Reclining on planes

Do you recline your seat on planes?  Every time I come across the topic of reclining airplane seats, I'm startled by the violence of people's opinions.  Until quite recently, it would never have occurred to me that reclining is considered so rude by so many people.  I don't usually do it myself since I prefer sitting upright, but I fully expect everyone else to.  My lack of awareness on this issue is probably a privilege of being on the shorter side; apparently taller people find it very painful when the seat in front of them is reclined.

Come to think of it, tall S has complained about knee pain on flights from reclining seats, and usually springs for an economy plus seat to avoid the issue.  But I don't think it's ever occurred to him that the person in front of him shouldn't recline... or that he himself shouldn't.

I guess I don't really understand the vehemence of either side of the debate because the whole thing seems so murky and conditional.  To the proponents of the "NO ONE SHOULD RECLINE, EVER" school of thought: what about on overnight flights?  What if the person in front of you and the person behind you are reclined?  What if the person behind you is a small child who doesn't need the legroom?  To the proponents of the "RECLINING IS MY GOD-GIVEN RIGHT" school of thought... well, that's just asinine if you know you're hurting the person behind you.

Doesn't it seem like an aircraft shouldn't be equipped with buttons that passengers can use to cause each other pain, and that create so much bad will between people who are stuck within a foot or two of each other for hours?

Brooklyn hipster

An acquaintance has a boyfriend that many of my friends dislike.  As I haven't met the guy, I was curious as to why he provoked such a widespread negative reaction.  One friend told me, "It's because he's so Brooklyn."  Another clarified, "Brooklyn hipster."  


I am not hip enough to know what that means off the bat, or why being a hipster is bad.  Also, this is apparently a hard thing to explain to someone who is not hip enough to get it.  One exasperated friend finally forwarded me the guy's current facebook status:


"My first reaction was 'I'm going to throw up in my mouth now,' but then I realize that this is a zero-sum situation. Kind of like that Spiderman/U2 thing, except I care even less."


... Okay, I get it now.

Beek

Did you know "beek" means "to bask in the sun?"
I learned that in the elevator.

You say tudou and I say malingshu... you say xihongshi and I say fanqie...

The title of this post is never going to catch on as a jazz standard, is it?

I learned today that my brother and sister don't speak the same Chinese as me.  This shocked me more than it probably should have -- I learned most of my verbal Chinese from our Taiwanese parents at home and they learned most of theirs from mainland Chinese teachers in college.  But until today, I thought Mandarin was Mandarin -- people from different regions will have different accents, of course, but the words will be the same, right?  APPARENTLY NOT.

My brother and sister use different words than I do for: potato, bike, pineapple, and spoon, among others.  These are not uncommon words.  How did I never realize this until today?

Bizarro Trousers

Oddly enough, another pair of law buddies had the same idea we did at around the same time, only their blog went viral and we panic when someone finds ours.

Sewing machine

Do you own a sewing machine?
I keep seeing these tutorials on things that look simple and that I currently send out to a tailor, like hemming pants. And I think, maybe I should get a sewing machine.
Then again, I have a feeling that my sewing machine would end up sitting idle.
But I can't go through my entire life without a sewing machine, right? Eventually I will acquire one.
What do you think, is a sewing machine an inevitable necessity of grown-up life?

Sick after stress

Spent yesterday sick at home.  I was expecting to get sick, since I'm winding up a super-busy month at work and history shows that I almost always get sick right after a long period of stress or excitement.  Curious as to whether this is a common medical phenomenon, I googled "sick after stress" and found a zillion articles saying that, yes, this is a well-established thing.  One article had a scientific explanation:


"The stress onset may have caused his cortisol levels to rise, suppressing his immune system. In its weakened state, he may have been exposed to a variety of pathogens, which were then able to enter and proliferate within his body. Although this pathogen may have been present, his immune system was also constantly being signaled by cortisol to suppress inflammation, explaining why he didn’t see any symptoms during his exams. However, after his exams were over, the combination of pathogens living in his body along with absence of the anti-inflammatory signal may together have caused him to experience symptoms of the inflammatory response—sore throat, stuffy nose, and fever."


It makes evolutionary sense.  If your body is busy fight-or-flighting, you probably don't have time to nap and drink chicken soup.

Travel with a guru

From the NY Times.

My parents actually did this -- drove their guru around the country. I never really got the whole guru/disciple thing. He was a remarkable guy, though. One of those people who, if you met him once for two minutes, would remember you years later and ask about something specific that you had mentioned. It wasn't really clear to me until years later who he was. I just knew he was some sort of religious guy, and when he came to town we all went to see him.

I think it would be fun to be a guru. In the article, the author says that she waits anxiously from some word from her guru, and once in a rare while she is rewarded by some life-changing instruction. Can you imagine going around answering people's questions, and every once in a while just turning to someone and saying, "Move to Tibet."

The Pleasures of Oversharing

This explains so much.

