tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45808572288200998472024-03-13T19:07:21.339-08:00To Infinity...Are We There Yet?Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-71927284040319421772019-05-30T08:50:00.000-08:002019-05-30T08:50:51.203-08:00Sometimes I Feel Guilty<h3>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ok, It's a lot of times</span>.</h3>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's summertime in the Hyland household and I'm off from school. I have nothing I really have to do. But right across the room is Sarah working away at a job she increasingly doesn't like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's summertime. I could just play video games all day. To some extent, that's what I'd like to do. But she's over there earning a living, grumbling about needy clients or her boss making more work for her needlessly. So I leave Steam alone in the tray, with all the other game launchers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I know if I say this stuff out loud she will encourage me to do what I want and not worry about it. Right now school is my job and I'm on vacation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The feeling of guilt in the summer is new this summer, but not overall. I've felt this way before. It has mostly to do with money. This is the first summer since I started school that I'm not earning anything. When I started I still had a full-time job. After I quit that I was able to get a fellowship to do astronomy research, but I switched majors and the fellowship can only go to stem majors. As if NASA doesn't use artists and writers. As if they don't need us to convey their importance to the anti-science crowd that insists we only spend money on something that directly returns the investment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The feeling of guilt hasn't been all bad, however. My resistance to opening up a game on weekdays has led to some productivity on the home front. I've actually planted stuff in some of the planters outside, and the fish tank project I've been excited about starting is well underway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But overall, living with guilt that has been imposed on me by outside systems (I'll explain later) has been negative. I hope to get out from under it soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<script src="https://ko-fi.com/widgets/widget_2.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script type="text/javascript">kofiwidget2.init('Support Me on Ko-fi', '#46b798', 'H2H5QRI7');kofiwidget2.draw();</script> Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-17736183305072665022019-05-23T09:21:00.000-08:002019-05-23T09:21:55.162-08:00The Ungrammaticality of Cats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cat_proximity.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="450" height="312" src="https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cat_proximity.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I saw this comic ages ago and I keep thinking about it, mainly when I say nonsense things to my cats. I mean I'm constantly saying things like "It's a pet the kitty" as I'm petting the kitty. "pet the kitty" is not a noun.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So, because my brain is weird, I think about this comic almost every time I say something weird to my cats, which is multiple times per day.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Since this is a post about cats, here's a cat picture (or 2).</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J74j7gf8P9Q/XObVT_N9PWI/AAAAAAAAE50/PS4ORC0EVR8fV7rHFtI5FyTxoyNbxQS0ACKgBGAs/s1600/0512191736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J74j7gf8P9Q/XObVT_N9PWI/AAAAAAAAE50/PS4ORC0EVR8fV7rHFtI5FyTxoyNbxQS0ACKgBGAs/s320/0512191736.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sq7Z-lbjN4E/XObVT78NlMI/AAAAAAAAE50/jVI-ykb3CIEq4UhIgrvGjU5q-EUuPONAgCKgBGAs/s1600/0430191028_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sq7Z-lbjN4E/XObVT78NlMI/AAAAAAAAE50/jVI-ykb3CIEq4UhIgrvGjU5q-EUuPONAgCKgBGAs/s320/0430191028_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xtF0S-6cMa4/XObVT-c27dI/AAAAAAAAE50/DVxNpfqPO_Akkhs4fRUkMaJmS7CzBgoNQCKgBGAs/s1600/0416191356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xtF0S-6cMa4/XObVT-c27dI/AAAAAAAAE50/DVxNpfqPO_Akkhs4fRUkMaJmS7CzBgoNQCKgBGAs/s320/0416191356.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ok, 3 pictures.</span><br />
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</span><script src="https://ko-fi.com/widgets/widget_2.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script type="text/javascript">kofiwidget2.init('Support Me on Ko-fi', '#46b798', 'H2H5QRI7');kofiwidget2.draw();</script> Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-61361278587707416222019-03-14T09:24:00.002-08:002019-03-14T09:29:42.839-08:00Government Spending<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> I read a comment recently on the story about the governor's proposed budget where he wants to cut 40% across the board. It said something to the effect that when the economy is down the government should tighten it’s belt because that’s what happens when a household budget shrinks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> *sigh*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> I really wish more people took economics classes or even an anthropology class. 100 level would be fine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> When the economy is down the proper thing for a government to do is spend. The private sector has laid off people, not as many people are buying stuff, so more people are being laid off. One of the things the New Deal did was public works projects. The Golden Gate Bridge was one of those projects. It put people to work. They, in turn, spent money which boosted the private sector. Then when those projects were complete the private sector was boosted enough to have jobs for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> “But isn’t the government spending money it doesn’t have?”, you ask. Well yes and no. One of the government's functions is to print money. If they need more, they can print more. Of course, they can’t do this forever, hyperinflation is bad. However, the system we have in place for better or worse is we have a central bank that handles all this for us. So the government borrows to cover the deficit spending. This has a side effect of altering the supply of money in the lending market, which changes the interest rates which makes banks want to lend again. Then that allows the private sector to expand some more. Economy grows. What’s then supposed to happen, is, after the recession is over, the government stops deficit spending.