Did you talk to them? It's okay to interact with them in a friendly way. Ask what they're up to. And remember that you're basically invisible when you're walking around. A non-person.

Unsure. I hope he gets over it. I like having money.

Fine. I'm watching LU without you.

For peace and quiet? Because I love him?

I'll bring a souvenir back for you. Like membership in an evil alien polymorph hive mind.

I usually use them for extra incubators. Sometimes clothes.

Are we using Roll20? I've been testing it out.

I tried talking to them and it was so weird. The discussion was simple enough that they didn't need help, and I felt like asking for their input made them uncomfortable. I did not feel invisible walking around, either. I felt maximally visible.

Would this startup at least involve some money? I hope he would only consider bouncing among jobs that offer money.

Uggggggggh fine be like that. I'll see about getting my account switched over, but I'm sure the family sharing offer will have expired by then.

Sounds like you need to negotiate with this old-timey gangster. Have you offered protection money?

If The Thing is on this planet, we may as well all have that souvenir already. It's better to get in on the ground floor while the getting is good.

That's practical of you. Very sensible. I bought thigh-high boots.

Did you succeed at doing anything with it? I am willing to set us up for this Saturday, but only if it works as advertised.

If they don't need help and it's an easy discussion, just ask them what they've come up with to make sure they're on task, and maybe chat a little. Build rapport. Smile a lot and not in the fake-y way. Guide on the side, not sage on the stage?

Some. IDK. Ask him with one of your phone calls.

You let it die. This is your fault. Suffer while I enjoy LU by myself.

He doesn't seem to want money, except occasionally to smell. Unsure what else to offer that won't make him fat. Don't need a literal fat cat.

True. If there's no choice, just get assimilated as soon as possible. This is how the borg win.

... because the thigh high stockings weren't good enough for you? They're free!

I posted some comments. You need to create all of the characters, but you don't need to go through all of the details. Just make empty templates and give us edit permission.

I had my first lab sections yesterday. On one hand, it was great! I think people enjoyed getting to work with live beetles! They laughed when I made pathetic attempts at jokes! I think I really like all of my students as people!
On the other hand, I had no idea what I was doing, and I think I set them up for failure by not communicating my expectations clearly enough. And now I have to grade them. I feel like an evil traitor who stopped them from earning points by being a bad bad teacher.

OMG. IDK. IDC? No, that's a lie. I do C. Is Dad casting about for a new job because he's actually unhappy at Honeywell, or is he just in a restless spot in life?

Tell me when you actually get LU so I can feel jealous and unhappy.

Drugs. Cats love drugs. Just hit him up with that after-dinner 'nip, and the chaos will end.
I hear if you put catnip in a dehydrator it creates drug fumes and basically becomes a cat vape emitter.

I enjoy cosmetic upgrades to character avatars! I can't help it. The Rainbow Rocket boots are just too good. I really need to buy the bag upgrade, though. Probably going to be my next PikaCoin purchase.

I realized right after we logged off this Saturday that none of us even mentioned Philip. We spent a whole session with a flying skateboarder mouse that went completely unacknowledged.

The most important thing is that you want them to do well, so you're already most of the way there. If there is something they all score poorly on, and you're sure it's your fault, maybe you could give them the points and explain the problem to them? That way, they know you're on their side but they also know what they did wrong. I don't know how much leeway you have on grading, but that's what I would do. Maybe ask the professor or the other TAs?

Unsure. Honeywell does dumb things all the time. Could just be stage 2 of the midlife crisis.

Will do.

That would just turn Tandy into a nip fiend and cause even greater chaos. Tandy on catnip has no friends; only enemies.

That's fine. You do you. I'll just be over here hatching eggs like they're going out of style.

I alluded to Phillip, but I didn't want to mention him near the guy who might have a legitimate claim to his bit of carpet.

I gave blood and it was not great. Lots of needle movement. Not great.

