Sunday, April 15, 2007
Predictions
Leaky lets you record you predictions for Book 7, so I have done so. Note: I suck at literary analysis, and my predictions reflect that.
Civil unions
So apparently in New Jersey they legalized "civil union" for same-sex couples but refused to call it marriage. And then same-sex couples with civil unions (we really need a more concise way to say that) have had trouble sharing spousal benefits with their partners.
Has anyone heard anything about people having similar problems here after they legalized same-sex marriage in 2003? I never heard anything either way, but I don't know that many same-sex married couples and those I do know aren't close enough for me to bring this up in conversation. It seems to me that at least some people and/or computers would have problems with it initially - I mean it would be way cool if everyone in Ontario just reacted with complete business-like sangfroid when Mike came into HR to put his husband on his insurance, but there are some people out there who really have trouble with the concept. But I didn't hear about anything. Is the word "marriage" really powerful enough to make everything run smoothly? Or did the problems just not make the news here?
Has anyone heard anything about people having similar problems here after they legalized same-sex marriage in 2003? I never heard anything either way, but I don't know that many same-sex married couples and those I do know aren't close enough for me to bring this up in conversation. It seems to me that at least some people and/or computers would have problems with it initially - I mean it would be way cool if everyone in Ontario just reacted with complete business-like sangfroid when Mike came into HR to put his husband on his insurance, but there are some people out there who really have trouble with the concept. But I didn't hear about anything. Is the word "marriage" really powerful enough to make everything run smoothly? Or did the problems just not make the news here?
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Shoes
I'm giving six pairs of shoes to charity. "Six pairs!" you're thinking. "Shoe whore!" you're thinking. "Obviously your feet can't be as hard to fit as you say they are," you're thinking, "if you have six extra pairs of shoes to give away!"
But it's not that these are extraneous pairs of shoes that are the result of consumerist impulse purchases. Rather, it's that they've been superseded. The flat black Mary Janes were replaced with a significantly more comfortable pair of flat black Mary Janes. The black ankle boots were replaced with a pair of black ankle boots that was taller and unlined. The black sandals were replaced with a more comfortable pair of black sandals that is also less unfashionable. The brown hiking boots that are from 1994 and look it were replaced by a pair of brown sneakers that's from 2006 and looks it. I've been wearing the same shoe size for about 15 years, and while every pair of shoes I've purchased was the best possible option at the time I bought it, but a better option turned up in later years.
But it's not that these are extraneous pairs of shoes that are the result of consumerist impulse purchases. Rather, it's that they've been superseded. The flat black Mary Janes were replaced with a significantly more comfortable pair of flat black Mary Janes. The black ankle boots were replaced with a pair of black ankle boots that was taller and unlined. The black sandals were replaced with a more comfortable pair of black sandals that is also less unfashionable. The brown hiking boots that are from 1994 and look it were replaced by a pair of brown sneakers that's from 2006 and looks it. I've been wearing the same shoe size for about 15 years, and while every pair of shoes I've purchased was the best possible option at the time I bought it, but a better option turned up in later years.
Things They Should Invent: realistic supervision in children's books
When I was a kid, I read a lot of children's and young adult books. But the kids in those books always seemed to have way more freedom than me. Despite the fact that they lived in the suburbs, they could get places by walking or biking. They could have adventures or romances after school, because they never seemed to have to take a schoolbus, or to have parents who would worry if they were home 20 minutes late. They could go over to a friend's house without asking permission (or, if they did ask permission, the answer would always be yes), they could have private conversations on the telephone without being overheard, they could poke around in the attic without the parents coming and asking why they're poking around in the attic, and they could sneak out of the house without getting caught. They could babysit at 13 or easily get any other job the plot required them to. When their parents went out to do boring grownup stuff, they always left the kids at home alone so the kids could forward the plot unsupervised. None of this rang true in my own life, and it was very frustrating to me that my life at age 8/11/13/16 was never as free as that of the protagonists in my books.
