Our first child was 5 weeks premature, so we hadn't really thought about names when she showed up. We decided on her first name in the hospital, and then picked the last name that "went with it" best! Then for the second kid, we knew he would get the other last name, so we were able to pick a first name that sounded…

Congrats! My husband not only "let" me keep my own name, when we had kids and had to decide their last names, he agreed we should take turns. Our first-born has my last name and our second-born has his. I make a point to explain to the schools that yes, my kids are 100% full siblings, but in general it's not been a…

Exactly! The whole "shaming" thing presupposes that we all value our appearance above all things. If she had prioritized learning German or playing the tambourine above all else, and devoted all her free time to that, she could brag "what's your excuse?" and people would think she was crazy. But since she prioritized…

Don't forget his nemesis!

Now I'm envisioning the Kiwis with some sort of delightful "bear cat". Something like a small wombat, perhaps?

I was hoping that since it was a NZ source they would refer to the cat as a "moggy", which I find hilarious. Didn't Jez publish a NZ story a while back about a "moggy who rode the bus every day"?

Yes! I mentioned Mr. Norrell's library of magic down in the grey earlier today!

Mr. Norrell's library of magic in "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell".

I also got in an argument with someone on Gawker about this. She said she was being "open minded" by saying Hannah was "in on it" and that she had seen a lot of reality crime shows, so it was only logical... Ugh, people.

I'm sorry, but your cartoon avatar's suit is too tight, the jacket is too short, and the pants need to be pressed. There's also something off about the fit of the shoulders. And try a contrasting tie color. This look does not say "presidential". Tom and Lorenzo would vote you OUT.

I'm sad to see things haven't changed. I got my PhD in astrophysics in the 90s and ended up marrying another astronomer. I can't think of a single female scientist I knew (not that there were many!) who found a partner outside of science. I had hoped things would have evolved since then.

How is it possible this kid has so many different outfits??? He barely ever repeats a "look"! Do the parents have 300 different little stripey shirts and cute onesies and just chuck them after he wears them once?

Just as an additional perspective on your original question, my husband and I had a registry, but only to help out some of our older relatives / thesis advisor-type guests who would have no idea what to get us otherwise. Some of our friends gave us stuff on the registry, some bought their own, individual gifts. The…

This would be perfect for Lancelot de Polga!

Someone else please tell me this made them think of Lancelot de Polga, the uncle of Olga de Polga and discoverer of France! I haven't thought of those (guinea pig-starring) books for decades!

No offense taken! I'm sorry to have singled you out when this is a pervasive cultural issue. I make the same generalization myself sometimes (I'm a straight woman). I see it as a feminist issue—-all the admirable advances made in gay rights and acceptance of gay people in the last decade or so have overwhelmingly…

There's a stereotype of lesbians having rock hard abs and interior decorating ability? Wasn't their stereotype something something softball something buzz-cut something big shoes? Ah, lesbians—-the forgotten "gay people".

I have the same odor problem, but the floor of the bathroom is wood, and I'm afraid the pee smell is permanently embedded. Plus, the baseboard heater right next to the toilet is all rusty (from years of pee-splashes, I'm sure. Sorry to be so explicit!) What can I do to clean a wood floor and rusty metal that have both…

Where are you that you _don't_ have bunnies? I'm in a suburb of NYC and we are awash in bunnies. There are two that live in on our property that my kids refer to as "Front Yard Bun" and "Back Yard Bun". And when I go for a run in the park close to sunset I practically trip over them. We've seen an uptick in foxes,…

This is a huge problem in our family. My 16 year old has to leave for the bus at 6:35am. She has theater rehearsal after school every day (all year long! After one show ends the next one begins!) so she basically only has the evening to do her homework. Since she's in 5 AP courses, there just aren't enough hours for…