conuly

Spring is springing, slowly but surely.

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 17:29:55 GMT

Which means pretty soon we will have baby birds aplenty, and with that we will have well-meaning adults giving bad advice to kids, bad advice that can accidentally kill little birdies.

If you see a baby bird on the ground, and you've already touched it, that doesn't matter. The mother bird won't reject it for smelling too humanish because birds have an awful sense of smell. They live in trees and fly around, and a sense of smell isn't very useful to them. Birds can generally see color, but as a rule they have a crappy sense of smell.

You shouldn't go picking up baby birds for the lulz, because birds are small and fragile and humans, especially OUR young, are big and clumsy and can hurt them, but if you already have and haven't injured the baby there's no harm done, you don't need to either resign yourself to its death or try to raise it yourself. (And if it does come to that then you should contact a wildlife rehabilitator to take care of your baby songbird. They know what they're doing.) You can probably just put the birdie back where you found it, or in a safe and sheltered place near to where you found it and walk away.

If your sincere, honest, and educated opinion is that this bird still belongs in the nest (and many leave before they can fly), and you see the nest right there, you can put the bird back in, gently. With your hands, because that part doesn't matter.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/health/rehabilitation/baby_birds.html

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A few quick articles from the NYTimes....

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 16:52:14 GMT

Japan is expanding its military role, ostensibly in response to China becoming so powerful.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/27/world/asia/japan-expands-its-regional-military-role.html

( Read more... )

Closing doors is the smartest thing you can do in a fire.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/nyregion/a-closed-door-the-best-ally-in-a-home-fire.html

( Read more... )

Most Americans are paying less in taxes than they were or would have been a few decades ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/us/most-americans-face-lower-tax-burden-than-in-the-80s.html

( Read more... )

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Warning - triggering video in link

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 06:59:25 GMT

For decades, the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts has been torturing and abusing people with disabilities in the name of treatment. Residents are subject to electric shocks, food deprivation, prolonged restraint and seclusion, and forced witness of these same tactics used against other residents.

This video of Andre McCollins, then-eighteen, who has behavioral and mental health issues, has been sealed by the courts for the last eight years. Yesterday, it played in open court during his trial against the Judge Rotenberg Center.

I haven't watched the video in question. I've heard enough about the JRC that I felt that I didn't need to do so. I would like to keep my food down today. So I'm just going to assume it is triggering and move from there.

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PSA

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:10:18 GMT

Phishing attempts are being made on LJ. Short version: If you get a comment that is accompanied by a pop-up asking for your password, don't give it your password. If you've already done that, go change your password.

More information here

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As I've probably said before, I don't quite get the point of reading books to hit a tally

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 05:26:12 GMT

(And to tell the truth, even if I did, comms like "50 book challenge" wouldn't help. That's less than a book a week!)

But since I know a lot of people do, here's two new challenges that I've seen around.

First, Books1001, their goal is to hit as many of the "1001 books you must read before you die" within a year as possible. (As a group, that is.)

Secondly, here's the picture book reading challenge. Which I *did* enter because... monthly prize drawings! That's the sort of book challenge I understand!

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This sounds bad.

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:31:21 GMT

Firesheep In Wolves’ Clothing: Extension Lets You Hack Into Twitter, Facebook Accounts Easily

What is this, why is this, and how scary is it?

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Anyone in the NYC area want a cat? Or, better yet, a trio of cats?

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 01:43:37 GMT

http://community.livejournal.com/newyorkers/5781529.html

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So, I don't even WANT to know what sort of scum would steal from a children's hospital

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:39:54 GMT

I am choosing to assume it's the desperately poor parents of a dying child who, in their grief, have forgotten all codes of conduct they should've learned when they were little, and who have given up on hospitals altogether and want to make their child's days at home a little more TV-filled. Because otherwise it just doesn't make sense at all, and we're back to "What sort of scum does this sort of thing?"

At any rate, there's a request out for anybody who has the money to do so to purchase child-appropriate Region 4 DVDs from sellers in Australia (that's where the hospital is) to send to them.

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Stunning as this may seem, as of today we STILL do not have a sensible orthography!

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:56:28 GMT

(I know, weird, right?)

So, in the interest in making us all look a little more educated, I'm going to explain the distinction between four homophones, and give alternatives:

Pallet: This word means a straw-filled mattress or a small, hard, temporary bed. If you find yourself having to use this word, and you're not sure how to spell it, try "mat".

Pallet: Same spelling, different etymology, you're most likely to use this to talk about a portable platform for storing or moving packages. If you can sensibly use "crate", go for it. Otherwise, you're stuck learning to spell.

