In another life I would have become an architect. One of the best things I learned as an adolescent in Girl Scouts was how to make to-scale architectural drawings. I loved it then and still do. At the time I used to draw imaginary dream houses with cozy turrets and vast libraries. Now I draw plans to test out furniture placement before purchasing!

As children, we tend to make and keep friends according to our activities. We’re friends with kids in our class or with those who participate in the same extracurriculars as we do. If we change classes or schools, we lose the friendships from those places. One of the great challenges of being an adult is learning how to make and retain friendships based on who we are and not where we happen to be.

#memes #memestr

Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy

I like how I write notes to myself. This is from my “don’t buy for Passover” list that I wrote at the end of last year’s Passover. Apparently I knew that I would doubt having enough matzah ball mix. 🤣

GM Nostr!!

TIL you’re supposed to replace the hosing for the gas in your house every 5 years

I just discovered that I can save a page as an app on my MacBook and it is the coolest thing ever

I won’t pretend I fully understand Hoppean philosophy from this one bit, but the impression I’m getting is that he’s describing the true form of “separate but equal.” I know that phrase has a lot of baggage - and that it was used to paper over real discrimination. But remove it from that context and assess it for what it truly means: freedom of individuality, freedom to create the communities you want, and each community respecting other communities. As long as the freedom to leave and find/found the place that’s right for you is preserved, this is a beautiful system. And believe it or not it already exists - right here in my town, in Israel. Jews (of many flavors), Christian Arabs, Druze, Muslims, Indians, and Russians - we all flock to our own groups yet we coexist. Our pediatrician is Russian, our family doctor is Christian, our special-needs toddler’s sweet bus driver is Druze. We trust each other, and respect each other, and no one tries to force their way onto others. We have separate schools and separate communities - because we WANT to be separate, but that doesn’t invalidate the peaceful interactions between us. In fact, forcing groups together that prefer to be apart is actually a restriction of freedom. Shaming groups for wanting to stay within their group is just as bad as shaming an individual for wanting to leave a group. View quoted note →

LOL View quoted note →

GM Nostr!!

Making hamentaschen with honor @Gowron

GM!

GM Nostr! Spring has sprung

Not much aggravates me more than a service representative who refuses to take any responsibility or accountability or initiative in solving a problem that rests with their organization. Me: I need to schedule an appointment for a cavity filling for my kids. Them: you need to have an examination appointment first. Me: we already did earlier this month. The dentist said to call back to schedule for fillings. Them: well, I’m not seeing that in the computer system so clearly what you’re asking for is impossible and unreasonable. I’m not going to lift a finger to make a call or leave a note or make sure someone gets back to you. Alternatively, I can just make a new appointment for you which you’re gonna have to wait several months for in order to get the special code into the computer that should’ve been there from the appointment you had earlier this month - which could easily be dealt with if I speak with the dentist in question, but why would I actually work when I can just schedule you a new appointment and forget the whole matter? Oh, and it also doesn’t matter how many times I go over the dates with you for your appointments, I’ll make sure that what actually gets into the computer isn’t the date that we agreed on over the phone. Me: 🤬 Did I mention that socialized medicine is a great proof for why socialism doesn’t work? No one in the system is incentivized to behave well. This lady doesn’t earn her money based on whether the patients are satisfied with being able to get appointments in a timely manner or that the computer system is working correctly. She has no reason to help me. It’s almost like the First Law of Motion: a body at rest stays at rest. She will not move herself and overcome inertia to do anything unless acted on by an outside force.

Hahahahaha View quoted note →

Thanks for the memes!! View quoted note →

I was thinking about government entitlement programs this morning (and the joy of slashing them), and something clicked. I know someone in the tech industry who hasn’t been able to keep a steady job over the last 5+ years. He contracts to places which include government-contracted industry but somehow never makes it past the first round of pink slips whenever there are layoffs. He complains regularly that he spends all day on job boards but can never land anything. He also has a nasty attitude toward recruiters, and he loves bragging about how he lambasted the most recent recruiter who sent him a standard head-hunting email. He also loves showing off the old gaming systems he collects and refurbishes (with what money, I don’t know). I’ve never been able to square all of this. Clearly he’s sending signals to companies that he’s not a good hiring option. But if he really needed a job, he could go work at a grocery store or other entry level job. He’s in his 40s - healthy and able. So what’s going on with him and why does he get under my skin so much? It’s because he’s entitled. He’s an entitled cunt. He believes that he DESERVES a stable job behind a desk doing what he likes and getting paid for it. And I think that interviewers he talks to pick up on that attitude and refuse to hire him. And rather than learn a lesson from his experiences, he lashes out at others. For various reasons I can’t say this to his face, so I’ll say it into the ether: stop whining, you entitled man-child. Get a fucking job or don’t, but grow up already.

GM Nostr!!

Want hot chile oil but you don’t want seed-oil based stuff from the supermarket? You can make it yourself! Heat up some avocado oil and your spices as desired, strain, and boom! #foodstr