u/queenhadassah

Picture books that demonstrate healthy masculinity?

My 6 year old son very much admires traits like bravery and physical strength. Looking for recommendations of picture books with male protagonists who embody these traits in a positive way (brave and righteous yet also kind, using their strength to help those in need, etc)

A few examples of books in this vein he's liked recently: "New York's Bravest" by Mary Pope Osbourne, "The Mighty Lalouche" by Matthew Olshan, and "Beowulf: A Hero's Tale Retold" by James Rumford. He especially likes books with action/fighting or jokes/trickery

(And before anyone says anything, we read lots of books with strong female protagonists as well lol)

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u/queenhadassah — 22 hours ago

Recess when it's 90+ degrees?

It'll get over 90°F where I live tomorrow. About 88° when my kid goes out for recess. This is the first time this has happened since my kid has entered kindergarten. Do schools usually keep them inside for recess when it gets this hot? I don't remember it ever getting this hot during the school year when I was in elementary. Wondering if I should apply sunscreen and hope it still works by the time they go outside. I assume they'll be inside but want to make sure

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u/queenhadassah — 4 days ago

Unknown green leaves in my not-green leaves frozen mix?

I got this frozen vegetable mix from Whole Foods that does not have any leafy greens in it, besides a tiny amount of parsley (which this clearly isn't). I've also had it before and it's never had this. Anyone have an idea of what this is (it's darker from being wet) and how it could have gotten in there? Is it just a mixup from another vegetable bag from the factory somehow? Has this happened to anyone else?

I have contamination OCD and it's been really hard for me to eat any food lately because I keep feeling like it's germy or poisoned. Finally got myself to eat this, and managed to stop myself from closely checking it, but then noticed a few of these strange leaves halfway through eating a bowl of it. I'm not sure if I ate any :( I'm already wary of leafy greens because of the relatively higher risk, and I don't even know what this one is or what the source is

u/queenhadassah — 6 days ago

Children's picture books that have fighting but also teach good morals?

My kindergartener is very into stories with fighting, brave heroes, monsters/bad guys, underdogs, etc. I like to get him books that also teach subtle lessons, and have beautiful illustrations/are well-written. We've been reading a lot of fairy tales lately, since they tend to fit all of this, and he loves them (as do I). But looking for more recommendations! Open to everything, but especially looking for books that take place in more modern times

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u/queenhadassah — 10 days ago

What are your predictions for the final episode of Outlander?

My predictions, listed in order of confidence:

  • Claire brings Jamie back to life after he dies, with her newfound time traveler healing powers. She tells him "on your feet, soldier" followed by "take me home" in a callback to S1. Maybe her hair turns fully white from the effort of using the magic, thus fulfilling the prophecy. Might be the final scene

  • Marsali has twins

  • Master Raymond appears and loredumps about time travel and magic. Either shortly before or after Claire heals Jamie

  • Jamie has a collage of memories of his lifetime with Claire (similar to the Fergus one) as he lays dying, overlaid by bagpipe music

  • We get a flashback (flashforward, technically?) to Frank and have his true motivations revealed to the audience. Maybe as a cold open

  • Somehow we see Faith? Either as a flashback, or as a painting/photo (from Master Raymond) or something. Honestly with all the cheesiness and fanservice this season has had, it wouldn't shock me if Faith was magically still alive and turns up (probably not though lol)

  • Some sort of tie in with Blood of My Blood. Possibly Claire's parents being mentioned by Master Raymond, or somehow Claire's little brother conveniently showing up. Unsure how it will go down, really, but I feel like it might be addressed. Though maybe not too in depth, as to not spoil BOMB

I would love to hear thoughts on these, and your own predictions!

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u/queenhadassah — 10 days ago

I cut open this avocado and noticed the knife got more "wet" than I think it usually does. Does this look normal or is it a sign of spoilage? Just got this at the store a couple days ago and the outside firmness is just right for ripeness

u/queenhadassah — 18 days ago

My kid really wants to make our own mods/add-ons for Minecraft. He plays on Switch. I made something on MCreator, planning to add it on my PC and then add him to the world with it, but then realized PC mods are only on Java, and the Switch version is Bedrock lol. I have done some modding for other games, but I've barely played Minecraft at all, let alone modded it, so I'm kind of in over my head. It's hard to find clear information on this. Can anyone give me a rundown or point me in the right direction? Can you make Bedrock add-ons in Mcreator, and if so how do you load them into the game? It would make my kid very happy if I can get this figured out. Thanks

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u/queenhadassah — 19 days ago

I'm traveling to the Hartford area from NJ for a medical appointment soon, and am planning to spend the night and make a little getaway out of it. Does anyone have recommendations for fun things within an hour radius?