While I can understand why the author would do this for plot purposes, I think it would be very interesting to see children's/YA books where the kids are fully supervised. They have to take the schoolbus to and from school, they have to get a ride to go anywhere else, they always have parental supervision when at home or when going out in public, their parents forbid them from going over to a friend's house if the friend's parents won't be there, parents can tell approximately where everyone is and what they're doing in their own home (you can usually do this if you've lived in a house for several years, unless the it's a particularly large or especially well soundproofed house), the parents sometimes make plans for the kids that prevent the kids from doing what they want to do at that particular time, and if the kids bend or break the rules they get caught a reasonable amount of time, with corresponding loss of parental trust. Then take all these limitations, and create a decent plot within them.
While I can understand why the author would do this for plot purposes, I think it would be very interesting to see children's/YA books where the kids are fully supervised. They have to take the schoolbus to and from school, they have to get a ride to go anywhere else, they always have parental supervision when at home or when going out in public, their parents forbid them from going over to a friend's house if the friend's parents won't be there, parents can tell approximately where everyone is and what they're doing in their own home (you can usually do this if you've lived in a house for several years, unless the it's a particularly large or especially well soundproofed house), the parents sometimes make plans for the kids that prevent the kids from doing what they want to do at that particular time, and if the kids bend or break the rules they get caught a reasonable amount of time, with corresponding loss of parental trust. Then take all these limitations, and create a decent plot within them.
You know you're a langling when...
Last week, I diligently packed up all my books, CDs, and DVDs in boxes, so I could feel all productive and self-satisfied. Ever since then, I've been missing my dictionaries! I keep thinking of things I want to look up, and I can't because they're all in the bottom of a box somewhere. These aren't important things or work-related things, I'm not in a situation where there's any immediate need to communicate something in another language. I just keep thinking of things that I'd like to look up.
For example, I once coined the phrase "el mambo abrir la puerta" for the little hip-swivelling thing you do to open the door hands-free when you're wearing a security pass on your belt. Just now, it occurred to me that it might be better to use a noun form of abrir, parallel to "de l'ouverture de la porte" (as opposed to "ouvrir la porte"). But I forget how to noun verbs in Spanish (I know, I know, but I only have two years of Spanish and that was five years ago.) Normally I'd reach for the dictionary, look it up, and get on with my life. But it's not quite worth unpacking a whole box for.
And I do this at least twice a day! I never realized how dependent on my dictionaries I am!
For example, I once coined the phrase "el mambo abrir la puerta" for the little hip-swivelling thing you do to open the door hands-free when you're wearing a security pass on your belt. Just now, it occurred to me that it might be better to use a noun form of abrir, parallel to "de l'ouverture de la porte" (as opposed to "ouvrir la porte"). But I forget how to noun verbs in Spanish (I know, I know, but I only have two years of Spanish and that was five years ago.) Normally I'd reach for the dictionary, look it up, and get on with my life. But it's not quite worth unpacking a whole box for.
And I do this at least twice a day! I never realized how dependent on my dictionaries I am!
Friday, April 13, 2007
A story about a donkey
Read this!
It's a story about a donkey. And I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! Now THAT'S writing!
It's a story about a donkey. And I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! Now THAT'S writing!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
New Rule: interest rate assumptions
Often when people are talking about or writing articles about financial planning, they blithely assume that you can earn interest at rates that seem unrealistically high to me. This harms the credibility of everything they say - why would I take investment advice from someone who assumes I can just wander in and get 20% interest?
So here's an exercise to make sure your interest rate assumptions are reasonable.
You: "...so if you invested that at X% interest..."
Me: "Okay, suppose I gave you my life's savings to invest, and we signed an airtight, no-loopholes, no escape contract for you to give me (X-1)% of the principal every year. You can keep any extra interest you earn, but you have to give me (X-1)% every year even if you don't earn that much. Would you accept that agreement?"
If the answer is yes, then you can go ahead and use that interest rate example. If the answer is no, choose a lower rate. If the answer is yes only because you are so freaking rich that you could easily absorb the yearly loss of (X-1)% of my life's savings, add another zero or two to the amount of my life's savings and try again.