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Another thing, high marginal tax rates on the upper tiers are a good thing. If nothing else, companies invest back into the company more (usually in the form of higher pay for the workers and pensions) since only profit is taxed. There’s also an inverse correlation between high taxes and government corruption. People who pay a lot in taxes tend to not like it when their representatives rob the store, go figure. Taxes are an investment in the infrastructure governments provide, everyone should pay their fair share.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> As far as the anthropology end of things, governments arose to take care of the people. That’s it. There are some people that decry what they call the “nanny state”. That people seem to want the government to take care of them. Yup. That’s what it’s for. Armys protect a society from outside threats. Property records keep track of who owns what. Regulations on businesses keep the water and the air clean as well as making sure the products we buy are safe to use. Roads to get us and our products from place to place. Public lands need management. All of this costs money, tax money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> And no one needs a billion dollars, let alone multiples of that. I know the human brain has a hard time understanding how much a billion is. It helps if you think of it as one thousand million. 1,000 x 1,000,000 = 1,000,000,000 (Sorry, i didn’t warn you there would be math.) It would take multiple generations to spend that much, even if it didn’t accrue interest.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is nuts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/H2H5QRI7" target="_blank">Buy me a coffee!</a></span></div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-38690987758168496262019-02-21T08:00:00.000-09:002019-02-21T08:00:01.813-09:00Life After College<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was just this summer I was wondering what I want to do with my degree after I receive it. At that point, I had no idea. (I'm going for English and a lot of people think you can only go into academia with an English degree but they are wrong.) I think I was just responding to some sore of schooling fatigue or something because I was telling a professor that "maybe I'll just get a part-time job to pay my student loans" and be done with it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, I think I've found my career path, everybody! I want to be a proofreader/editor! Sounds exciting, doesn't it! "No, that sounds boring and unglamorous.", I hear you say. Well, of course it doesn't if you don't relish the ability to fix other people's typos. Or get excited to help other people's stories flow better when you find the part where they forgot to tell the reader a crucial detail of the plot. It may not sound exciting to you but it does to me and that's what matters!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's where I need your help though. I need practice and experience to get in the door. So, if you're writing your memoir or self-publishing a novel or know someone who is, let me know and we can work something out (I don't work for exposure, people die of exposure).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, don't forget to throw me a coffee using the button on the right, if you're so inclined. I've still got tuition to pay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ella</span>Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-67890902365370457092019-02-19T23:05:00.000-09:002019-02-19T23:05:50.376-09:00Do You Want to Buy Me a Coffee?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In order to fund my blogging (and possibly my last year of college), I signed up for ko-fi. (I think it's pronounced like coffee.) Right now it's set up to just accept small donations as I don't update this enough to ask for subscriptions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There's a handy button in the right sidebar if you're interested in buying me a coffee so to speak. Each 'coffee' is $3. Also here's my link: <a href="http://ko-fi.com/ellaspeaks" target="_blank">Donation link</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So in the spirit of creating more here's a poem. I have no idea if it's any good, I'm not good at judging these things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She walks through the forest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amongst the greens and the browns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the buzzes and the caws<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The babbles and the sighs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She walks with the trees and the ferns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The insects and the birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The streams and the breezes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The leaves caress her face<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wings whisper in her ear<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She is clothed in sound<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She walks</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-8844772701658364252019-01-25T23:54:00.000-09:002019-01-25T23:54:08.709-09:00It's Not an Actual Book, Why Do We Still Turn the Page?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Right now I'm reading "</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://maryrobinettekowal.com/novel/the-calculating-stars/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The </a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://maryrobinettekowal.com/novel/the-calculating-stars/" rel="" target="_blank">Calculating Stars</a>" by Mary Robinette Kowal on Kindle. It's good so far. It's alternate history where a meteorite hits Earth and decimates the Eastern Seaboard. The main character is trying to become a Lady Astronaut because colonies in space need women. The species won't survive with just men, somehow they forget all that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anywho, the story isn't the only reason why the book is cool. It's equipped with the 'Continuous Scrolling' feature. I didn't think something so mundane sounding would be so exciting, but it's the coolest! I read an article some years back (OMG, I said 'some years back') that talked about the fact that with new technology, we don't need to continue to do things the old way. I don't remember what the article was but if anyone remembers I'll update this. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think the example they gave was calendars.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> But it's true about books too. Why should we be turning pages still? It's not a physical book. It doesn't actually have pages in the same sense. We don't read other documents like that unless we print them. It wasn't until I experienced a book with continuous scrolling that I realized how turning the page was annoying. It doesn't help that page turning on the Kobo app is still a little wonky. They may not even have to fix it if they started continuous scrolling. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, it's almost midnight, I should go.</span>Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-20299213535527498862018-04-07T08:00:00.000-08:002018-04-07T08:00:30.603-08:00Words to Live by<h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm kind of cheating a little, I wrote this yesterday. Poetry is hard y'all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pro Tip</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Narcissistic toxic
