Everything posted by Ojo Rojo
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Austin housing affordability crisis
Similar things happening in Houston. I was talking to someone yesterday who just got $90K over their asking price in West Houston/Energy Corridor. They had 22 offers. My SIL works for a homebuilder and she said they were doing the no guarantees contracts as someone mentioned upthread. She also said there is talk about a 40-year mortgage product coming online. All of this craziness feels like a bubble. There is an unusual mix of market factors right now. Inflation is driving interest rates up and I have to think many buyers are rushing to get into something before rates go higher, though demand was super high before rates ticked up. Supposedly there are supply and labor shortages that are attributed to a variety of factors - trucking strikes in Canada, weather, fires. I say this because I'm not so sure those factors really exist or that they are truly having the effects we are seeing on prices. I think people in business see an excuse to raise prices and they do because they can. Just my theory. It all makes for an interesting policy discussion. My question is, what is defined as affordable housing? Is it only limited to home ownership? And what is the downside of having no affordable housing, however it is defined? People are forced to rent? Forced to move further out? Commute longer? Are those things really that bad? I don't believe it is a choice between affordable housing and homelessness.
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2022 Houston Astros Thread
Pressly wtf.
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Post a pic that makes you say "Holy shit."
I've read about that several times over the years. I get the heebie jeebies every time.
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Special Needs Kids
So we had the video call with the diagnostic psychologist today to get the results. Developmental Coordination Disorder (fine motor skills) and ADHD. She could have diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder, but declined at this time for several reasons. We are not shocked or distraught to receive this diagnosis. I think we've already come to terms with it. The good news is that he has a high IQ. His delayed development of fine motor skills is contributing to poor performance. That's fixable and he would probably develop to a normal state given time even without any kind of intervention. Next step is to talk to pediatrician about ADHD treatments. Overall, we feel better about things. We're relieved that he doesn't appear to have any kind of learning disability, cognitive issues or anything like dyslexia or auditory problems. So we've eliminated a lot of shit. The worst part is just knowing how much he's been suffering since he started school. He's smart enough to sense that something is wrong. He knows he should be doing better and wants to do better, but he just can't. It's got to be a very frustrating experience. And to have been subjected to isolation in his school (they made him sit by himself at lunch to keep him out of striking distance from other kids) and to be treated as different by his teachers and peers - that had to suck. Makes me and my wife really sad for him and guilty that we didn't act sooner. That said, I feel like we've turned a corner and things are going to get better for him from here. We still have big questions about school, but we took a big step today.
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Daniel figurelli aka Daniel Joseph aka Daniel Wilson
Far right is a freaking Amazon.
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Special Needs Kids
Slight update, mostly because I just need to keep talking about it. We have an appointment with the testing psychologists on Monday. That's when we will get the diagnosis, and I'm sure there will be a diagnosis. That's probably going to be a hard day, even though I'm preparing myself for it. Once we have a diagnosis then I feel like we will have a more well-defined path instead of being in this forest hell of unknowns. Today was his first day back in the pre-K school. Drop off did not go well. My wife took him and I got the report. She was crying when she called. I think my son realized what has happened, that he's not allowed back at the other school, and now his world has changed. He was very upset and begging her to go back, saying how he wanted another chance and how he knew he "could do it this time." Heartbreaking. The people at this school are very kind and they seemed to be up for dealing with him and getting him acclimated. My wife gave it 50/50 that this was going to work. We'll know after a few days. Meanwhile, my wife was not able to be at the meeting with the school administrators where they told me that he was out. She has been asking me exactly what they said and for some reason she thinks it matters a great deal whether he was expelled or if we withdrew him. To me, that distinction doesn't matter at all. It was very clear to me in that meeting that it was over. It's possible that I could have fought and asked to try this or that, but it would have been pointless. We've already had those conversations, several times, where we fought and agreed to take on even more. Maybe I capitulated. Maybe she thinks I shouldn't have. I accepted that they were telling me that he could no longer go to school there instead of fighting any more. They didn't say the words "he's expelled" or "he can't come back." But it was very clear to me that is what they meant. They were just trying to be kind and gentle about it. The principal did say, "What I can do is reserve the option for him to come back next year." She did say that, which to me makes it pretty fucking clear that he's out for the rest of this year. Anyway, like I said, I don't know why it matters. My wife is angry and upset. She's super pissed at the school and especially our son's teacher. I'm not. I'm able to see this objectively. They had to do what they had to do. I don't blame them. They tried. I also think my wife may just want to be able to tell people that we withdrew him and not that he was kicked out. I DGAF what we tell people. The end result is the same. He's out of that school and we have to move forward and continue gathering information and start making decisions for the future.
