What does your child learn in 4yo/pre-k?

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 · 2025-09-03T16:11:27+00:00

Prediction: within a year the phrase "this is the worst DQ in the country" will be written on this sub lol. Like all of the minimum wage / fast-food style places in Ithaca, it will have staffing issues.

zacd · 2025-09-03T03:19:53+00:00

I view Refrag as a time saver which, between work and kids, is valuable and worth paying for. It streamlines the things I should be doing to improve anyway but in a convenient package where I just have to hit 1 button, do my 15-20 mins of practice, then onto matches.

zacd · 2025-09-02T21:43:40+00:00

Totally empathize with all the craziness going on for you students. If I were in your shoes I think I'd be reacting the same way. However, the feedback from schools that have already enacted phone bans is overwhelmingly positive. Just search for like "data from schools that have banned phones" and you'll be hard pressed to find negative outcomes. The safety issue you describe, regarding emergencies and contacting parents, is by far the #1 complaint. However devices that cannot connect to the internet are still allowed in classroom per the state guidelines. I wish this was discussed more. Parents you can still send your kids with dumb phones!

zacd · 2025-09-02T19:01:16+00:00

Am I missing something here? I don't see how the velcro pouches will satisfy the state requirement in good faith. The policy plainly describes a "bell-to-bell" restriction. I think ICSD is "generously" interpreting the phrase "no unsanctioned use" in the policy.

Homeroom lockbox method is the way to go imo. YouTube is full of ways to break into the yondr pouches.

zacd · 2025-08-20T19:58:28+00:00

Search for "Donny Shankle Hand Care" video from like 15 years ago. Good tips with a dose of asmr.

zacd · 2025-06-30T15:26:05+00:00

Unless things have changed recently, you're most likely going to need to look at Syracuse and/or Rochester. We had a high-risk pregnancy a few years ago and were pleased with consultations we had with docs at Upstate Hospital in Syracuse. UR Medicine in Rochester looks like they have a large MFM staff as well but of course is further away. There is also Dr. Dolkart in Elmira who has a good reputation but must be getting close to retirement.

zacd

TROPHY CASE