people</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Never change</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They're still toxic</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even if they give
you stuff</span></div>
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Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-86734454487108516332018-04-06T08:00:00.000-08:002018-04-06T08:00:13.239-08:00New Poetry<h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The theme for these is sorry, not sorry. There's 2 because I flaked yesterday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dutch Oven</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It wasn't right</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But I had to do it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sorry I farted</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your face was
hilarious</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bacon</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wasn't thinking</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just giving out traits</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sorry that delicious and intelligent</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Were dealt to the same animal</span></div>
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Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-44739852321198071072018-04-04T08:00:00.000-08:002018-04-04T08:00:08.850-08:00National Poetry Month<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April Is Here</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So this means it's National Poetry Month. I just learned about this today so I'm a little behind the 8-ball. Apparently, there's a "Write one poem a day" challenge that goes along with this. Since this won't go up until the 4th here's 4 poems for your enjoyment. Feel free to post your own poems in the comments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Bunny</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Easter Bunny standing there looking surprised</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To be next to someone so out of touch</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With Easter as well as other things</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Were the children surprised too</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To have their fun day derailed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With talk of budgets and stocks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>School Life Balance</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hectic schedule, rushing around</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Completing tests, study, meeting, class</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dishes, laundry, floors</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When is the time for me</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then the time comes</span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wasted on notifications</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Snowflake</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Separated from the others</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Crystalline form</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Spinning swirling</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Buffeted by wind</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lazily falling</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Piling up but not yet together</span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rejoining the others in Spring</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Wishing Well</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Coins in the water</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wishes or grave goods</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do the dead grant wishes</span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Or need the coins for the afterlife</span></div>
</div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-24432071691471479712017-11-26T08:00:00.000-09:002017-11-26T08:00:00.164-09:00Take it back<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thus far I've not said anything really political in this space, but I think I'm going to start now. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The problem we have right now
is that the right wing has been allowed to control the narrative. They have
gotten to define all the words. Liberal is a bad word. So we shifted to
progressive, now that’s a bad word. We need to drag public discourse back to
the left. Stop catering to the so-called middle. The middle has been forcibly
shifted to the right. The liberal base doesn’t come out to vote because all the
candidates put forth are center right. Most people when surveyed are center-left
or left outright, but they have no reason to interrupt their busy schedules to
stand in line in the cold to vote.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> So, here’s how we take the country back. First, we find the most wing nutty wingnut out
there and have them run in an election that we probably wouldn’t win anyway. No
one that believes in weird conspiracy theories though; no chem trails or vaccines cause autism people, that’s dumb. But
someone who believes in a universal income, state-owned
oil companies. Make sure that the small oil
drilling companies can still operate but kick out the big ones. Run this
person, hype them up pretty good. Then in a more contested election, dial it
back to more normal. The masses will have gotten a little used to hearing the
far out there stuff so the more typical progressive policies will seem less out
there. Maybe the wing nut should be a man and the more mainstream person a
woman of color. We should make sure they are all above reproach though. No
