<p>How like right pathers to disparge mediocrity! You only value excellence, which you don’t even realize because 1) you are excellent yourself 2) your children are excellent and only know what you have taught them. Most people in the world value mediocrity! You just don’t get that. Meanwhile we will search out colleges with a reputation for excellence but will insist on mediocrity.</p>
<p>Just a quick update. [Toads</a> Killed in Australia](<a href=“News, Politics, Sports, Mail & Latest Headlines - AOL.com”>News, Politics, Sports, Mail & Latest Headlines - AOL.com)</p>
<p>Seems like my daughter’s program under development at UTasmania got canned in lieu of this kill fest.</p>
<p>There goes the full professorship and the Nobel Prize. She was actually making progress in the lab, using ritual incantations coupled with ceremonial disemboweling of wombats and entrail reading to sterilize up to 137 toads at a time.</p>
<p>She’s probably mad as a hornet right now. I would not want to be in Shane Knuth’s shoes.</p>
<p>I’ll keep you posted.</p>
<p>Oh violadad this is so disapointing. I mean for almost a year I have been following this informative thread telling everyone that I KNOW someone involved in toad sterilization research in Tasmania and i have been encouraging DS…8th grade… to spread the erhermm partial truth that it is his cousin ( seriously no one checks) Now this has brought such disgrace to my family. Who else will I piggy back off of? Sheesh I am so disheartened.</p>
<p>Violadad, she needs to fight to keep her program, I’m sure there will still be plenty of cane toad infestations for several more years.</p>
<p>Your link today provided me with humor, shock (that’s a lot of glee that they reported) and interest (I’m an ecological biologist at heart). Thanks for sharing.</p>
<p>Are her skills species specific? Could she turn her focus to oh, I don’t know, say a reproductively-obsessed mom of multiples?</p>
<p>I’m curious what the sausage was made out of.</p>
<p>There are some things it’s safer just NOT to ask, binx!!!</p>
<p>I forgot how much work a Right Path infant can be. I was thinking we might form a play group, if our schedules can accomadate it.</p>
<p>Another bright note: seventeen years til we have to fill out FAFSA!</p>
<p>. . . on dealing humanely with cane toad infestation. </p>
<p>In brief, our dog went berserk with barking this morning. Looking out the window, I saw several platoons of cane toads surrounding our house. They must have been dislocated by the new construction, in our recent housing boom–ah, oops, promised alh that I’d keep off the topic of housing. Well, in any event, the cane toads are frightening not only our dog, but also our voles, and thus interfering with the triumphal march of <strong>Science!</strong> </p>
<p>We need humane traps. Searched Ebay for “humane cane toad traps,” and found nothing. “Cane toads” yielded a paltry 8 entries, mostly labeled “unusual,” “weird,” “odd,” or “sick.” Also, would an export permit be needed to ship them to violadad’s D at U Tas? I’m sure that the Aussies would welcome more cane toads to their country, once they arrived–I hear they eat beetles on the sugarcane crop, so they’re great for ecologically sound pest control!</p>
<p>Also–URGENT–if the cane toads somehow got into our house, would they eat old schoolwork and award certificates? These items are extremely valuable! (I’m sure this has been the top cane-toad question on the minds of the “right pathers.”)</p>
<p>^^a bit off topic but an important point imho. The one advantage to putting a for sale sign in front of your house during the worse housing crash in recorded history is the opportunity to dismantle various academic shrines, pointing to professional advice regarding “staging” as justification. Many may find this a useful solution. I can loan you a sign or two - various realtor names available.</p>
<p>I have many traps but none toad specific. Would welcome any personal experience with electrocution type traps on the market. Maybe that would be a good science project idea? I am happy to share it.</p>
<p>Normally I don’t need advice either but I would welcome any ideas today. Poor Boopsie is just crushed. None of her top preschools felt her FSATs or ISATs (fetal SATs, the practice test for Infant SATs, of course) were strong enough. I don’t know why we even bothered with the fingerpainting portfolio. She’s just crying and crying this morning. </p>
<p>I suppose it could be gas. Thoughts?</p>
<p>HarrietMWelsch: shocking news. How could this happen? I had always understood they looked at the whole child? Did they not understand she is capable of doing the work??</p>
<p>alh, I just don’t get it. I felt that her shrieking through the entire interview showed strength, persistence, and determination. How could they wonder whether she’s up to the workload?</p>
<p>The previous 5 posts have me laughing so hysterically that I am unable to focus on my project at hand, namely, planning for the educations and futures of my yet-to-be-conceived grandchildren. Thanks, Harriet, for the heads-up on the FSAT and ISAT, neither of which I knew anything about!</p>
<p>I figure I’ll be around 70 years old before the grandchildren appear, so I have to have the plan worked out and organized so that it can be implemented even if I am no longer alive.</p>
<p>gladmom: Devising a long-term comprehensive educational plan for potential future grandchildren (and even great grandchildren) is really a very common and quite productive empty nest activity. I am surprised no one has yet mentioned it, at least on any of the threads with which I am familiar.</p>
<p>HMW: Have you considered a gap year?</p>
<p>gladmom, there is now a GPPNP module available (Grand Parent Pre Natal Project) for MS Project. You can just leave the Gantt charts with your will. (Be sure to include the Right Path prenatal vitamins in Phase I)</p>
<p>Gladmom, do you realize we have taken on raising the octobabies? I think the Right Pather with five of them, might be ready to hand one off to you! I have my own hands full with Gingko here, in his bamboo disposable diapers. He was the first to say Mama, in Latin.</p>
<p>cottonwood, Thanks, but no thanks, to the offer of an octo-child. I am burned out for hands-on care, due to my previous superhuman efforts in raising my own two spectacular children. I am only interested in think-tank type work, that is, preparing the plans for others to follow. ;)</p>
<p>No octobaby for me, but I want to take in that 17-year-old girl who was flogged in Pakistan.
[Video</a> of Taliban flogging girl stirs anger in Pakistan - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/asia/la-fg-pakistan-flogging4-2009apr04,0,7541311.story]Video”>Video of Taliban flogging girl draws anger in Pakistan)</p>
<p>sorry - should put this on the Politics sub-forum…</p>
<p>Well, I’m sure we all agree the taliban are on the Wrong Path…</p>