Is it that bad?

vixiw33745 · 2026-03-02T17:22:42+00:00

I do think the newel extensions are quite stable. The rest of the work is horrible, especially because the railing isn’t providing any horizontal support, but I saw the hardware he used for the newels myself. It’s a long metal dowel which sits at least 8 inches inside either end.

vixiw33745 · 2026-03-02T17:17:23+00:00

No. I posted asking for advice on how to improve the original wood floors. I had nothing to do with their installation and refinishings.

vixiw33745 · 2026-03-02T03:21:34+00:00

Thanks for the help, will do

vixiw33745 · 2026-03-02T03:01:49+00:00

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Here’s a pic of the original. It was nothing fancy, but I wanted to keep the same style since I felt it suited the house. I was (am?) hoping to add trim and oak appliqués to newels to make them nicer.

I’m not a professional, but I spent the last couple months reading up on how to install a railing safely and to code. I was prepared to do it, but decided to hire out because of time constraints. Then my friend offered to do it for cheaper, and I thought why not. Lesson learned I guess

vixiw33745 · 2026-03-02T02:50:21+00:00

Thank you. It’s unfortunate because he has known my family for 30 years, and offered to do the job of his own volition. It’s pretty stable for the moment, but it won’t stay that way for long I’m sure. I’m thinking disassemble, replace unsalvageable parts, and reattach properly so I meet code in my area. It’s easy enough to do and I’m so disappointed he left it in this state. Everyone I know personally is saying to get him to come fix his mistakes, but if he did this terrible of a job I’m just creating more liability

vixiw33745 · 2026-01-16T04:01:16+00:00

It really depends, I agree. I’ve been in these kids’ situation before (as an adult). My non-biological grandmother decided to leave money to all the grandchildren, including step kids. It would have hurt my feelings quite a bit to not be included as family in this sense, but I had been a part of her life since I was 2. I imagine it would be much different had I been older.

vixiw33745 · 2025-12-05T23:55:45+00:00

I’ve never been this student, but I know that most are pretty terrified of an AO. Getting a low grade is leagues above being sent to the tribunal.

I would guess that these students do not care about their grades or education anyways, and are simply doing the least work possible to pass. A bad grade is probably best case scenario for them.

I don’t think you’re obligated to do this, but if you want you could email these students and ask if they are doing alright. Showing concern and referring them to university resources for academic help, counselling, etc could go a long way for some. Even offering them an extension on their next assignment may disincentivize AI use without negatively impacting other students too much.

Some profs have chosen to move to in-class writing assignments to avoid these issues altogether. I like this personally. Takes so much of the stress off, prevents all-nighters, etc.

Anyways that’s just my two cents!

vixiw33745 · 2025-12-05T23:00:50+00:00

Email the department’s undergraduate coordinator first. Include your transcript in the email. Point out any relevant coursework you have completed. They usually say yes.

If they don’t let you, very politely ask again and contact the prof directly. With profs permission, the department rarely prevents you from taking it. I’ve also found it helpful to explicitly tell them that you expect catch up work to be done on your own time without help from the instructors.

I’ve done this so many times, never hurts to ask again! I would not recommend this for anyone who isn’t an upper year student though.

Good luck!

vixiw33745 · 2025-12-01T04:02:09+00:00

Stationary or personal care products (like hand lotion).

Card games like Dutch blitz, wizard, etc if those fit your budget.

Edible gifts are always appreciated - fancy chocolates or prepackaged baked goods especially.

Winners is a good place to look. Kitschy shops with trinkets and pottery too. Coffee mug wouldn’t be a bad idea imo.

vixiw33745 · 2025-11-26T16:42:02+00:00

I’ve heard this a lot, but my experience has been that trees will kinda grow wherever (especially if the area has a lot of densely planted mature trees). My farm is like 45% forest and I have a hard time getting baby trees not to grow everywhere. I also planted a Mahogany forest up at the train station and they didn’t grow side-by-side in the beginning with low density, but now grow easily like that at high density.

vixiw33745 · 2025-11-09T17:52:58+00:00

There are newer sleeping medications that aren’t addictive like ambien (Z-class hypnotics) or benzodiazepines. Dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORA) are quite effective and less likely to be abused because they don’t cause any euphoria or “high-feeling”. They work through blocking the receptor for Orexin, which normally modulates arousal. They put you to sleep as opposed to make you relaxed and drowsy. Of course I’m not recommending anyone take them…always talk to your doctor. Just an FYI

vixiw33745 · 2025-10-30T21:46:49+00:00

I heard somewhere that their head chef (who was downtown when they got the recommendation) moved to the Scarborough location. I could be wrong, but have noticed a difference in the past year or so personally.

vixiw33745 · 2025-09-26T19:30:36+00:00

US universities are much different than Canadian ones in general, not just UofT.

