The online journal, notebook and playground of HFM

links for 2011-03-11

  • The power of lonely – The Boston Globe
    But an emerging body of research is suggesting that spending time alone, if done right, can be good for us — that certain tasks and thought processes are best carried out without anyone else around, and that even the most socially motivated among us should regularly be taking time to ourselves if we want to have fully developed personalities, and be capable of focus and creative thinking. There is even research to suggest that blocking off enough alone time is an important component of a well-functioning social life — that if we want to get the most out of the time we spend with people, we should make sure we’re spending enough of it away from them. Just as regular exercise and healthy eating make our minds and bodies work better, solitude experts say, so can being alone.
    (tags: psychology social culture solitude research)
  • Playlists | wxdu.org
    WXDU 88.7 FM Duke University Radio. Gotta remember to listen to this at home.
    (tags: music radio streaming)
Continue Readinglinks for 2011-03-11

links for 2011-03-10

Continue Readinglinks for 2011-03-10

links for 2011-03-09

Continue Readinglinks for 2011-03-09

International Women’s Day/Feminist Coming Out Day

International Women’s Day
IWD is now an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother’s Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women’s and society’s thoughts about women’s equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that ‘all the battles have been won for women’ while many feminists from the 1970’s know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women’s visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women’s education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

Feminist Coming Out Day
According to the organizers: “This project arose out of a frustration with the limited portrayal of the movement as straight, White, and cisgendered. We know firsthand that our allies are a diverse bunch. In the weeks leading up to the event, this website will feature testimonials from young activists on the issues that led to their individual feminist awakenings. What does a feminist look like? We want to give this movement your voice and face! So, put a “This Is What A Feminist Looks Like” sticker on your laptop, snap a photo of yourself in our t-shirt, send in your feminist manifesto as a submission to our online Feminist Portrait Project, and tell your friends and colleagues about our campaign to show the diversity among supporters of gender equality.”

Continue ReadingInternational Women’s Day/Feminist Coming Out Day

The Flood

As you may already know, Stephanie and I have a rental property on the east side of Indy – we’ve had tenants there for the last two years and they’ve just now moved out, so we went over on Sunday to take a look at the house. The property manager had already done an inspection during the week and said there was some serious cleaning and painting and other stuff to be done, so we went over to assess what we wanted to do ourselves and what we should have them repair.

We walked all over the house lamenting how poorly the rental family had done taking care of the place and what we needed to do – we thought we’d let them clean, but attempt the painting ourselves. We’re still deciding on that; last time we did the painting, it took quite a while, and we want the house ready and back up for rent ASAP.

After our assessment of the house, it became clear that we needed to get serious about restoring it to its former glory. The last tenants had left quite a mess, and we wanted to ensure that everything was in perfect condition for the next renters. While we initially considered doing the cleaning ourselves, the amount of work involved was daunting. Opting for a bond back cleaner would save us time and energy, allowing us to focus on the painting and any necessary repairs. These professionals specialize in ensuring that properties meet the cleaning standards required for tenants to get their full bond back, which is exactly what we needed to help facilitate a smooth transition to the next rental family.

We knew that tackling both cleaning and painting ourselves could delay the timeline for getting the house back on the market. With the right cleaning service, we could trust that every corner of the house would be thoroughly cleaned, making it more appealing to potential tenants. Additionally, having a professional handle the cleaning means we can be confident that we’re meeting all the requirements to avoid any issues with the security deposit.

Once we made the decision to hire a cleaning service, we began researching local options to ensure we found the right team for the job. After some consideration, we decided to go with Crystal Clean Services, a company known for its attention to detail and reputation for delivering thorough, high-quality cleaning. Their team specializes in all kind of cleaning, and we felt confident that they would leave the house spotless and ready for the next tenants. The comprehensive service they offer, from deep cleaning carpets to scrubbing kitchen appliances, gave us peace of mind that we were making the right choice.

