noise and signal

To be an upstanding citizen in Washington state means putting up with the most impressive and costly civic crap I've ever seen.  W...

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 tr...

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...

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 ...

A strange thing happens when you study something for years and years, accepting (repeatedly) that you're just not very good at it and al...

So hot your brain feels like it's melting.  So hot that riding from place A to place B I found myself deciding to go buy things near by ...

Yesterday I consulted with the management of a local non-profit about their online communication channels. It was intended to be a presentat...

I'm coming off a weekend of a lot of tango dancing with friends and strangers and some things have occurred to me.  It's funny ho...

Advice to those who suddenly have a person in the ER Turns out that the moment you walk into the ER with chest pressure, pain, or discomf...

I remember when "awesome" began standing in for "that's nice" in casual conversation. My friends and I would use it...

And what is it that makes this commercial so -- tasty? Most assuredly nom nom . I had to watch it twice and then again to try to sort it...

Today was tons of fun. We met in a grimy tavern in a grimy part of town, most of us martial artists for a decade or more, for a self-defense...

Just today a friend reported this message as output from a large software system.  Any code base of sufficient size will include a variation...

I did my first Toastmaster's speech today, and it was recorded, so I watched it.  Sure, I've been recorded before.  Tons of times. ...

So I bought a bike the other day.  Test rode it and discovered to my annoyance (but, alas, not my surprise) that my bike-riding condition is...