Flaming Ass Liberal

That's what I was called on another blog in the Wide World of Webs we all blog in. I am not linking to that blog or post because I can't remember how I stumbled upon it and I am not starting what youngins call a "flame" war. I just want your input.

The topic was about guys giving up their seats in a bus for gals. Whereas the blog authoress felt that this should be an inherent right of women, I disagreed. In my own words, "unless I look feeble, really old, obviously pregnant or in my dying throes, I can manage to stand along with other fully abled men and women." I hold strongly to my position. Why should I be afforded special courtesies just because I was born with 2 X chromosomes? I hold doors open for men. I think if somebody's right behind somebody else, regardless of each one's gender, holding the door open is a common courtesy. I don't expect a man to hold a door open and stand there in an obsequent manner waiting for me to pass through, touching a hand to his hat brim ... wait, that's a doorman.

I expect to be called ma'am by people who don't know me the same way I call people ma'am and sir. I expect to be helped if I am struggling with too many bags of groceries and trying to get a door open, the same way I would help another human being. I expect to be offered a seat if I hobble on to a bus or train on crutches just like I would give up my seat for somebody who can obviously not stand through the ride. I expect not to have a door closed in my face if I am right behind somebody walking through it just like I don't close it on the person right behind me. Regardless of their gender.

I don't think men who afford special courtesies to women all believe we of the fairer sex are also weaker or should stay at home quilting and baking pies (mmmm pies) while they go slay dragons everyday. But, I also believe that if we ASK to be treated like the weaker sex, we are truly dragging the women's movement back a few decades. We are agreeing with those who say we cannot fight alongside the men in our country's army. With those who say that our emotions get the best of us and that's why we cannot lead a nation.

If that makes me a flaming ass liberal, so be it. I'll wear that button proudly and siplay the sticker on my car.

Usability

How often have you struggled to explain what you do to a family member, a friend in another country, the hobo living under the bridge?

This is a definition I pickd up from the comments of this entry: http://www.webword.com/wp/2008/07/16/what-is-usability/#comments

"Users need to handle two basic problems:What should I do? Which is defined by the user (or for the user by someone else) and how do I do it? Which is defined by the application creator.Better usability results in less allocation of mental resources to answer this question.So, basically, usability is about reducing the users’ mental burden by providing good answers to the ‘how’ problem, thus allowing them to concentrate on the ‘what’ problem."

Do you agree? How would you define it in 5 or less sentences?

Baltimore Restaurant Week

July 26 - August 3 is Baltimore Restaurant Week. Last year, Jeff and I ate at a very nice restaurant in Baltimore and we thought we'd repeat that this year. We were deciding between Tabrizi's and Spice Co., because both their menus looked scrumptuous. We decided to try Tabrizi's on Sunday because it was closer to us. We drive into the parking lot, beautiful view! They seat us out on the patio where we look out onto the Inner Harbour and people's boats.



Lovely weather, pleasant service, we are having fun talking through our appetizers: baby octopus and calamari in a lime chili sauce for Jeff and grape leaves for me. We couldn't remember to take the photos till after the food was gone!



We got there at 5:30 so we were the only ones out on the patio. Till 2 other ladies walk out and are seated 2 feet away from us. The whole patio is empty, with more than 20 tables and they seat them right next to us. That ended the conversation for us because it felt intrusive. I could hear their whole conversation and didn't want them to hear ours.

Our meals were good, not exceptional; pork medallions with caramelized bacon and spinach salad for Jeff and duck with fresh berries and a salad for me.

The desserts: creme brulee and baklava were so so. I might even say the baklava I make at home is better (at least Jeff agreed with me).



Even though the dinner was a bit disappointing and we won't be going back to this place, we really enjoyed being out; just the twi of us. It's been a while since we've just been out, talking and enjoying each other's company. After dinner, we took a stroll down by the side of the restaurant and looked at the boats docked there and then just sat on a bench and talked for an hour or so. It was really nice. It also made us realise that even if we have to schedule this into our busy days, we need to do this more often.

Between his job and my jobs, and family calls, and keeping track of friends, and cleaning the house and getting the dog his shots and making sure my sister is still alive in her dungeon (well, it's the second bedroom really), we lose track of us. We say good morning, kiss hello when we get home, kiss good night, call each other in the middle of the day but never really have time to talk. About us, about our life ... it was nice to reconnect that way this weekend and to realize how much in love we still are.

Running

I started a running regime today. My trainer had told me several ways of doing cardio running but he said the best would be to reach the following goal:

5 minutes run at 5 miles an hour or more, 1 minute walk; continue for approximately 45 minutes.

What I did today:

2 minute run at 4.5 mph, 2 minute walk, for 20 minutes.

I think I am halfway thre :-)

Now I just have to keep this up till I reach the goals he set for me.

Darwinism, work your magic

This is what we saw on our way to the movie theater last night on I-100:



She was flashing and mooning the car to their left and kept jumping up in her seat and blowing kisses.

I wrote down the license plate number but i didn't know what to do with it. Call 911?