Non Political Current Events Thread

Postby **MWB** » Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:21 pm

technology expenses, demanding special education requirements, title 1 support, investment in curriculum, improved safety standards...there are a lot of new expenses that are completely legitimate. i'm sure overall bloat is a big component, but schools are simply getting more expensive also.

This, especially the first three. Sadly, where I work, the curriculum part isn’t much of an expense. We don’t have textbooks. I can count on one hand the number of textbooks my two daughters, who have combined for about 20 years of education in North Carolina, have used. Teachers are responsible for developing curriculum for the county and for getting resources. We get $100 a year to spend from the PTSO, which covers some cost.

Postby **shmenguin** » Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:35 pm

technology expenses, demanding special education requirements, title 1 support, investment in curriculum, improved safety standards...there are a lot of new expenses that are completely legitimate. i'm sure overall bloat is a big component, but schools are simply getting more expensive also.
This, especially the first three. Sadly, where I work, the curriculum part isn’t much of an expense. We don’t have textbooks. I can count on one hand the number of textbooks my two daughters, who have combined for about 20 years of education in North Carolina, have used. Teachers are responsible for developing curriculum for the county and for getting resources. We get $100 a year to spend from the PTSO, which covers some cost.

Our district cycles thru curriculums like it’s going out of style. We have a lot of ambitious administrators who want to leave their mark before getting promoted somewhere else.

Postby **CBear3** » Tue Aug 20, 2019 10:16 pm

Change of subject, you know what has really pissed me off regarding health insurance? When companies started making your spouse get insurance from their employer or be charged exorbitant amounts to be on your plan. Thanks for effectively doubling my deductible #whitecollarproblems

Postby **NTP66** » Wed Aug 21, 2019 6:19 am

Change of subject, you know what has really pissed me off regarding health insurance? When companies started making your spouse get insurance from their employer or be charged exorbitant amounts to be on your plan. Thanks for effectively doubling my deductible #whitecollarproblems

This started at my company a few years ago. My wife's medical coverage is better, so I'm on her plan, but it would have sucked to pay extra fees simply because she could get insurance through her employer.

Postby **NTP66** » Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:00 pm

Postby **Shyster** » Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:19 pm

I should think the price of Camden would be negative.

Postby **AuthorTony** » Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:06 pm

Who wouldn't trust this guy to perform surgery?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fl ... aboolafeed

A Florida man was arrested for allegedly performing an illegal castration surgery on another man who he had met on a fetish website for eunuchs, authorities said Tuesday.

Postby **AuthorTony** » Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:40 pm

A long read but very interesting.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ar ... rs/594760/

A person who extracts income and status from his own human capital places himself, quite literally, at the disposal of others—he uses himself up. Elite students desperately fear failure and crave the conventional markers of success, even as they see through and publicly deride mere “gold stars” and “shiny things.” Elite workers, for their part, find it harder and harder to pursue genuine passions or gain meaning through their work. Meritocracy traps entire generations inside demeaning fears and inauthentic ambitions: always hungry but never finding, or even knowing, the right food.

Postby **dodint** » Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:59 pm

Feels too real, man. Not sure I can take that truth.

Postby **tifosi77** » Wed Aug 21, 2019 11:27 pm

Who wouldn't trust this guy to perform surgery?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fl ... aboolafeed
A Florida man was arrested for [VERB] of a [NOUN] from a [ADJECTIVE] site.

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:56 am

@Gaucho:

Postby **Gaucho** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:57 am

oh geez ...

Postby **Freddy Rumsen** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:14 am

Postby **NTP66** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:24 am

How about some incredibly positive news for a change?

A scientific breakthrough at the Florida Aquarium could save America's 'Great Barrier Reef'

The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, Florida, says they've made scientific history as a group of coral has successfully reproduced two days in a row for the first time in a lab setting. The milestone could have broad implications for "America's Barrier Reef," which is the third largest coral reef in the world and is found just off the coast of the Florida Keys.

Generating a spawn has never been done for corals native to the Atlantic, so the system was set up to see if it could work. According to Germann, many coral experts even doubted that the aquarium's efforts would produce successful results.

The team started working on the research which initially began in 2014 with the Staghorn coral, but then the focus shifted to pillar coral because of a disease that has been devastating to the Florida Reef Tract. Pillar coral are now classified as almost extinct since the remaining male and female clusters are too far apart to reproduce.

"It's quite possible that we just had our last wild spawning of pillar coral this year due to the Stoney Coral Tissue Loss Disease," the aquarium's coral expert Keri O'Neill said. "But with the success of this project, as a scientist, I now know that every year for the foreseeable future we can spawn Florida pillar corals in the laboratory and continue our work trying to rebuild the population."s

According to the aquarium, the coral greenhouses use advanced LED technology and computer-control systems to mimic the natural environment of the coral to subtly signal the corals to reproduce.

The spawning now shows that genetic diversity and resilience are possible, and it will help keep the ecosystems, as well as Florida's tourist economy, in tact.

"Now there really is hope ... I think we can save it," Germann added.

The next steps are to continue the project and build more greenhouses so the aquarium and scientists on the project can work to build a better ecosystem for all wildlife.

"We're going to ramp it up. We aren't going to rest. We want to see a diverse coral reef," Germann said.

Postby **Kane** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:31 am

Postby **NTP66** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:33 am

That was a two-fer: a) positive news in general, and it was positive news from Florida. Buy a lottery ticket today.

Postby **Kane** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:34 am

Florida man will probably find a way to ruin it.

Postby **NTP66** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:36 am

We must protect that aquarium at all costs.

Postby **Lemon Berry Lobster** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:09 am

With your run of luck with aquariums, stay away from that one...

Postby **Lemon Berry Lobster** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:10 am

Who wouldn't trust this guy to perform surgery?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fl ... aboolafeed
A Florida man was arrested for allegedly performing an illegal castration surgery on another man who he had met on a fetish website for eunuchs, authorities said Tuesday.

The two quotes from the sheriff's office are gold.

Postby **NTP66** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:10 am

No doubt. I'm extremely close to shutting my tank down for good, unfortunately.

Postby **Kane** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:24 am

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:42 am

That's a really good aquarium, btw. Right next to the Lightning's arena too.

Postby **NTP66** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 3:43 pm

Postby **Morkle** » Thu Aug 22, 2019 3:49 pm

I'm a pretty big apple fanboi, the card idea is ridiculously dumb.