u/coracaws

Hi all, long story short, I'm over the attempted credit limit which makes me ineligible for financial aid. On July 31st I submitted a SAP appeal, and it's still "in review." I was hoping it would've gone through before the day that tuition is due, as I still don't know if I'm even going to be eligible for aid or not. Should I go ahead and pay tuition now, or wait until my appeal is done being reviewed? Is anyone else in this situation right now?

Hi all, as a trans person myself, I've noticed what seems to be a general shift in how this kind of thing is perceived. I'm not sure if this is dependent on the social circles I've been in, if it's a generational divide, or maybe a binary trans-nonbinary divide?

It's frequently said on this subreddit that asking for someone's pronouns is one of the rudest, most uncalled for things one can do to another, especially if they don't know each other well. This has been a bit of an adjustment for me--when I was in high school about a decade ago, people my age considered it common courtesy to ask one's pronouns. For some of my friends and myself, it was even an interaction we enjoyed as it meant people could tell we were queer and were going out of their way to respect us. I still get happy whenever someone asks me.

I'm not binary trans and I don't care about being clocked- in fact, my ideal gender presentation is "others can't tell which direction I'm transitioning" which is inherently clocky- so it would make sense to me if this is the crux of the difference. However, most of my trans friends in high school were binary trans, which does make me think it might be a generational thing? Our main social media platforms at the time were Tumblr and Twitter, which might have influenced it as well? I also just generally remember it being perceived as "the right thing to do," even by allied cis people at the time.

I'd love to hear any theories or historical knowledge anyone has regarding what caused this sort of behavior to be seen as more popular/accepted in the 2010s, and what has caused it to now be perceived as a major faux pas.

I know the old Victorians tend to have lead paint… All of the windows were painted shut with modern paint, and I used a butter knife to cut through it and get them open. Lots of paint chips from the new paint came down, plus some of the old wood and stuff underneath. One of the windows is right behind my bed. I don’t see any dust or paint chips on my actual bed or pillow, but should I be worried now? Should I just keep the windows closed to avoid dust from blowing in or anything?

Hi all, I'm moving back to the area in about 10 days and I'm getting nervous about the moving service I hired. I got them through U-Haul as part of a package with the truck I'm renting, and was told by U-Haul that the moving company (E-Z Moving Service) would contact me within 24 hours to confirm. That was over a week ago and I haven't heard a peep. According to their Yelp page, they're permanently closed, and their phone never connects. Is this an issue with U-Haul, offering moving services from companies that no longer exist? I paid $245 for the moving service, and I'm confused as to where that money went.

I also struggled to find any affordable moving services in the area. I only found one online, and their prices are double what the companies partnering with U-Haul have listed. However, I wasn't able to find any information about most of the companies U-Haul listed. Is my only option really to pay $400+ for two hours of moving? Should I get a refund on the E-Z reservation? I'm just so confused as to why U-Haul would suggest so many companies that seem to not exist.

Edit: I was able to get an updated phone number from U-Haul for E-Z Moving Services and confirmed my reservation directly with E-Z. They should really update their information online!

Has anyone else experienced NX Studio really struggling on Windows? I used to edit all of my photos on my Mac, but that computer has no more space and no longer allows me to transfer all of my photos from my camera to it. I decided to start using my Windows laptop to edit photos instead, as that computer has a ton of space, but it seems like NX Studio really struggles to operate on it.

It's very slow and touchy, and every time I delete a photo, the entire window minimizes, so I have to reopen it after every deletion. This was a shock considering how smoothly and quickly it runs on my Mac. I tried looking into the settings, but I couldn't find anything that fixed the minimization issue. The software itself is up to date, considering I downloaded the newest version to my Windows computer right before using it. I don't think it's an issue with my computer either, as it can run games such as RDR2 and Planet Zoo without any issue, and I'd think those are much more intense to run than a simple photo editing software.

It's all very frustrating. Right now I'm considering just getting a flash drive to store my photos so I can edit them on my Mac without running out of space, but if there's anything I can do to fix up the software on my Windows, I'm all ears.

