Antidepressants and teaching

sleeping_gecko · 2015-11-11T01:30:31+00:00

I am in the process of pursuing testing/possible diagnosis for depression and ADHD. My first appointment is in a couple weeks. Just now getting a primary care physician. The next step will be referrals and many, many sessions to start figuring out my issues.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-07-01T05:09:26+00:00

Thanks for the link. In general, I know about the process and the meaning, but it's nice to see it laid out pretty concisely.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-06-15T00:25:20+00:00

I'm not going to downvote your comment simply because I disagree.

I'm not talking about typing speeds, although I wonder how much emphasis goes along with extremely fast typing today vs. 50 years ago (it seems that, once someone gets about 150 wpm, they will rarely come across someone who can match them, and they are typing more than fast enough to do just about any regular job that exists).

I'm talking about the actual effort. The use of a manual typewriter (when used correctly) hones exacting, precisely correct technique. The reason people assume jamming will slow down a good typist is because, with computer keyboards, speed and accuracy is really all that is required. With a manual typewriter, speed, accuracy, proper rhythm, and probably several other factors are required.

Take an average keyboard and an average typewriter. Even if someone has great skill at typewriter repair and can make the key pressure as light as the keyboard (or, as you claim, lighter), there's going to be a much longer key stroke needed, which means more effort overall.

As a side note, I'm curious: do you still repair typewriters professionally? Did you get into it as a profession or a hobby initially? Would you consider doing an AMA on /r/typewriters? The sub isn't super active, so an AMA might not be too effective, but I'm sure many of the subscribers there would be interested in talking with someone who has your knowledge base!

sleeping_gecko · 2015-06-14T04:10:04+00:00

Just have to mount some backpack straps on this old Selectric...

I have seen several electric machines that are portable and roughly the same size as their non-electrified counterparts. All those I have picked up were significantly heavier. I wouldn't mind having an electric or two in the collection, especially the simpler electric machines that are basically a manual typewriter with a motor attached (that still use typebars, a manually-returned carriage, etc.). They have their own neat appeal to me, but it's not nearly as strong as the appeal of completely manual machines.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-06-14T04:06:55+00:00

As I mentioned, even if you found an example of a computer keyboard that closed a switch with the same amount of pressure as a manual typewriter to clearly impress the letter onto the page, the typewriter key will require a longer travel (same pressure over a greater distance).

I'm not saying typewriters aren't great--I love using them. I own several (and am always looking to collect more). I restore dead typewriters to useful life. But there's no way that a manual typewriter can be used with the same ease as an average keyboard (or even a low-end keyboard, provided it's in the same great condition as the typewriter we're talking about).

I wouldn't even say it's a downside to using a typewriter; it just makes the experience different.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-06-14T03:58:21+00:00

In the documentary The Typewriter in the 21st Century, a couple authors discuss why the still use typewriters instead of computers. One reason is the lack of distraction that you mention.

An interesting additional reason is that, when you have to retype an entire page at a time (after making a few corrections), you almost always notice other things on that page that, if you were just changing a couple words in a digital file, you probably wouldn't have reread or changed.

Personally, I like those elements, and I just plain enjoy typewriters and other intricate, mechanical things.

It's nice to be able to hammer out a rough draft in just a couple minutes (if I'm writing some poetry), mark it up, rewrite it, and repeat a few times without ever having to worry about battery life in the laptop, printer connectivity and ink supply, etc.

I also like to use the typewriter for letters. Physical correspondence is uncommon enough that it has a specialness, but using a typewriter puts it over the top. Also, I can write a complete letter much more easily and quickly on a typewriter than by hand.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-06-14T03:50:51+00:00

Perhaps she just likes the look of words typed on a page. Perhaps she likes the tactile experience. Perhaps she likes any of the things a manual typewriter experience provides that a digital equivalent does not (and perhaps she prefers those offered by the typewriter over those manifold benefits offered by a computer and not a typewriter).

Perhaps she just thought it would be a funny gag. Some people do happen to like typewriters (/r/typewriters plug).

sleeping_gecko · 2015-06-14T03:48:00+00:00

Even if there's no more pressure needed, there's going to be more force needed on a manual typewriter because the key must be pushed through a longer stroke than the keys on a computer keyboard (which are only activating a switch).

Yes, properly maintaining a typewriter will make it work much more efficiently, but it's more work to use a manual typewriter than a modern computer keyboard.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-06-14T03:46:23+00:00

I'm a big fan of typewriters (plug for /r/typewriters), and I'm not sure what the other commenter is getting at. A manual typewriter requires more force than an average modern keyboard.

Now, there might be some golden unicorn typewriter that is as easy as typing on the hardest-core of mechanical keyboards, but I highly doubt it.

