Jessica

One
I found this article about the L.L. Bean duckboots situation (if I may use that word for this) simply fascinating. I’m behind the times (as I usually am when it comes to fashion, something I care little about), because I only heard about the backorder problems a few years ago, but I hadn’t realized the complete reason. Knowing that they are trying to maintain quality (handmade), locality, and their commitment to U.S.-made and -sourced materials means more than artificially increasing demand.

Two
I heard about the woman who can smell Parkinson’s on the morning news blurb the other day, so I sought out more information about it. This article gives a great overview, and I’m excited about the possibilities that it portends. Neal’s grandfather dealt with Parkinson’s, and I’ve heard about the toll it took on family. Catching it earlier might be a key to keeping symptoms in check.

Three
I’ll admit it: as a reader, this article alone made me a bit happier. I’m happier reading hours each week, but to discover that just 30 minutes of pleasure reading per week can increase happiness and health. Reading can help widen world views and deepen understanding of the human condition, so why wouldn’t you take part?

Four
Companies forget that the simplest thing can increase consumer happiness with their products and/or brand. Why not take a minute to think about the little ways that your company annoys consumers and figure out a better way to deal with that problem? (I’m gonna say it: quit sending me mailers and other crap. I don’t mind email spam as much as I mind wasting paper and ink along with my time and effort to deal with getting rid of all of the junk mail that I see on a regular basis. If I want your products, I go online for them. I do not need and I do not want your magazines, mailers, postcards, and so on.)

User experience matters, and with a wider range of places to shop online, those that keep bothering users or refusing to update systems to make browsing and purchasing easier are going to keep losing out.

Five
I’ll be honest here. I sometimes draft angry responses to things I’ve read online. Sometimes the responses aren’t really angry, but they disagree with someone on the internet. The older I get, the more likely I am to just delete the comment without posting it, because I really don’t care what someone I’ve never met thinks about this particular thing when I really start to think about it. In other words, I’m more likely to be like this these days than I am to be like this. In general, that’s probably a good thing.

(What is Sunday Sharing? Find out here.)

One
I’m going to start this week off right, which means we’re going to talk about how breasts are the most dangerous weapons in the world. This guy has finally explained to my satisfaction (which is quite hard to do, mind you) why women rarely get to wear armor in the gaming world. I never realized how destructive these things actually are, but now that I know, I’ll have to be more careful with these WMD!

(True story: at a local renaissance festival that is no longer, sadly, we ran into a woman selling corsets who had a brooch nestled in her cleavage that said “Weapons of Mass Seduction.” Those things could’ve knocked a sailor out at two paces.)

Two
As a mid-30s cord-never, I’m glad to see that it’s getting more and more common. I haven’t had regular access to cable since 2002, and that was only because my college paid for the dorms to receive it. Once I moved out, I made do with whatever came over the air. I started my “alternative” ways with Netflix, but once Blockbuster came out with their video-by-mail service, I swapped. It was awesome for a while because I got three DVDs at a time and then could return them in-store for three and also have three new ones shipped to me. I eventually ended up bouncing around to get the best deal (I even used Wal-Mart’s service at one point, for those of you who knew that Wal-Mart even had such a service, because it was cheaper and Blockbuster had reconfigured their “return a disc, get an in-store rental for free” so that it became worthless), but eventually came back to Netflix (of course). Streaming was too much of a siren’s call for me to ignore. We’re currently using Netflix and Amazon Prime Video along with a few supplements here and there. (I tried Hulu Plus, but I just couldn’t get past the fact that I’d have to pay for something that still forced me through commercials. That’s one of the reasons I’m willing to pay to stream in the first place!)

I can’t imagine ever having cable television. Yeah, when we stay at a hotel, we binge a bit on HGTV, but that’s pretty much the only thing I really would want. (And now that Netflix added some HGTV shows, plus the ability to stream some via HGTV’s site…well, there you go.)

Three
I’m sure many of you might have seen the below, but just in case you missed it, here’s John Oliver talking about the state of mental health in the United States. Listen, you all know that our health care system is a complete mess. No, I don’t believe it’s because of the ACA. The pre-ACA health care system couldn’t really get much worse, and the prescription drug situation is basically a pit of despair, not unlike hell, for way too many people. Even knowing how screwed up the basic health care system is, too many people don’t really get it when I mention how that seems like a utopia compared to the mental health care system.

I’m going to harp on this until it gets better (and being the pessimist–I mean, realist!–that I am, I realize this means that my dying words will probably be about this very topic), because mental health care is important. Mental health is absolutely not an “emotional” problem: it’s very real physical impairment in a person’s body that affects their brain and mental status. That’s all it is, people! The number of things that can affect how your brain makes you think and feel is numbing, people, and just because we can’t literally see the broken piece with our own eyes doesn’t mean it’s fictitious or made up or not real.

