I haven’t read this, and I wouldn’t know how to evaluate it even if I did; but the abstract is very compelling to me.
Miscellaneous resources?
I haven’t explored it yet, but this seems promising. I especially like the idea of specialized search engines that have curated links in them.
https://dinkdonkdunk.neocities.org/
So: intriguing, but handle with care. Don’t put your di^H^H USB drive in that just yet. But…I hope it’s real!
Something beautiful in among all the rest
Today I learned about the “America the Beautiful Access Pass,” for people with permanent disabilities.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/accessibility/interagency-access-pass.htm
I think this would be a nice aspirational thing to get.
And it’s got a cool owl on it!
“The categories were made for man, not man for the categories”
Many years ago, my friend shared this Slate Star Codex essay with me. It really crystallized a lot of my feelings around the concepts of trans rights and how ultimately, we should be able to be good friends and neighbors to trans people even if we don’t understand them on a deep fundamental level.
It may not be the full-throated “how dare anyone believe anything else” defense of trans rights that many might prefer; but I actually find it more compelling for that very reason. (And it’s okay if your mileage varies on that. It’s not personal for me in the way it is for many of you.)
Give it a read.
House resource: This to That
An unfortunate incident with the microwave led me to ask for advice from friends, which turned up this website:
https://www.thistothat.com/index.shtml
Pretty cool!
Ten Essentials
My friend recently shared this resource from the National Park Service, about ten essential items you should bring with you whenever you are hiking.
End of life planning
To go along with “I’m dead – now what?” I wanted to share this link from the Order of the Good Death.
End of Life Planning
You should have an Advanced Directive so that your family and friends know what your wishes are with regards to your care in case you become incapacitated.
I’m dead! Now what?
Having promised a few folks a blog post about this resource, I wanted to share this downloadable PDF with all of you.
This is the version I bought. You can get different versions, color or different paper size or similar.
As with many things in my life, I have satisficed with this activity. I haven’t fully completed every item in the document; but I’ve printed out several of the sections, and filled them out to the best of my current ability.
There is also a bound book format of this concept; I believe it has the exact title listed here. You can get it at any major retailer. I thought about getting that one, but I opted for a 3-ring binder, because it makes it easier to include printed-out sheets from my employer’s website and things of that nature.
One thing I did not anticipate in all this is having to shuffle the Friends/Contact Info page around. A close friend severed all ties with my social circle shortly after I started working on this book; crossing out her name on the page felt bad. But at the same time, it serves as a bit of a time capsule for my life at that point. I haven’t reprinted that page.
Some of the stuff here has overlap with the concept of a Butler’s Book: how to contact the utility company, etc. That’s fine. Redundancy is actually good, when you’re talking about critical systems, current zeitgeist notwithstanding.
That’s about all I’ve got for now. I’ll probably add a few more things over time as they occur to me, but this should do as far as summary blog posts go.
Preparedness!
If you know me in person, you know I (a) have anxiety and (b) like to be prepared for things, Just In Case.
A few years ago, I made this little Tumblr for building a basic go-bag for hurricanes or wildfires or whatever. I thought I’d share it here now, in case anyone is getting Analysis Paralysis about how to get started.
https://www.tumblr.com/unfuck-your-prepping
Be safe, everyone! Put on your own oxygen mask, etc.
Reminder about taxes
Because some folks I know got hit with this one recently, here’s a reminder that when you are Married and you file your W4, the “married” checkbox makes the form assume you are the sole earner for your family, and it calculates your withholdings accordingly.
Yes, this is idiotic.
No, I don’t know why the W4 is written that way.
Here is a Personal Finance Reddit post with more information. As always, the IRS is the final arbiter on this stuff; internet people can try to explain it but always go back to irs.gov to be sure.
Emilybook 