Category: rant

This weekend I:

• Re-wrote some handouts for an Excel 2010 class to reflect the course material I’m now using.
• Cleaned All the Things
• Gave myself manicure. (I wear a French. This actually takes a while.)
• Gave my hair an olive oil treatment.
• Continued re-reading Shōgun. Oh stop laughing at me. I love the book.

No, I didn’t do much else. Yeah, I know, wild times at the Figart household, huh?

My son has informed me that his school is offering a new language and that instead of studying Spanish next year as originally planned, he wants to study Greek, because he sees a lot of Greek letters in Doctor Who, and it seems cool. Me? I think that’s as good a reason as any to choose a language to study, as long as he’s studying one. I took French, because my Dad insisted that the top students studied that or Latin, but what I really wanted to study was Spanish. My second year in high school, I had to fight to do that, because I was told that studying two languages at once would confuse me. My thought was that I had to be at least as smart as European kids, and they seemed to handle the multilingual thing okay. I don’t know if my parents got involved in this debate, but I expect if they did, it was along the lines of, “What? She’s excited about something in school? Dear Lord don’t discourage her. Are you crazy?”

Next week is a busy week. Classes, meetings and writing, oh my! I’m even dusting off my web skilz to do a webdev job to earn some gym time for my family. I know it doesn’t sound exciting on the outside, but I’m having fun.

Though, isn’t it goofy that I feel some need to apologize for enjoying myself. As if I have some responsibility to have a life that’s “cool” from the outside. I expect at least in part because I do have an alternative lifetstyle voice, I feel a bit weird at how quiet my daily life is. I almost feel like fraud because I don’t have much of a rock star lifestyle.

My son and I got to talking about something tangentially similar this morning while we were Cleaning All the Things. I had kind of hurt his feelings by playing The Knack for him. I meant it as gentle teasing, but it turns out he’s a bit angry at how little general culture values science and engineering – the very thing that keep such large populations as exist on Earth… well, alive! He didn’t even realize that in general, engineers make pretty good money, and that in the US, we’re hurting for people well-educated in the sciences.

I explained that yes, the sciences are incredibly important, but that no, they’re not going to be valued like being a rock star in terms of admiration, and that yes, it’s human to want that admiration, but that real, tangible value to the human race is important. It’s why studying the arts and the sciences are sooo important. (Yes, I do think the arts are important, which is why I encourage his musical studies in Chorus as well. “All science and no philosophy?”)

I just hope the boy doesn’t grow up with the level of rage I have at our self-defeating cultural values. It might mean I’m a thinker, but I can’t say it’s necessarily contributed to any real good.

I talked yesterday about a soft paternalism that Amazon is using to encourage people to use their Kindle device for more things that just reading books. As I mentioned before, the Kindle is so extraordinarily good at displaying text, and making it pleasant to read, I’m all good with this being a single tasker – rather like a really good kitchen knife. I don’t need a corkscrew on my chef’s knife, after all.

If I could only read that book on a Kindle and nothing else forever, I’d be pretty ticked off and would be unlikely to buy the book. Even so, when I am looking for titles, I’ll go to other publishers (like Baen) first to see if that title has been released in a non-DRM protected format first. That’s the copy I’ll buy. My husband has a Kindle, too, and we don’t like to make the reading experience totally account-specific. If I buy a book for the household, after all, everyone can read it! Yes, I know that some authors and publishers allow for lending a book for a couple of weeks. While I’m all good with not being able to access the content while the book is “leant”—I couldn’t if it were a dead tree title, after all—many of the restrictions, and the paucity of publishers that allow this make this a really unsatisfactory solution. I think that there should be some option for a family account. Do like many software company and go for maybe five or so users to be on the license.

The funny part is that Amazon got it right when it came to music! You pay a buck for a song, just like iTunes, but the song is non-DRM protected, so you can play it on any device that suits your fancy. And it only costs a buck. iTunes charges extra for non-DRM music, IIRC.

