conuly

Blech.

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Gosh it's thunderstorming out there!

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is when an organization feels the urgent need to say something both in officialese and also everyday talk. I can think of three very relevant examples in NYC:

1. Every time you do your taxes or do almost anything that involves interacting with the state government, you'll have to pick your county, and if you live in Brooklyn or Staten Island that means they list the county with the coterminous borough in parentheses.

2. If you have a kid in school, every year they send you a form reminding you to fill out your Emergency Contact Card, and every year they include the phrase "Blue Card" right afterwards. Because that's what we all call it. Because they're blue.

3. And here's one I haven't thought about much since adolescence, but if a job is apt to hire teens then they will ask for their Employment Certification and then, inevitably, add "Working Papers" right afterwards, again, because that's what everybody calls them.

There must be other examples I'm missing, as well as non-NY examples. I sometimes wonder if it'd be easier for them to just cave to the inevitable and start listing the everyday term first and then list the "real" term afterwards.

and completion of orientation. They really are taking anybody with a pulse, as judged by the extremely detailed list of instructions for appropriate behavior during orientation. I'd be more insulted, but that's good for me, I really need a job. If they had higher standards they would hire somebody with formal work experience, or at least an associate's degree.

(Don't think I've stopped applying other places, mind you, but I'm really not in a position to be picky, either.)

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Adrian Tchaikovsky is amazingly hit-or-miss for me, but this looks like it's coming up "hit". The sapient arthropods are a swarm of bees. If there are any spiders, I haven't met them yet!

Just went through the website and applied to everything I meet the minimum qualifications for, for what good it may do.

They could, in theory, save my information from one application to the next. They don't do that. They could also not require me to answer "where did you hear about this?" every time - but the joke's on them. "I went to your website and clicked on every job where I meet the minimum qualifications" is not an option, so I've just been lying and saying "hiring event" because that's the first choice. They will get no useful data from me, no thank you!

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is the constant whiplash between panic and popcorn.

Right now I'm hovering over "popcorn" - new political parties? With added drama and infighting? LOL, okay, let's see how that works out for you!

(Look, I need a break from panic now and again, and I will take my fun where it appears.)

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( Though, upon reflection, it's surprising that this hasn't happened before in 30+ years of menstruation )

I'd say that was the worst thing to happen this weekend, but then I glanced at the news, and how do things keep getting worse? I thought we might at least get a reprieve over the holiday weekend, Congress would all go on vacation and not pass any terrible bills in the interim, but I guess not.

I'm not linking to it, not today. I know how to take a break, even if they don't. Take this article on amenorrhea instead.

Ugh

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How is it that we literally are talking on the internet, we have access to all the information, and people are still saying whatever bullshit they made up in their heads instead of taking a minute, a second even, to ask themselves "Wait! Is this even true?"

On a happier note, the newest episode of The Strange Case of the Starship Iris answered a question I thought we'd never get answered, which is "How on earth did Brian get a price on his head from three different mafias?" and - wow, beware the quiet ones, I guess.

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He's the patron saint of gardeners, and also taxi drivers (unofficially). See, an early and popular cab stand was at Hôtel de Saint Fiacre in Paris, and the carriages themselves began to be called fiacres, and it just spiraled from there.

What makes this even stranger is that he's an Irish saint.

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It's gonna be one long, long, long day. Also hot. Long, hot, hard - and miserable.

Happy Mayoral Primaries, I guess? At least the poll site is airconditioned. (At least... I assume it is? Oh god what if it isn't.)

Oh, and I nearly forgot - the Arab/Israeli dove and rose mural has been painted over. Saw that on my way to CVS today.

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The set and costume designers heard about blue-and-orange color schemes and just decided to run with it. I swear, they bought out everything blue in the store. Even the post-its are blue! And what isn't blue or teal is orange, or tan, or gold.

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Taken from archersangel

US strikes 3 Iranian sites, joining Israeli air campaign against nuclear program

Can't say I'm too surprised, but I can say I'm disappointed.

but I still wasn't prepared to pop into a pizza shop on my lunch break only to find that it was cooler in the pizzeria than the outside. If that's not terrifying I don't know what is.

Now, I've already told you about the alleys (no alleys in Manhattan) and right on red (none of that either), and now it's time for - garbage.

Since the 1990s it's been the law that residential garbage in NYC has to have the recyclables sorted out. And since this year we also have to separate out the compost, though weirdly they only pick that up once a week, I've complained about this. It's completely backwards.

Anyway, as I said, it's been the law since the 90s that you can't put your cans and bottles in with your regular trash. Do people always follow that law? Oh, heck no. But if you don't and the city catches you at it they'll give you a $300 ticket, and if you don't pay they put a lien on the house. So even if you don't care, your landlord might, and if they care and perhaps only have one tenant at that location you can bet they won't just eat the cost.

And if your protagonist is even minimally conscientious she'll at least glance around for a recycle bin before tossing her water bottle in with the regular trash.

(As a reference here, our terrible neighbors, who have had sanitation and once the fire department called on them multiple times due to the trash they pile up in their yard, still separate out the bottles and cans from the regular trash. Though in their case they may somewhat optimistically believe they'll get around to redeeming them one of these days, honestly, who knows how they think.)

This rant is courtesy of Elsbeth, which Jenn has been watching. Sure, Elsbeth is a snoop and the best way to dispose of several bushels worth of murderous apple pulp was probably to flush it, but all the same - it's weird that such a generally responsible character goes straightaway to throw out her water bottle in the general trash in somebody's house without at least checking that there's no recycle bin.

I noticed something I didn't notice before about Ascencia. ( Read more... )

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The last season of The Strange Case of the Starship Iris is finally here.

Okay, only the first episode so far (and two pre-season teasers) but... omg.

I've summed this one up for you all before as "Everybody is gay while fighting fascism in space" and "Turns out, fascism is both racist and inefficient", so yes, that does make it the perfect thing to listen to while heading out to protest. (Speaking of....)

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Minnesota House DFL leader Hortman, husband killed in apparent ‘politically motivated’ shooting; Sen. Hoffman, wife wounded

Authorities still searching for suspect in shooting of 2 Minnesota state lawmakers

Apparently he dressed up like a cop, because of course he did, and residents are advised not to open the door to police unless there are multiple officers present. I'd go one step further and say that you should never open the door to an unexpected official until you've confirmed that they're supposed to be there. If they are legit, they have an ID, and you have a phone number you can call - your local precinct, if they're cops, your gas company, whoever it is. (Uh. Maybe step out the back door to call if they say they're from the gas company. I mean, use your best judgment.)