"The abortion room was tiny and plain and clean, like a studio-apartment kitchen. I squeezed my companion’s hand through the speculum portion of things, which is fine for me, but in this context, a little more traumatic than your average Pap smear speculum, then through the Novocain shot, which was actually more pleasant than a … Continue reading The Best Abortion Ever
Category: articles
Quantumcomputing For The Very Curious
"This essay explains how quantum computers work. It’s not a survey essay, or a popularization based on hand-wavy analogies. We’re going to dig down deep so you understand the details of quantum computing. Along the way, we’ll also learn the basic principles of quantum mechanics, since those are required to understand quantum computation.Learning this material … Continue reading Quantumcomputing For The Very Curious
Trump’s Tuxedo: ‘It’s wrong in every way!’
"And Patrick Murphy, the head cutter at tailors Davies and Son, who are based in Savile Row, London, told MailOnline that 'everything you can imagine' was wrong with Trump's tuxedo. 'Its totally disproportionate to his height and girth,' he said. 'The waistcoat is far too long, it should not show underneath his jacket." —Conner Boyd … Continue reading Trump’s Tuxedo: ‘It’s wrong in every way!’
A Big Little Idea Called Legibility
"...a reality that serves many purposes presents itself as illegible to a vision informed by a singular purpose." —Venkatesh Rao, "A Big Little Idea Called Legibility." Ribbonfarm.com. July 26, 2010.
Arduous Interfaces & Abrasive Situations
"However, such a move seems to imply the utopian view that you can bring people into close virtual proximity and have everyone simply get along splendidly. McLuhan was closer to the truth: we will face arduous interfaces and abrasive situation regardless of how benign the companies and how ethical the design." —L.M. Sacasas, "No. 17: … Continue reading Arduous Interfaces & Abrasive Situations
Going Critical
What I learned from the simulation above is that there are ideas and cultural practices that can take root and spread in a city that simply can't spread out in the countryside. (Mathematically can't.) These are the very same ideas and the very same kinds of people. It's not that rural folks are e.g. "small-minded"; … Continue reading Going Critical
Who Cares? : On Nags, Martyrs, the Women Who Give Up, and the Men Who Don’t Get It
"Then I came into the living room at the moment we had to leave and realized that my six-year-old had been wrong. His homework hadn’t been done or checked. His lunch hadn’t been packed. He didn’t have a snack or fresh water. He didn’t have an electronic device to bring to school for their special … Continue reading Who Cares? : On Nags, Martyrs, the Women Who Give Up, and the Men Who Don’t Get It
Don’t Let People Enjoy Things | Kate Wagner
"As the day-to-day misery of this lucid nightmare wears people down to stumps, and the last refuge of joy and escapism is sought in mass culture, it may appear somewhat cruel to take entertainment to task. But the far worse alternative would be a world without criticism—a world well-wishing people are now working to build … Continue reading Don’t Let People Enjoy Things | Kate Wagner
How Raingear Works | REI Expert Advice
"Waterproof/breathable raingear offers protection from the elements on a number of fronts: It keeps rain on the outside: Waterproof/breathable rainwear is constructed using a membrane or coating that serves as a barrier that rain cannot penetrate. The outer surface of most rainwear (known as the face fabric) is also treated with a durable water repellent … Continue reading How Raingear Works | REI Expert Advice
Gardener’s Vision
"Without communication, connection, and empathy, it becomes easy for actors to take on the “gardener’s vision”: to treat those they are acting upon as less human or not human at all and to see the process of interacting with them as one of grooming, of control, of organization. This organization, far from being a laudable … Continue reading Gardener’s Vision
45 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Blog
"Always be networking. Always." —"45 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Blog – Which You Can Use to Grow Yours to 225,000 Visits / Month, Like We Eventually Did." CodeInWP.com. April 27, 2019. Good advice if you want to drive traffic to your site, become an "influencer," make money off your blog, or … Continue reading 45 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Blog
Protecting Yourself From Identity Theft
"The reality is that your sensitive data has likely already been stolen, multiple times. Cybercriminals have your credit card information. They have your social security number and your mother's maiden name. They have your address and phone number. They obtained the data by hacking any one of the hundreds of companies you entrust with the … Continue reading Protecting Yourself From Identity Theft
Peace Privilege
"She describes it as 'peace privilege,' approaching the world from a stability that allows for simplifications. There’s always a lot of denial going on when trauma interrupts our safe outlook on life. We know that people in general don’t want to see horror except in comfortable contexts (like fiction) so seeing human beings systematically torturing, … Continue reading Peace Privilege
A Season Underground Eating the Pomegranate Seeds
"To be a 'high functioning' anything, let’s say, is just to know that you can work liberal subjectivity OK today but maybe not next week. A strictly finite talent for the long, merciless art of living in a house, speaking a language, and exchanging money, labor, goods, and services in that occult proportion that keeps … Continue reading A Season Underground Eating the Pomegranate Seeds
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