questionable financial dealings, no sexual assault or discriminatory behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> It will take some time but I believe we can
drag the political climate back to the left and make our country the place our
founding ideals suggested it could be, one where everyone is included and gets
what they need.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-44124627779690873862017-10-03T15:22:00.000-08:002017-10-03T15:22:20.299-08:00Grammar Nazis Are Bad!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Right now I'm supposed to be studying for a test in my Linguistics class, but I guess wring a blog post about language is kinda the same thing.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was reading over my notes and one of the first things in there was <u>9 Ideas About Language</u>. This stuff is in a textbook as well as other places on the internet. I can cite my textbook later when I get home or just not since it's easy to find on the net. I promise I didn't come up with the idea on my own though. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. <u>Children learn their language swiftly, efficiently, and without instruction.</u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This one kinda blew my mind a little. I am a parent and I thought that I taught my daughter how to talk but apparently, she learned on her own and just got her dialect from me. As well as figuring out what sounds she could make were English. Another part of this idea: <u>Babies make all sounds for all languages and start to filter out the ones they don't need by age 1.</u> So all that babbling your baby does is language based. That's neat huh? Also, there is a critical window for learning language, from birth to 6 where they are sponges absorbing everything. After that, it slows and some researchers think it stops by 10 or 11. This isn't to say we can't learn after that obviously, just that we can't learn like normal speakers after that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. <u>Language operates by rules</u>. This one seems obvious but there's a difference in rule types. There are Descriptive and Prescriptive rules. The descriptive rules are unconscious rules that our brains just follow. A lot of them just make it so our brains don't work too hard while still getting our point across. Irregular verbs are difficult for our brains for instance. They have to be memorized. This is why a toddler will say something like "I runned really fast!" instead of "ran". Their brains are following the rules, but run doesn't follow the rules. Prescriptive rules are ones we have to teach in school and are usually about writing, like "don't split the infinitive". A lot of these are based on Latin and don't actually make sense for English. Apparently, that rule specifically came about during the Enlightenment where scholars thought that everything from ancient Greece and Rome was the best thing ever. The thing about Latin is, you can't split the infinitive because they are single words. In English where they come in 2 words, splitting them is fine. The thing about Prescriptive rules is that they are often used to separate us into "educated" and "uneducated" categories, which is really more about privilege than anything else. The irony about this is I'm currently using Grammarly to make sure I'm following all the Prescriptive rules. Another Prescriptive rule example is "no double negatives". Our brains understand this perfectly. Again, because of the Enlightenment, someone decided to bring about this rule. I don't know if they were trying to inject some mathematical logic to language or what but double or even triple negatives are actually grammatical.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. <u>All languages have 3 components: A sound system (phonology), vocabulary (lexicon or morphology), and a system of grammar (syntax)</u>. There's nothing groundbreaking about this other than the idea that just because it's different than English doesn't mean it makes more or less sense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. <u>Everyone speaks a dialect</u>. Even if you speak the "standard" version of your language, it's still a dialect. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. <u>Speakers of all languages employ a range of styles and a set of subdialects or jargons</u>. We switch back and forth between them in different social situations.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. <u>Language changes are normal and inevitable</u>. So crying over the fact that teenaged girls talk differently than you is dumb. Stop doing that. In fact, teen girls tend to be the primary drivers of change, in not only word usage but pronunciation changes like vowel shifts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. <u>Languages are intimately related to the societies and individuals who use them</u>. There's a lot you can find out about a culture or an individual by studying word choice or the syntax. Time is important to some cultures and their language reflect that. Same thing with snow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8. <u>Value judgments about different languages are a matter of taste</u>. Just because you prefer yours doesn't mean it's better. Also, just because someone doesn't speak yours doesn't mean they are less intelligent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9. <u>Writing is a derivative of speech</u>. Writing must be taught. whereas speech isn't taught. Speech also came first. We've been writing for only about the past 5000 years, we've been speaking for much longer. Some languages don't have a written form. Not just tribal languages either, gesture languages don't have writing either. Those that speak with ASL write in English. Otherwise, they would have to "write" by drawing the gestures. Drawing gestures is useful for illustrative purposes but would make a very inefficient writing system. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, thanks for studying with me, I now need to study the other parts of the test (I have flash cards too, ugh). Keep in mind, this has been from a linguist's perspective. I'm sure there would be plenty of people to argue any of these points.</span></div>