So here's an exercise to make sure your interest rate assumptions are reasonable.
You: "...so if you invested that at X% interest..."
Me: "Okay, suppose I gave you my life's savings to invest, and we signed an airtight, no-loopholes, no escape contract for you to give me (X-1)% of the principal every year. You can keep any extra interest you earn, but you have to give me (X-1)% every year even if you don't earn that much. Would you accept that agreement?"
If the answer is yes, then you can go ahead and use that interest rate example. If the answer is no, choose a lower rate. If the answer is yes only because you are so freaking rich that you could easily absorb the yearly loss of (X-1)% of my life's savings, add another zero or two to the amount of my life's savings and try again.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
"I'm not a racist"
First Michael Richards, and then some US radio guy I've never heard of. They publicly make racist remarks, and then when they're called on it say (entre autres) "I'm not a racist."
But you know what? If you're not racist, those thoughts don't even occur to you. Really. They just aren't in your active vocabulary. When your brain reaches for something to say, even in anger, they aren't in the pool of things to choose from.
But you know what? If you're not racist, those thoughts don't even occur to you. Really. They just aren't in your active vocabulary. When your brain reaches for something to say, even in anger, they aren't in the pool of things to choose from.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Kudos to Sympatico
One of the signing bonuses I got for signing my lease before the building was built is a year's free telecommunications from Rogers, so obviously I'm not going to keep my current services. Today I called Sympatico to cancel my account, and after they learned that I was cancelling because I got a year's free service, and because I've been with them for four years (apparently that's a lot of seniority), they offered to suspend my account for a year at no charge and then top whatever Roger's charges me once my free year is up. I didn't even have to ask them for this, they offered it proactively.
This is essentially the best possible offer they could have made me, and I really appreciate that the first person I talked to was empowered to do this.
This is essentially the best possible offer they could have made me, and I really appreciate that the first person I talked to was empowered to do this.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Scholarship idea
For the past five years I've had an idea in my head for a scholarship that I'd start if I ever had the money, or perhaps that I'd will to my alma mater. It just occurred to me now that if I offered the idea up for free, someone richer than me might launch the same scholarship far sooner than I'll ever be able to. So here it is, feel free to take it. I intended it for Translation students, but feel free to use it in your own field if you prefer:
Offer a scholarship for one or more students doing an unpaid internship. The scholarship will be equal to the amount that they would be getting if they were doing a paid internship. (Or, if there's no such thing as a paid internship in your field, for a decent living wage.)
In my experience, an internship - a work placement - is the most valuable educational experience, far more valuable than classroom work. It sucks when people don't get to enjoy this opportunity because they need to spend the summer earning money instead. I hope if I ever become rich I can work to remedy this situation, and I hope that if any rich people stumble upon my blog they might be inspired to do the same.
Offer a scholarship for one or more students doing an unpaid internship. The scholarship will be equal to the amount that they would be getting if they were doing a paid internship. (Or, if there's no such thing as a paid internship in your field, for a decent living wage.)
In my experience, an internship - a work placement - is the most valuable educational experience, far more valuable than classroom work. It sucks when people don't get to enjoy this opportunity because they need to spend the summer earning money instead. I hope if I ever become rich I can work to remedy this situation, and I hope that if any rich people stumble upon my blog they might be inspired to do the same.
The Right Clothes and The Wrong Clothes
A topic that seems to have come up in several completely unrelated conversations I've had lately is kids and The Right Clothes or The Wrong Clothes. As we all know, because we all have been (or, if there are any kids reading this, are) kids, during certain stages of life, wearing The Wrong Clothes is social suicide. We also know that some parents can't afford to buy their kids The Right Clothes. But we also know that there are other kids who aren't wearing The Right Clothes, either because they don't want to, or because they aren't aware of which clothes are Right, or because their parents won't buy it for them.
It's the latter situation that I wish to address here.
