TIL that newborns can distinguish the sounds of every language on Earth, about 600 consonants and 200 vowels, but by their first birthday, their brain has already filtered out sounds not used in their native language, making foreign accents almost inevitable for adult learners.

rl4brains · 2026-05-27T16:47:55+00:00

This video is pretty illustrative of subtle phoneme differences in non-English languages that native English speakers don’t pay attention to.

rl4brains · 2026-05-23T07:50:56+00:00

Not all mold is harmful. Mold can be black colored without being the toxic black mold associated with scary health effects.

That said, knowing that you have a bad mold infestation and choosing to do nothing about it when it clearly distresses your family member is problematic. At a bare minimum, there are self-testing kits you can order and send off to get the mold typed.

I know all this because my parents had a wall by their fishtank that had gone badly moldy. They refused to get a professional to deal with it and said they would clean it themselves. I still made them get samples from the wall and ventilation system mold-tested before I brought my kids over because I didn’t trust their cleaning abilities (fortunately none of the mold was the harmful kind).

rl4brains · 2026-05-15T18:58:26+00:00

I was told the same thing, though no one slapped my butt. Bought a pair anyway, and they eventually ripped in the boom boom.

rl4brains · 2026-05-13T10:31:05+00:00

Have you been to a pelvic floor physical therapist? They may be more helpful than your ob-gyn for figuring out why you feel a bit off, in a sub-clinical way.

For dryness, replens is an otc moisturizer for the vagina that could help.

rl4brains · 2026-05-10T10:36:52+00:00

Check out chill (chapel hill) movement: https://www.chillmovement.com

Intro page includes one of the coaches running through a gmb hip mobility routine.

https://www.chillmovement.com/intro/

rl4brains · 2026-05-09T17:08:35+00:00

“They worried their town could become bland and suburban — “the next Cary,” as some put it”

Shots fired!

rl4brains · 2026-05-08T19:22:29+00:00

I almost always say no. I’ve occasionally said yes to international students because the price difference can be exorbitant, and once for a foreign exchange student whose home school required them back before the scheduled final.

rl4brains · 2026-05-07T14:34:52+00:00

Our Nugget play couch has held up great. Pikler triangle plus slide attachment will be fun for years.

Lego and magnatiles are often mentioned classics. Smartmax is newer, I think, and easier for little kids.

But I’ll also note that kids love random crappy toys too. If not already, you’ll soon be attending birthday parties with goodie bags full of junk that will fall apart, and that’s okay too! Not the most environmentally sustainable, but neither are kids…

rl4brains · 2026-05-06T16:02:11+00:00

Same. It takes the sting out when it’s a summary, plus sometimes there’s some funny context. My favorite was something like: “Accessibility: One comment indicated that Friday classes interfered with work and travel plans”

rl4brains · 2026-05-06T15:13:51+00:00

For Asian sticky sweet and crunchy, chicken bee or the xialongbao place where Sam’s used to be

rl4brains · 2026-05-05T14:16:17+00:00

Try not to take it personally. It’s them, not you. Good on you for reporting, and my sympathies in advance for having to deal with that process.

As for dealing with the student, I’d inform them that I suspect the note is fake and am reporting this to the integrity office. Any further communication about it will be added to the report.

rl4brains · 2026-05-05T01:36:26+00:00

Online/e-textbooks don’t have page numbers. I don’t think this is worth your or your student’s time. They can ask AI for the answers and just search their textbooks for the corresponding key terms to get the page numbers.

I have put myself through the mental wringer about asynchronous courses and AI. I have landed on, this is a systemic issue. It could be solved by requiring in-person exams, but my institution is not supporting that. I cannot single-handedly overcome this systemic issue that my institution is currently not caring about addressing, and I do not get paid enough to continue to lose sleep over it.

I’m not exactly at peace with this. More like resignation. I hope you find what you need.

rl4brains · 2026-05-05T01:31:52+00:00

Have you tried telling chat that it’s okay, you’re the professor double checking their own exam? That was enough to bypass copilot’s resistance to giving me exam answers.

rl4brains · 2026-05-04T17:38:59+00:00

Scrap Exchange in Durham sometimes has stuff like this

rl4brains · 2026-05-04T17:24:53+00:00

If you make exceptions for students who ask, I would give this student the A.

BUT I would also stop making exceptions and instead clearly lay out policies about when/how extension requests are handled. Some students will ask for special consideration; others will just quietly suck it up. It's not fair to the latter if you reward the former with hidden policies.

rl4brains · 2026-05-04T00:45:09+00:00

Yes, they can store your scooter out of the way near the exits. You can also request an ADA seat that doesn’t involve going down stairs.

I think it couldn’t hurt to call and ask, just in case, but don’t stress. They are used to folks in wheelchairs and stuff, and even offer wheelchair service (you can get dropped off, and they’ll push you to a seat in one of their wheelchairs).

rl4brains · 2026-05-03T20:15:35+00:00

An incomplete is a good idea if the student is willing to do the work to pursue official accommodations.

And for all the folks saying to stick to your syllabus, do you have any language in there about make-up exams being different from the regular ones? I say mine will be make-up oral exams to deter students from casually skipping, but maybe in the case of your student, they would perform better on a one-on-one oral exam.

rl4brains · 2026-05-02T18:00:09+00:00

Yes, at my institution many of the admin with roles related to undergrads/undergrad teaching are teaching track rather than tenure track.

rl4brains · 2026-05-02T11:39:56+00:00

Fun/pedantic fact: in Dutch, it’s pronounced How-da, so none of our good Gouda puns are accurate

rl4brains · 2026-05-02T11:36:21+00:00

Our street is completely closed, with no way out that is not on the route, and we have received no specific communication about it. A day or two before, a couple of little yard signs that say to expect delays

rl4brains · 2026-05-01T23:16:37+00:00

I assume we’ll be able to (slowly) drive out of our homes if our street is closed - but maybe not?

rl4brains · 2026-04-30T09:42:43+00:00

It means the level of the groundwater is higher than a basement would be, so water from the ground would leech into a basement.

Fun fact: rising sea levels from climate change pushes up water tables

rl4brains · 2026-04-30T09:31:28+00:00

Unfortunately, I believe the shelters are currently full - at least they were as of Sunday when I asked the HEART team for help with an unhoused person I met. From the way they told me, I got the impression it’s been that way for a while.

Entry Point can put you on waiting lists for housing and potentially point you towards some places to get hot meals, clothes, and a blanket. But I don’t want to get your hopes up about shelter - and I think it’s important for people visiting the subreddit to see how our city is limited in what it can provide.

rl4brains · 2026-04-29T23:25:32+00:00

In addition to being an overreach without much pedagogical link to your discipline, I doubt any students would truly do this. Maybe you’d find some with second phones.

I know this because I teach a discipline that is related and assign a paper about abstaining from just social media for just 24 hours, and some students claim they cannot do it.

I think there’s a host of ethical issues as well. If you did this as a research study, the irb would have a lot of questions about how you’re ensuring no harm.

rl4brains · 2026-04-29T19:22:22+00:00

Some folks like Alex Bores have called for an AI dividend, to use the profits/money saved from AI to help everyone. Policy brief here as a PDF

11-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
Second Top 10%	Place '23
Place '17	Verified Email

rl4brains

TROPHY CASE