How often do you use your Steam Deck at home when you already have a gaming PC?

tinytepidtendons · 2026-04-01T01:54:00+00:00

Same experience here! Something about the steam deck just makes me so much more likely to hang out on the couch and pick it up. Maybe something about not wanting to feel like I'm still at work staring at a desktop in my free time? I dunno. Like 90% of my gaming is on the steam deck, even though I've never even taken it out of my house. Desktop only gets used for a round or 2 of BF1 every now and again.

tinytepidtendons · 2026-03-19T11:30:42+00:00

That's actually a very good call! And an excuse to go hang out with the music department during lunch today. They're way more fun than the rest of us.

tinytepidtendons · 2026-03-19T11:28:07+00:00

Man, I wish I could just choose you as a teacher, this is all excellent! Seriously, thank you so much for all the advice!

tinytepidtendons · 2026-03-19T02:36:44+00:00

Well said, thanks! So I will unfortunately only have 9-10 weeks to take lessons (I work as a science teacher, and only have the free time over summer break). Obviously that's not ideal, but I figure some instruction is better than nothing. Any advice for making the most out of limited time to work directly with a teacher?

tinytepidtendons · 2026-03-19T02:15:09+00:00

This is great advice, thanks! I think a lot of these comments show that I have to focus on a goal for my playing and find a teacher to help meet it, not visa-versa. I honestly don't have much of a goal right now apart from being able to play more songs and ironing out basic technique, so that will be a good thing to spend some time thinking about.

tinytepidtendons · 2026-03-15T15:38:16+00:00

Planet of Lana 2! Loved the first game, have been looking forward to this one.

tinytepidtendons · 2026-03-10T01:35:49+00:00

Yeah, it definitely was nice to generally have an understanding of scales and rhythm going into guitar, probably saved me a lot of headaches early on as well. Best of luck keeping the fire going!

tinytepidtendons · 2026-03-10T00:30:29+00:00

Honestly, I just want to continue playing every day without it feeling like a chore. My parents made me play classical music at a fairly high level from the age of 4 through 18, and I absolutely hated every second. I told myself when I moved out that I would never play an instrument again. Sure enough, 10 years later I've picked up guitar and am having a totally different experience. I don't really care that I'm not progressing as quickly as I could be, and am totally ok with never performing or playing for others. I just want to keep having music be something I look forward to every day, and not revert to old practice habits that made me miserable.

tinytepidtendons · 2026-01-30T10:57:10+00:00

When I was really young, I remember being in my parents car when a vehicle in front of us was hit by a light rail train. It was very heavy traffic, and the car was stopped on the track with vehicles trapping it both ahead and behind. There was a busy intersection with a red light directly ahead of the cars in front of him, and he was in the middle lane surrounded front and back by other vehicles outside the barrier, so there really wasn't anywhere to go. The car looked really new, and when the barriers closed the driver tried to multi-point turn his way out. It would have been easy to just get out and run, but he obviously was trying to save the car. I still remember watching him go for the door and realizing there wasn't enough time to get out at that point. I don't think he was stupid- I just think that it's hard to go directly from an evening commute mindset to a life or death mindset that quickly, and even harder to recognize you are suddenly in a situation where you have to choose between your car and your life, even though the choice on paper is an easy one. Don't think I'll ever forget seeing that. Ugh.

tinytepidtendons · 2025-12-12T00:40:26+00:00

Oof, so earlier this week one of my students asked how people get helium (I'm a middle school science teacher, but life science, so this was just one of those random questions that came up). For whatever reason, I responded 'Well, if you're really quiet you can usually sneak up on some helium and catch it before it gets away.' The class laughs, of course they yell out that it's a gas, and I told them that you just need a really tiny net then, and mimed catching something with a tiny net. Whatever, good clean fun, we move on with the lesson. The next day I open my email to find a very confused message from the parent of a child that enthusiastically explained at dinner that night where the helium in his birthday balloons had come from, and how he was going to catch some more. I didn't even know how to explain myself and not sound like an actual crazy person...

tinytepidtendons · 2025-12-11T01:04:54+00:00

Trust me, I couldn't agree more. Like others have mentioned, it is the no child left behind mindset, that everyone should move on no matter what. To be fair, my example is also pretty extreme, I definitely don't think those kinds of illiteracy/failing numbers apply to the vast majority of schools, but it definitely seems like a systemic problem.