I've heard three arguments in support of parents who can afford The Right Clothes refusing to buy said clothes for their kids:
1. There are other, less expensive clothes available, and I want my kid to learn the value of frugality.
2. I want my kid to learn not to give in to peer pressure.
3. My kid could have chosen The Right Clothes when we did our back to school clothes shopping. They did not. They must now learn to live with the consequences of their decision. (This one obviously applies to cases where The Wrong Clothes turned out to be those of the kid's choosing.)
And all these three arguments also have the underlying fact that some kids can't afford The Right Clothes at all, and it isn't right for them to be socially ostracized simply because their parents happen to be poor.
I actually agree with all these statements. However, I think there's one thing parents need to think about (and, again, I'm still talking about parents who can afford The Right Clothes): Will refusing to buy The Right Clothes actually help my kid learn the intended lesson?
If you have your kid wearing cheaper clothes even though they're Wrong, will that teach them the lesson of frugality? Or will it just teach them that if their clothes are cheap they'll get tormented?
If you have your kid wearing The Wrong Clothes will that teach them not to give in to peer pressure? Or will it just teach them that if they'd only give in to peer pressure, they wouldn't be tormented?
If your kid picked out The Wrong Clothes and is now being tormented for it, will that teach them to make better decisions? Or did they pick out The Wrong Clothes because they didn't no any better, so it teaches them that their parents are just as cruel and punitive as their classmates?
And, in all cases, will not buying your kids The Right Clothes improve the lot of their poorer classmates?
If you buy your kids The Right Clothes, I can see two possible outcomes: a) it makes their social lives better, or b) it doesn't. If it's b), I think that would teach any of the above lessons better than refusing them the clothes, leaving them to think about what might have been. If it's a), then you get to see whether or not your kid continues to have empathy for their classmates who are now below them on the social scale. If they cease to have empathy for their classmates with The Wrong Clothes, then you have a perfectly good reason to not buy them The Right Clothes in the future. If they do have empathy for their classmates with The Wrong Clothes, then they can leverage their new social position to improve their classmates' lot, and the entire social circle benefits.
It's the latter situation that I wish to address here.
I've heard three arguments in support of parents who can afford The Right Clothes refusing to buy said clothes for their kids:
1. There are other, less expensive clothes available, and I want my kid to learn the value of frugality.
2. I want my kid to learn not to give in to peer pressure.
3. My kid could have chosen The Right Clothes when we did our back to school clothes shopping. They did not. They must now learn to live with the consequences of their decision. (This one obviously applies to cases where The Wrong Clothes turned out to be those of the kid's choosing.)
And all these three arguments also have the underlying fact that some kids can't afford The Right Clothes at all, and it isn't right for them to be socially ostracized simply because their parents happen to be poor.
I actually agree with all these statements. However, I think there's one thing parents need to think about (and, again, I'm still talking about parents who can afford The Right Clothes): Will refusing to buy The Right Clothes actually help my kid learn the intended lesson?
If you have your kid wearing cheaper clothes even though they're Wrong, will that teach them the lesson of frugality? Or will it just teach them that if their clothes are cheap they'll get tormented?
If you have your kid wearing The Wrong Clothes will that teach them not to give in to peer pressure? Or will it just teach them that if they'd only give in to peer pressure, they wouldn't be tormented?
If your kid picked out The Wrong Clothes and is now being tormented for it, will that teach them to make better decisions? Or did they pick out The Wrong Clothes because they didn't no any better, so it teaches them that their parents are just as cruel and punitive as their classmates?
And, in all cases, will not buying your kids The Right Clothes improve the lot of their poorer classmates?
If you buy your kids The Right Clothes, I can see two possible outcomes: a) it makes their social lives better, or b) it doesn't. If it's b), I think that would teach any of the above lessons better than refusing them the clothes, leaving them to think about what might have been. If it's a), then you get to see whether or not your kid continues to have empathy for their classmates who are now below them on the social scale. If they cease to have empathy for their classmates with The Wrong Clothes, then you have a perfectly good reason to not buy them The Right Clothes in the future. If they do have empathy for their classmates with The Wrong Clothes, then they can leverage their new social position to improve their classmates' lot, and the entire social circle benefits.