Then we went down in the basement. And we discovered 8 inches of water in the partially finished basement. It was bad. The water was high enough to cover the outlets. We went home and got our rain boots, and we called Stephanie’s dad, who drove down from Valpo with 2 pumps that we set up and started pumping water outside. Once we got the water level down we were able to wade over and see why the sump pump wasn’t working – it had been unplugged by the tenants. Not good. This was the result:

We managed to get the pump turned back on and between all 3 pumps, Stephanie and her dad got all the water out of the basement. (I had to go to bed so I could get up to pick up my rental car in the morning.) There is some work to be done on the water heater potentially, but the furnace is up and running.

We need to have some additional inspection I think, and we need to go over and truly clean stuff up. Lots of stuff in the basement that needs to get thrown out, and we need to get some de-humidifiers & fans going. Also, I’m making some instructional signs for the sump pump and for the washtubs that the washer and dryer drain into, which always seems to get clogged up.

We’ve had some crappy weather-related problems so far this year – I’m hoping that the rest of the year goes more smoothly.

I’m really concerned with how this will affect the next few weeks – I was looking forward to it getting warmer so I could spend time outside. I’ve been getting caught up on photo editing, so I’m ready to get back out to take photos. I have a bunch of work in our own yard to accomplish, and a bunch of writing to do, now that I finally feel like I have some sort of momentum going on the writing. And frankly, I’m worried about this chewing up all the money I got back from my tax refund and from my company bonus. I had some big plans for that money, and I hate to see it sucked into the rental house.

Continue ReadingThe Flood

links for 2011-03-08

  • Gender Differences and Casual Sex: The New Research «
    An interesting study about casual sex – women say no to casual sex with men not because they're not interested, but often because they don't feel safe from violence and because they don't have confidence the man involved can guarantee they'll have an orgasm. But women do think that other women would keep them safe and give them an orgasm in a casual sex situation, which is really funny. And also likely true.
    (tags: sexuality feminism gender science)
  • The War on Women's Futures | The Nation
    "However shrouded in the language of fiscal austerity, the GOP’s social agenda intends to undo these changes, forcing women back into the domestic sphere. While leaving abortion nominally legal, cuts to family planning services and the legalization of terror against abortion providers would create an environment of compulsory childbearing. Women who can’t control their fertility will be unable to compete for degrees or jobs with their male counterparts. Likewise, without affordable childcare women would be less likely to work outside the home. And without basic rights to organize, women teachers, nurses and other public sector workers would be compelled to accept lower wages and harsher working conditions, shoving many women out of the workforce altogether. In the Republicans’ future America, women will be encouraged to marry younger, to stay in difficult (even abusive) marriages and to rely on male wages."
    (tags: feminism teabaggers GOP anti-choice)
  • Useless Labor and Production of the Self < PopMatters
    (tags: culture consumerism consumption production)
Continue Readinglinks for 2011-03-08

Do you have the right kind of wife for it?

Volkswagen Bus Ad
Volkswagen Bus Ad

Ad Copy:

Can your wife bake her own bread?
Can she get a kid’s leg stitched and not phone you at the office until it’s all over?
Find something to talk about when the TV set goes on the blink?
Does she worry about the Bomb?
Make your neighbor’s children wish she were their mother?
Will she say “Yes” to a camping trip after 50 straight weeks worth of cooking?
Let your daughter keep a pet snake in the back yard?
Invite 13 people to dinner even though she only has service for 12?
Name a cat “Rover?”
Live another year without furniture and take a trip to Europe instead?
Let you give up your job with a smile?
And mean it?
Congratulations

Wow, I don’t even know where to begin with this shit – If you can’t hold your job, why should she get your kid stitches without calling you, or cook for you for 50 weeks in a row? Maybe she has her own job and you should consider baking the bread, fella. Maybe she doesn’t want to be a mom, let alone the mother figure for the neighbor’s kids, too.

This just proves that even liberal hippie dudes were total douche-bags back in the 1960s.

Props on the bitchin’ ride, though; that rocks. And the “daughter with a snake” thing, and the cat name Rover. That’s all cool.

Continue ReadingDo you have the right kind of wife for it?