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Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-67110910810679085252017-08-04T21:12:00.000-08:002017-08-04T21:12:15.239-08:00OMG Eww!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lays Crunchy Taco flavored chips are gross unless you like the shredded iceberg lettuce that comes on a generic taco... by itself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That is all.</span>Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-12116035079091167692017-07-27T08:00:00.000-08:002017-07-27T08:00:24.164-08:00Major Change<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my last post, I mentioned that I changed my major. I suppose I can talk about it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Ok, before I start that I have to talk about how Blogger is annoying me right now. There are only 6 fonts, the one I like doesn't stay between posts. Same thing with size. And whose dick do I have to suck to get a line spacing button? I may need to switch to WordPress.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During the Spring Semester, I started to get deeper into the program. I had all the heavy math classes and math adjacent general ed classes too. I got very stressed out. I dropped one class and it didn't really help. It got to the point that I was questioning my degree program. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, this wasn't the first time I had questioned it. But I did finally analyze <i>why </i>I picked Math in the first place. And there were a couple of reasons. None of them were about me or what I wanted to do or what I'm good at. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I originally picked that major because I wanted to make the biggest impact. Service to the community. For one, there are a lot of bad Math teachers out there. They may know how to calculate stuff, but they have no idea how to teach. I think this is a big reason why kids hate math. If they have no confidence in their ability, they will struggle and hate it. Also, we need more women in STEM. It might help if girls had more STEM teachers that are women, it might help.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The other reason I picked Math is that I have been trying to prove I'm as good as the boys my whole life. Part of this is how my mom treated me and dressed me before my brother was born. She raised me kind of boyish. There were girls that tried to make me prove I was a girl because I always had boy clothes on. Of course that all changed when my brother was born. Then I was told to wear more dresses and he was the favorite. Now she wonders why he does nothing and expects handouts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So for the longest time, I suppressed everything girly. Slowly I've shed most of that nonsense. The last to go was vocation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I bought into the idea that the hard sciences are masculine and the soft sciences are feminine. Which is nonsense since men have been trying to keep us out of all of them for generations, and women were the 1st coders. And who cares if I do something girly anyway. We need to stop gendering jobs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once I unpacked that I realized that I missed writing papers. Getting a grade for my opinion is pretty great really. And while Math concepts are interesting, I really don't care about the computation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am, however, still very interested in Astronomy and am doing independent research studying Seyfert Galaxies. Let me know in the comments if you want me to write for days about Active Galactive Nuclei</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. And we still need people to report on science if we're ever going to get the public to value it again. </span>Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-60897026524991920472017-07-25T08:00:00.000-08:002017-07-25T08:00:20.954-08:00Zwei Katzen (Two Cats)<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I figured I should start writing again and there are a couple of different reasons for that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) School starts in about a month so I need to get the writing juices flowing again since I changed majors from Maths to English. Maybe I'll explain that whole thing in another post.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) If I'm ever going to write the "Great American Novel" I should get to writing something... anything.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I thought I tell you about my two cats, in the form of an interview. I will be interviewing myself, there may end up being pictures; we'll see.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Interviewer:</b> Hi Ella, how are you today?</span><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ella: </b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm good. How are you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I:</b> I'm good as well. Let's get started. I've heard you have cats, how many do you have? What are their names?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>E:</b> I have two cats, their names are Sinon (pronounced She-known) and Aave (pronounced Ah-vey). They're sisters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I:</b> How did they come to live with you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>E:</b> We got them from a local rescue group, Clear Creek Cat Rescue. We were told that they were rescued from a hoarder.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I:</b> That sounds rough. Has it affected them negatively at all?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>E:</b> Of course, I don't believe anyone comes out of a rough upbringing unscathed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They are both still pretty skittish. They tend to run at the slightest provocation. Sinon will watch the mail man come up the driveway, poised to run. If he stops at the mail box all is ok, but if we get a package, she bolts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When they had only been with us for a couple months, I tried to take Aave outside. To get her comfortable being an indoor/outdoor cat. I took her outside, she wanted down and then she took off. We had to borrow a live trap from Animal Control. She was gone for nine days. She was starving and dehydrated. She still has food insecurity. Sinon eats random fuzzes and dust bunnies. They can be really cuddly though. Aave meets me at the door for belly rubs when I get home, Sinon likes to be held like a baby. Over all, they're weird and great.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I:</b> Wow, thanks for sharing with us. That's about all the time we have right now, would you like to share any pictures before we sign off?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>E:</b> Yes I would!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UvnOW81UzVU/WXbDsqL0sBI/AAAAAAAACZ8/kyuevzPzIvoxshILfefqgchybbORMnhyACKgBGAs/s1600/IMAG0062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UvnOW81UzVU/WXbDsqL0sBI/AAAAAAAACZ8/kyuevzPzIvoxshILfefqgchybbORMnhyACKgBGAs/s320/IMAG0062.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sinon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FhAHLaOsOa0/WXbDsg_mmbI/AAAAAAAACZ8/4xnLjrqeDBofmE4wmf40hvBWULDnm3o8QCKgBGAs/s1600/IMAG0061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FhAHLaOsOa0/WXbDsg_mmbI/AAAAAAAACZ8/4xnLjrqeDBofmE4wmf40hvBWULDnm3o8QCKgBGAs/s320/IMAG0061.