Things They Should Invent roundup
I've come up with quite a few inventions in the past few days:
1. Pagers for the doctor's office. You know how sometimes at mall restaurants they'll give you a pager and buzz you when a table is free? I'd like doctor's offices to do that when they're running late. The other day I spent a whole hour sitting in my doctor's waiting room, only a block away from my apartment. I would have been far less cranky if I could have spent that hour at home. I know they don't like to have the doctor waiting around in between patients, so they could page you when the person before you goes in, which should give you plenty of time to get back to the office.
2. The option to listen to someone's voicemail's outgoing message without ringing their phone. Sometimes I just want to know a business's hours, but I don't need or want to speak to anyone. So usually I wait until I can reasonably assume that they're closed, and then call them to listen to their outgoing voicemail. But that still leave my number on their call display, plus I might end up in the awkward situation of having someone answer - or, worse, having someone answer even if they're closed. Some voicemail systems allow you to leave a message without ringing the phone, so why not allow you to listen to the outgoing message without ringing the phone?
3. Automatic TV rerun scheduler. Suppose you've seen some, but not all, episodes of The Simpsons, or Seinfeld, or some other TV series with frequent reruns on many channels. Wouldn't it be cool if you could go to some central website, check off a checklist of episodes you have (or haven't) seen, and it would tell you when the episodes you haven't seen are going to air?
4. Tell me if household products are bad for bugs. I was considering switching floor cleaning products, so I asked a friend if she had ever used the product I was thinking of using. She said she had, but she switched away from it because she had read that it might be bad for her pets. Now I don't have any pets at the moment, so that isn't a problem for me. But if it's bad for household pets, is it also bad for bugs? I would love to use a floor cleaner that's poisonous to bugs! If I could make my home less inviting to bugs simply by switching cleaning products, bring it on! They have the science to determine whether products are bad for pets, so why not extend that to tell us if it's bad for bugs? They could even use that as a bonus in advertising, as long as they don't show pictures of bugs.
1. Pagers for the doctor's office. You know how sometimes at mall restaurants they'll give you a pager and buzz you when a table is free? I'd like doctor's offices to do that when they're running late. The other day I spent a whole hour sitting in my doctor's waiting room, only a block away from my apartment. I would have been far less cranky if I could have spent that hour at home. I know they don't like to have the doctor waiting around in between patients, so they could page you when the person before you goes in, which should give you plenty of time to get back to the office.
2. The option to listen to someone's voicemail's outgoing message without ringing their phone. Sometimes I just want to know a business's hours, but I don't need or want to speak to anyone. So usually I wait until I can reasonably assume that they're closed, and then call them to listen to their outgoing voicemail. But that still leave my number on their call display, plus I might end up in the awkward situation of having someone answer - or, worse, having someone answer even if they're closed. Some voicemail systems allow you to leave a message without ringing the phone, so why not allow you to listen to the outgoing message without ringing the phone?
3. Automatic TV rerun scheduler. Suppose you've seen some, but not all, episodes of The Simpsons, or Seinfeld, or some other TV series with frequent reruns on many channels. Wouldn't it be cool if you could go to some central website, check off a checklist of episodes you have (or haven't) seen, and it would tell you when the episodes you haven't seen are going to air?
4. Tell me if household products are bad for bugs. I was considering switching floor cleaning products, so I asked a friend if she had ever used the product I was thinking of using. She said she had, but she switched away from it because she had read that it might be bad for her pets. Now I don't have any pets at the moment, so that isn't a problem for me. But if it's bad for household pets, is it also bad for bugs? I would love to use a floor cleaner that's poisonous to bugs! If I could make my home less inviting to bugs simply by switching cleaning products, bring it on! They have the science to determine whether products are bad for pets, so why not extend that to tell us if it's bad for bugs? They could even use that as a bonus in advertising, as long as they don't show pictures of bugs.
