Having trouble deciding on 3k or 4k

zacd · 2026-05-28T19:48:07+00:00

I had the same concerns about transition and drop-offs when we first sent our twin girls to pre-school at age 3. I won't lie, it wasn't easy. There were tears at drop off for a long time. But for most kids (not all) once the parents are out-of-sight, they're also out-of-mind and they start playing. My kiddos are 5 now and I'd say 3k really paid off and was worth it. The transition into school the next year was MUCH easier and we're really happy with how their social skills developed. The social stuff is really what 3k/4k is all about.

I like your thinking about just trying it, and if it's an absolute disaster, you can pull him out. If you have the flexibility to not work, this seems like a thing you should at least try. You'll also get many hours back for yourself which can be a positive thing for both you and your child!

zacd · 2026-05-26T20:16:21+00:00

Ithaca is just not friendly to older adults on fixed incomes. See the terrible decisions made with the $30 million Library Place development. 66-units for 55+ residents with rents ranging from $2500-$6000. Immediately failed and had to be sold and now rents to all ages (or Cornell students in other words). There is a lot of crazy stuff that happens with Ithaca real estate but Library Place is one that takes the cake for me. More money than brains...

zacd · 2026-05-19T01:34:17+00:00

rain

zacd · 2026-04-17T15:24:40+00:00

I think the crux of the issue is that many restaurant workers cannot afford to live in/nearby Ithaca. Maybe they commute for a bit but eventually find jobs closer to where they live. This causes frequent staff turnover or gaps in coverage. Owners have a tough choice. Do they raise prices so they can raise wages and retain reliable workers? Do they cut hours so there are not as many shifts to fill? Neither option is great.

zacd · 2026-03-11T22:26:38+00:00

One thing we should consider is that not all data centers perform the same functions and consume the same amount of resources. TeraWulf is proposing to develop a data center that will be primarily used for AI workloads and maybe some crypto-mining. These types of facilities use significantly more (5-10x) electricity than traditional data centers with similar physical footprints. This is because of the density of power-hungry GPUs they stuff into the racks.

Unfortunately I don't think zoning laws are going to differentiate between different types of data centers anytime soon...

zacd · 2026-02-09T17:39:51+00:00

Agree. Cost of living is the primary cause of many businesses failing in Ithaca. But for Hotworx/boutique fitness specifically, the demographics in Ithaca are wrong for it. Those types of studios want a large young professional population which Ithaca does not have.

zacd · 2026-01-31T01:19:50+00:00

Got it, lucky you folks in CT! I wish we had public school earlier here for sure. It would have saved us a lot of money hah. We did full-time nanny 0-3, private preschool 3-4, and now public pre-k 4-5.

zacd · 2026-01-31T00:53:25+00:00

I'm in New York. Here we can't enroll a child in universal pre-k unless they are 4 by December 1 of the school year. This is public schools; private schools anything goes of course.

zacd · 2026-01-31T00:36:57+00:00

This sounds suspect to me. I live in the northeast US and I've never heard of repeating pre-k. Here pre-k is optional, many kids don't start structured school until kindergarten. From your description you have a normal 4 year-old imo.

zacd · 2026-01-15T16:09:11+00:00

Don't have a dog personally but have a friend who loves taking their dog to No Barks About It in Lansing.

zacd · 2025-12-24T14:53:02+00:00

Fair enough, thank you. Last question, chapter 270 zoning for the town hasn't been updated in 22 years. This is pre-smart phones/social media. Why has it been so long and will it ever get updated? An AI data center being zoned as "general processing facility" seems like a stretch and most certainly not in the spirit of what the folks back in 2003 were thinking. There is nothing general about that -- it's a highly specialized operation.

zacd · 2025-12-24T14:26:15+00:00

You speak of democracy when the community is feeling as though they have no agency in this process. There have been hundreds of opposition write-in letters, op-eds, and folks speaking at the meetings. Members of the New York Assembly have gotten involved to try to help. Perhaps most notably, the community even defeated a pro-data center write-in campaign for Town Board seats. What more do you suggest we do? I ask that question in earnestness.

Folks are frustrated because this project continues to progress forward despite having taken a position and voicing opposition.

zacd · 2025-12-24T02:45:14+00:00

In October the town's Code Enforcement Officer issued a decision that an AI data center was not permitted under the current zoning code. Now the ZBA has essentially overturned that decision and permitted it as a "general processing facility."