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Special Needs Kids
I don't really know, but I don't think so. Most of the hitting situations were sort of spontaneous and I think caught most of the other kids by surprise. At this age I think most of their instincts were to get upset, not hit back. I think I understand why you are asking though - could he have learned a lesson and stopped the behavior if there was a negative physical consequence? I'd like it to be that simple; to be able to change behaviors like this with negative consequences. That's the hard thing about this; kids, or maybe people with psychological conditions in general, don't necessarily behave rationally. So punishment or negative repercussions of any kind don't really work.
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Special Needs Kids
Thanks for all of the responses. It helps. We're getting the full battery of tests done. We finished it today, actually. The testing is hard on the kids because it basically drives them to frustration level intentionally to see how they respond. He was angry when I picked him up. I took him to a toy store to look around (trying the Breakfast at Tiffany's therapy) to get him to calm down and change his mood before taking him back to school. He did have a mood change after about 10 minutes. I thought it was safe to take him to school. It wasn't. He was still agitated and he didn't last 10 minutes before he hit a kid. That's when I got called and they broke the news to me when I picked him up. Right now we're just waiting for the test results so we know the next step to take. We're researching education options - public and private - to try to learn what is even available. It's impossible to know what to do without a diagnosis. We've talked about the home-school thing, but it would have to be my wife and she doesn't want to give up her job and we need her salary. We could do it, but I think it would be very hard on her and we'd have to make some big changes. My son appears pretty normal. He communicates well and has a good vocabulary. He looks me in the eye when we talk and he has an emotional connection with me and his mother. It's hard for me to say how he is in school or in public or with others because I only really observe him when he's with our family. I have gotten a couple of glimpses. I was watching him and his little brother at a playground recently and he didn't interact well with the other kids. He didn't know I was watching him. He got in a scuffle with one kid who he claimed had made fun of his name (I don't think that actually happened and according to my wife he has used that as an excuse before). He hit or started to hit a couple of other kids on the playground and I had to call him down and then threaten to take him away from there if he didn't stop. Other kids seem to set him off. Like he gets nervous and starts lashing out. It might be overstimulation. He doesn't really seem to have any friends right now, though he gets along well with certain kids when it's just 1 or 2 in a group. We don't think it's autism. At home he does great. He doesn't eat what we want him to eat and will only eat a few select things, but otherwise he obeys. He plays well by himself. He plays with his brothers and roughhouses. He's playing t-ball now and doing well with it. He can do schoolwork and reading and math with us at home pretty easily. I know I'm jumping to some conclusions and fearing worst case scenarios. I do that. I have been told and have read that kids with these kinds of issues who have engaged, loving parents who do what's necessary to help them have good outcomes. I also know that a lot of the people living on Skid Row started out with problems like my son.
