Just read the Anna the Piper's link to SFWA @ 107.
Sweet. So with RWA, MWA and SFWA weighing in....will further backpedaling ensue?
Prayers being said. Damn.
Not doing NaNo this year, either. I'm already 18,000 words into a novel, and I really need to stop working on it for a while and spend some more time focusing on rewriting a short story that's been marinating so it can go out. And oh yeah, doing research on another novel that I'll probably start once I'm ready (which may happen before the current WIP is finished, because the one I'm researching is more time-dependent for marketing).
Interestingly enough, the helmet debate has revived in several equestrian forums. A recent meme? Actually, it seems to have been inspired by an observation of a recent Big Name Clinician.
Basic summary: many hunter/jumper riders are aghast at the idea of riding without helmets; just as many Western and many dressage riders don't ride with helmets. If you look over at my LJ (joycemocha), you'll see a recent set of pics of me on my horse, and you'll see where I fall on the debate. Also perhaps gain a clue as to why I feel that way...though those movements are simple reining spins, nothing too complex, you do get a good image of some very powerful hindquarters on The Mare.
Abi @ 56--I can see what you mean. I'm a contemplative walker, but I also walk pretty quickly and can set up a good aerobic pace (I used to jog but with the current state of my knees, walking is the most I should be doing).
I didn't do much biking until adulthood, so it's not second nature to me. Ideally, I'd prefer to commute by horseback (or driving the horse), but that's totally unrealistic and messy.
Bether @ 51--No. Freaking. Way. BTDT. I don't consider Portland to be a safe biking commute in my hillier part of town, except for close stuff where walking is my preference, anyway.
You're in your twenties, and the consequences of traffic mistakes are somewhat different from what it would be for me, in my fifties. Most of my around-town errands are far enough away and in parts of town that have heavy enough traffic that I don't care to do it. I much prefer Eugene and the way it's set up, and have biked there recently. My work commute is too far for biking and I do get plenty of outdoor exercise there, as well as the other stuff I do.
I appreciate the offer, but seriously? Not interested, not in this town. I don't like biking that much to begin with, anyway.
Re the link to the story about the one-way camera interview--it's not what Cory and the author make it out to be. The confidentiality issue is not tied to the author seeing the kids; it's the medium being used. Live appearances would be fine, and it's an issue of parent permissions for digital camera viewing. Not every parent approves of the use of their child's image whether it's pictures for a school promotional brochure or web page, and a zealous administrator might decide that includes webcam images in a Skype conversation.
Additionally, in some cases images are restricted due to custody issues. It's all about rights and permissions, not personal safety.
Helmets--that's another issue. I ski and ride horses, and have helmets for both sports. I also support helmets for bike riding, especially on anything other than the upright Amsterdam-type bikes. One of the factors has to do with actually working with brain-injured kids in the past, and hearing too many stories about skiers and riders who've had nasty falls. I don't skimp on quality for either sport. Given the level of riding I'm doing right now, I want a brain bucket on my head. Skiing--well, I've seen a head injury, and while it wasn't the worst injury, the oddest incidents can happen on the white stuff.
Abi's post also evokes a memory of Amsterdam. Sanity.
I think the bike trails are one part of what makes moving back to Eugene appealing. I just won't get on a bike here in Portland; all of the so-called bike friendly moves keep striking me as not oriented toward the middle-aged lady. But Eugene, on the other hand...ah well. I do like the old hometown.
Sam Kelly @ 75 writes:I recently had to deal with bullying behaviour from a friend; it took me a long time, and several other peoples' help, to confront them on it, and I wasn't even the main target. The main issue was that they were continually positioning themselves "above" most of us socially, as though they were more competent and capable and organised and generally had a right and obligation to criticise and improve us all. Definitely a socially abusive relationship.
Yes. I'm currently dealing with this in one particular friendship. Being an alpha-dominant female myself (though of a laid-back, quiet alpha sort), I tend to run with other alphaish types. Sometimes they tend to abuse my laid-backness, and that's what I've run into with this one person. It's hard to do, especially with a relationship defined by wordplay, playful snark, and multilayered commenting. However, when the multilayers start carrying a not-so-hidden agenda of snippyness, that becomes a problem.
Abi, what a gorgeous quilt!
My mother was a superb seamstress; I'm at best indifferent. Oh, the stuff I sewed was okay, but it was frustrating more than it was satisfying. I can do it in a pinch but prefer not to.