Friday, April 06, 2007
The problem with continuous learning
Conventional wisdom is that you have to be learning continuously, constantly acquiring new skills.
The problem with that is no one tells you what you need to be learning.
I'm improving my translation skills constantly by translating, but I've just never stumbled upon anything where I thought "You know, it would be helpful if I could take a course on that." I do employer-mandated training like WHMIS, but I just never come upon anything that I'd like to improve that can be taught in the classroom.
I'm the kind of person who can pick up new software very easily - I don't actually require classroom training to use new software - but that's very difficult to do when you can't actually think of anything to use the software for. For example, I have Photoshop. But I can't use it because I've never had to use it for anything except converting images. Some people improve their photoshop skills recreationally à la Worth 1000, but my creativity simply does not inspire me in that direction. It has never in my life occurred to me "Hey, someone should photoshop [idea]!" So I doubt I'm going to pick up any new software skills until I find the need or want to use any new software.
I would happily take any course my boss told me to, except that she doesn't, she usually just tells me to pick some courses that I'm interested in (and I'm not). I'd be happy to take a course if something occurred to me "Hey, I'd like to learn that," but nothing has so far. I'll happily learn any new software, but there isn't any I need or am actively interested in doing that requires new software.
I wonder if this means I'm getting old and set in my ways?
The problem with that is no one tells you what you need to be learning.
I'm improving my translation skills constantly by translating, but I've just never stumbled upon anything where I thought "You know, it would be helpful if I could take a course on that." I do employer-mandated training like WHMIS, but I just never come upon anything that I'd like to improve that can be taught in the classroom.
I'm the kind of person who can pick up new software very easily - I don't actually require classroom training to use new software - but that's very difficult to do when you can't actually think of anything to use the software for. For example, I have Photoshop. But I can't use it because I've never had to use it for anything except converting images. Some people improve their photoshop skills recreationally à la Worth 1000, but my creativity simply does not inspire me in that direction. It has never in my life occurred to me "Hey, someone should photoshop [idea]!" So I doubt I'm going to pick up any new software skills until I find the need or want to use any new software.
I would happily take any course my boss told me to, except that she doesn't, she usually just tells me to pick some courses that I'm interested in (and I'm not). I'd be happy to take a course if something occurred to me "Hey, I'd like to learn that," but nothing has so far. I'll happily learn any new software, but there isn't any I need or am actively interested in doing that requires new software.
I wonder if this means I'm getting old and set in my ways?
Thought experiment
What is your favourite ________?
Fill in the blank with anything you want, anything you can think of. Food, drink, band, TV show, cheese, yoga position, shampoo, whatever. Just answer the question as you would normally:
What is your favourite ________?
Got the answer? Good.
Now another question:
If you could only use one ________ for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
(Replace the verb "use" with a more appropriate verb if necessary, e.g. eat, drink, watch, listen to - whatever goes best with the noun in the blank)
Are the answers the same?
Try with something else in the blank. Are the answers still the same?
For me, sometimes they are the same, sometimes they aren't. That's really weird.
Fill in the blank with anything you want, anything you can think of. Food, drink, band, TV show, cheese, yoga position, shampoo, whatever. Just answer the question as you would normally:
What is your favourite ________?
Got the answer? Good.
Now another question:
If you could only use one ________ for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
(Replace the verb "use" with a more appropriate verb if necessary, e.g. eat, drink, watch, listen to - whatever goes best with the noun in the blank)
Are the answers the same?
Try with something else in the blank. Are the answers still the same?
For me, sometimes they are the same, sometimes they aren't. That's really weird.
Garbage
The City of Toronto recently had an idea of issuing each household a small garbage bin, and charging them more money if they want a larger one. There are several problems with this plan, but the one I haven't seen mentioned yet is: what happens under exceptional circumstances that generate far more garbage than usual?
