My online reading this past week has been interesting, to say the least. Better than my work life at the moment.
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It's also so we can find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. Members come here to check in. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care!
IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a PM to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!
My biggest chore at work right now is getting abstracts submitted to the American College of Cardiology for possible presentation at their 2015 Annual Scientific Sessions. The ACC insists (as they have for several years now) that each author listed on an abstract do their own conflict of interest disclosures.
This would be almost fine, except for two things: 1) they decided to tweak their Disclosures system - and I'm staying halfway sane by telling myself and others to view what we're going through as the beta testing; and 2) I have a pack of high school and college students to nag through getting their disclosures done.
I hate spending time in Mommy-mode! My baby is almost 32! I've done my time as a parental unit, and pretty well, judging by the results.
I'm going to tell the ones who haven't completed their disclosures by the end of next week that waiting till the deadline is not an option - especially if they want me to shut up and go away. And that the one inflexible rule of academia is, Never piss off the secretary.
Among the links in all the emails I get from assorted online journals (including The American Prospect) and blogs, I found this article in the Prospect. I found myself wishing for a nice shoulder to beat my head against (since I wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry). Read the article for the detail, if you wish, but it is basically about how President Obama doesn't do strong emotion well when he is speaking. Anger and fear were the ones specifically mentioned. Like I said, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry.
The article does point out that Barack Obama seems to have a basically laid-back and sensible approach to life. But can't you just hear the over-the-top, foaming-at-the-mouth, "Angry Black Man" if he let any anger be heard in his voice, or "Useless Cowardly N****r" if he showed anything remotely approaching fear? Look at what he gets for just standing there breathing! AAAARGH!!
And now for something completely different. Though I may have covered this subject before.
Thursday's "Connect! Act! Unite!" was on the subject of shoes - as several others of us are entirely aware. Chrislove commented on a pair of shoes he had bought that were finally no longer raising blisters, and I went off on that subject a bit. Quite frankly, though I like nice-looking shoes, I much prefer functional feet and the tricks to finding shoes that fit like they were made for you are not all that difficult to learn. Even cheap ones - the cheapies I'm considering throwing away do fit properly - they just behave as if they are made of damp tissue.
The following is about a book I bought used in 1989. I still have it, and occasionally pull it out to refresh my memory. I wrote it up for Joel Silberman after I attended one of his "Presence and Authenticity" trainings at a Netroots Nation, during which one young woman asked about choosing comfortable shoes and he didn't have an answer for her.
How to Buy Great Shoes That Fit
Scott Norman
New York, NY: Crown Publishers, Inc. (Prince Paperbacks)
1988
ISBN 0-517-57048
Three measurements are important to correct fit:
Arch measurement: heel to the joint of the big toe (in a different spot described as heel to ball joint)
Length: heel to the end of the longest toe
Width: side-to-side across the ball of the foot
When shopping for shoes, if possible:
Wear the same type of shoes as you are looking for
Wear the style and/or color of clothes you are most likely to wear them with
Have any inserts you normally wear with you
Shop mid-afternoon or a little later so your feet are neither at their smallest nor largest
Put both shoes on and walk at your normal pace on a hard surface for a few minutes
New shoes should be snug, but not tight:
If your feet hurt when you've put both shoes on and stood up, the shoes are too small – look for a larger size
If your toes are cramped, the shoe does not fit and cannot be stretched to do so
If the ball of your foot is a little cramped, the shoe can probably be stretched enough
The secrets to correct fit:
Toes need room – you should be able to wiggle your toes when standing; there should be 1/2” to 5/8” space in front of the longest toe
The widest part of your foot needs to fit at the widest place in the shoe
Checklist for trying shoes:
Shop in mid-afternoon and never when your feet hurt
Make sure your socks or nylons are on straight
Measure both feet; always do this while you are standing
Fit your larger foot first; a little padding at the ball of the foot on your smaller side will keep the heel in place
Try on both shoes
For high heels, you should be able to fit the end of your little finger under the edge of the vamp if they fit properly
Any doubts, try the next size up
Walk around normally for a couple of minutes – 5 if you can
A couple of points from my personal experience as a female buying shoes:
If I cannot rest my weight on my heels when I am trying on high heels (2”-3” heels), they do not fit properly
If I need shitkickers, I go straight to the men's section – size equivalence charts are readily available these days (American size 9 women's is size 7.5 men's)