Take, for example, Susannah Cahalan: she went downhill suddenly, was misdiagnosed more than once, was pushed aside several times, and only discovered the real reason for her immense personality change and mental decline because her parents were able to (financially, emotionally, etc.) able to push to get her the care that should be standard for everyone. (Hat tip to my former boss Katie, who told me about this book.)

And before we leave, I’m going to direct you to Allie Brosh’s blog about depression and then some more depression. Go, read them, and then pick up her book. You’ll laugh so hard you’ll snort. If you don’t, then don’t tell me about it. While you’re at the library or bookstore picking up her book anyway, grab The Bloggess’s latest book, Furiously Happy, too. You’re there anyway, and you’ll appreciate what she has to say about mental illness, sometimes in a funny way and sometimes in a way so real and heart-rending that you’ll find yourself leaking from your face for no apparent reason. (If you live in Duluth, you’re welcome. I requested it and the library ordered it. I’ve already had it and read it, so you can enjoy it, too.)

Four
Are we really only on four? Yes, yes, we are. I’m giving you your money’s worth this week, because you didn’t get any at all last week. Anyway, get with the program! I have things to share, and if you keep interrupting me, I’ll never get through all of them.

I read this article earlier this week and wasn’t surprised. First of all, I really think it’s hard to find a good doctor who will listen to you. I’ve been fairly lucky, because I take great care in finding someone who listens. (My current doctor not only listens, but we also end up talking about books we’re reading and what we should read next! What’s not to love about that?) I’m not afraid to go to someone different if the one I’ve seen isn’t listening. That said, I still had to wait until my current doctor to be diagnosed with something I’m pretty sure I’ve been dealing with since I was a teen. I was 28 when I first started going to this doctor, and in my first visit she said, “Hmmmmm…your medical history is odd. I think we need to do some tests for X.” Yeah, so I had X all right.

I don’t know what needs to be done to get doctors to listen to women. I know it’s not all doctors, but I feel like it’s a more prevalent situation than it should be.

Five
A friend and I were talking about digestive track bacteria a few weeks ago, and how some bad strains seem to be causing all manner of issues, from anxiety (yes, really!) to more local stomach issues.  I then happened upon this article, which just adds another layer to the whole “what the heck have we done to our stomachs and can we reverse it?” issue. There is something weird going on, and I’m worried that we’re going to find out the culprit when it’s too late to remedy the situation.

I hope everyone is able to get out and enjoy their weekend! I’ve been cooped up working on projects (school and my new job), but I’m hoping to get out and get some prolonged fresh air again tomorrow. 🙂

(What is Sunday Sharing? Find out here.)

One
Friends and family know how much I love Ray Bradbury’s oeuvre, for obvious reasons. If you’ve ever enjoyed reading “The Veldt” (meaning you had chills the first time you read it), then you’ll enjoy deadmau5’s version of it, which truly captures the feeling and ambiance of the original story. (While you’re at it, listen to Stephen Colbert reading it here.)

Two
Lifehacker has an interesting view of renting in this article, “Renting is Underrated.” Owning a house (or condo) just isn’t for me for a variety of reasons, and some of those reasons are in this article.

Three
What the what? These costumes for women and girls are ridiculous! Why do the guys get to look like the actual cartoon character and the women/girls look like some guy’s skeezie, sexual-fantasy version? Gross, people.

Four
Suzanne Lucas (the Evil HR Lady) has a good idea here that I love more than the idea of annual performance reviews. No one enjoys doing the annual reviews, and they aren’t helpful anyway. (Mine always felt like trying to come up with things to talk about.) If you have a good boss, you are probably already getting regular feedback of his/her own making, so make that a form of review instead of just doing something overly formal and decidedly unhelpful.

Five
This is an interesting article about the use of text vs. images on the internet and how usage has trended over the years. Because of the relative newness of the internet, I wonder if it will continue to ebb and flow instead of a steady increase or decrease at any given time.

(What is Sunday Sharing? Find out here.)

One
This comment just blows my mind. Who the heck works for the fun of it? That’s called volunteering, not working. I may enjoy my job, but I also work to get paid. I just want to know how to better manage my money so I don’t have to worry about getting a paycheck ever again, but I think that’s called being independently wealthy…not managing finances.