Palette: This means the board you put paints on and by extension it has come to mean the colors on the palette themselves. If you have to use this word in the second sense, and you're not sure how to spell it, try "color scheme". If you mean the first sense, you're stuck learning to spell unless you don't mind saying "that thing artists use to hold paint while they're painting".

Palate: This means the roof of your mouth and, by extension, your (intellectual) sense of taste. If you find yourself having to use this word in the first sense, and you're not sure how to spell it, try "roof of the mouth". If you have to use the word in the second sense, try sounding slightly less pretentious* and just say "taste".

You may say "But Connie! Surely it's better to use the right word than your workarounds!", and in many cases you're probably right. But if you can't spell it, you're not using the right word. And although people probably shouldn't care, they do. Rest assured they're all making fun of you behind your back. Avoid the angst, and just choose another word!

*Yeah, it pretty much is pretentious the way a lot of people use it. It doesn't have to be, but it is. And even if that's not what you're going for, the people around you either are or think you are, and they'll never forget that you can't spell.

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I can't believe I forgot to post this sooner.

Fri, 14 May 2010 16:00:15 GMT

Somebody whose hair blog I read recently donated her daughter's hair to Locks of Love, and then she posted an update with some concerns about Locks of Love that she wanted to address. She followed up by listing a few other "donate your hair" charities, all of which were about donating hair to make wigs.

If you don't really cut enough hair for that purpose, if you have pets you groom, if you maybe own a salon or barbershop and want someplace for your scraps, or if you just never were attracted to the wigs donating....

Don't forget that you can donate hair to make mats to clean up oil spills!

This does not mean that one cause is worthier than another or anything like that. I'm posting this just to get the information out there.

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The other day Michelle came over with her new baby.

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:52:59 GMT

Cutest little thing I've seen all week :)

I had asked her to bring her MT so that I could see how she was wearing it and adjust any little problems she had. Sometimes you do it one way when they're little, and it's fine, but when they get bigger you realize that you've been doin' it rong this whole time and it's no longer comfortable. (Specifically, I wanted to make sure she knew about the jumping trick and about the fact that sometimes babies WILL insist on trying to push away from you when they go up and you DO need to be ready for this. "Oh, like when you ride a horse and you have to punch him in the stomach so you can cinch the saddle?" Uh... yeah, I guess so, whatever metaphor works for you. If the carrier is too loose it's not as safe as it could be and it's also not as *comfortable* as it might be.)

Next time I see her I want her to bring her ring sling so I can show her a few other ways to use it besides a cradle carry. She mentioned that somebody had gone on and on about her about the Infantino, and - I cut her off at this point for my own little rant on the subject.

Warning! Once you read this rant you will be honor-bound to correct others if they make the same mistake I am ranting about.

The SlingRider (which has now been recalled and you can return it to them for a new product) is not a typical ring sling or pouch. (Definition: A ring sling is a carrier that goes over one shoulder and can be adjusted by fabric looped through a ring. (If making your own, DO NOT use craft rings, they're not safe.) A pouch is a similar carrier that is probably not adjustable, though some are adjustable through snaps, I believe.) It is a "bag sling" and has several design flaws which make it difficult or impossible to position your baby correctly so they can get enough air. Airflow. It's important. I'm not typing it all out now, but it's all over here at TBW if you have a membership.

SlingRider? Not safe. Most other carriers? About as safe as the person wearing them. Nothing is 100% safe, but in most carriers the worry is either incorrect usage (which is a worry with *any* product you're using for the first few times) or, occasionally, damage to the carrier (not an inherent problem with carriers, but some vendors *do* use cheaper materials. Please check reviews before buying to make sure there aren't any known issues with a particular seller, and please check any carrier for rips or weak fabric before using.)

So if somebody starts talking about how "slings" are unsafe because of this recall (or, worse, how "carriers" are unsafe!), go ahead and correct them.

Which is what I told her, and at this point everybody can stop telling me about this recall like it's news :)

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Babyproofing PSA:

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:34:33 GMT

Let's talk about outlet covers.

In the US, they're a bit of a hassle. Everybody seems to have a story about their kid taking one off and giving it to them, and a lot of people observe that sockets didn't become interesting to their kid until the covers were put in, at which point they became a FUN NEW TOY. So, you know, get them or don't, but you'll still have to watch your kid. (That's true of a lot of things.)

Apparently the situation in the UK is worse. Well, technically, it's better - your outlets are plenty safe as it is and you don't need to buy a single thing! However, many people buy covers anyway. Normally I'd just cite "a fool and his money" or "one born every minute" and be done with it, but apparently putting a cover in one of your super-safe sockets actually makes them less safe.

So don't do it. And tell all your friends!

Now - can we get those sort of outlets for the US?

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