Please help me find this edit, it's driving me insane! It's about Shauna in season 3 and was made while s3 was airing--I believe it mainly circulated on twitter. It's to "Boogie Woogie Wu" by Insane Clown Posse, and I'm pretty sure it opens with Shauna's "holy shit!" reaction to >!Lottie axing Edwin!< (with the lyrics "they pull the axe out your face and say, 'was it the boogie man?'" playing in the background). I can't find it anywhere and I want to watch it so bad, haha. If anyone knows who made it or has a link to it, please share!

Edit: I've already checked twitter, youtube, and tiktok for it, but no luck. I thought it might've been made by Akcabz, but I can't find it on her instagram or anywhere else, so it likely wasn't made by her unless she took it down from all platforms.

What the title says- I’m wondering if this is generally frowned upon or not. I’m going to graduate with my BS next year and want to pursue an MS and PhD in ecology/ornithology. My current school has much lower tuition than others in the USA, has a very strong wildlife research program, and I know the professors and advisors well. However, due to medical issues, it’s taking me 8 years to graduate- I’m worried that spending even more time at the same place will look awful on an application. Thoughts?

Hi all, I'm a birder from California who has been living on the Olympic Peninsula for a couple of years. In my time up here, I've noticed that a handful of species that are found in the broader region don't occur specifically on the Olympic Peninsula. Going through my field guide, these seem to be: Lazuli Bunting, White-throated Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Chat, Western Kingbird, Bank Swallow, Red-shouldered Hawk, Canvasback, Great Egret, Green Heron, Red Knot, Marbled Godwit, and Long-billed Dowitcher.

Some of these species pass through on migration only to winter directly south of the peninsula, while others don't have any range filled in for the area. I'm confused as to why all of these species wouldn't occur here when many of them occur elsewhere in Washington/the Pacific Northwest. Some possibilities I've been puzzling over:

1. The climates and/or ecosystems on the peninsula don't suit these species. This seems odd to me, considering many of these species do occur in similar areas such as coastal Oregon or the northern coast of California--in fact, the rainshadow side of the peninsula is generally hotter and drier than those areas, more similar to many of these species' interior ranges. Many of these species aren't specialists and I know there is habitat here that should theoretically be suitable for them.
2. Other species occupy the niches these species typically inhabit. I doubt this is the case, as there aren't any species that are endemic to the peninsula and most of the species listed don't have analogues on the peninsula (one notable exception is the egret--why Great Blue Heron but no egrets, when they regularly co-occur elsewhere?).
3. The Olympic Range blocks species from entering the area. This one is also strange to me, considering that the mountains are only in the center of the peninsula and do not block passage along the eastern, western, or northern sides of the region.
4. The Cordilleran ice sheet prevented these species from occupying the area in the past, and they never ventured back into the area. This one seems more likely to me, but it's still odd considering many of the species listed occur north or east of the peninsula in areas that were also glaciated.
5. The Columbia River Gorge prevents species from traveling north up the coast. I know this is what limits Wrentit, but the species listed aren't nearly as parochial and do occur north of the gorge.

Does anyone know if one of these is actually correct, or if there's some other factor I'm missing entirely? Being from California, many of these species are familiar friends to me, and it's been strange to live without them (I am moving back down soon--excited to see them again!). I'd really appreciate an explanation as to why all these birds are there and not here.

Hi all, in a few weeks I'll be moving back to Humboldt after spending a couple of years up in Washington. I'm renting a 15' moving truck and will be towing my car on an auto transport as well. I've never driven a vehicle of this size before, nor have I towed anything, and I'm a bit nervous about the trip. Does anyone know if this setup will be safe to drive on the 199? Would the 299 be better or worse? I know big rigs are driven on these roads, but I also know those drivers are a whole lot more experienced than I am at driving trucks. Thanks!