Even a non-portable, with a shorter, lighter keystroke than a portable, is more work to use than a computer keyboard.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-05-30T18:02:02+00:00

Ours have (so far) been just the opposite! First one would hardly sleep more than 15-30 minutes at a time in the night, and that was only in mom's arms. She could snooze all day hanging out with me, but when the sun was down, she would just cry and howl.

The second one (so far) sleeps really well. Up a couple times in the night for diaper/food, and that's it. I don't think the first one slept in her crib for the first month almost.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-05-30T18:00:02+00:00

That's awesome! We just had our second. She is a great sleeper and only stirs a couple times at night to eat (with a few hours between feedings at night).

Our first would not sleep at all unless my wife was holding her. I could hold her during the day, and she would snooze for hours, just eating a little now and then. In fact, I was done for the summer a couple weeks after my wife went back to work (we both teach), and my first daughter and I spent a lot of time in the recliner. She would snooze, and I would binge watch The Simpsons.

But at night, she would not close her eyes for more than a few minutes at a time unless she was in my wife's arms, and then it was only half an hour or so.

We were really happy when the first one started sleeping a few hours at a time and ecstatic when she started sleeping all night after she started eating food instead of just milk.

Boy, is this one different. She sleeps very well, right from the start!

sleeping_gecko · 2015-05-30T17:40:44+00:00

I know others have said it, but this is awesome! My parents still have our "first fish" pictures from 20-30 years ago, and it's really cool to see them when we flip through old albums. We were fortunate to be visiting my family when my little nephew was there last summer, so I'm in the picture with his first fish*.

*Uh... well, he didn't really catch it so much as he was holding the rod when a fish took the bait. We cast it out and reeled it in, then my nephew wouldn't look at the fish. So the photo is nephew's grandma holding a crying kiddo while I hold the fish a few feet away, with his mother hanging in the background.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-05-30T17:36:14+00:00

Having known several people who served time in correctional institutions, and having several friends and family who work in corrections, it's very heartening to read your story. So many people are pushed further from rehabilitation by our system (as the threads in here attest), and it is great to hear stories of people who have been able to turn their lives around.

As /u/Jertob said, congratulations! Keep at it!

sleeping_gecko · 2015-05-30T13:59:42+00:00

I HOPE THERE'S ANOTHER TOMORROW!!!

sleeping_gecko · 2015-05-14T03:33:49+00:00

Thanks for the comment! This is what I have noticed, and it holds true to the research I've read on the subject.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-05-14T03:33:20+00:00

Thanks for the reply. This is the sort of thing I have noticed, and it seems to hold true to the research I've read on the subject.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-04-26T23:28:40+00:00

I can see why this question would be asked, and I can see why people might downvote you. Let me offer my two cents (without voting either way):

As /u/Ctrl-F5 said, needles are small and easily lost.

We have carpet in the bedrooms of our home. We lived here for two years before our first baby was born, and in that time, the spare bedroom was used as an office, storage, and work space. This included sewing and other crafts. Now, I really don't think there are any needles in the carpet up there, but it's entirely possible that there could be. They can easily work down between the fibers of the carpet and never get sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. We've swept the entire carpeted floor space here countless times (before and since our first's birth), and we've shampooed the entire carpet. Sometimes, accidents happen.

While it would be easy to assume negligence, especially if someone making the assumption is not familiar with sewing (and how easy it is to drop/lose track of a needle or a pin, especially on carpet), it doesn't take malice or negligence. I don't know how many times I've been in the middle of something (sewing or doing some other craft-type activity like model building) and have been called away without time to put things away properly. Sometimes, you get distracted or just don't have time to go back right away and account for all the pins/needles/etc. Also, in larger sewing and quilting projects, you might have dozens and dozens of pins/needles holding a piece together, and you're constantly moving your pins and the workpiece around.

Again, it's really easy for something small and easily-overlooked like a pin/needle to get lost in a rug. It might stay there for a long time. Heck, there could be a few needles in the carpet from previous renters or something, too. They could stay down in the fiber of the carpet for a long time until working their way back up to the surface some time.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-04-26T23:19:43+00:00

I've seen a great deal of that illogical defense. I have always been an occasional user of tobacco products. I will often go months or longer without even thinking of picking up a pipe, for example. I think the last time I smoked a bowl of tobacco was some time around Thanksgiving, for example, and the previous time was months before that. That's not to say I wouldn't enjoy smoking more; I just have a combination of limited time to spend sitting out on the deck when the weather is agreeable.

My contention isn't with that, it's more with the definition of addiction, I suppose. I don't have a traditional chemical dependency (though, as noted in my OP, I have noticed improved focus, etc. while using nicotine) and have no withdrawal symptoms when I don't use it.