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aave</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TzbbWzMTI5U/WXbDstXGiAI/AAAAAAAACZ8/QbwG4jywnowfSzZO4ohK2Fhd3RHTKsbWgCKgBGAs/s1600/IMAG0027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TzbbWzMTI5U/WXbDstXGiAI/AAAAAAAACZ8/QbwG4jywnowfSzZO4ohK2Fhd3RHTKsbWgCKgBGAs/s320/IMAG0027.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sisters Sleeping</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I:</b> Those are great! Thanks for talking with us.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>E:</b> Thanks for having me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ok, so that was my pretend interview. It ended up shorter than I anticipated. Maybe if I had written it when I thought of it rather than three days later. Oh well, maybe next time.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-81788004001363264942017-01-05T09:23:00.000-09:002017-01-05T09:23:44.914-09:00Empathy is not a higher form of sympathy<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They are different things.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Closely related I'll give you, but one doesn't lead to the other. You can have empathy without sympathy just as you can have sympathy without empathy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's the difference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sympathy is just feeling bad for someone who is having a hard time. You don't have to understand what they are going through to have sympathy for them. For instance, I have no idea what it's like you lose my mother. If you lose yours, I will have sympathy for what you're going through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Empathy is understanding what someone is going through. You don't have to also feel bad for the person. I know what it's like to run late, but if it's your own fault you're late, I have no sympathy for you. I know what it's like to be poor, that doesn't mean I'm going be sympathetic when you vote against your best interest and mine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course those two things are combined all the time. I know what it's like to lose a beloved pet and I will feel bad for you if it happens to you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We can also never completely understand what someone else is going through. Everyone's experiences are different. The circumstances that led to whatever is going on with a person are different, as well as our perspective. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try. And when we do try we shouldn't half ass it. Trying to think of what you would feel like if something happened to you does no good if we forget to add all the circumstances to one event. Just because you think someone is overreacting doesn't mean they are. What else is going on? Is this incident the latest in a long line of small things? All good questions to ask, either the person you're trying to understand or just as a prompt to widen your perceptions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, being empathetic or sympathetic doesn't mean we need to carry other people's burdens. Most people just want a little consideration. We all have enough of our own burdens to carry. </span></div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-81035543262943714972017-01-01T10:21:00.002-09:002017-01-01T10:21:46.957-09:00Happy New Year!<h2 style="height: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope everything</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Went well last night and everyone made it home safely. I just want to say you don't have to make resolutions. I know a lot of people resolve to lose weight for the new year. We spend way too much money crowding into gyms and buying diet books only to gain all the weight back plus some.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There's a reason most fail and it's not because you're weak. After a few million years of feast/famine cycles, our bodies were built to hold onto as much weight as possible in the very likely chance there will be a famine. And then the sugar lobby messing with dietary research that lead to low fat diets. Not only does fat make you feel full faster, most of your vitamins are fat soluble, which means you need to eat them with fat in order to absorb them. Wrap it all up in the stress of working too much and being shamed by the diet industry, and you have a recipe for an ever growing waistline.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also fat doesn't equal unhealthy and thin doesn't equal healthy. Behaviors help determine our health outcomes more than our physical attributes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So remember to love yourself. Even if advertisements seek to make you hate yourself in order to sell you stuff. After all, no matter what shape your body is, it still carries your brain around so you can experience stuff. We could all be more grateful for that.</span></div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-45169730192551393442016-12-31T08:00:00.000-09:002016-12-31T08:00:13.013-09:00Almost Done with the Challenge<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the second to last post</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of this December Challenge. Since the first one I posted went up on December 2nd even though I wrote it on the first, this is only post number 30. I still have one to go after this. Going forward after the New Year I may not do this every day, just when I need to say stuff. It gets pretty hard to come up with something every day. I'm not sure most people who blog do so every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I could write about current events and my take on them but I'm not sure that would be healthy for me. I will however probably tell some of the stories I have from my past. I feel like it will be helpful for me to get that stuff off my chest so to speak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just a warning about that stuff. Most of it is pretty shitty and the other people involved won't come out looking good. It's not like I'm going to name people with their first and last names and where they live or anything, but if you have a relationship to me that will come out. I'm not going to obscure the fact that some of the stuff that happened to me was because of my parents. I'm not sure that I could. I haven't decided if I'm going to change names all together, I suppose I should.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, it's New Years Eve. Have a save and happy holiday. Make good choices.