Thanks! I haven’t done any classroom teaching in a few years, but I still sometimes think of that student. I hope she’s realized that there are many things in the world more useful and interesting than the ones found in Jack Chick tracts.

That headline is an insult to people with fecal incontinence. Then again, Gamergate is an insult to feces.

Do they make skinny jeans with a size 14 butt, size 10 knees, and size 6 ankles? ‘Cause then I might wear them.

My mother was in her late 30s, and my father in his mid-40s, when they had me. They were blue-collar folks who didn’t travel or otherwise venture much out of their comfort zones, so their age probably wouldn’t have impacted their other life decisions in too many ways. They also both lived to advanced ages, so I was…

Mr. Sububi and I decided not to have them. We were both already leaning that way when we were single, even before we met each other. We occasionally tentatively revisited the question, just in case one of us had experienced an attitude shift. But the answer was always the same — no — so we didn’t.

Agreed. People who abuse animals are shit. People who use a position of trust over animals in order to abuse animals are double shit.

For real! I taught introductory biology to non-majors at a Midwestern university, and occasionally got a creationist in class, but the one I always remember is one nervous young woman who approached me after class to say she didn’t believe in evolution.

The medical potency issues are important, and recreational brownie-eaters really need to understand the issues as well. I’ve enjoyed recreational edibles in the past (inhalants, with or without smoke, are not a good idea for me because of respiratory issues). But you have to be cautious with them, especially if you’re…

I don’t want to burn a Confederate battle flag. I just don’t ever want to see one again. Ever.

I’ve always said “Reese-iss”, given that that’s how it’s spelled.

When The Almighty Johnsons was in its initial run, an American viewer (not me) started a fan blog and kept it running through the entire three seasons. It wound up getting readers from all over the planet. After the series finale, James Griffin agreed to do a Q&A thread on the blog, and he was truly gracious and…

I’m descended from two different immigrant groups (both European and predominantly Catholic), and I knew “mammoni” from both of them plus a few others. Oddly, though, I never heard the word from my Italian American relatives. Live and learn!

SparklyTempest: We could have lived the same life as TAs, although I was there a few years before the cell phone age.

Got utterly hooked on The Almighty Johnsons on an Air NZ flight in 2011. Joined the select group of North American fans who managed to get hold of the series by any means necessary. I now have all three seasons on DVD, and I hooked a number of American friends on it when it officially came here. I’ve seen about half…

Preach it. We finally got as close as we’ll probably get in my lifetime to a functional health insurance system (and that’s not saying much) — and the idiots are still trying to gut it in court, just because they can.

I always felt the same way about the Southern Hemisphere! Finally made it to NZ in 1997, and to Australia in 2004 and again in 2011. I have informed Mr. Sububi that if we go back to either place, they’ll have to deport me to get me out, but NZ has the advantage because you have TV writers like James Griffin and Rachel…

Thanks! I just looked it up and it’s indeed in the genus Latrodectus, just like the North American black widow. (Which, despite its reputation, is also unlikely to kill people, although its bite can be nasty.)

I’m white, and when I participated in the Genographic Project, I found out that I have a mitochondrial DNA type that’s extremely rare among white Europeans. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited through the maternal line, and the most likely place in Europe to find my type is in exactly the region where my maternal…

Most of our going-out occasions involve restaurants. The biggest factor in keeping those expenses down: We try to go out for meals only when we really, really want to eat in a restaurant, and not just because we don’t feel like loading the dishwasher. And we also realized that we enjoy a few glasses of wine with…

For those who are getting married soon and believe that it’s a good idea to freeze the top layer of your wedding cake and dig into it on your first anniversary: Seriously, don’t, unless you like the taste of vaguely sugary library paste smeared on grass clippings and cardboard.