In my case, it makes for more sales.

I’ve been using Audible since before Amazon bought it. Cheap audiobooks? I’m there, honey! I’ve been addicted to being read to aloud since before¹ I was born.

When Amazon bought Audible, they pushed linking Amazon and Audible accounts. Okay… That’s fine. Not thrilled, but not annoyed enough to kick up a fuss.

When they came out with the Audible app for the Android, I was thrilled. It was well designed, had features² I really want in an Audiobook player and it worked out great.

Well, the Kindle can play Audible content, and Amazon is now pushing for people to listen to their audiobooks on Kindle, first by offering to send any Audible purchase directly to the Kindle, then by changing the listening format to Enhanced, which is the format required by the Kindle.

I love my Kindle, mind you. Use it every day. It’s a great e-reader. But:

The Kindle is a terrible way to listen to audiobooks.

You don’t listen to an audiobook when you’re sitting still, except maybe when you’re in a vehicle. One listens to audiobooks while moving – doing household chores, cooking dinner, working on a sewing project… The Kindle is just too big to be a decent device for listening to audio content when on the move. When listening to audiobooks, you want a small device. You want a device that’s really a bit too small for comfortable, long-term reading. There’s a reason I prefer my Kindle to the Kindle app on my Android for actual text reading.

I might have tried it out for before sleep listening, except that the Audible player on the Kindle does not have a sleep timer. That makes it completely useless even for that purpose.

Amazon, please. The Kindle doesn’t need more features to make it awesome. It’s perfectly-designed for what it’s intended for – reading text. Don’t try to shoehorn other features into it. I’m still buying the audio content, honest, but stop trying to push me into consuming it on your Very Special Device. You’re starting to act like Apple and devices. There’s a reason I’m not an Apple customer. I don’t even use an iPod any more!

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¹Seriously. Mom started reading aloud to me when she was pregnant, and was very patient about my story addiction until I learned to read for myself.

²Sleep timer. Developing the habit of falling asleep to audiobooks has done more to prevent nightmares and staying up all night ruminating on problems than any other technique I’ve ever tried. It’s wonderful.

Recently I had to listen to a series of tapes for something.  While I can’t quote from them, I’d like to present a fictional bit of dialog that gives the general flavor.

“Did you close the fuckin’ door?”

“Yeah, baby.  I closed it.  Don’t fuckin’ worry about it.  Could you help me put away the fuckin’ groceries?  I got your favorite fuckin’ ice cream.”

“Fuckin’ A!  That’s great, sweetheart!  We can fuckin’ eat it while we’re watching that new fuckin’ movie by Micheal Bay.  Think that’d be some fuckin’ fun?”

Now, I’d be the first to say that my general speech is not drawing room fashion at all –at all.  But after listening to several hours of the aforementioned dialog, I just want to limit my vocabulary to the mildest of Mauve Decade euphemisms. No, not out of prudery, but because the Heavy Seven have been overused to the point of not delivering their original intent – shock value.  The f-bomb[1] is no longer shocking or anything in many contexts.  It’s just boring and tedious.

As a writer, I’m all about using language to deliver an emotional impact, mind you.  The thing is, shock value of any sort requires judicious usage.  If I called someone “cupcake”, ferinstance, every single time I’d been vexed, it would have no impact.  However, it’s a well-known verbal tic of mine that people know gets used when a serious line has been crossed.  The rarity value gives it its power.

I’m not saying swearing doesn’t have its place.  It does.  But after the last few weeks, I sure have decided I want to do it a bit less!

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[1] Not that I’d never use the word, but how often would you use it if you limited yourself to discussing copulation, in which case, it might be le mot juste.

For those of you familiar with Meyers-Briggs personality typing, when you hear INTJ, you think “emotionless, misanthropic perfectionist with no social skills who is really good at math or science research.”

It’s a pretty shallow misunderstanding of the type.