I generate very little garbage. Probably one big green bag a month, including organics. However, as I prepare to move, I find myself having to throw out quite a few largish things that can't be recycled or donated to charity. My old olive green pots and pans (originally my father's from his first apartment in the early 70s), whose non-stick is coming off. The original keyboard from my first computer, whose M key doesn't work. Hopelessly stained clothing that charities won't accept. Basically four years worth of stuff that I held on to because they aren't 100% useless (I am, after all, the child of an immigrant) but that I'm ultimately not going to use ever again. This is a one-time increase in my household garbage and probably won't happen again for another several years. It doesn't mean I need a larger bin 100% of the time, but I would need more for one garbage collection. Does this plan take these kinds of things into account?
I've been spending some time lurking around web communities devoted to frugality and waste reduction, in the hopes of finding leads on places where I can donate or recycle these kinds of bulky useless items. One surprising idea that kept coming up was to make craft projects out of stuff. I'm sorry, but I don't think this counts. I have all these old clothes that are too stained to donate. If I make, say, rag dolls out of them, then I'd have a bunch of rag dolls. But I don't need rag dolls. I couldn't donate or regift the rag dolls because they're made out of old stained clothes - you don't give a child a doll with your stains on it! I have no use for rag dolls in my home. It doesn't contribute to the decor - it's not like I look around and say "You know what this place really needs? Some rag dolls!" So while, technically, I have reused my useless old clothes, reusing being a frugal and environmentally friendly act, I don't actually get any points for it. I've just turned one useless thing into another useless thing that looks slightly less like garbage. I think craft projects should only count if the end product fills a need that you would have had to fill even if you didn't have the items you were making the craft out of. In other words, my hypothetical rag doll project would count only if, had I not had all these old stained clothes on hand, I would have had to go buy rag dolls or rags to make dolls out of.
I think the problem with society in general is that not generating waste is a virtue, frugally saving things until you can reuse them is a virtue, but being clutter-free is also a virtue.
I generate very little garbage. Probably one big green bag a month, including organics. However, as I prepare to move, I find myself having to throw out quite a few largish things that can't be recycled or donated to charity. My old olive green pots and pans (originally my father's from his first apartment in the early 70s), whose non-stick is coming off. The original keyboard from my first computer, whose M key doesn't work. Hopelessly stained clothing that charities won't accept. Basically four years worth of stuff that I held on to because they aren't 100% useless (I am, after all, the child of an immigrant) but that I'm ultimately not going to use ever again. This is a one-time increase in my household garbage and probably won't happen again for another several years. It doesn't mean I need a larger bin 100% of the time, but I would need more for one garbage collection. Does this plan take these kinds of things into account?
I've been spending some time lurking around web communities devoted to frugality and waste reduction, in the hopes of finding leads on places where I can donate or recycle these kinds of bulky useless items. One surprising idea that kept coming up was to make craft projects out of stuff. I'm sorry, but I don't think this counts. I have all these old clothes that are too stained to donate. If I make, say, rag dolls out of them, then I'd have a bunch of rag dolls. But I don't need rag dolls. I couldn't donate or regift the rag dolls because they're made out of old stained clothes - you don't give a child a doll with your stains on it! I have no use for rag dolls in my home. It doesn't contribute to the decor - it's not like I look around and say "You know what this place really needs? Some rag dolls!" So while, technically, I have reused my useless old clothes, reusing being a frugal and environmentally friendly act, I don't actually get any points for it. I've just turned one useless thing into another useless thing that looks slightly less like garbage. I think craft projects should only count if the end product fills a need that you would have had to fill even if you didn't have the items you were making the craft out of. In other words, my hypothetical rag doll project would count only if, had I not had all these old stained clothes on hand, I would have had to go buy rag dolls or rags to make dolls out of.
I think the problem with society in general is that not generating waste is a virtue, frugally saving things until you can reuse them is a virtue, but being clutter-free is also a virtue.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Open Letter to Salon
Dear Salon:
With your new letters policy, you've lost me as a commenter. It seems you valued me as a commenter, given that about half my letters got red stars (which seems significant in light of the fact that your policy is to favour signed letters). That's probably because I comment only when I seem to be the only one who has thought to say what I have to say.