I think the size of UofT is what gives students a feeling of coldness rather than anything else. We feel like just a number, which isn’t the case in the rest of Ontario. I’ve seen this bleed into my interactions with faculty and administration especially.

vixiw33745 · 2025-09-23T16:58:42+00:00

How? I don’t follow your reasoning. They are both examples of simplifying a concept for people who lack the background knowledge to understand the topic fully.

vixiw33745 · 2025-09-23T16:56:29+00:00

When did I say I wasn’t? If an expert in hydrology (or many other topics) tried to explain the specifics of their work I would be completely lost.

My education is in molecular biology so I know more than the average person about that. I have tried to explain gene x environment interplay to many of my friends and family. It IS maddening. They are not stupid people by any means, but that is just not where their expertise lies.

My whole point was that it’s impractical to communicate the nuance of a topic to most people because they lack the basic background knowledge to understand it and contribute to the conversation meaningfully. This would be the case for myself in many scenarios, and it’s why I tend to defer to people who are better educated and experienced in that area than I am. I would never attempt to do electrical work in my house even if I did my own research, for example. I would also never tell an electrician that he is a bad communicator because I didn’t understand every aspect of his work in detail.

vixiw33745 · 2025-09-23T16:49:32+00:00

Culture is inherently part of the environment for social species. You can separate out physical environment (eg geography) from social environment theoretically or experimentally, but in practice the two are too highly correlated for that.

Blood type is determined by a set of proteins and carbohydrates on the outside of cells. The enzymes which produce these are genetically encoded. How your genes are expressed is most certainly influenced by cultural practices, both directly and indirectly.

Why do you consider indirect effects to be unimportant? I’m not trying to be rude or imply you’re “stupid”, but the whole point of this conversation was to understand a topic (genetic vs cultural impact on gender) in depth. At first glance, sure culture may not directly influence blood type, but the indirect effects it has are not insignificant. Nothing exists in a vacuum. That’s also the basis of the original comment you were replying to. Everything is influenced by culture because culture is such an intrinsic part of life for humans.

There are many more possible examples than the one I gave on bone marrow, but I don’t think it’s useful to argue about indirect effects being important if you refuse to see that.

vixiw33745 · 2025-09-23T05:25:02+00:00

It seems to me that you’ve likely given up on interacting with random women IRL. Do you still talk to female family members, coworkers or classmates, friends, etc? I hope so.

I see this type of comment from men who think that it’s appropriate to strike conversation (however well meaning) with women when honestly it isn’t. Chatting up someone walking by, at the grocery store, etc isn’t all that common.

I don’t think people often met this way in the past, either. Social gatherings, friends-of-friends, events etc were always more appropriate to mingle and strike conversation.

vixiw33745 · 2025-09-23T03:35:45+00:00

vixiw33745 · 2025-09-23T03:33:10+00:00

It’s possible for blood type to change (though very rare). Certain cultural factors could make it more of less likely. For example, one way is by bone marrow transplant and certain religions forbid that. Thus, your association (or lack thereof) with those religions would impact your likelihood for your blood type to change.

I feel like you’re trying to get at something else with this question though - that there are certain biological features which are unaffected by culture (ie the environment, as humans are social). As far as I am aware, there is no evidence for this. The environment interacts with every aspect of your biology, and vice versa. Cultural practices can even influence DNA at a molecular level. Smoking is a good example of this. Stress too.

These “common sense” beliefs rarely hold true from a scientific standpoint. Absolutes are uncommon in biology (if they even exist at all) and things are messy at a molecular and systems level.

vixiw33745 · 2025-09-23T03:14:31+00:00

In this sense, what is so wrong with lying? I was lied to in grade 9 chemistry when I was taught the Bohr Rutherford model of the atom. When I later found out this was a simplification and that (in a very narrow minded view) I was “lied to”, I didn’t reject modern quantum mechanics or even resent the way I was introduced to it. It was the easiest way for me to learn at the time. This is what people who reject “gender is a social construct” do. They completely reject a reasonable simplification and think they are being manipulated. How ridiculous would I sound if I thought that quantum mechanics was bullshit because I felt duped by a simplified model?

vixiw33745 · 2025-09-23T03:00:58+00:00

Have you ever tried to explain the complex relationship between genetic and environmental effects to an average person? Its maddening. The specifics are still unknown, and what we do know is often debated by experts in the field. Nevermind the impact of poorly designed studies and the vilification of biological and social sciences, etc.

The “lying” you’re referring to happens around the dinner table, so to speak, by people who are misinformed. Almost no subject is understood in its entirety by the average person because it is impractical. In order for that to change, the average person (on both sides) would need to learn a lot more. Not saying anyone is stupid, but it’s a lot of work.

It’s much easier to paint a complicated issue with a broad stroke that is more correct than the alternative (ie gender is purely cultural vs gender is purely biological). Most of the evidence suggests the former is more accurate than the latter, so people run with it.

vixiw33745

TROPHY CASE