It is true that the INTJ does not suffer fools gladly, genuinely is an introvert, so needs that alone time to recharge, is an intuitive thinker who gathers knowledge systems, and is highly unlikely to be the life of the party.  But we are human. (In fact, it is invariable that every INTJ I know has a terrible temper, though usually strongly leashed).

It’s the knowledge systems part that people get wrong.  I was talking about the whole Meyers Briggs thing to someone once.  I have a job opening a gym a couple of mornings a week.  I’m there at five in the morning, and it’s my job to check people into the gym, sign people up for memberships, generally helping them and doing my best to help them have a pleasant experience so that they’ll keep on coming back.  I’m cheerful.  I make a note of personal details as best I can.  I do my best to remember names.  I pay attention and am helpful.  I try to be playful and fun.  And I chat with members…

I mentioned being an INTJ.  After the protest of “You’re not an introvert!”* we were able to have an actual discussion about the perception of the INTJ v. a very serious reality of the type.

Anyone would agree an INTJ is very good at learning necessary skills.  In fact, I doubt there is any type in existence more notorious for it.  So, social skills?  They’re skills.  You can learn them.

Many of us do gravitate to professions in which social skills are not a big deal, so we don’t develop them.  But not all of us do.  Do you think Thomas Jefferson, that quintessential INTJ, had the political career he had with lousy social skills?  Oh, I doubt he was any Bill Clinton, but friends, you can’t become politically powerful without social skills. It’s a flat-out impossibility. You have to be able to create a cadre of people who trust you and are allied with you, people who trust your leadership.

So, look at your INTJ.  Now back to me…

Between the gym job and the fact I am a teacher means that to be effective at my jobs, cheerfulness, amiability, and the ability to help people feel happy and engaged are necessary skills.  I have to be able to spot a confused face, an embarrassed face, excited body language and so on. Otherwise, I could NOT DO MY JOB.

What’s core to an INTJ?  Learning the skills necessary to accomplish the goal.

Social skills count.  They really do.  That means we can and will smile and be amiable when the situation calls for it.  (Though after a whole day of it, yes, an isolation chamber starts looking attractive).

Stop selling us short!

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*If someone only knows me professionally, I can almost count on that comment if a discussion of type comes up.

Apparently Ann Coulter wants to raise the voting age.  She doesn’t specify to what, but just that she thinks 18 year olds aren’t grown-ups, so shouldn’t vote.  Then she goes on with an idiotic strawman of allowing a ten year old to vote as the logical conclusion.

Here’s my take on it:  If you’re an adult at 18, that means adult. You’re allowed to marry without permission, enter a contract without permission (such as a credit card), join the military without permission and hang for murder.  Yes, by damn you oughta be able to have a beer and cast a vote if it so strikes your fancy.

If someone cannot be reasonably expected to be an adult at 18, well and good.  You can’t get credit.  You’re not allowed to marry.  You’re certainly not military material nor should you vote.  Fine.  We can change the law and raise the age of majority to some other age.  I’m fine with 18 or another age as long as it means ADULT, not this quasi-child status you hold between 18 and 21.  I think it totally muddies the waters about what it means to be an adult in the first place.

This is a fish or cut bait thing.   I’m sure Ms. Coulter is all for that stupid child of whom she is so contemptuous toting a rifle, or doing one of the many highly-skilled, dangerous and underpaid jobs that abound in the military.  She just wants ’em to shut up and work for her with little say in their lives, and not to get drunk where it’ll offend her precious eyes.

It’s total bull.

Do people make more intelligent decisions in their 40s than they do in their late teens?  Good Lord, I’d hope so!  I hope I’ll be wiser when I’m 60 than I am now, too.

I know I’ve been Johnny One-Note on the subject of adulthood for awhile, but I’ve got a person living with me who is going to be an adult in two and a half years.  His training is my responsibility, and I’m moving Heaven and Earth to make sure he’s ready to take care of himself and make decisions for himself.  That’s no damn joke.

