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I fought to keep my dad at home after he developed dementia. I wish I'd moved him to long-term care sooner.

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Kelly Burch My dad was diagnosed with dementia in his early 50s. Caring for him while raising a toddler was incredibly stressful. When he entered long-term care, we were both happier and healthier. When I found myself on a first-name basis with the local paramedics, I knew I needed to face the truth: my dad couldn't continue living at home . It was only a matter of time before the minor emergencies that the EMTs were responding to became something major. That's how I found myself trudging toward an old brick nursing home with my toddler on my hip and my dad reluctantly shuffling behind me. The notorious nursing home smell greeted us as soon as we walked in, and I almost turned around then and there. Instead, I shook hands with the administrator who was giving us a tour. For years, I had made institutions like this the worst-case scenario. And yet, while I noticed the antiseptic smell and dated decor, I also saw that people were happy and engaged. Soon, my daughter was crawling...

I left my family to see No Doubt at The Sphere. It reminded me about who I was before I had kids.

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The author went to The Sphere to see No Doubt. Courtesy of the author I saw No Doubt open for David Bowie in Brazil in 1997. Almost 30 years later, I went to see No Doubt at the Sphere in Las Vegas. It was both a reminder about getting old, but also of still being myself even after all these years. My family had just moved to Brazil, and I had to beg my parents to let me go to a music festival with all of my new high school friends. It was going to be the first time I'd be going to a show without them supervising me. They were reluctant, but after chatting with other parents, they all agreed that it was time for my group of 13-year-old girlfriends to experience some independence. So they dropped us off at the stadium's door and told us to be back by midnight. I was thrilled. I was seeing my favorite band, No Doubt . My friends were thrilled about the main act, David Bowie. Almost 30 years later, I saw No Doubt again at The Sphere. I took a solo trip When I saw that No Doubt wa...

Why trust is a big question at the Elon Musk-OpenAI trial

A big theme in the trial’s final days was whether OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is trustworthy. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/lKN0Pev via IFTTT

I was burned out postpartum. A trip taught me how to embrace community and changed how I parent.

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The author says a two-month trip to India made her realize she needed community. Courtesy of the author We went to India to introduce our son to family, and ended up healing our own burnout as new parents. Two months of community support showed us how much we were missing by parenting in isolation. We learned to trust our instincts, embrace flexibility, and lean on others for support. Six months postpartum , I collapsed on the floor after work, exhausted from eczema-driven nighttime wake-ups and the thought of another day. After third-degree tearing, iron infusions, and mood struggles, I was running on empty. As my son's first birthday neared, nights slowly improved, but daytime exhaustion ramped up as his mobility increased. My husband and I had hit a wall. Needing a reset and for our new son to meet the family, we booked a two-month trip to India . We had family support Two layovers and three flights later, we touched down in Bagdogra in the Himalayan foothills. Stepping from ste...

There's no joy in Silicon Valley these days, Menlo Ventures partner says: 'The rich aren't particularly happy either'

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A rainy day in San Francisco. Anadolu/Anadolu via Getty Images No one is happy in Silicon Valley , Menlo Ventures partner Deedy Das says. Not the average tech worker, not the middle manager, not even the founders who've struck it rich. He said that while the AI boom is creating huge wealth, workers are facing an existential crisis. In San Francisco, the AI boom is creating fame, fortune — and existential dread. As rapid technological development widens the gap between the haves and the have-nots, a sort of machine-age ennui has set across San Francisco, says Deedy Das, a partner at venture capital firm Menlo Ventures. Das said in a post on X, which had almost a thousand responses by Sunday afternoon, that over the past five years, the fortunes of a small group of employees at leading AI companies , like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Nvidia, as well as some smaller startups, have "skyrocketed." Money, however, it seems, really doesn't always buy happiness. Those who've m...

My daughter is a 'trinket kid.' Her collections are taking over our house.

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The author says she has a trinket kid. Courtesy of the author I have a trinket daughter, as mom influencers have been sharing on TikTok. The collecting and arranging began when she was a toddler. The fact that her collections cover every surface can get overwhelming sometimes. Recently, I saw a TikTok video by a mom about her trinket daughter . She panned over her 5-year-old's collections of tiny treasures all across her bedroom. It could have been my daughter's room. Or let's be honest, my entire house right now. My daughter has been a collector (or hoarder, depending on how you look at it) of tiny treasures since she was a toddler. The collecting of tiny objects began when she was a toddler My daughter was only 1 when we noticed her propensity for collecting small items from around the house, sometimes toys, sometimes not, and then arranging them. There was the play kitchen canister, topped by a swim diaper and crowned with a stuffed pineapple, which appeared on the co...

Research repository ArXiv will ban authors for a year if they let AI do all the work

ArXiv is doing more to crack down on the careless use of large language models in scientific papers. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/Masyupj via IFTTT