fuckyeahhistorycrushes: Margaret “Molly” Brown: philanthropist, women’s/human rights activist and survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. This badass had to be forced into a lifeboat by three men after she kept giving up her seat for others. Once in the lifeboat she reportedly picked up an oar and gave one of the surviving engineers her coat.
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fuckyeahhistorycrushes:

Margaret “Molly” Brown: philanthropist, women’s/human rights activist and survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

This badass had to be forced into a lifeboat by three men after she kept giving up her seat for others. Once in the lifeboat she reportedly picked up an oar and gave one of the surviving engineers her coat.

Source: fuckyeahhistorycrushes

Rock and Roll Martian: If I Was A Poor Black Kid, I'd Key Gene Marks's Car

rocknrollmartian:

So there’s this fancy new column on Forbes from Gene Marks called “If I Were A Poor Black Kid”. Shockingly, it is not written by a poor black kid, but a middle-class white man. But don’t worry, this isn’t just any rich white man: this is the middle-class white man who knows the answer to all of…

Source: rocknrollmartian

MUCH later?

Well. That was a long delay. Basically, we borrowed a sailboat without checking to see if the propane tank was full and ends dup unable to cook any meals on a VERY cold weekend in the Pacific Northwest.

We had picked up a couple of Hungry-Man dinners (laziness, comfort food) and unfortunately, without a stove, the only bit of it we could eat was the frozen fried chicken. We also ate cold stew and a lot of chips & salsa.

That also meant that the we couldn’t use the space heater overnight, so we were piling on lifejackets, coats, sail covers & everything else we could find as ad hoc blankets.

We finally got back after a lovely (yet chilly & low-cal) weekend sail and stopped to fill up the engine fuel tank and the propane tank only to discover that in fact, the propane tank was completely full. We had just forgotten the trick of getting the gas to flow on the boat stove - it’s a bit too idiot-proof for us. Which.. is kinda sad.

We also seriously considered bringing sleeping bags with us but thought “nah, there’s stuff on the boat!”

This, THIS is why we have OCD-level packing lists for vacations. In fact, I think I’m gonna go work on the Excel automated packing list generator I started writing - input type of vacation (backpacky, all-inclusive, ‘normal’), duration, activities (scuba, sightseeing, family), climate (tropical, Canadian winter, autumn in NYC, mixed), haven’t figured out the other parameters yet.

(Lies. I’m going to play online games & watch tv.)

Now open for a limited time engagement

Brought to you by this weekend’s sailing: “Unprepared! (The Musical)” Featuring such fan favourites as “(We’re Having) Frozen Fried Chicken for Dinner” and “Coats can be Blankets too!”
(Yes, there will be a more detailed story later)

Not that this should come as a surprise to most people

I was reading this article about Chaz Bono’s FTM gender transition this weekend and this quote from Cher caught my attention:

She says, “If I woke up tomorrow in the body of a man, I couldn’t get to the surgeon fast enough.” Right then and there it occurs to her how to relate to it.
I love that she found a way to understand what her son has been feeling all his life and expressed it in a way that makes it easy for anyone to ‘try on’ but I’m surprised by my own response to the idea. I think my own immediate reaction would be curiosity rather than horror. Apparently I don’t have a particularly strong gender identification.

Forgetful

Oh. I passed my swim tests on Wednesday night. Woot!

400m any stroke combo: 8 min 30 sec for a score of 4
800m fins, mask, snorkel: 14 min 20 sec for a score of 4
15 min treading water, last 2 min hands out of water: pass, for a score of 5.

Since the required total is 12 points across all 4 items, I’m in the clear. For the 100m ‘tired diver tow/push’ all I have to do is finish before the person I’m towing gets so bored they swim away (I figure an hour should do it)

Thwarted

The chiropractor has told me to stop running for two weeks to work on stretching out my gluteus medius and gluteus minimus and whatever the hell the ones just to the inside of the hip flexor are.

I’m not pleased. I’m worried that the interruption may completely derail me (and I must confess that I’m not thrilled about having to break the chain)

But damned if it doesn’t hurt to walk and run right now.

Smacking in their bugs (wait, what?)

Apropos of a post on habits, I tried to dig up the lyrics for The Monks ‘Bad Habits’ album that for some reason I had a copy of when I was eleven. I think it was originally my aunt’s. (She was a terrible influence. Beware of any aunt only 7 years older than a teenager - ID will be borrowed ;)

Putting aside the fact that every lyrics site I’ve ever visited has attempted to install malware on my computer, I don’t trust the one that provided the below for another reason: there’s something not quite right about the second-last line of this version:

Bad habits. Cheating at exams.
Bad habits. Never washing hands.
Bad habits. Smacking in their bugs.
Bad habits. I won’t do it again, uh oh, uh oh.
My best guess of what that line maybe was supposed to be is “Smoking in their beds.” That is a terrible habit and is also a thing that actually people do. Unlike in-their-bugs-smacking.

[When people have bugs they’re generally not large enough to be ‘in’. Right? Dear god, there aren’t bugs large enough for people to be in, are there?]

But that’s not the point. The point is that today marks day 21 of my exercising every day! (alternating swimming and running)

According to the experts it takes 21 days to form a new habit. And I am now officially FORMED, BAY-BEE!

Seriously though, I’ve really enjoyed making a point of doing something for myself and investing mental effort in something other than work. Two days ago I achieved the time I need for the 400m Divemaster swim test and yesterday, during my penultimate private swim coaching session, a very fit woman at the pool told me that I look really great swimming - excellent form and smoothness in the water. I think she may have said I am ‘eloquent’ in the water but I assume she meant ‘elegant’ (although I don’t hate the idea of ‘eloquent’)

This is not meant to be a resolutions status post (that’s coming Feb 1 and will be grim on all fronts other than exercise) but rather a celebration of an achievement I didn’t necessarily believe I had in me.

Lisa: I can’t do this, Bart. I’m not strong enough.
Bart Simpson: I thought you came here looking for a challenge.
Lisa: Duh! A challenge I could do!
…
[After conquering “The Eliminator.”]
Lisa: You thought I couldn’t do it but I could, I did, and I could do it again! Let’s do it again!
Let’s do it again.
I agree with Lauren Souch about how adorable these guys are. But I have a question. I get ‘onion’ and ‘coffee’, but has anyone ever been accused of having ‘doughnut breath’?
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I agree with Lauren Souch about how adorable these guys are. But I have a question. I get ‘onion’ and ‘coffee’, but has anyone ever been accused of having ‘doughnut breath’?

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Please be kind.