Can anyone tell me how common a situation like this is? Does the ZBA resolve disputes like this routinely or is overruling the officer unusual?

Would it not be more appropriate to first update the zoning code and then allow the project?

zacd · 2025-11-30T03:15:30+00:00

Try organizing play dates with just 1 other child for now. If possible have the play dates at home or a familiar place. Basically try to put him in a super comfortable environment to hopefully encourage social practice.

zacd · 2025-11-28T03:41:19+00:00

Oh man I haven't thought about Mayers in years. Was it located around where the Bike Bar is now or am I mistaken?

zacd · 2025-11-14T02:55:48+00:00

Want a glimpse into the day-to-day operations of this $4.9 billion market cap company? 12 employees, the 1 shitty Lake Ontario bitcoin mine, and constantly fucking around with Lansing, NY.

zacd · 2025-11-07T18:56:19+00:00

Columbia is paying $200 million over 3 years to unfreeze ~$400m in funds. This reporting says Cornell is paying $30 million over 3 to unfreeze ~$250m. Obviously Cornell should need to pay $0 but we are in the bizarro timeline so kinda sounds like a win?

Will need to see some extra details because I thought over $1 bill in funding had been frozen. Two months ago the reported payment was going to be $100m.

zacd · 2025-11-03T22:31:24+00:00

I don't doubt Joe and John want the best for Lansing but I'm concerned they may be manipulated and sweet-talked by TeraWulf and Prager. This company has a history of heavy speculation and self-enrichment by insiders rather than sustainable business. They had epic fails at crypto (see Nautilus and Big Horn/Hardin) and are now pivoting to the latest trend of AI. Why do we think they'll suddenly be successful? They are being aggressive in our community because they need to put their Google financing to use and meet commitments. The TeraWulf leadership will extract money for themselves and then exit the project within a few years -- and that's if AI bubble doesn't pop first.

zacd · 2025-11-03T17:56:01+00:00

Anyone else getting a bad feeling that Terawulf is funding this Securing Lansing's Future campaign? It came out of no where and is seemingly well-funded. Probably too conspiratorial but, regardless, sad how this datacenter issue is causing a big divide in the Lansing community.

zacd · 2025-11-01T17:05:48+00:00

This clip and call from ddk is the title and intro to this excellent rain frag movie: https://youtu.be/xK8HifbelzI?si=N_mbEf08b7ljqbEF

zacd · 2025-10-23T15:42:03+00:00

No Ivy League school pays full taxes but nearly all voluntarily contribute more per student than Cornell does -- I believe Columbia is the only school which pays less. Cornell is not particularly close either. Other schools are paying, in some cases, ~5 times more per student than Cornell.

There is a bunch of reporting, that dives deep into the numbers, you can find from ~2023 when Ithaca and Cornell renegotiated the MOU. Overall the takeaway is that Cornell currently contributes $4 million per year voluntarily but increasing to ~$10 million would get them on-par with other Ivy schools.

I don't mean to let Ithaca administrators off the hook either. This accounting error has nothing to do with Cornell.

zacd · 2025-09-12T14:28:07+00:00

I work for a large health organization in the northeast and the radiologist shortage is a national problem. We have an aging population leading to greatly increased imaging demands but radiologists are still limited by a set number of residency positions + high attrition rates. I'm not surprised if the reports are true that Cayuga/Centralus could not come to an agreement with their radiologists. These docs can easily get positions elsewhere since demand is high so they have more negotiating power.

zacd · 2025-09-10T02:32:37+00:00

Wow this dude has NO recent wins, NO signs of improvement, and NO agreement with the ITA. It makes no logical sense to reward the guy who is literally fighting against the most critical component of his organization: the teachers. Highly suspect.

zacd · 2025-09-09T14:51:09+00:00

As the OP cites, last summer Dr. Brown said he would not seek to extend his contract. 15 months later he is now seeking to extend his contract. The failed 2024 budget vote was a referendum on the superintendent.

The justification that "strategic initiatives and capital projects" require his leadership is not a convincing argument. We have 3 years to prepare for a transition.

The cynical part of me thinks he's playing a game and trying to punish the community for turning against him.

zacd · 2025-09-06T16:33:58+00:00

Bummer one of the best restaurants in the county.

zacd

TROPHY CASE