Will he screw up?  Yep.  He simply won’t have the Life Experience of someone 25 years older than he is.  But he won’t be unprepared to face those mistakes, which is probably 3/4 of being a grown-up.

Ann Coulter can stick it up her ass, though.  If my son isn’t old enough to vote at 18, he sure as hell isn’t old enough to decide whether or not he wants to go to boot camp, marry or any of the other hundreds of decisions adults make.

A woman wrote an article for a website. Some  years later, a friend of hers emailed her to congratulate her on “breaking into print” and to ask for tips.  Confused, the author asked when she’d done so, only to find that an article she released on the internet was reprinted in an advertising-carrying (meaning it was to make money) small-circulation magazine with her byline, but without permission or payment.   The woman objected to her material being used, and asked for three things, an apology on the Cooks Source Facebook page, an apology printed in the magazine and a fair price for the article ($130) to be donated to a well-known school of journalism.

She got this reply from Judith Griggs, editor of Cooks Source:

“Yes Monica, I have been doing this for 3 decades, having been an editor at The Voice, Housitonic Home and Connecticut Woman Magazine. I do know about copyright laws. It was “my bad” indeed, and, as the magazine is put together in long sessions, tired eyes and minds somethings forget to do these things.

But honestly Monica, the web is considered “public domain” and you should be happy we just didn’t “lift” your whole article and put someone else’s name on it! It happens a lot, clearly more than you are aware of, especially on college campuses, and the workplace. If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally. Now it will work well for your portfolio. For that reason, I have a bit of a difficult time with your requests for monetary gain, albeit for such a fine (and very wealthy!) institution. We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me! I never charge young writers for advice or rewriting poorly written pieces, and have many who write for me… ALWAYS for free!”[1]

When the author reported this on her blog, the arrogance of the comment caught quite a few people’s attention, including a writer named Neil Gaiman, who tweeted about it to his hoard of followers.  To say reaction exploded would be something of an understatement.  As of this writing, the LA Times , NPR,  The Washington Post, and several other news sources have carried the story in their online publications. As reputable news sources who do have an interest in online copyright issues, they may have snarked a bit at the editor’s arrogance and her appalling lack of understanding of copyright, but other than that, carried it as more or less straight news.

But it is the backlash on Facebook has proved to be appalling.  Don’t get me wrong. I’m a writer.  Letting someone know that they’re wrong about their understanding of intellectual property laws as they pertain to the Internet[2] is fine.  Calling someone on their arrogance is also fine.   Checking to see if they’ve pulled the stunt before[3] is also fine.

What’s not fine is the name-calling and harassment.  In my strong opinion, that crosses the line into bullying, and I’m not cool with that.  Personal attacks are foolish.  They’re not going to change behavior, but will only get that woman’s back up.  I don’t think anyone sensible really wants anything but an honest resolution to the situation.

When you want to join in cyber-activism, leave the potty mouth at home.  Call the person on what they did.  Don’t sweat what they are.  It’s not relevant and spins things out of control.  Stick to facts.

There is some speculation that Judith Griggs might have honestly thought for real that all material online is in the public domain.  If so, she doesn’t know enough about her profession to justify the sort of high horse response that she gave the author of the original piece.   I do doubt, at least in part, the veracity of her claims of experience.   I’ve only been a paid writer for a handful of years and I know the law on copyright better than she does.  There was no real excuse for that arrogant and wildly inaccurate lecture.

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[1] http://illadore.livejournal.com/30674.html

[2] Basically, your work is copyrighted from the moment it hits the word processor.  Defending it is often problematic and expensive, but the law recognizes ownership of your own work, whether for print or for online publication.

[3] She has.  Paula Deen, NPR, Martha Stewart and Disney also have had work of theirs copied in her mag.  Whether or not she bothered to get permission, I do not know, though I can guess…  I do know that Paula Deen has referred the matter to her legal department.