Link Me Up, Scotty - Shake That Thing Edition

Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Who's tired of seeing the war criminal Andrew Jackson on our $20 bills? How about we get a WOMAN on that bill, someone worth emulating and admiring? Well, here's your chance. It's a grass roots movement to get Jackson off the $20 bill and replace him with a woman. The first round of voting is going on now, and there are 15 worthy candidates on the roster. Go vote!
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People are complex. People who engage in self-examination, in introspection, who try to grow internally as a way of life tend to be even more complex. And that's a good, good thing.

H/T the Incomparable Anne™.
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This male tortoise chasing off the rude naturalist who interrupted his mating session is a complete (if slow) badass.
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Sexist prosthesis, and the women who want to do something about it.
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New research into suicide offers treatment and hope.The money quote: “That there is nothing like ‘mental illness.’ It’s not an abstract thing. It has a place of residence and it’s the brain, that suicide is a disease of the brain,”

While I'm glad our donations to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are helping research scientists make strides in identifying and treating this disease, I can't help but wonder if these tests and new medications might have helped Moe, had they been available to her caregivers. 

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Video of the Week: Watching this sign language interpreter do his work for what appears to be the Swedish version of "American Idol" makes me furiously happy on his behalf, and a little wistful, too. "Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy." - Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

H/T Kat


Link Me Up, Scotty - Short Edition

Wednesday, March 18, 2015
50 pictures from 1965, my birth year. Has it been so long?
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My friend David, a history professor, wrote an essay on Thomas Malthus and his analysis of the enlightenment. I'm pretty sure my friends are smarter than your friends. Except where they overlap.
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What the fuck is wrong with people? No, seriously - WHAT?
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So apparently Mitt Romney is going to take on Evander Holyfield in the boxing ring. For charity. I think this is a FABULOUS idea, and the greatest fund raising scheme of all time. After all, who WOULDN'T pay good money to see politicians (of any stripe) get punched by retired professional boxers?
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As a woman working in technology who is constantly being interrupted, talked over, and mansplained, it makes me snigger to see someone called out in public for this bias. The fact that it was Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and the person who called him out was his own diversity expert who manages Google's unconscious bias program makes it all the sweeter.

H/T Brother Seth

On my Son's Birthday

Sunday, March 15, 2015
Today is your birthday, my son. You're 24 years old - an adult, living your own life, finding your own way, growing into the man you want to be.

And it's also your sister's birthday today. Because of that fact, I have a tendency to grieve around this time of year, as I reflect on a child I love and lost, in a way that I'll never understand.

But you know what? It's your birthday. It's a day to celebrate your presence on this earth, to acknowledge that the world is a better place with you in it, a time to express my love and pride in your accomplishments.

You're a good egg. A fine son. A decent man. And your own person. All of which gives me a sense of pride for having played some small part in getting you to those points.

So while I'll always be sad for the loss of your sister, I'll always be happy to have you for my son. Happy birthday, John-John, my Smart Sailor, my comrade-in-arms, my son.

 And remember, it's the spirit of the thing that counts.


You've been mostly dead all day

Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Surprise! While I feel I've been mostly dead all day, I'm not dead yet.

After receiving a note from a reader wanting to know if I was all right, I decided it was probably time to at least check in and let everyone know I'm still treading water up in here.

Things here are basically hair-on-fire in both my personal and professional life. Let's review, shall we?

We received a closing date on the Big Brown House of April 23th. This means, of course that we have to arrange movers for the Big Yellow House, movers for the pool table, and packing. And then there's the tasks associated with selling our current home. Painting, and deck sealant, and porch painting, and carpet replacement, and carpet cleaning, oh my.

And then there's the professional thing. It would be wildly inappropriate for me to air my company or my clients' dirty laundry here, but I will say this. My professional pressures are starting to keep me up at night and make me grind my teeth. This really isn't acceptable to me, as I believe I need to prioritize my health and well-being ahead of this sort of thing. I'm nearing the end of my patience with people who blatantly ignore their own rules when it's convenient and then expect me to work nights and weekends to accommodate that breakage. 'Nough said about that.

And my travel schedule! What a glorious thing. I'm being scheduled for one or two trips a week, every week. I finally put my foot down and declared one week a month to be a travel-free week so I could see that guy I live with and our hopelessly neurotic dog (who by all accounts misses me terribly  when I'm not home). So there's that.

All in all it's currently a very hectic life for me right now. I've decided the best way to manage the next couple months is to go heads down until IT'S OVER. Bear with me, Hot Chicks and Smart Men - eventually we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming.