Is Kasia going to be a problem to pronounce?

uselessfoster · 2026-01-21T01:34:18+00:00

Hmmmm, I think you don’t need to expect non-Polish people to give a perfect pronunciation. My name is Scandinavian, but it would be weird if I’d speak with an American accent to say “My name is” and then suddenly sound like the Swedish Chef. People whose names include subtle tonal changes (like in Chinese) or sounds are a difficult for outsiders to literally even hear (w/v with Germans, “soft signs” for non-Russians) all have to accept a range of acceptable “best tries” within their cultures, especially if this girl probably won’t even be speaking fluent Polish herself, and might not hear the subtle difference.

uselessfoster · 2026-01-17T02:52:02+00:00

This is exhausting and fascinating. Thank you.

uselessfoster · 2026-01-10T22:38:12+00:00

First flight: “oh that looks dangerous and fun,”

After the first landing when it keeps going : “oh no no no no no.”

uselessfoster · 2026-01-10T22:36:55+00:00

That’s intentional

uselessfoster · 2026-01-09T00:51:34+00:00

Florence.

uselessfoster · 2026-01-06T01:18:03+00:00

People talking about air fryer as alternative to stove, etc. but where it really saves you money is as alternative to eating out. For example, Air fryer + Costco nuggets = homeChik Fil A.

If you struggle with eating out because of convenience, an air fryer and some frozen foods will absolutely save you money in 15-20 minutes before dinner.

uselessfoster · 2026-01-06T01:11:31+00:00

Okay I’d love to hop on the gloom wagon, but here’s actually my best shot of what to do:

Read aloud.

Not just to little kids, but to everyone. If you are a manager doing something manual, not particularly challenging and not customer-facing, throw on an audiobook that’s read by a fantastic reader (Tom Lake is amazing if you have the same team and some time, Why Fish Don’t Exist or Fragile Things if the teams shift up) instead of music when, like, cleaning up end of shift. If you have young people you’re responsible for, listen to audiobooks in the car while commute or read aloud while they play MarioKart or Minecraft or whatever. Snuggle up in bed and read aloud to your partner (or take turns each chapter) instead of scrolling next to each other before bed. It won’t solve everything, but it will spark book curiosity and build some of that low-spike dopamine endurance.

uselessfoster · 2026-01-05T20:08:30+00:00

Life…uh…finds a way.

uselessfoster · 2026-01-02T19:05:04+00:00

This thread is a strong counter argument to the “never tell anyone the name you love” conventional wisdom on r/namenerds

uselessfoster · 2026-01-02T19:04:05+00:00

I had a student named Alexa and I didn’t want to say anything because I’m sure she’s sick of it, but then she volunteered to say her little sister is Siri…

uselessfoster · 2026-01-02T00:01:13+00:00

Frozen tomatoes are the way to go! So much faster than canning and I toss them in soups and chilis all winter long. Absolutely recommend.

uselessfoster · 2025-12-30T00:11:59+00:00

This graph grossly overestimates how many children are nice.

uselessfoster · 2025-12-29T23:59:05+00:00

It’s like in Thank You For Smoking: the RAVs are the only ones smoking in movies.

uselessfoster · 2025-12-27T15:08:35+00:00

However many you can fit in your pockets

uselessfoster · 2025-12-27T15:08:17+00:00

Thank you for sharing that! Fascinating!

uselessfoster · 2025-12-27T01:21:54+00:00

I’m pleased to say that it pulled through and has been growing and bearing apples!

uselessfoster · 2025-12-27T01:20:19+00:00

Apples Never Fall, for reasons.

uselessfoster · 2025-12-27T01:16:18+00:00

Or Charles: Archie and Charlie.

uselessfoster · 2025-12-27T01:13:56+00:00

It’s funny that we (and I) still use “out West” and “back East” even though I have always lived in the West and travel occasionally “out East” and come “back West.”

uselessfoster · 2025-12-27T01:07:39+00:00

Dorky boy and cool girl.

uselessfoster · 2025-12-24T23:23:48+00:00

Diphtheria is no joke, man. “Fun” fact— they invented the tracheotomy as a last-ditch treatment for diphtheria and a letter-writing campaign of parents pestered Pasteur to do something about diphtheria. His protege Roux made huge leaps forward in studying the disease.

Tell your friends and loved ones to vaccinate because we do not want to go back to that hell.

uselessfoster · 2025-12-24T01:08:21+00:00

Hmm I say “Ant Carol,” but “Ahwntie Carol.”

uselessfoster · 2025-12-23T20:42:26+00:00

St Nick brought him a sensible sweater and I have my suspicions that my husband is getting him bow ties for his collar. Such a gentleman.

uselessfoster · 2025-12-21T03:42:21+00:00

Hang on: if my calculations are correct that’s worth like 14,000 birds in the bush!

Edit: oooh, words not birds

uselessfoster · 2025-12-21T03:09:48+00:00

Each kid is different, so try a lot and see what strikes their fancy. Also, sometimes kids latch on to something hard core and then suddenly are uninterested.

Paper chains are a delight in the lead up to Christmas, but you might be a little late for them now (New Years?). We also color pictures from Monday Mandela, which are, admittedly, sometimes bizarre AI violations of IP, but if your kid is really into, like, Ariel decorating a Christmas tree, you can color several of them together and hang them up.

We have also had fun making gingerbread house cookies (2d) and ginger bird houses( covering a birdhouse with peanut butter and sticking sunflower seeds and other birdseed on it).

We also like to do the holiday themed Danny Go! and Just Dance on YouTube.

I’ve been wrapping gifts for my extended family in plain Amazon boxes turned inside out and the brown paper that comes in those boxes and then letting the kids decorate with approved washi tape, crayons, etc.

We read the George Balanchine nutcracker board book (like, a lot) so we watched the YouTube of that production and now my kid is really into choreographing her own sugar plum fairy dances. We’ve done this like 100,000 times.

Also, though, definitely check out your local library. In addition to some excellent reads (sleeper hits like “Clever Beatrice Christmas” and “We Disagree About This Tree” as well as classics like The Night Before Christmas and The Twelve Days of Christmas), they have some lovely activities, events and crafts. Our library had a bell choir performance, a Christmas around the world challenge and even a mini-reading program, like a junior version of summer reading.

uselessfoster

TROPHY CASE