OTOH, today I put up 5 pints of tomato sauce, using the boiling water canner. It's been a while since I've done any canning, but I swung back into it. The fact that my current kitchen is much more canning-friendly also helps.
I may just do it again tomorrow. I heard one jar seal, for certain. We'll see about the rest.
Keith S @207--thanks!
As for a complete rewrite--other than Who Cut My Cheese versions, there doesn't appear to be anything appropriate.
Heh. I may be building something.
Mark @215--actually, my first reaction was AnarchoSyndicalist Mouse, not Maoist Mouse. It's telling that the reactive metaphors on my part all seem to be political, instead of the reactions others had.
Rewriting the thing does appeal in a perverse manner. I may do it if I keep getting Cheese stuffed down my throat.
I throw myself upon the tender mercies of the Fluorosphere. It seems that my new principal is very much a fan of Who Moved My Cheese and we spent a good chunk of a staff meeting on the World of Cheese and Change.
Shudder. I've looked at summaries of the current parodies out there--but something more is needed.
Like, say, rewriting it from a Maoist perspective. Or a Trotskyist perspective. Or...at that point, I realized that you could rewrite the durn thing from almost any particular political philosophy and it would actually work better than the original.
Right now I am soothing my mind with what a Maoist Mouse would do. Or, say, what James T. Kirk would do if someone moved his cheese. Anything, anyone, other than those obnoxiously boring characters. Stephen Pastis's Pearls Before Swine version, say.
Does anyone know of the existence of such a thing?
Marilee, so sorry about Shiva. I've enjoyed your stories over the years....
FYI, the dress code stupidity is because some idiot in administration started listening too closely to highly paid anti-gang "experts" and then they started nit-picking and fretting about what would be the next so-called gang-banger clothing ID, so somebody else in administration had a not-so-brilliant idea. There's also a class--would be sophomores this year--of challenging kids out there that want to play the "how low can your neckline go" game. Or at least they wanted to do it in middle school.
Sigh. The rule is that kids will want to push the dress limits. You can either keep it minimal, go all whacko like these guys did, or go to uniforms. I prefer the first approach, even though it means I occasionally have to serve as the Dress Code Police with regard to hemlines, collars, and Stuff I Don't Want To See at school.
If you don't want to do that, then just suck it up and go for uniforms. The middle option satisfies no one and makes the problem a lot worse than it should be.
And as for gangbangers, the thing to do is to focus on behavior, not clothing. You can never keep up with the trends.
Very nice. Thank you for sharing!
(Scratches head).
This is for me only, not my spouse and various investments/savings, and I'm calculating it off of my latest pay stub.
I pay full rate on Social Security, which is 6% of my paycheck to date.
I pay a deferred Federal and state tax due to contributing a chunk of my paycheck to a 403(b)plan that won't be taxed until I start drawing from it, hopefully at retirement, hopefully at a lower rate.
Federal--4%.
State--5%
Medicare--2%
That's a total of 17% in taxes, but again, about a third of that income is deferred for Federal and state tax purposes.
Medical--vision, dental and medical--is 25% of my paycheck, or would be if I didn't come in under my employer's pay cap (they contribute x amount per month, I pick up any difference, and we calculate the family coverage so that it stays under the cap).
Teresa @ 34--
Ironically, I may be looking for a second job as a freelance copyeditor in order to keep funding my son's medical insurance.
In my copious amount of free time while working the Day Jobbe, of course....Still, there's time for me to keep hoping that maybe, just maybe, the Powers That Be might gain a little sense...
Nah. Not likely.
What I find most ironic is that those who are screaming the loudest about "death panels" are hard-core born-again Christians.
Does this suggest a certain degree of doubt about the status of the salvation of their loved ones?
EClaire--a different option for managing books with a toddler is to wrap the bookcases in question with a blanket or decorative throw. We did that with our son and it worked quite nicely--and also allowed access when we needed it. We used batik throws and it added a nice note to the room. I think I actually just tied the throw behind the cabinet, in a place I could reach.
A different problem was securing turntable and vinyl records. For that one, DH found some store window display cabinets on sale, which had heavy doors. The stereo was pushed way back, out of toddler reach (but not adult reach) and the records went into the storage space underneath.
I forget how we disposed of them when the son was old enough to leave the records alone, but as I recall, it wasn't a hard thing to do.
If you do Christmas trees, putting the tree in a playpen works quite nicely (assuming you do a smallish tree). Our cats also loved the idea, as it allowed them to drink the tree water unmolested.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 32 |
| 2008 | 29 |
| 2007 | 33 |
| 2006 | 11 |
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