The professor said my students' grades are in the expected range, so I guess I'm not grading too harshly or failing them in any unusual way, but I still feel terrible about taking their points. Especially when I can tell they tried.
Is it bad to tell students about the specifics of grading rubrics if the rubrics aren't available to the students already? Like, can I explain specifically the things I have to look for in certain types of assignments, or would that be encouraging them to find ways to do the bare minimum?

2 Midlife 2 Crisis? Midlife Crisis 2: Job Search Boogaloo? Midlife Crisis: The Squeakuel?

You don't have to be an equal-opportunity dealer. Nip those who need nip. Keep nip away from the dangerous druggos.

Bag: Expanded. PikaCoins: Gone. ...
I meant to finish that meme, but I don't have anything else to say. My bag is big and my coins are gone.

Was Philip not with you during that scene? Was he hiding? The mysteries deepen.

I'm sorry. Have you considered moving your veins closer to the surface?

It's normal to care more about your students' grades than the professor does. The professor is older. When you grow up, your soul dies.
It's bad to not share the rubric, honestly, but that's on the soulless professor. I would absolutely tell the students what I'm looking for. It's not fair to make them aim for an invisible target. As long as you aren't coaching them through assignments, but also giving them overall tips to be better at the things they're trying to do.

Tokyo Drift, actually.

Nip expands to fill the available space. Neither injured Moose nor Tandy go outside. It is impossible to exclude one of them.

I suspect my bag is bigger. But it's still over-full all the time. Time to spend some more...

So, the carpet was destroyed. Sad. Coincidentally, we also have this flying mouse. Now stop thinking about the flying mouse.

Yes. It is largely temperature-dependent.

So apparently they could see the rubric... after they got their grades. What is the dang point??? Why are we alive???
I did another bad job communicating expectations to my students. They were all supposed to complete a make-up version of a lab because of no class on Labor Day, and either I biffed it on giving instructions (probable), or they all decided not to bother putting in effort. And now I have to take their points again. Why did they not ask questions when they realized my instructions made no sense? Why do I continue to fail them? Where does it end???

Take Moosey into the bathroom. Nip him there. Boom. Now you have a drug den. And a captive.

Are we playing this Saturday, or are y'all planning to blow me off again?

Last night I had a nightmare about Marty "The Moth" Martinez. This is an all-time low for me. I'm not sure my dignity will ever recover.

Do you work from slides, or just prattle on at the front of the class? If you're having trouble getting important points across, put them in your slides to remind yourself, and then ask if they have any questions right after talking about it.
You can always email them after, too. A reminder email can help show you're thinking of them outside of class. Just not too many.
My projector decided to boycott the first day of class. I always get stressed when I have a presentation and I can't use it. And no whiteboard! Only chalk! Ew.

Too late. He's walking okay again.

I don't know. Ask your father.

What kind of nightmare? How is he frightening? Just imagine him groomed for the Johnny Mundo/Taya wedding and the nightmare will go away.

There should be a Stardew Valley counterpart called Sundew Valley. Consider the implications.

The information they didn't get was kind of a disaster already, because it was information that I didn't have in class, so I had to send it all to them by email. So I think I'm bad at communicating by email? But some of it was me not knowing what the issues would be with the assignment before I assigned it, so I didn't give them all of the pointers they would need. I could have studied the assignment before sending the email. I didn't realize how confusing it would be. I biffed bad.
I thought you didn't use powerpoints??? What are these lies??? I thought you just talk? There is no reason to ever touch chalk, though, no matter how desperate you are.

Goooooood! Mobile Moosey! You can throw him again!

A typical nightmare. I was leading a ragtag band of rebel refugees hiding out from a corrupt state, and Marty "The Moth" Martinez decided to try to kidnap me. I had to escape on a boat/truck while my bodyguards tried to hold him off.
I have never seen him groomed. It probably doesn't matter, because immediately upon waking I was not scared of him anymore. It's impossible to be scared of Marty "The Moth" Martinez while awake.

...There are already monsters in Stardew Valley. How much more dangerous do you think this game should be?