Just finished Flying Solo by @lindaholmes.bsky.social. Loved it. I could smell the ocean. It made me miss Maine. And I loved the way the audio book narrator pronounced Damariscotta.

15k in the books. We did not die.

Shawna Martell at the window to file her PC candidate paperwork at the clerk’s office

I’ve mostly abandoned social media, but I filed my PC candidate paperwork this morning and that’s exciting enough to get me on here.

This is the current pick in my video game book club and I love it. But I had to decrease the difficulty 😅

Thanks!!!

@coffeestain.com if I want to report a satisfactory bug on steam deck; what’s the best way to do that? I’m wild about this game and would love to have it work a bit better on my deck!

Blue race medal with a llama wearing sunglasses. Text reads 2025 Cosley Zoo Run for the Animals

Ran my first 10k today and didn’t die. The medals were worth it.

Signed up for my first half marathon. This is what a mid life crisis looks like.

Today I learned that ~86% of women my age are mothers and ~86% of software engineers are men, and I guess it’s no wonder why I feel like I don’t really fit in any spaces I’m in.

Did my Nexus interview yesterday. The Canadian agent had so many questions about being an engineer. I genuinely couldn’t tell if it was part of the interview or if he was super curious about the industry.

Made for a nice chat. 10/10 would interview again.

I bet writing is hard even when the whole world isn’t on fire. But it’s super hard when it is.

As a 40-something white woman in tech, I can attest that it’s not just comedy writing that’s behind.

Wall street journal headline: "The Dumbest Trade War in History" Trump will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for no good reason. From the WSJ Editorial Board on Jan 31, 2025

How bad to you have to have flubbed it up for the WSJ to come for you? A lot. I think it's a lot, right?

I played CT for the first time last year alongside a friend who had played it several times. It’s our video game book club, and it’s a great way to experience a game. We’ve moved on to FF6. He’s got a list that will likely last us a few years at least.

This was my favorite combo. Ayla will go down as one of my favorite video game characters ever.

Please forgive me if I’m not actually helping.

Yahoo calls their security department the “paranoids”. This was, apparently(?) a well known thing back in Yahoo’s hey-day. It is less well known now. Or perhaps basically unknown now. (Source: I worked at Yahoo until 2021 & hubby’s still there)

OK Go - A Stone Only Rolls Downhill (Official Video) YouTube video by OK Go

Listening to this on repeat while packing literature for the upcoming consolidated election.

I don’t know what’s going to happen. But we have to keep going. Somehow.

youtu.be/MOEULOSVNK4?...

Me: I should really use up the yarn I’ve got
Michaels: Here’s $20 so you’ll come in and spend $150 on yarn
Me: ok

Getting rejected today for a conference I was particularly excited about is like… insult to injury.

How did I not know about this? I am so happy right now.

Three birds walking in a sandy beach

The beach is pretty good.

i miss the times when people at least pretended that dei was important

Absolutely floored that the interview Dan & I did for the InfoQ podcast made this list!

I’ve been doing a gaming “book club” with a friend. Highly recommend. We played through Chrono Trigger. Now it’s Final Fantasy VI.
We’ve got a list that’ll last us several years. It’s my favorite.

I understand I should have seen it coming, but the number of companies who were totally prepared to be like “lol we won’t even pretend we aren’t misogynists anymore” has left me reeling. They had the press releases in drafts I swear.

The speed at which corporations r ditching DEI proves they were never serious abt diversity, equity or inclusion. Those they sought to exclude were never meant to be included. Racism, misogyny & xenophobia - that’s their comfort zone, the settings they r familiar with & comfortable operating within.

It's wild how quickly companies are pivoting from a position of "striving to correct systemic biases, you belong here" to "Black people are obsolete farm equipment, now get back to work" the instant it becomes politically expedient.

Cutting myself opening a wine bottle feels like being betrayed by my closest friend.

I’m not doing dry January…. In case you couldn’t tell.

Me, driving and ruminating: Oh, that’s a fun idea for a talk. That too! Oh great, I can’t wait to write all this down when I get home.
Me, in front of an empty Google doc: I have no thoughts, ideas, or memories. My brain is a void.

This morning's Up First included joyful celebration of staff names by @steveinskeep.bsky.social and this is the kind of wholesome content we need in our day.