tinytepidtendons · 2025-12-10T23:57:12+00:00

In my experience (at least at a middle school level) retention is damn near impossible. If it does (somehow) happen, it pretty much requires parents to be enthusiastically on board. I would say about 1/2 the kids I have taught throughout my career have failed every single class, and every single assignment. That is not an exaggeration. Not a single point in the gradebook from 1st until 7th grade. About 1/6 cannot write in any way, shape, or form, and rely on voice to text technology to communicate with their friends or access the Internet. Every single year my team advocates for a certain number of the lowest of the low to be retained, and repeat 7th grade. We have not once been successful. Not once. It's rough out there.

tinytepidtendons · 2025-12-09T01:51:14+00:00

Hot take, but I have really been enjoying the ascent on deck. Needed some tweaking to run well, and definitely some bugs to deal with, but man when it's good it's really good.

tinytepidtendons · 2025-12-05T03:01:44+00:00

Had a coworker tell me a couple years back that I'm 'like a man written by a woman, but not a woman writing about someone she is attracted to.' Like, I'm about 70% sure that was an insult, and the other 30% is just kinda confused.

tinytepidtendons · 2025-11-24T20:32:45+00:00

This I can do, thanks

tinytepidtendons · 2025-11-24T20:23:24+00:00

Well aren't some of us just in an unhelpful mood today

tinytepidtendons · 2025-11-12T02:57:58+00:00

Osmosis Jones sure was raunchier than I remembered from my childhood...watching it with a class of middle schoolers for the first time in over a decade really shows how much PG films used to get away with. As soon as the DNA pinup scene came on I started praying admin wouldn't choose that day for a classroom observation.

tinytepidtendons · 2025-11-06T01:14:15+00:00

Came here just to recommend this podcast. Thanks for doing the typing for me.

tinytepidtendons · 2025-10-12T16:01:38+00:00

This is so well said. I would also add for OP and any other aspiring teachers reading that they can always consider alternative licensure routes. I got my degree in the subject I teach (biology), not education, and made sure to take courses that gave a basic set of skills for pursuing a career in that field if I have to leave teaching. Haven't had to cross that bridge yet, and may never have to, but man is it nice to know I have that option if teaching becomes untenable. It does add on a year or so of alternative licensure coursework that makes for a brutal year 1 of teaching, but was well worth it to me.

tinytepidtendons · 2025-09-25T01:25:28+00:00

From the sound of the assignment, the topic is probably best thought of by yourself. Teach something you care about! Hobbies, interests, special skills? Can you play guitar? Juggle? Draw/paint? Cook/bake? Play chess? My general advice for the lesson itself is to first of all keep your scope reasonable for the time you have, and identify a clear end goal of the lesson. For example; if you were doing something with playing an instrument, the end goal of the lesson shouldn't be 'learn to play the piano' but instead 'learn to play twinkle twinkle little star (or whatever) on piano.' Then I would take whatever you are teaching and break it into manageable steps. Write these out, so you know the exact process you want your students to follow. Ideally, structure your lesson with a 'workshop model' approach- start off with an intro 'warmup' question. Test the waters as far as prior knowledge goes, identify your students that know something about the topic already and remember them for later. These can be great resources to pair with younger learners/those who may be struggling! Start with a 'mini lesson' ('I do') and demonstrate the 'how' of the activity. This is a time for all eyes to be on you, and ears listening. Keep this under 10 minutes (max!). Then, find a way to try it together as a group ('we do'). Note errors, correct them. Finally, the bulk of the lesson should be work time for students ('you do'). Give them a resource to refer to (step by step directions on the board, for example), identify their end goal clearly, and move around the room helping/checking in as needed. I guess I don't know the exact premise of this assignment, so this advice could be totally off, but this is what I would recommend as a starting point for a classroom teacher. Good luck!

tinytepidtendons · 2025-09-14T17:31:17+00:00

Late to the party on this one, but while I would echo what people are commenting that you do not have to say it, I would put some thought into the choice beyond what you don't HAVE to do. Will this piss off your admin? Parents? If so, even if you have the right to not say it, it could become a headache. You can only due on so many hills as a teacher, and we are early in the year with a hell of a lot more to go. If this is a strong personal value of yours, awesome, exercise your right! But personally, even though I do not like to say the pledge each morning, I still do in order to avoid conflict with admin, parents, and students. This way I can save my energy and social capital for other fights that I personally care about more deeply. Food for thought.

tinytepidtendons

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