January 2010
All Right, 2009
Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.
Immigration law ignites fear in Arizona →
Things I Was Not Planning On
annaoverseas:
shiyiya:
meloukhia:
Being linked by Whedonesque again.
Why, Whedonesque, WHY??
(Note to self: Do not read the comments. Do not read the comments. Do not. Read. The comments. Remember what happened last time, self?)
Don’t read the comments. Really, really don’t. I just did. :s
It’s unfair that part of why I frown at Joss’ work is because some of his fans are just...
No I Mean, Really
I do not understand why Whedonesque links to feminist critiques of Whedon’s shows. Unless it’s for the pleasure of knowing that feminist writers will be deluged in a pile of mansplainers. And that eventually they will stop. And, you know, it almost works with me, because every time this happens I ask myself if I really want to go through it all over again by daring to write something...
Things I Was Not Planning On
Being linked by Whedonesque again.
Why, Whedonesque, WHY??
(Note to self: Do not read the comments. Do not read the comments. Do not. Read. The comments. Remember what happened last time, self?)
Things I Have Learned From Internet Comments
Did you know that when you critique/discuss television characters, it means that you do not like them? It’s a fact! I did not know that and just recently learned it, so I thought I would share.
Judge dismisses all charges in Iraq Blackwater... →
December 2009
Coffeecake
It’s cold, so I made a coffeecake, to warm the house up with baking. I really like coffeecake, even though I don’t drink coffee, but the point is, now I have a 9x13 inch coffeecake.
Uhm, what do I do with it?
Preservation Groups Find Bargains in Housing Bust →
The Biggest News Stories of the Year (Flash,... →
Dear Shopkeepers
When you fill your store with stinkies, by which I mean potpourri and scented candles and aromatherapy diffusers and I don’t even know what but it SMELLS, I cannot spend money in your store.
That makes me sad.
Since I’m pretty sure that the whole point of your store is for me to spend money, I suspect that it makes you sad, as well. I am a little shaky on the whole purpose of...
One Size Does Not Fit All. This Is Why Things Come...
You know, mulling over the numerous times I have been lectured over the last few days by pedantic people who assumed that I was ignorant or unaware of something when in fact I was very much aware and was approaching it from a different perspective, a place of different knowledge, including my own knowledge of myself…
I cannot help but note that there is something deeply interesting about...
Resolve This. Seriously.
This being New Year’s Eve (because I live in the past), every newspaper on Earth has approximately 1.8 million dieting-related stories for “inspiration.”
Fuck.
That.
Noise.
Etymology Fun Fact of the Day
Courtesy of my father. “Cranberry” used to be “craneberry,” according to him because the cranes would eat them, according to my etymology dictionary, because the stamens looked like crane beaks.
Speaking of Security, Schneier on Security is Good... →
TSA Targets Bloggers Who Exposed Draconian... →
thecurvature:
meloukhia:
I’m on a TSA roll this morning, I guess. Ask me about the time the TSA detained me in the Burlington airport for three days!
Wow. So, uh … what happened that one time the TSA detained you in the Bulington airport for three days? (I ask because you said “ask me” and because I am now curious! If, however, I have not yet had enough coffee, and you were being sarcastic...
TSA Targets Bloggers Who Exposed Draconian... →
I’m on a TSA roll this morning, I guess. Ask me about the time the TSA detained me in the Burlington airport for three days!
And, You Know, Before You Say I Am Poo-Pooing The...
It’s worth mentioning that I have actually been on an aircraft which was hijacked by terrorists.
So I am well aware that it happens.
Oh Look, Cis Women Are Joining the "Body Scanners...
The headline of this article is “Scanners force trade-off between privacy, security.”
Uhm, actually, scanners do not force a tradeoff between privacy and security for a number of people. They actually pose a threat to personal safety. There’s no tradeoff; you either fly and face unsafe conditions, or you do not fly at all. This is not a “privacy” issue when you live...
Why Chally is Awesome -- The Beginnings of a List
ouyangdan:
Chally will smooth over things that have gotten heated to a point that you can only cry because you are hurting so much.
Chally says things like “What the pancake?” that are so cute that you can’t help but adopt it into your own lexicon.
Chally has a way with words that will cut to the quick of an issue with a sauciness that leaves you sputtering and wondering what just happened.
...
Challenge Questions
ekswitaj:
meloukhia:
I’ve been meaning to write a rant about bank challenge questions (security questions, whatever) and how much they annoy me. How sometimes the dropdown list of questions are all questions I CANNOT ANSWER (“Where was your mother born?” “What is your mother’s middle name?” being two notable examples) and how the challenge questions in general tend to privilege a very specific...
“Taylor says the images of thin, naked men lined against walls echoed some other...”
– WWII Pacifists Exposed Mental Ward Horrors (warning, some of those horrors are graphically described and there’s a grim photo right at the top of the story)
The Year in Cute: 2009's 20 most adorable animals →
Finally, a “year in…” I can get behind.
Twitter and Avoiding Weak Passwords →
Some of the things on this list are pretty funny.
Like BRAZIL.
Women play harder than men in online games, study... →
Funny that an article about a study which is breaking down stereotypes about gamers manages to pack in a healthy heaping of stereotypes in the process…
A 22-year-old tea drinking mallard, thought to be... →
Challenge Questions
I’ve been meaning to write a rant about bank challenge questions (security questions, whatever) and how much they annoy me. How sometimes the dropdown list of questions are all questions I CANNOT ANSWER (“Where was your mother born?” “What is your mother’s middle name?” being two notable examples) and how the challenge questions in general tend to privilege a...
Attention
You might think from the name that awesomesauce is a food.
This is not the case!
Awesomesauce is not a food. Awesomesauce is the thing (or person) which MAKES THINGS AWESOME. Things are not awesome until there’s some awesomesauce around. Much like sauces in general, awesomesauce is what is used to make the experience awesome. Unlike sauces in general, you cannot eat awesomesauce.
For some...
Sound Off (Type Off?) About Website Accessibility... →
I am trying to stop being so angry all the time.
katoleary:
The world will not let me.
Is Aviation Security Mostly For Show? →
Ok Seriously
amandaw:
meloukhia:
The next person who lectures me on how great CFLs are is getting a BOP ON THE NOSE.
I know what a CFL is. That does not mean that I am ok with not being able to buy incandescent bulbs for a very specific purpose for which a CFL will not work.
…or if fluorescents seriously impact your health and you can’t use them if you don’t want to be shaking, losing vision, and...
Ok Seriously
The next person who lectures me on how great CFLs are is getting a BOP ON THE NOSE.
I know what a CFL is. That does not mean that I am ok with not being able to buy incandescent bulbs for a very specific purpose for which a CFL will not work.
Speaking of Laundrymats...
I just almost lost my shit at mine in a major way.
Good thing I didn’t, because being 86’d from a laundrymat, while a kind of amusing story, would actually be pretty awful.
What Would Make Laundrymats Better Places?
We all hate going to the laundrymat, right?
So, design a dream laundrymat. What would it include?
My starting ideas:
A playspace/childcare area for children, clearly visible from all areas of the laundrymat, ideally with a dedicated attendant.
Totally smoke-free (no smoking allowed right outside the door either).
A dedicated scent-free area.
Big tables for folding, at a couple of heights so...
Chally FTW →
“And that’s lazy, bad storytelling. If you’ve got all these resources at your disposal, if you’ve got all this backing to create whatever vision you want – and how many marginalised creative folk have that? – I think you could at least engage with the narratives you’re playing into and create something new, something better. Instead, what’s being contributed here is cool new filming...