Novel use for fridge magnets

Ask MeFi comment:

I went through a phase with my husband where we each had magnets on the fridge that indicated how interested in sex we were on a given day (maybe I read about that on here, actually?). High up meant I'm ready; down near the bottom meant don't touch me. Every morning they were put back in the middle of the fridge. Middle meant no strong feelings either way. It helped because it meant I didn't have to say no to advances and it made me think about sex.

Detox Diet: Luxe Edition

A family friend recently wrote a whole bunch of blog posts about her experiences on this detox diet (mostly complaining about being hungry and craving sweets, but she did say the food was good).  She did the 21-day "Comprehensive Plan," which includes three meals and two snacks a day.  It's not cheap -- $1092 -- but it sounds so nice to have tasty, nutritious meals and snacks laid out for you every day.  No planning, no shopping, no decisions.  Like a 105-course prix fixe meal that lasts for three weeks.

How wives should undress in front of their husbands

I think my favorite part of this 1937 photo series is the existence of "The Allen Gilbert School of Undressing" (if it's actually real).

Annoyed

NOT COOL to tell people they have to fly cross-country for a two-hour meeting, then, after they've made all their plans and arranged pet care/childcare/transportation/etc., tell them days before departure that the meeting has been pushed back a month. :(

"Professor Mix-a-Lot could not be reached for comment."

"'SHIRI' is a buttocks humanoid robot that expresses various emotions with organic movement of the artifical muscles."  By far the best internet find of the day.

Amazon owns everything

I guess this is old news -- how did I not know this until now? Amazon owns Zappos?? (AND Endless? And don't they also own 6pm.com? So they pretty much own every shoe site?)

This article on Amazon's foray into high fashion says so.

I ordered from Diapers.com recently, and then realized Amazon owns that too. Which is weird because I think of Zappos and Diapers.com as competing with Amazon. They all have such different prices and models.

Bra fitting

It wasn't the life-changing experience that I had hoped.

She took a couple of quick measurements, confirmed that I am the size I thought I was, and brought a bunch of things for me to try on, one of which I really liked. The rest didn't quite fit right. I tried a few different sizes and my usual size worked the best. The store I went to had normal department-store brands -- Maidenform, Wacoal, Bali, etc. -- so maybe the experience would be different at a higher-end place.

The lesson I learned was: figure out what you're looking for in terms of material, coverage, padding, etc., and then try on every single bra that matches what you're looking for, and maybe some of them will fit. Even within the same brand, there were huge variations. Also, tightening or loosening the straps makes a big difference. Obviously I have the straps adjusted on the ones I own, but when I'm trying them on sometimes I don't bother.

I have a feeling the women who say, "All this time, I've been wearing the wrong size!" are considerably better-endowed than me.

So at least I know that I should stop just grabbing something off the rack at Target, and I should spend some time at Macy's trying on lots of different bras.

Nature's Ice Cream

This seems unlikely ever to be a staple of the CM/JW household, but for the record, I tried it recently and liked it a lot!  Especially with a hearty sprinkle of nutmeg.  I wonder if something similar could be done with avocado and maybe some honey.

I'm gonna drink Butter Shots, I'm gonna sing a lot a lot

This comment was on Chowhound:
Another great use for the marshmallow skin is as an impromptu shot glass. Pull the browned mallow off the uncooked inside, gently place in your mouth with the hole facing up/out. Tilt your head back and have a willing accomplice fill the mallow glass (currently held in your mouth) with butter ripple schnapps or Irish cream. And then drop the whole boozy, toasty, caramelized concoction into your mouth. Classy.

Toasted marshmallow + Butter Shots? Genius!

Male Avengers

This made me laugh.  And nod.

ZOMBIES, RUN!

My brother has been eyeing this game.  I like the idea of having a "reason" to run, but am not sure that escalating zombie moans would be my running soundtrack of choice.

Tuna

My office suddenly smells like tuna!
Did someone sneak in and dump a tuna sandwich in my garbage when I was picking up my printouts?
Or maybe someone is eating one just outside.
Yuck.

Samoyeds

My brother and I are obsessed with Samoyeds recently.  We send each other pictures all day.  Look at these puppies!  Don't they look like tiny bears?

Wardrobe Manager

If I'm ever rich, I will hire a Wardrobe Manager.  My Wardrobe Manager (WM) will know my taste, coloring, and the dimensions of my body as well as I do, or better, and will shop often and judiciously for pieces that might work with my wardrobe.  Once a month or so, we will have a grand fitting session where I will try on all the pieces the WM has picked out, and s/he will show me how to mix and match the pieces we decide to keep with other items in my closet to put together complete outfits.  The WM will also have mad tailoring skills and will be able to hem, take in, or otherwise adapt articles of clothing to fit me perfectly.

If we're talking ideal world, the WM will also be in charge of wardrobe cleaning and care.  S/he will take care of ironing and dry cleaning runs (which means I might actually be willing to buy clothes that need to be ironed or dry cleaned) and all other laundry.  S/he will also perform minor repairs when necessary, and will keep my jewelry, shoes, and handbags in good condition.

I feel like there must be people out there who do this stuff.  Celebrities, for example, probably don't have too much time to deal with their clothes, and they always have to look fabulous.  I bet some of them hire people to help.