Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Annoyed Much?



To be an upstanding citizen in Washington state means putting up with the most impressive and costly civic crap I've ever seen.  Waiting times, permits, fees, lines and other bureaucratic goo so sticky that it's a caricature of government.

Pretend, for a moment, you are getting your driver's license. In Oregon, you walk in to the DMV and 20 minutes later you've got your card. You walk out, you do something useful.

Here in the good old state of waah, 3 hour waits are not uncommon.

Three HOURS?!

Because, of course, citizen time isn't important.

Not long ago, I took the motorcycle class to get my endorsement.  I figured it was the right thing to do. It was inconvenient, expensive, and hard work, but I did it. When it's all over the instructor sez: "Take this card to a Licensing Office and get your endorsement."

That means go to a Licensing Office, and stand in line for your driver's license.  Last time I did that it was indeed three hours.

Ever wonder why Washington ID photo faces are tense and annoyed?

Friday, September 17, 2010

Fun and a Dome

I got to do some very cool things last weekend. I got to sit at an outdoor fire under the stars, I got to listen to people speaking their truth through fear, and I got to dance on the knife-edge of my own identity.

And I got to hang out in this exceedingly cool dome.

It was massive amounts of fun.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Sexist Humor — Friendly Fire

Or... How to ask for a raise if you're just a gyrl.  I enjoyed a laugh this morning with this advice from Women's Day on how to ask for a raise: wash it. Wash it good.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

A different email approach

1) I read this article about researcher Donald Redelmeier

2) He uses numbered lists in his email responses

3) He says this is to focus on the message's content rather than be distracted by grammar, punctuation, syntax

4) Despite my affection for the various structures of the written word, I am intrigued by this (2)

5) I notice it also allows me to easily reference previous points

6) He says lots of other interesting things in (1)

7) One of my favorites: “Do not get trapped into prior thoughts. It’s perfectly O.K. to change your mind as you learn more.”

8) I've been emailing for over 30 years. I'm ready to try a different approach.

9) What do you think?  Anyone tried this or recieved emails like this?