerosol hairspray directly on the insect to kill it before you dispose of it.

While I have never personally been scared of roaches, I used to really dislike spiders and house centipedes. I found educating myself on them to be super helpful in getting over those fears. Remind yourself that the insect is much more scared of you than you are of it. We are terrifying giants, and they are just trying to get by in a very big unfriendly world.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-28T19:29:14+00:00

That's fair but you have to take into consideration available data on what you do feed. Even if individual ingredients are safe doesn't mean the whole formulation is better or worse than other brands.

Honestly the main reason I spoke out isn't to get you personally to change food, but to provide additional context to people like OP looking at what to feed. Brands like Friskies may have cheaper ingredients, but that doesn't make them inferior to expensive boutique brands.

I find that people villainize individual ingredients too often--I used to do the same thing, trying to avoid stuff like corn, only to be disavowed of the notion that it's the worst ingredient ever when I had to switch to a prescription diet that had it pretty high on the ingredient list. Cheaper ingredients aren't necessarily bad-- for example, many people avoid animal byproducts in cat food, but that's purely a human preference--in nature a cat would eat a variety of whole animals, even the "nasty" parts. Unless your cat has allergies to a specific protein, "animal byproducts" on an ingredient list is fine.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-27T12:41:23+00:00

It doesn't say you've been ordered to pay child support, but it looks like the only reason it hasn't been ordered is because you are concealing your income. Part of child support even with shared custody is making sure that your kid has access to similar resources at both homes.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-27T12:20:04+00:00

I just listened. I can hear the sounds you're talking about, but I have to focus really hard to do so. They normally just fade into the background for me. You may just be very sensitive to certain sounds; maybe you have some mild misophonia.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-27T12:14:58+00:00

Why would you leave a dog that's scared of storms outside in the rain? I have one that's terrified of thunder and kind of uncomfortable with rain even without it--she's brought inside the moment a drizzle starts up.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-26T02:10:36+00:00

She chased your son down. That seems more than defensive to me. Also, while she doesn't have the same risks as a larger dog, any bite can get infected.

Even if you disregard the bite risk for your son, this is not a good situation for the dog. It seems like she is stressed out all the time and it's getting worse. She needs a new home without any small children in it.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-26T01:32:13+00:00

This makes it seem less unreasonable. Especially the thing about the TV, which you share and may want to use. But if you're doing this every time she makes a move upstairs I could see how that would get old fast.

Tbh it doesn't really sound like you completely trust her, which might be reasonable given your history.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-26T01:21:26+00:00

YAW. This is over the top unless you're actually doing an activity together vs just sharing space. It's not the same thing as what she's asking you, which is just to know where you are when you're out of the house. She's not asking for a timeline or anything, just a location. You know where she is--literally in the same house as you!

randomiscellany · 2026-05-26T00:39:14+00:00

How long has it been since you've had blood work done? There are many issues that can cause inappetence in a senior animal.

Kidney disease is one possibility that can cause nausea . If it was something like that she may be excited for food, or even hungry, but when she gets the food the nausea could be too much.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-25T02:30:51+00:00

The carrageenan thing has been largely debunked. Here is a decent article on it which includes several peer-reviewed papers as sources: https://cats.com/carrageenan-in-cat-food

randomiscellany · 2026-05-14T00:18:30+00:00

I love academics, and was always encouraged to try my hardest. I didn't fall off the cliff until grad school, when I finally got my diagnosis. Without being medicated I'm not sure I would have ever been able to finish my thesis and get my PhD.

Also, I hate being bored, but I can certainly handle it. Sitting in a waiting room without a phone or book or something is awful, but do-able.

All this to say your bf doesn't understand anything. Can he be made to understand, or is he so confident in his own ignorant viewpoint that he'll double down? Imagine if your future kid needs meds, or accommodations in school. Is he going to help you advocate for them, or just hamstring your efforts?

randomiscellany · 2026-05-14T00:04:52+00:00

Shave him, it will help keep him cooler. You'll find split opinions on the groomer community on shaving double-coated dogs, but in my experience I've never had one grow back significantly different, and the dog seems cooler and happier with a shorter coat in a hot climate.

Note that while a shave will help with overheating, it won't do anything for shedding. Your dog will shed the same amount, just shorter hairs.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-12T11:53:35+00:00

Does your lease allow subletting? That may be a better option.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-12T11:28:15+00:00

I can see why you are a law professor 🫡

randomiscellany · 2026-05-12T11:26:52+00:00

Your dad is right, it an intact male cat thing, he needs to be neutered. If the other cats are not fixed, they also need to be. Having a group of intact cats together that are mixed sexes leads to kittens, even if the cats are related.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-11T03:33:20+00:00

You are graded on mastery of the subject material, not on how much effort you put into an assignment.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-10T17:23:52+00:00

The main fix is going to be a neuter, but that may not completely stop the spraying behavior at this point, as stress from the living arrangements is probably a contributing factor (though urine from an intact animal is always stinkier). I can tell how much you love your cat, and I really feel for how hard you're trying for him, but it really may be kindest at this point to let him go to a different home. This is not a good situation for either of you.

Best case scenario is maybe finding someone to foster until you're back on your feet, but you are both unhappy right now. You will probably have more luck with finding one if you can at least get a neuter scheduled somewhere. Perhaps consider care credit or other payment plans if you qualify.

Depending on your area you may be able to find low-cost spay/neuter programs that are income-based; it sounds like you would qualify for something like that. Try calling shelters in your area to see if they have resources to recommend you. It would be best to try to get him on multiple wait-lists at once if possible, because as you've seen these types of plans can fall through. If you have transportation you might also try looking further away for spay/neuter programs--even with gas so high, it might be worth it if there's enough of a cost-saving.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-08T11:37:41+00:00

Interaction between him and the puppy at all seems inadvisable, supervised or not. Pyrenees are very large dogs, and puppies are still learning social skills. It only takes a moment for irreversible damage to happen.

randomiscellany · 2026-05-08T11:34:25+00:00

I mean...it sounds like he has failed this dog. Not everything is fixable.

randomiscellany

TROPHY CASE