I have nothing to do with the Jeb! campaign, except that I got teased in front of a few hundred people at the holiday mixer for my possibly excessive snark about its incompetency. (Nor am I unemployed, but someone there certainly deserves to be.) When I was trying to think up a username, that event was fresh in my…

It depends, and I’d ask someone you did research with or took a class from who has a PhD in the field. As for my personal record:

You are amazing and quite right to see this as a big step. As someone who’s done this often: make lots of checklists, tape them to the wall where you’ll see them, and use them. Read any handbook/briefing materials ASAP and figure out anything that isn’t crystal clear. Make sure you’re 100% unpacked and ready as soon…

OMFG. I loved that book, but probably should not have read it on an airplane.

I’m drinking some vodka and sparkling water because I’m out of Diet Coke. The first few sips were okay-ish. I’m partways through glass two and everything is awesome.

Good luck! It sounds like you have a solid plan and a strong reason for it, and it might actually get easier from here on out.

My main family communication issue is getting Dad to talk on the phone; he doesn’t do email or use a cell phone. I’m ignoring the years we exchanged occasional strained hellos because I did not become an MD/PhD with a tenure-track job and a unicorn in the garage as expected, because we’re over that.

I did the exact same thing, but with purple pajamas and leopard-print slippers.

Theyre acting like all they need to do is distract the broadcast/print media for a few days, but the Internet remembers forever.

Yeah, I think that’s it. Just like his Between Two Ferns appearance and meeting with YouTube stars (YouTubers? I am old), he’s connecting with a young-skewing audience that doesn’t watch traditional news shows or read many political outlets. Smart move, Mr. President.

Also, I am pregaming New Year’s right now and have a sneaking sloppy suspicion that my other comment does not make sense. But your message is coming through loud and clear: health and capability are what matters, much less so outward appearance.

That is an excellent point and kind of a wake up call for me, so thank you. I haven’t seen a gym since high school; I’m underweight by a significant margin and as a result have never been told by random on the street that I should exercise/eat better. But I also can’t lift a 25 pound box of documents or run up three…

I read several years worth of popular womens’ magazines during a snowstorm on vacation once, and came to the conclusion that they’re boring as fuck unless they’re from decades ago. When I go to the airport now, I usually pick the most obscure hobby magazine I can find lurking in the back of Hudson Booksellers.…

I tend to fully support going back to the dessert, but the evangelical idea of dessert probably involves bits of canned fruit and sagging jello.

One could read that poll slide as saying “30% of Republican women and 46% of Republican men support Trump in the primary.” However, that is an overly charitable interpretation.

This is just awkward and sad. If I were Kenneth, I would’ve used the opportunity to get the candidate to shovel my driveway or buy me coffee or something else useful.

Interesting resolutions: take a selfie with Gina McCarthy (head of the EPA), visit Ellis Island with my grandparents, win Document Bingo. Document bingo is where my friends and I come up with a list of esoteric words like “edentulous” and “firmament,” and put as many as possible in official documents.