Given the combination of the size of your readership, and the hatefulness of certain parts of your readership, and the fact that every comment I have to make that's worth making is either highly personal or highly political, and the fact that I must retain a certain anonymity WRT my real-life identity for the sake of my loved ones, and the fact that I must maintain the impression of a certain political neutrality WRT my real-life identity for professional purposes, and the fact that if you collected together all my comments it really would show a lot of myself, I'm just not comfortable with that.
I censor myself a lot when I'm posting under a consistent identity - yes, even here, yes, even in other online communities. I wasn't censoring myself that much in the Salon comments in order to produce unique and insightful comments. If I do censor myself as much as necessary, what I can permit myself to say there wouldn't be worth saying.
Yes, I have this blog, but I only get 10-20 hits a day (mostly from people googling for pictures I once linked to), plus I don't seem to get that many nasty trolls. There are more nasty trolls in a single Salon letters page than I've gotten in the entire history of this blog. I'm just not up for exposing myself to them under any consistent identity.
PS: On top of all this, I have also noticed that the most annoying posters do use consistent handles.
With your new letters policy, you've lost me as a commenter. It seems you valued me as a commenter, given that about half my letters got red stars (which seems significant in light of the fact that your policy is to favour signed letters). That's probably because I comment only when I seem to be the only one who has thought to say what I have to say.
Given the combination of the size of your readership, and the hatefulness of certain parts of your readership, and the fact that every comment I have to make that's worth making is either highly personal or highly political, and the fact that I must retain a certain anonymity WRT my real-life identity for the sake of my loved ones, and the fact that I must maintain the impression of a certain political neutrality WRT my real-life identity for professional purposes, and the fact that if you collected together all my comments it really would show a lot of myself, I'm just not comfortable with that.
I censor myself a lot when I'm posting under a consistent identity - yes, even here, yes, even in other online communities. I wasn't censoring myself that much in the Salon comments in order to produce unique and insightful comments. If I do censor myself as much as necessary, what I can permit myself to say there wouldn't be worth saying.
Yes, I have this blog, but I only get 10-20 hits a day (mostly from people googling for pictures I once linked to), plus I don't seem to get that many nasty trolls. There are more nasty trolls in a single Salon letters page than I've gotten in the entire history of this blog. I'm just not up for exposing myself to them under any consistent identity.
PS: On top of all this, I have also noticed that the most annoying posters do use consistent handles.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Judasnape
Salon writes about the recently-found Gospel of Judas.
My first thought: that is almost exactly the character arc of Snape!
But if Snape's Judas, that makes Dumbledore the messiah. So what does that make Harry?
My first thought: that is almost exactly the character arc of Snape!
But if Snape's Judas, that makes Dumbledore the messiah. So what does that make Harry?
April Fool's joke, free for the taking
Scott Adams asked his readers to submit April Fool's jokes.
Inspired by some of the readers' suggestions about how to fuck with other people's computers, I have a harmless but effective joke. It will be immediately noticeable to the victim, but it won't hurt anything or cause significant delay, and the victim will be able to remedy the situation themselves.
On the victim's keyboard, move the little cover things on the F and J keys one line up. Make sure to keep them in the same row and with two spaces in between them.
As you know, the F and J keys have those little sticky-up things on them to show touch typists where to put their fingers. So if your victim is a touch typist, they'll start typing with their fingers on the wrong keys qhe 3f3465y8ht 28oo d9j3 975 o8i3 5y8wl.
Inspired by some of the readers' suggestions about how to fuck with other people's computers, I have a harmless but effective joke. It will be immediately noticeable to the victim, but it won't hurt anything or cause significant delay, and the victim will be able to remedy the situation themselves.
On the victim's keyboard, move the little cover things on the F and J keys one line up. Make sure to keep them in the same row and with two spaces in between them.
As you know, the F and J keys have those little sticky-up things on them to show touch typists where to put their fingers. So if your victim is a touch typist, they'll start typing with their fingers on the wrong keys qhe 3f3465y8ht 28oo d9j3 975 o8i3 5y8wl.
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