My partner and I are in our 20s. We like history, nature, thrift stores/antique stores, or anything unique/abandoned/off the beaten path. Prefer nothing too expensive or physically intensive. Considering Old Sturbridge Village but looking for other options as well

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u/queenhadassah — 19 days ago

My kid's birthday was at the beginning of the school year, and we were not able to throw him a party at the time for a variety of reasons. I am considering hosting an end of year party (not expecting belated birthday presents, just a party!) for his class instead, at a large indoor playplace, assuming the class parents are not already planning something similar (my guess is theirs would only be in-school)

The place offers better deals for booking a weekday party as opposed to Fri/Sat/Sun - not in terms of base cost, but there would be less crowding, outside food allowed, and a second adult with each child allowed

The last day of school is on a Thursday and is an early dismissal day (lets out about 1:30). Would you attend a class party at 5:30pm that day? Dinner would be provided (definitely for kids - maybe for the adults too, not sure yet). I want to feel out whether it's likely that people would attend on such a date before making any booking

Also, would it be appropriate to invite the teacher? I expect she would probably not attend regardless, but I'm wondering if an invite would be the polite thing to do since it's a general class party (I am autistic so I'm not the best at determining these things)

EDIT: will add on the invite that siblings would be welcome to come too, but their entry fee would need to be paid by the parent upon arrival, as the party package would only cover class kids/adults

EDIT 2: could alternatively book the party for 4pm. Dinner (pizza) would be provided either way, just figured 5:30 might be better for a few reasons!

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u/queenhadassah — 20 days ago

As a child, I spent nearly every day on a farm that was formerly used as an asbestos dumping site by a plant across town. One area of the farm was a large raised flat field (used as a horse pasture) with rocks lined around the steep sides. I remember beneath the rocks was some kind of tarp thing. The asbestos waste was buried beneath this raised area. I spent a lot of time playing on the farm and would often play on the raised field or among those rocks. The US government cleaned it up in the 80s:

>Cleanup at the four subsites included erecting signs and fences, capping, installing a soil cover over areas of exposed asbestos, stabilizing slopes along asbestos mounds, removing asbestos-containing materials on the ground surface, and in-place solidifying and stabilizing of asbestos-containing materials [...] Workers also excavated, consolidated, solidified/stabilized and then capped on-site asbestos-containing material from about 5 acres of the [farm] site and the [other] site.

>[Unclear if this applies to the farm site or only a different nearby site] EPA and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) have completed cleanup actions for the Asbestos Dump Superfund Site including consolidating contaminated materials, encapsulating the waste mounds with concrete, and installing systems to divert runoff and prevent erosion

It was regularly inspected it at least up to 2002, when it was removed from the National Priorities List (unsure if it continued to be inspected after that). I spent time there approximately 2004-2014

I have looked up pictures of asbestos and cannot remember if I ever saw anything like that under the rocks. But I do know I would dig among them down to the tarp and sometimes pulled at it (curious about what was underneath) and would throw the rocks around. Obviously, I had no idea at the time about the risks of asbestos as I was a little kid, and I was never told to not play there

Also, the whole area around the site flooded several times

Should I be concerned? I assume it is fine if the government cleaned it up, but I have wondered on and off over the years

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u/queenhadassah — 21 days ago

My kid plays Minecraft on Switch, and really wants to try making his own add-ons (he is 6 so I'd be doing most of the work lol). Can anyone give me a basic rundown of how it's done? Do you need to know a coding language, or can you make them in MCreator? I have made basic mods for games on PC like Skyrim before, but never for a Switch game, so I have no idea where to start

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u/queenhadassah — 22 days ago

When I was a preteen, I was gifted 2-3 books of a series, from a family friend who shortly afterwards passed from cancer. I absolutely loved the series and would really like to find it again, especially in light of how I got them

It was about a modern girl who loved horses, and somehow travelled to the past (I forget how exactly). I believe she originally ended up in pre-history, where she showed a girl that riding wild horses was possible. Later she ended up in ancient Rome, where she was able to communicate some thanks to having taken a Latin class in school. She went elsewhere after that (further forward in history), but I can't remember any more details. There was another book due to come out in the series. They would have been published in the 2000s/early 2010s. Does anyone know what series this may be? I have searched and searched on and off for years, and can't figure it out

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u/queenhadassah — 24 days ago