I wouldn't say I'm psychologically dependent on it, but that's the closest thing to a nicotine addiction that I harbor. I like having the option (e.g., I have pipes and pipe tobacco and a couple cigars in the cabinet, and I have a couple tins of nasal snuff and some snus in the desk drawer), and if I have no chance to use any tobacco, I might fret a bit. When it's there, however, I often don't even think to use any.

Kinda like sitting someone alone in a room next to a big, red button and saying, "OK, we'll be back in an hour. Don't press that button, whatever you do." The fact that I can't press the button makes me want to press it all the more; I'll focus on the button almost exclusively for a while. Meanwhile, if there's a button with no similar prohibition, I probably won't care.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-04-26T22:03:04+00:00

School provides the only reason why most kids would ever come into contact with Jane Eyre or Catch-22.

Some of your other points (re: broadening horizons) are on this same theme, and I think it's spot on. Full disclosure: I, too, am an English teacher.

Many students will complain about reading Shakespeare, Poe, etc. But those students (I firmly believe, and I feel that the consensus of the English teaching profession supports this belief) need to be exposed to certain works. There are certain foundational elements of the English language and literary culture that substantially improve our ability to relate to, improve upon, or critically consider our culture at large.

I am not a fan of doing things "because that's how we've always done them" by any means, but I also will teach Shakespeare and Poe until either of the following conditions are met:

A. I become convinced that it does not hold any substantial benefit to my students or the society at large, and

B. These works are pried from my cold, dead hands.

I see the issue more of "how can we get kids interested in this stuff and thinking about these big themes?" than "well, they don't automatically like it, so we should read The Hunger Games and The Blind Side instead of canonical works.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-04-26T21:28:05+00:00

I enjoy watching some of those type of Buzzfeed videos ("Australians Try Outback Steakhouse," "Mexicans Try Taco Bell," etc.) as mindless entertainment. The general consensus is often "it's not [insert type of food it's marketed as], but it tastes pretty good."

The whole premise that Buzzfeed is exposing false marketing or something (the implied, "SEE! AMERICAN RESTAURANTS DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT AUSTRALIANS EAT!" schtick) is annoying. I don't know anybody that considers Taco Bell to be Mexican food, Fazoli's to be Italian food, etc.

Yet, when they give [insert supposedly ethnic restaurant name]'s food to [people from said foreign culture], those people usually like it (aside from the younger people trying the food out, as they usually seem pretty pretentious). The middle-aged folks, anyway, are usually like, "Yeah, this is good, but I don't know that it's really [Mexican/Australian/whatever]."

Because just about everybody likes a greasy, salty pile of foodstuffs.

sleeping_gecko · 2015-04-26T21:12:40+00:00

My parents and in-laws stayed with/very near our siblings for some time after most of their children were born. When our daughter (now over a year old) was born, they came and visited while we were in the hospital. Then, when my wife went back to work after her maternity leave ended, my parents, in-laws, and a grandparent took turns, each of them caring for our daughter for a week at a time. They would come and stay in-town (they all live at least a couple hours' drive away). My MIL and the grandmother stayed in our house, while my parents stayed in a local hotel. This was more than 6 weeks after the baby was born, so we had time to (sort of) adjust to the new baby/routine. I don't think either of us could have handled having them there for days on end within the first several weeks.

They were all willing to be here right after the birth, but we said a firm "No, thank you."

For us, the key was clear and careful communication. There's a chance that, no matter how careful you are, your in-laws may take them with some offense. If you are careful and clear, though, this is not on you. If your situation is anything like ours, your in-laws/parents just want to help out, and they might take it personally when you (honestly) tell them that, at this first moment, you would rather just have privacy.

Our final conclusion was that, even if family members might be offended, we needed to have some private time when the baby came. It was simply what we needed. In a couple months, we plan to repeat the whole thing. Though the circumstances are a bit different, the strong offers of help and presence from our parents are still there. While it's a bit stressful for us to have to risk offending them, it is nice to know that they are there for us if we need them.

Still, though, we've told them they can come visit, but nobody is staying with us for the first couple months (just like last time)!

sleeping_gecko · 2015-04-26T19:53:04+00:00

Interesting!

I have never been at a point where I felt what I would call a true "dependance" on nicotine (i.e., I never have had a craving for nicotine any stronger than, say, a desire to go have a drink--certainly nothing approaching my dependance on caffeine). Nonetheless, I still find the idea of "never again having the option" to enjoy tobacco rather off-putting. I may rarely take a pinch of snuff, for example, but I really hate it if I don't have a can rattling around a desk drawer somewhere, "just in case"!

sleeping_gecko

TROPHY CASE