</span></div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-14788311338700995502016-12-30T08:00:00.000-09:002016-12-30T08:00:09.552-09:00I Have a lot swirling today<h2>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In my head that is.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's not like things are actually swirling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I read a <a href="http://jezebel.com/becoming-ugly-1789622154?rev=1483040192677&utm_campaign=socialflow_jezebel_facebook&utm_source=jezebel_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow" target="_blank">thing</a> today. It's a angry feminist piece, so if your feelings are easily hurt don't click. Of course just saying that some of you who shouldn't click will. Don't say I didn't warn you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It hit home for me, because of course it did. She says a lot of things that ring true. Like having be ingrained to seek the approval of men, while also being taught to fear them. It usually played out differently in my head more "Don't upset the men." Because let's face it, they are fragile emotionally while being strong physically. Even the best ones need their ego stroked almost continuously. Laugh at all their stupid, offensive jokes. And carry the emotional load of the relationships. All the while they use and abuse us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'm not even married to a man and I'm tired of it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So now I'm at a point where I want to stop with this nonsense. I will no longer be coddling men. I will be calling them out on their bullshit. And to be clear calling you out isn't hateful, I'm not PMSing. It's not an uncivil act to disagree with you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I don't care if how I'm dressed or how I do my makeup gives you a boner. I will not smile because you ask. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I will tell all the stories of my abuse. I don't care if you believe me. I will not put up with anyone questioning my experience. If I say it happened that way, it did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I don't hate anyone, but you will be treated how you treat me. I will do everything in my power to protect myself. Emotionally and physically.</span></div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-20061277351037072942016-12-29T08:00:00.000-09:002016-12-29T08:00:29.435-09:00Old Games<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So...</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been playing an old game call Pharaoh. Steam has it in a manner that runs on Windows 10. Which is impressive considering it was released in 1999 and the expansion that comes with it on Steam came out in 2000. On my laptop at least I had to slow the speed down because it was going wicked fast. I guess it was still somewhat tied to the processor's clock speed like the old SpaceQuest games, or even the Oregon Trail web emulator I found online a while back. That thing was stupid fast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anywho, back in the day when I played this game I would get impatient and frustrated because the learning curve goes steep real fast. These days I have a little more patience, so I just spent the better part of 2 days on one level. Part of the problem is that I started out playing like I always did. I tried to rush building the monument. Well this meant that I was in debt for like 8 years in a row. Do you know what that does to your Kingdom Rating? It was at 0. At 9-11 the interface says that there is a rumor that my presence causes Malaria. At 0 I should be dumped out into the desert. At any rate, it took a REALLY long time to bring that up from 0 to 40. It took 22 years to finish that mission. The monument I built wasn't even a pyramid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The lesson is kids, don't sacrifice your Kingdom Rating to build the monument faster. It's not worth it.</span></div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-74308724708703439982016-12-28T07:57:00.001-09:002016-12-28T07:57:19.914-09:00Trajectory<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There seems to be a thing I do</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where I just stay on a trajectory throughout the day. If I get up and jump in the shower, maybe have to go somewhere, I can get a lot of stuff done. All or at least most of my chores get done, I am productive. But if I have nowhere to go and plop on the couch as soon as I get up I don't do anything at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course there is variation on this theme but it seems to be a general trend. Anyone else work like this?</span></div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-22767235738805675732016-12-27T08:16:00.001-09:002016-12-27T08:23:13.413-09:00Sarah's Cold<h2>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sarah's temps are weird</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So Sarah came down with a cold last week. One of the symptoms was what can be described as a reverse fever. Instead of getting hot she got cold. Well now she feels better other than the snuffly nose but her temps are still low. She's worried about it because she's as low as 95.3 F which the internet says is almost hypothermic. The thing is though everyone in this house runs cool anyway; like 97.8. Which from what I've read is a genetic protection against hypothermia. Alaska Natives tend to run cooler according to an Anthropology course I took. So really Sarah could get colder than 95 and still not be hypothermic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Right before she got sick she had eyelash extensions put on for the first time. But now she keeps thinking that maybe her temps are low because of a possible reaction to the glue, even though her eyes aren't irritated or anything. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I think her temp is hormone related.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So that's why this is going up late, I was trying to help her take off her eyelashes. Except they won't come off. She soaked them in olive oil and eye makeup remover, they are all still attached. The glue is oil based so the olive oil should have dissolved it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Maybe there's actually a remover for this sort of thing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">* Edited to correct Sarah's low. At 25, she would be icey.</span></div>
