I’m a big fan of education for its own sake, but I’d add this to #7: If you’re considering becoming a full-time graduate student, prioritize programs that pay for themselves with teaching or research assistantships. That way, if your graduate degree doesn’t give you a clear path into a job, you’re not concurrently…

I had an aunt and uncle who were first cousins once removed; he was her mother’s much younger first cousin. They didn’t meet until she was in her late teens and he was in his twenties, so they didn’t grow up together. They were happily married for nearly 50 years. Nothing problematic about their descendants; that’s…

It’s only a matter of time before one of these idiots claims that, because some of the people hurt in the crash must have been gay, they got hurt because they were gay. Like gay gravity is more dangerous than straight gravity, or something like that.

I’ve never been in much of a position to meet show business* or sports celebrities, but I’ve met a few science celebrities. Stephen Jay Gould was snidely dismissive of me when, after a talk he’d given at my graduate institution, I tried to tell him how important his books were to my pursuit of a graduate degree in…

One woman testified, saying that she would have never terminated her pregnancy if someone would have just told her that there was a baby in there.

And, add the unspoken subtext that a baby is a “consequence”; just more evidence that, to these clowns, kids are only human lives until they’re born. It reminds me of David Steinberg’s great one-liner: “My parents always accepted me for what I was — a punishment from God.”

Mr. Sububi loves to use loose Vitamin C powder as a table condiment! I personally can’t stand the stuff.

Ugh. I’m post-menopausal, and when I first needed to use lube, I tried K-Y because I figured it was an old standard. I don’t know if it affects other people this way, but it’s extremely irritating to my mucous membranes. After remembering that one function of lube is to make you less likely to be sore after sex, I…

I interpreted the body language more than I did the words, actually. It’s actually pretty difficult to offend me merely by being excessively informal, so it was quite an achievement on this guy’s part.

That is the operational definition of dodging a bullet.

Sounds like he was just fishing for someone else’s IP under the guise of interviewing job candidates.

Not necessarily. I once had a disastrous interview that started with the taxi I was riding in getting into a fender bender on the way. Arrived an hour late, had really awkward meetings with everyone, realized this was a no go for lots and lots of reasons, went home, and, as expected, heard nothing back from them.

Interesting, because I know a lot of people who have taken a job with a long commute and then moved much closer if the job worked out well. I’ve personally had to deal with two bouts of commuter marriage in similar situations. It’s not always easy to move in a hurry, and it’s not always easy to coordinate a moving…

I adore straight vermouth — sweet, dry, half each — you name it.

If there’s anyone here who knows me in RL, this story will absolutely and positively out me, since my friends all know it’s my favorite story about my mother. But, oh, what the hell.

I actually like the way casual long dresses look, especially since I’m not busty, and my lower calves and ankles look about 20 years younger than my knees and thighs. But being a touch under 5’2”, it’s nearly impossible for me to find a dress that fits, especially since Macy’s has just completely discarded its…

I didn’t understand that either. I have a family member who swears by freezing deli meats, and I’ve done it successfully. The only issue is that you can’t successfully take one slice of meat out of a frozen package, because it won’t come apart that way. You have to freeze it in smaller portions and then thaw the whole…

It’s probably because the best way to trace descent from a male is via the Y chromosome, which doesn’t recombine. Mitochondria are passed down only by mothers, and nuclear DNA isn’t much help after all those generations of meiosis and recombination.

The actor William Holden also bled to death after lacerating his head in a fall at his home. Sometimes it’s just horrifically bad luck. So sad.

First time I was ever in an Olive Garden, I didn’t realize it was a chain. Then again, it was 1991, OG wasn’t all over the country yet, and I’d just moved from a city that had none to a city that had one.