Hi all, I read through translations of all of the extant Sumerian disputation poems yesterday, and I noticed a couple of the poems listed untranslated birds. Specifically, in the debate between Winter and Summer, "bibra birds, esig birds, buru-bacur birds" are mentioned; and in the debate between Silver and Copper, there are also "gurgal birds, suda birds, large u birds from the middle of the sea."

I'm a birder with a particular interest in ancient relations between wild birds and human cultures, so I'd really love to know which birds are listed in these lines and why, as well as any other birds that aren't listed here but were nonetheless significant to the people in Sumer. I'd also love to know if any particular birds were associated with the gods. In that vein, I know that Anzû was depicted as an eagle, but do we know which specific eagle? Was he ever depicted as a bird other than an eagle?

I also wonder, did Sumerians have chickens? A few of the poems mention "fowlers" collecting eggs and bringing birds to market, but I don't think they ever mention chickens by name. Were these fowlers collecting wild bird eggs instead? And if so, which species were they likely hunting/collecting from?

Thanks!

Edit: Had a brain fart, typed Sumeria instead of Sumer in the title!

Hi all, I've spent the afternoon reading translations of the Sumerian disputations and I just came across these two terms. They aren't translated along with the rest of the text, and I can't find any etymology or mention of these words online aside from within the disputation itself. (For this specific disputation, I read the translation provided by The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature.)

Here is the translated section containing these terms:

>^(186-193)Enlil adressed the Hoe: "Hoe, do not start getting so mightily angry! Do not be so mightily scornful! Is not Nisaba the Hoe's inspector? Is not Nisaba its overseer? The scribe will register your work, he will register your work. Hoe, whether he enters five or ten gij in your account, Hoe -- or, Hoe, whether he enters one-third or one-half mana in your account, Hoe, like a maid-servant, always ready, you will fulfil your task."

and here is the original:

>^(186d)en-lil2-le ^(jic)al gu3 am3-ma-de2-e
^(187jic)al mah-bi nam-ba-e-de3-sumur-re-de3-en
^(188)mah-bi gu2-zu nam-ba-e-de3-cub-ba
^(189jic)al-e ^(d)nisaba ugula-a-ni na-nam ^(d)nisaba nu-banda3-a-ni na-nam
^(190)dub-sar-e kij2 cu-mu-un-il2 kij2 cu-mu-un-il2
^(191jic)al-e 5 gij4 ^(jic)al-e 10 gij4 nij2-kas7 ha-ra-ab-ak
^(192jic)al-e 1/3 ma-na ^(jic)al-e 1/2 ma-na nij2-kas7 ha-ra-ab-ak
^(193)geme2-gin7 gub-ba ec2-gar3 i3-ja2-ja2-an

Based on the context surrounding the words, I thought they might be denominations of currency or some other measure of trade goods, but I can't find any information that supports or refutes this idea. Are the words left untranslated because we simply don't know what gij and mana are?

Hi all, I've spent the afternoon reading translations of the Sumerian disputations and I just came across these two terms. They aren't translated along with the rest of the text, and I can't find any etymology or mention of these words online aside from within the disputation itself. (For this specific disputation, I read the translation provided by The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature.)

Here is the translated section containing these terms:

>^(186-193)Enlil adressed the Hoe: "Hoe, do not start getting so mightily angry! Do not be so mightily scornful! Is not Nisaba the Hoe's inspector? Is not Nisaba its overseer? The scribe will register your work, he will register your work. Hoe, whether he enters five or ten gij in your account, Hoe -- or, Hoe, whether he enters one-third or one-half mana in your account, Hoe, like a maid-servant, always ready, you will fulfil your task."

and here is the original:

