Wicked Biscuit

Does NAIA have any eligibility requirements? I was really surprised that people could come back and join the team for the spring semester to compete at the big competitions without taking classes the fall semester as well. That seems like it would encourage teams bringing in ringers who don't have to take their classes or GPA seriously. That also seems like a quick way to build team dissatisfaction.

Just wanted to add - we are damned lucky that the virus that caused a pandemic happened to be one that researchers have been working on vaccines for over the last 10 years. The whole point of emerging infectious disease work is to be prepared for new infectious diseases that make the jump into humans and spread like covid19 did (or SARS, or MERS, or West Nile, or swine flu, or the many, many examples you can find in history books). Unfortunately, it's hard to convince funding agencies or the people who hold the purse strings to fund the basic research necessary to create vaccines and treatments for viruses that don't seem to be an immediate threat. They didn't rush the research - we got lucky. (Disclosure: I'm an epidemiologist.) As for the auditions and training camp this year, while I am thrilled to see they are doing much of the training outside (ventilation is important), I can't imagine how hard it must be to learn all the dances without mirrors!

Hopefully this is okay to post here - this particular storyline differed from the book. In the book, it's implied that Benny and Beth are still a viable couple by the end (Beth at least has a bunch of internal monologues about how much she misses Benny, and has gotten over her crush of Townes because of him). Townes doesn't show up again, and it's Benny who takes the initiative to gather two other high level players (neither of which is Beltik) to work out what Beth could do to win against Borgov. I'm assuming they wanted to push the whole "teamwork" angle in the miniseries as well as emphasize how Beth really isn't alone, so they brought back all the male characters she interacted with. Unfortunately, it does sort of make it weird in the miniseries because honestly, some of the players they brought back weren't supposed to be all that good. Why would they be able to see a path out that she couldn't? By the way, the book is excellent.

Except by having TT practice full out while injured and hurting, she's putting his flyer at risk as well. How can he be effective at keeping someone from falling if he can barely stand up straight and isn't moving freely? There are other effective ways to keep people in line. Disobey her and you lose your opportunity to be on mat, for example. The blase approach towards injuries bothered me the entire series. That pyramid and the way three girls got concussions in one practice trying to learn it was alarming. At what point do you think that maybe you change the pyramid instead of sacrificing more brains?

I think there's also a layer of self-loathing and mental illness in Mrs Coulter which contributes to her anti-Dust attitude. They've suggested before that she isn't entirely emotionally stable (her referencing sometimes wanting to fall from great heights and walking along the edge of her balcony while drinking, calling herself a difficult/emotional child, her rather extreme response to Lyra challenging her). Many mood disorder symptoms really kick into gear after puberty, so she may be confounding her own issues with sin/Dust.

That's the thing I just can't wrap my head around with some of these people. They won't film some of their special events (like weddings) so they know the value of privacy. But they have absolutely no problem with selling out their childrens' childhood and taking away any chance their children had at keeping things private. It's such a disconnect for me.

Caffeine, like most stimulants, can help increase focus and concentration in ADHD people. People with normal dopamine levels in the brain experience jitteriness and hyperactivity when they take stimulants, but people with low levels of dopamine (like ADHD people) experience a different effect, because the stimulants tend to increase dopamine levels to what's considered normal. It's not uncommon to find ADHD adults self-medicating with caffeine. And while excessive sugar isn't good for kids, it doesn't make them any more hyper than normal (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199402033300501#t=articleResults).

I normally just lurk and giggle at everyone's clever posts, but I actually know this! (I work on the genetics of bipolar disorder.) About 4% of the US population has some form of bipolar so yes, if we were looking at a random sample of 9 people ( for the 8 original moms + Tyler), it would be an improbably high number. However, these are all people who had teenage pregnancies, so they're not a random sample. There's some evidence of a greater probability of having a teenage pregnancy if you're bipolar (or will be bipolar). So while all the participants who have claimed a bipolar diagnosis might not actually be cases, it wouldn't surprise me at all if there were multiple individuals who really do have it. As an aside, one reason there's an increase in the number of diagnoses is the requirements for having bipolar in the DSM have changed and become broader. We still don't have a great understanding of what exactly bipolar disorder is.

Fun fact - when those ancestry companies estimate less than 5% of your genome belongs to a certain population, it doesn't actually mean you're a "little Senegalese" (or whichever population the DNA matches). It's far, FAR more likely that sections of your genome match genetic variants found in that population by chance. Each of us have a ton of genetic variation in our DNA, and it pops up super quickly.

I'm not bothered that Stephany used premade puff pastry or phyllo dough. I think the puff pastry dough she used was a laminated dough that requires folding the dough with layers of butter (and then long wait periods so the butter stays set) - there's no way she could have made it in the time period given. I believe phyllo is also time-intensive (and most recipes I've seen using it tell you to buy the premade stuff). As for real versus imitation vanilla extract, my grandmother always believed in just using copious amounts of liquor in place of vanilla extract. She used whatever she happened to have (rum, scotch, brandy, cognac, etc) and I swear her chocolate chip cookies were the best in the world.

Not picking on you, Lezlers, you just happened to be the first quote I found. Urine isn't actually sterile - that's just an urban legend. Urine of even healthy people contains low levels of bacteria. Researchers were just unable to culture the bacteria back in the 1950s when the myth was born. But honestly, that pregnancy test probably had more bacteria on the handle from people holding it than from the urine. Just scrub the counter and maybe don't tell people you put it there.

And to add to this trivia - they wear uniforms because they are, in fact, a branch of the US Uniformed Services, along with the Navy, Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, NOAA Officer Corps.

The year prior to Kacy making it up the Warped Wall, Jessie Graff made it to the Warped Wall but failed to get up. At the time she was one of the top (if not THE top) female competing. Then she tore a ligament - her ACL, maybe? - in the off season and spent the year Kacy made it up the Wall (and Maegan, and Michelle Warnkey) doing rehab on her knee. If I remember correctly, she easily made it up the Warped Wall in 2015, so I'm sure it stung (and still probably stings a bit) watching the others get the publicity and recognition for something she'd be working towards and something she knew she could have done. She was so close to being the first. I'm actually a little ashamed that I knew the details about Jessie Graff's injuries off the top of my head. I might spend too much time thinking about this show.

I believe Ana said that she wasn't the right person if they needed beautiful plating in a short time frame, or something like that. As muddled as their presentation was, I rather enjoyed Ana and Martita's discussion of their abuelas and their favorite liquors. It reminded me of my grandmother, who never met an alcohol she wouldn't use in a recipe.