It varies in the US. I grew up in a no shoes inside house, and I recall most friends’ houses had the same rule. That was in Chicago, so 8 months of the year your shoes were a wet, salty, muddy mess that you desparately wanted to take off as soon as possible anyway. When I moved to dry, warm LA it seemed much less…

There are tons of those stories. In grad school I really liked reading the acknowledgements in PhD theses in the library. The ones before 1985 would always thank the wife for typing the final manuscript, often for drafting the figure, making plots, and on one occasion, for coding up the punch cards for the modeling.…

In my experience, customs in LA is tough, even for US nationals. I went to school there and many friends, both US and other nationalities, were stopped and searched. Usually the reason was looking for drugs, and they would go through every last thing, like down to twisting out tubes of lipstick all the way. I don't…

This seems totally in character for a serial rapist.

I agree, given the announcements, I hope it means the marines will take those results and used them as a starting point for building effective coed teams. So often the standard for women to be included is for women to change nothing about how a task is completed, to do it just like a man would. I firmly believe that…

I agree. Also, this general change in policy seems to reflect the reality of modern conflicts, there is no front line, and women are in combat situations without the recognition that they are in combat.

Totally. I was that girl in 7th grade, the one who was 5’8”. I’m heavier now, but at 20, I was 160 and not really that unusual in my hometown. I’m no delicate flower, but I know plenty of brawnier women than me.

I read the marine study (the public version at least) about sex-integrated unit underperforming all-male units ans was curious if you have an opinion on it? Some the tasks, like carrying very heavy loads, seem really tough for women to match what men can accomplish. Others, like target shooting skills, seem like they…

There never seems to be an acknowledgement that women might bring unique strengths to a team, like being able to more easily interact with women in societies where women do not speak to strange men.

Scalia was appointed in 86, 26 years after electing Irish Catholic JFK was a major step in diversity. Looking back, it is astonishing how long one ethnic/religious group maintained near absolute power in the U.S.

My favorite memory of watching the national news as a kid was my mom folding socks and then throwing them at Reagan and calling him a reactionary.

I’m a childless 30-something, but among my friends the parenting style is so active, they really do watch every video before the kid to see if it is objectionable (or say they do). I think that has extended to school, if the school is teaching something I disagree with, damn it, I’m going to stop them! The…

That’s what I thought of too, it’s always a good time to watch Julia scorch the Earth:

This is only tangentially related, but I’m angry about it...my new neighbors who built a damn mansion on a teeny city lot have decided to support a feral cat population. Including several unfixed cats. I’m very tempted to set up some live traps under my house (where said cats like to hang out) and have the fuckers…

This seems incredibly dangerous to me. Especially since a lot of the concealed/open carry wackos will probably be carrying actual guns despite the fact that it is illegal under current statute.

After I finished grad school I took three months off, it was fantastic. Spent a ton of time with family, exercised, caught up with old friends, and generally just relaxed. It was awesome. My Grandmother died five months after I started working, I was so happy to have spent so much time with her that fall.

Sorry to hear about the layoff, but I’m happy to got a severance and can take a couple weeks to just chill before starting your search. I hope you can take your time with a search, and find a job that is a happier place to spend your time.

I read it differently, I thought her “female identified bodies” referred to violent attacks faced by both cis and trans women.

Yep, I agree. There is also a lesson in bent skeptical of businesses that trade in reputation, like Google’s don’t be evil slogan. It’s charming and all, but there is a reason we have hR departments, OSHA, and workers comp. Regulations are annoying and really fucking necessary. It upsets me when politicians talk about…

There was one in sfgate a couple years back about kink’s reputation for safe, professional reputation being used as a shield by the company for shitty working conditions, I think that was more in regard to compensation rates rather than health and safety concerns. The performers interviewed were afraid of retaliation…