>^(186d)en-lil2-le ^(jic)al gu3 am3-ma-de2-e
^(187jic)al mah-bi nam-ba-e-de3-sumur-re-de3-en
^(188)mah-bi gu2-zu nam-ba-e-de3-cub-ba
^(189jic)al-e ^(d)nisaba ugula-a-ni na-nam ^(d)nisaba nu-banda3-a-ni na-nam
^(190)dub-sar-e kij2 cu-mu-un-il2 kij2 cu-mu-un-il2
^(191jic)al-e 5 gij4 ^(jic)al-e 10 gij4 nij2-kas7 ha-ra-ab-ak
^(192jic)al-e 1/3 ma-na ^(jic)al-e 1/2 ma-na nij2-kas7 ha-ra-ab-ak
^(193)geme2-gin7 gub-ba ec2-gar3 i3-ja2-ja2-an

Based on the context surrounding the words, I thought they might be denominations of currency or some other measure of trade goods, but I can't find any information that supports or refutes this idea. Are the words left untranslated because we simply don't know what gij and mana are?

Hi all, I just received a free bed frame and I'm looking to buy a new mattress for it (most likely the Helix Midnight Luxe). The frame currently has a futon on it, and I believe was made for use with futons, but the slats seem pretty sturdy. They're 3" across and 1" thick, with 3" spacing between each slat. The Helix site says it should be fine with slats less than 5.5" apart, but I'm seeing people say the spacing actually needs to be much smaller than that. Is 3" good enough? I don't want to spend a ton of money on a new mattress only to ruin it with sagging after a few months. I'm very small and light, if that matters (around 110 lb). Thanks!

Hi all! I'm looking to start working as a self-employed nature tour guide when I return to college this fall. I moved to the area in 2019 to study ecology and will finally be graduating in the spring (it's taking me so long to graduate for mostly unrelated reasons, although admittedly I am over the credit limit on account of taking a ton of extracurricular natural history courses). Since I've been here for longer than most students and have spent so much time studying the local environment, I know quite a bit about the region and its nature. My school is famously good for studying natural resources and is in an area of great natural beauty, so there are a lot of folks around who love the outdoors and are nerdy about things like birds, geology, botany, etc.

I have also taken a few courses on environmental education/interpretation and have ran natural history field trips for kids as both a volunteer and as an intern. I also have a bit of experience helping guide professional nature tours for adults, but admittedly I've only done it a few times (unpaid).

I'm going to primarily market myself towards other students, at least to start with, and I'm thinking I can do a bit of everything--I can be a field tutor for people trying to pass plant taxonomy, a birding guide for folks interested in birdwatching, a driver for freshmen without cars who want to spend time enjoying the rural beauty far from town, etc. As far as I know, there is one other guy in the area who specifically runs birding tours, but his website hasn't been updated in over a decade so I'm not sure if he's still in the business.

This said, I'm really struggling to figure out what my rates should be. Right now I'm thinking $25 USD per hour (I'm in the USA), but I don't know if that's too much for students. I also don't know if I should charge per person or not, and if I should discount larger blocks of time (e.g., 4 hours being $80 instead of $100). I'd really appreciate any advice you all can give here. Thank you!

Hi all, I'm interested in pursuing a graduate degree in zoology or a similar field. My undergrad GPA is 3.425, and until scrolling through this sub I thought that was pretty good... But now I'm seeing people refer to a GPA in the low 3s as "pretty bad." Do you really need to be a completely straight-A student to get into grad school? I get mostly As with some Bs plus a few Cs on my transcript, but all of those Cs are from anywhere between 3 and 7 years ago (I started in 2019, took a couple of semesters off during lockdowns, and then had a severe health issue that ultimately caused me to take a medical leave of absence for two years). I'm returning to finish my undergrad soon, and have plans to pursue my masters after I graduate. Should I be worried? Will I need to explain these grades to potential advisors?

Hi all, a couple of days ago my years-old account got hacked and was being used to peddle porn. Now it's been banned, and any new account I try to make with my phone number is also immediately permabanned. Is there any way I can get my old account back? I'm super bummed about this whole thing and frustrated that Reddit isn't giving me any option to appeal. I made this account with a new email but I'm worried it might also get randomly banned. I submitted a help ticket, but it looks like it can take support over a month to respond to those. Will they be able to reverse the ban after that much time, or is it really permanent?