Rhubarb isn’t available, so I making peach and cherry chutney instead.
Empirical research is a logical operation
“Empirical research is first and foremost a logical rather than a mathematical operation.” (Babbie 2012).
For me, this reminder makes quantitative methods of analysis a bit easier to approach.
Hard to resist live tweeting
I’ve decided to take a month off Facebook and Twitter to focus on writing in other spaces like here and WordPress. But I’m also attending a talk by Dr. Safiya Noble on “The politics of online information: algorithmic ethics and the commodification of big data(bases) in libraries.”
It’s really hard to not live tweet this. So good.
I dream in links
I had a dream last night that I was telling a colleague about this post.
Chris Bourg on The Neoliberal Library: Resistance is not futile
February giving 2016: Girl Scouts of the USA
For 2016, I pledged to give to something I like every month. This month, I am making a donation to the Girl Scouts of the USA.
More that just a delivery system between cookies and my mouth, the Girl Scouts have made significant additions to their mission and advocacy efforts over the few years, including building support systems for girls who want to progress in STEM and entrepreneurship fields and providing a welcoming community for the LGBT and trans community. On top of all that, their Oscar appearance was the highlight of the event.
February 30-day challenge: #selfielove
For this month’s 30-day challenge I wanted to see what it would feel like to take at least 3 selfies a week. It was a pleasant experience and while I admit I got a small self-esteem boost from planning out my selfie each day, I’d much rather take photos of my kids. Here are some of the results!
I would be perfectly fine with getting rid of email
“Email, as a technology, is not intrinsically bad. But the unstructured workflow it engenders is disastrous. We need to fix it.”
Source: Harvard Business Review
That didn’t take long
Aletheia: Where is M’s birthday party?
Me: It’s in Beverly Hills.
Aletheia: Is it far away?
Me: Not too far.
Aletheia: There will be traffic?
[Oh dear, Los Angeles has her now.]
The violence of the mob
I am less concerned about the perils of government surveillance than I am with the cruelty we as netizens inflict upon each other. The recent case of Suey Park is a good example. Criticism and dissent are to be expected, but doxxing and death threats are unnecessarily extreme and juvenile.
Somewhat related is Jon Ronson’s Ted talk on out-of-control Twitter shaming. No one should ever have to utter the words “tweet” and “ruined life” in the same breath.
I taught Aletheia that salamanders like wet, dark places. So now she keeps looking for bugs, etc. so she can put them “in the dark place.”