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Special Needs Kids
My kid was asked not to return to his school today. Private catholic school, kindergarten. He's been having behavioral problems since he started school last fall. He had problems in Pre K too. The school was willing to deal with certain things like running out of the classroom, hiding under his desk, being generally noncompliant. They weren't willing to tolerate him hitting other kids. They did for a while, but when other kids' parents started to complain the administrators' hands were tied. The first thing that happened is they recommended that we retain him. That was early February. That was a kick in the nuts. Then we had to come pick him up during their recess period so he wouldn't hit other kids. That was the time when it mostly occurred. Finally today he hit a kid with his backpack right when he got there. That was it. It would be really easy to be angry with the school and blame them for a lot of it, but the truth is that they tried. They didn't handle everything perfectly, but at the end of the day they are not the problem, my kid is. We had him in group therapy sessions last fall and that seemed to help some. When things started going off the rails this semester the group therapy sessions were full so we had him go one on one with a therapist. No visible change. We initiated the full battery of diagnostic testing to determine what's wrong with him. We just finished that today and we won't get answers for at least a week. I'm pretty much freaking out. My wife and I have been doing a helluva lot of work to keep him in this school and to get him to at least be able to stay at the school during the day. He just can't do it. No matter how much we cajole, reward, threaten, love on him. Nothing works. He just can't do it. my wife and I are both exhausted and scared. I am really worried about his future. In the immediate term, we have no idea what to do with him now. Where do kids who are expelled go? We got him a spot, mostly as a favor, from the pre-k where he was before for the next two months. We don't think he can go back to the same school. We tested out the public school we're zoned to for our oldest for kindergarten and I was not impressed. And for a kid with issues? I just can't imagine it's going to be better. But then again, I've been told that public schools have more resources for this kind of thing. It's really a black hole for me. We know of and have been told about private options. They sound great - for a cool 40 grand a year. That might be out of our reach unless we make some drastic changes to our lifestyle. I'm really struggling with this. Just knowing what to do and handling it...I don't even know where to start. I'm trying to show support and love to my kid; that's all I really know to do. I'm terrified about the future. What if he just can't be in a traditional school environment? Will he be able to get any kind of education? What are his prospects for going to college, getting a job, having relationships? I'm feeling pretty helpless and really scared for my kid. Anyone have any experience with this?
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Worst place you've ever taken a shit
Eh?
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Worst place you've ever taken a shit
- Worst place you've ever taken a shit
Maddens, you say? My house is walking distance from there.- Things not going well for Applebees
I proudly say that I have never eaten at Applebees. I pretty much stay away from corporate restaurant food altogether. I worked at Bennigan's in college and I think that pretty much cured me.- 2021-2022 Astros Offseason Thread
You gotta be able to tell the difference between coach/player speak and anything of substance. The whole "build a contender" thing is what he has to say. I wouldn't even call it dishonest, because implied in that is: "If they pay me max value for a long-term deal." Correa is going to try to make the most money possible, regardless what team will pay it to him. As he should.- 2021-2022 Astros Offseason Thread
I'm not buying the "ghosted" narrative. Frankly, it doesn't serve either party here. I think that is made up drama by the media and I'm not a 'fuck the media' guy at all. I don't hear Boras or CC pushing that narrative. There is inherent tension in these negotiations. The Astros didn't want to lose Correa and I don't think Correa wanted to leave Houston. Correa needed to maximize his value and some other team was willing to take more of a risk on that value than the Astros. That's it. No one did anything wrong.- Name drop an MLB player who you liked that never "made it"
Matt Anderson. Former Tigers pitcher. I happened to catch a couple of games he pitched in '98 and he hit 103 on the gun, which impressed me. He was never as good as his rookie season.- 2021-2022 Astros Offseason Thread
They don't need to do shit else until the trade deadline. If we're a playoff team then buy from the sellers. Who knows what injuries and performance issues will dictate we will need at that time.- Is Deshaun Watson Done in Houston?
- Is Deshaun Watson Done in Houston?
Humans are strange creatures. You can do repugnant sexual things to women against their will and still get $230 million if you can throw an oblong ball accurately to a running man.- 2021-2022 Astros Offseason Thread
Why do you think he never intended to return? He seems to have ride-or-die type friends on the team - Machete, Altuve, LMJ among them. I never detected any friction with Dusty or the front office.- Name drop an MLB player who you liked that never "made it"
Curious, why? Never met him, but know his family a little bit.- Wives and the Stupid Shit They Say/Do
Dude. Bad idea jeans. I can't think of a worse combination of new home build/living with in-laws for a marriage. If you stay together I will be impressed. Also, I learned the words "mogambo" and "scrunge" on this thread today.- Post a pic that makes you lol
- 2021-2022 Astros Offseason Thread
It's about what you prioritize. For you, the chance to win one more is worth the risk of two bad years following. That's basically playing for one year of big success. The Astros mindset is to play for longer term sustained success. No right or wrong, just different priorities. They are also trying to make money, not necessarily win championships.- 2021-2022 Astros Offseason Thread
Do you think it was the injury history that prevented Correa from getting the deal he wanted? Is playing another year or two or three for Minnesota going to change the view of his injury history? What do they do with that $30M? Use it now (and on what)? Save it for the trade deadline to stack a contending team? Don't spend it, period? Hookers and blow? - Worst place you've ever taken a shit
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