Two
Being a cat owner reduces your risk of heart attack by almost 1/3, a recent study suggests. Well, this works well for my plan to put cats in all institutions: cats in schools, cats in libraries, cats in counselors’ offices, cats in colleges, dorm cats, apartment cats (that prowl the halls of apartment buildings), and so on. Cats are every place I want to be (even more than American Express–particularly when I’ve been places that didn’t take AmEx, and I still wanted to buy something), so let’s put cats everywhere! Yay!

Three
Making money off the sick and desperate makes me feel ill. I often wonder how I can live in a world where people care more about their own bank accounts (when they already have plenty to live on in there) than they do other human beings. This guy’s a real winner:

Martin Shkreli, the 32-year-old head of Turing Pharmaceuticals, stoked Internet outrage this week when it was reported that he raised the price of the 62-year-old anti-parasite drug Daraprim to $750 per tablet, from $13.50. Then he defended himself, Gekko-style, by saying, “I am a capitalist who plays to win.” (source)

How can you not be a fan?

Four
You’ve heard of yarn bombing, right? Well, one library system apparently has a problem with too many yarn books, so they have developed a unique way of dealing with a mass of yarn books at one branch by foisting it upon another branch. I laughed so hard!

Five
Apparently (and after you think about it, obviously), your Netflix-watching behavior let’s the company know the exact moment you go from “I’m just gonna check this out” to “What the heck? This is the greatest thing ever!”

(What is Sunday Sharing? Find out here.)

1. I was born and raised in Illinois, about midway between Chicago and St. Louis. I currently live in Minnesota and have for about a decade now. The only NFL jersey I’ve ever owned is one I received as a Christmas present from my parents on year. Guess what? It was one for the St. Louis Rams with “Gilbert” on the back. Yes, that’s why she bought it. No, we aren’t Rams fans. In fact, we’re not football fans. I never really have been and probably never will be. (Yep. I’m okay with that.) Okay, with that in mind, if I did become an NFL fan, it’d probably be for the Green Bay Packers, after reading this article and then doing a bit more digging on things myself. This is fascinating. No coercing cities and states to give you more and more money for bigger stadiums that you’re just going to sell naming rights for and get even MORE money for, none of which is going back to the public’s coffers? What a concept.
2. This post is fascinating:
   “There have been hundreds of equally alarming studies regarding stereotype threat and of similar identity-related conditions that impair performance. I don’t think we have time to recount every one in detail, but I’ll leave you with some more interesting findings. Regarding women in math: research at Indiana University found that females’ performance decreases significantly after simply watching a video showing ‘dominant’ male behavior, and at Harvard they found that Asian-American women perform better or worse on math assessments depending on which identity is highlighted to them. A 2005 study showed that girls score much lower than boys on an identical test when it was described as a ‘math test,’ but slightly (though non-significantly) better than them when it’s a ‘problem solving’ test. Another study suggested that female AP Calculus test-takers would benefit if the demographic bubble-filling were postponed until after the exam.”
3. This interview with Stephen Colbert explains a lot more about who he is and why he does and says what he does. He makes a very interesting point about the intersection of faith and intellect that sums up many discussions I’ve had in the past.

   “…this is, I hope, the right relationship to have with your faith, which is to love it, but not to exclude it from your intellect. […] Faith ultimately can’t be argued, faith has to be felt,” continued Colbert. “And hopefully you can still feel your faith fully, and let your mind have a logical life of its own, and they do not defy each other, but complement each other, because logic itself, I don’t think, for me, and you know—Aquinas might say differently—logic itself will not lead me to God. And, so, hopefully I can use my mind to make my jokes, and not deny my love for God at the same time.”

4. Let’s say you are taking a course on the codicology of medieval manuscripts, and you are creating a lesson about how to form parchment. You want to include a YouTube video of someone forming a quire, so you search for “form a quire.” Your results will not be what you think they should. I’m just saying… (And I love that YouTube doesn’t even acknowledge that it thinks you spelled it wrong. There’s no “did you mean ‘choir’?” or anything. It just sticks a bunch of choir music in your face. But now I really want to know how many people misspell “choir” that way, because if even YouTube doesn’t bat an eye and automatically thinks, “Ah, she meant a bunch of singing people,” then it must be a lot.)
5. This might be the funniest thing I’ve seen in my life:

I have this thing about goats yelling in a weird way. Neal and I watched this thing over a dozen times via someone’s Vine account and about fell over each time the goat yelled. (There’s another one out there of a little goat yelling, “Yeaaah!” in a deep voice, which cracks me up every time, too.) Here, look at a compilation of goats yelling like people and tell me that it isn’t hilarious. (And more goats yelling. You can never have too many yelling goats.)

(What is Sunday Sharing? Find out here.)