I have several friends who teach at middle- and high-school grade levels, and they all tell me the same thing: There aren’t really clear rules in place governing cell phone use during class so kids are just fucking around with them all day, and even where the rules are clear, they have no authority to actually take a cell phone from a kid, even if they’re being disruptive to the rest of the students.

On the other hand, an all-out ban (and even “phone storage solutions”) just creates a new problem; keeping a potentially life-saving tool out of the hands of students in emergency situations.

I’m almost certainly over-simplifying this, but why not:

1. Let the kids keep their phones
2. Set forth strict guidelines for their use while on school property, and
3. Ensure teachers have the authority to enforce those guidelines.

Big fan of BNL, especially Steven’s vocals. I admittedly don’t know much of their material before they started charting in the US, so this was a real treat. The whole thing makes me nostalgic for the early 90s.

To add on to the other replies here, both of the two closest libraries to me have several small rooms for this as well.

He’s got the budget t solve this dilemma and you know this.

My fiancee got a Starbucks gift card from work, so we stopped by the one nearest us. The drive-through wrapped all the way around the building, so we went inside. Inside, there was only one huge table, with only one spot with an electrical outlet, and the music and cafe atmosphere were so loud… I can’t imagine anybody trying to bring a laptop and “work” there.

But if I did, I guess I’d buy a coffee? That seems fair. I definitely prefer my local library for remote working outside of the house, though.

Sorry for your loss. Your Abbey looks an awful lot like Kiki, who I lost years ago now, and who had such a profound impact on my life. I found this poem then, and it helped me a lot in getting through that very difficult time.

Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace. You can help me. You can open for me the portals of death’s house, for love is always with you, and love is stronger than death is.

- Oscar Wilde, from The Canterville Ghost

The Spanish Fly

App Update: Fitness tracker permissions can now tell when you are sleeping, so the app only plays ads when you are awake and actively looking at your device.

Coming Soon: A subscription model where you pay $10 a month for the ability to use your $450 battery swapper.

An iconic 90s album for me. Loved seeing them on the VH1 Top Ten in the morning when I was getting ready for school, even though the single (“One Headlight”) was pretty somber. The next single (“The Difference”) and “Laughing Out Loud” are both more up-tempo and fun. It’s definitely one of those albums where I listen to the whole thing straight through.

Cute. Coincidentally, Mastodon’s “Steambreather” might be favorite song of theirs.

Cricket here. The service is relatively cheap, they offered a bunch of phones for cheap/free (with a new account), and I’ve never had any issues with the quality of the service/signal. I like not being locked into anything. The monthly bill hasn’t changed in years, and that’s nice too.

Additional crumple zones. Ya’know, for safety.

30 Crazy Ideas For Your Party

Not even half as crazy as using your penis to suck up the milk and then spraying it up into your mouth, followed by an ear-splittingly loud elephant trumpet sound with a dead-serious look on your face. Now that would create some lasting memories at your next Oprah bookclub meetup. Like and Subscribe for more tips and tricks.

This is the video they were paying Mr Beast to make.

Return to Moria for me. I picked it up for free from Epic recently and it’s all I’ve played since. Going solo and I just made it to the Pilgrim Road waypoint.

Everytime a new Borderlands game comes out (just the major ones), I’ve replayed the original before getting into the new one. All the sequels have at least one interesting variation on the formula, but none have matched the atmosphere and pacing of the original for me.

I reference relevant Pete & Pete bits every now and then, and I always get a look like I quoted some esoteric scripture from an alien planet.

Brilliant idea – I’m gonna write a book the helps people figure out which self-help book they need!

EDIT: I’m still working on the title, but right now I’m leaning toward “Self-Help Yourself to Self-Help”

I dunno, sounds pretty statimated to me.

Also, Happy New Year! Have fun and be safe.