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Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-60554019388736210842016-12-26T08:00:00.000-09:002016-12-26T08:00:37.711-09:00A PSA For Your Safety!<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Turn on your flurbin headlights!</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are far too many people in my area driving around with no headlights on! At dusk, in the fog, sometimes when it's straight dark. Do they think that because there are street lights they don't need headlights?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The thing is Anchorage in the winter time could use headlights at all times. Even when it's sunny out, the sun doesn't get very high. While the sun is up it's pretty much in your face if you're driving south and reflecting into your face when driving north. It helps everyone see you if you have your headlights on. You see, in town where there are street lights, headlights are more for others to see you than for you to see the road. Just turn them on from Oct. to May.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While we're on the the subject of driving, ABS is not a substitute for pumping the brakes! ABS is for being able to steer your way out of an accident. It is assumed that if the ABS is kicking on, you won't be able to stop in time anyway and you can't steer in a skid. ABS actually makes your stopping distance longer in the snow. I learned this from a textbook, don't argue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This has been your "driving in the winter" PSA. Your welcome. </span></div>
Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-73418332550533136222016-12-25T08:00:00.000-09:002016-12-25T08:00:24.899-09:00Merry Christmas Everyone!<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I Hope</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everyone's day is a pleasant one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Hanukkah if you celebrate that instead or as well. </span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HZ_1IgGn9yo/WF9xbpIWZ5I/AAAAAAAACDA/M9WMKQfNoZQFDs5M9-us5ka3C-4Xaq6_QCLcB/s1600/christmas-tree-clip-art-xmas_christmas_tree_5-3333px.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HZ_1IgGn9yo/WF9xbpIWZ5I/AAAAAAAACDA/M9WMKQfNoZQFDs5M9-us5ka3C-4Xaq6_QCLcB/s320/christmas-tree-clip-art-xmas_christmas_tree_5-3333px.png" width="298" /></a></div>
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Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-57705269440819330542016-12-24T08:00:00.000-09:002016-12-24T08:00:25.530-09:00A Thing I Really Like<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you like Sci Fi</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A cool thing to go get is <a href="https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/" target="_blank">Lightspeed Magazine</a>. I subscribe and almost always a fun read. The only time it wasn't was the November issue. The 1st couple of stories were pretty dystopian and I was reading it on election night, not cool. I'm not a huge fan of dystopian stuff anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anywho, it comes out monthly and you can get it auto delivered to your Kindle, so that's cool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not being paid or anything, just needed something to write about real quick so I can get back to reading December's issue. You should check it out though. They also have <a href="http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/" target="_blank">Nightmare</a> if you're more into horror. I haven't read it yet so if you read it, you should report back.</span></div>
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Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580857228820099847.post-5152849427230923812016-12-23T08:00:00.000-09:002016-12-23T08:00:40.431-09:00This is dragging on a bit.<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">22 Days in...</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think I might be running out of things to talk about. Writing something for 31 days straight is harder than it looks, you try it. It has gotten especially hard when I don't have somewhere to be every day. All I did today was take Isabelle to school and pick her up. She had a full day at KCC and was unsure of what bus to take since usually she just goes in the afternoon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I cooked a new thing in the slowcooker, only 2/3 of us liked it; as usual. Maybe I'll try a story, or part of one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Adventures of Patch the Guinea Pig</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Patch the Guinea Pig was running for her life. Dodging left and right as she ran, avoiding the grasping hands trying to slow her down. She had to get the keystone away from Bunglesnerf's henchmen so he couldn't start the Doomsday Machine.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>As she got to the top of the ridge, Patch noticed the steam boat in the bay below, preparing to leave. "I need to make that boat!", Patch thought, "I can't afford to be trapped on this island." Patch leapt down the trail that lead to the shore.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Hideo Bunglesnerf was angry! He almost had possession of the keystone; the final piece to his latest invention, the Doomsday Machine. But of course, Patch had struck again and snatched it before his henchmen could carry it through the jungle from the ancient ruins.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>"How does this keep happening?", Bunglesnerf wondered to himself. Maybe he should have sprung for the more expensive henchmen from the "Villain Mail Order Catalog". Oh well, can't be helped now. Maybe if they fail to catch that infernal Guinea Pig he can get a refund.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>As Patch careened down the mountain path she looked behind her. The Henchmen were gaining! "Oh moldy hay!" Patch yelled, "Guess it's time to use my teeth!" She then jumped toward a tree, grabbed on with her teeth and swung around the trunk. Then she let go and flew on toward another tree. Patch zigg zagged down the mountain using her teeth! Now that's Rodent Power! Of course, the henchmen, who were mere humans couldn't keep up!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Patch left the forest and dashed toward the docks. She jumped onto the ship just as it was pulling away. As she got farther from the shore, she waved goodbye to Bunglesnerf's henchmen.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Off in the distance Bunglesnerf could be heard bellowing with rage.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Patch was my Guinea Pig. She liked to watch TV with us. I liked to think she went on adventures when we left the house. Kind of like Perry the Platypus. Maybe if you guys like the story, I'll write more.</span></div>
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Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08022788436496428088noreply@blogger.com0