- I just realized that design work nightmares don't ever really go away. I remember having clients early in my career that wanted more ink splotches, bigger logos, and the ever ubiquitous request to "make it pop". Enterprise software design is not a release from this. Now it's: "I don't like this interaction pattern from the design system", "just add a button", "we need to work on usability because we don't listen to your rec and the client is complaining about the unilateral decision I made to ship the software with this janky panel thingie" [/rant]
- Speaking of my job, they ended up addressing Pride Month last week, and shared a little quiz to test one's knowledge on the history of the Pride Movement. Do you know what one female colleague responded? "This month is also Men's Mental Health Month..." I believe mental health matters for everyone. But please do not add a reminder to it on the Pride Month post? *sigh*
- Reading Cells at Work, I learned that gut bacteria comprises of 10% bad bacteria, 20% good bacteria, and 70% opportunistic bacteria. That 70% align themselves with the faction with the upper hand, thus having a large impact in one's microbiome. Knowing this, I have decided that most business idiots, tech bros, and related MBA dummies shall henceforth be referred by me as society's opportunistic bacteria.
- It's been a busy and also interesting few weeks here. Just last week, we had a few heavy thunderstorms and power outages, found an abandoned kitty, celebrated my daughter's birthday at home AND with a trip to Hattiesburg (she's enamored with a store called Miniso and wanted to go to Chuck-E-Cheese so we took her), and celebrated Father's Day. On Monday I thought I was burnt out, but I ended up getting sick and am no slowly getting back. More on the kitty and the trip below!
- Last Tuesday, when my mother in law came to pick up my daughter, she said she saw a kitty crossing the street. But this kitty was way too young and looked weak, so I brought them inside and made them some DIY kitty formula (my MIL got the evaporated milk). I spent the morning asking around the street in the rain if anyone knew about the kitty, and called the local animal hospital, and checked Next Door, but no one knew whether they had come from :( My daughter got attached of course and proceeded immediately to name the kitty Brud (she has a love for those darn Sprunki on YT). I was worried she'd have her heart broken because this truly was a tiny cat, no more than 5-6 weeks and I felt there had to be an owner. So, we have a cat now! My partner took kitty to the vet this week, and Brud is doing a lot better now! Today he's been napping a lot, eating, and playing with whatever catches his eye. He just overall looks a bit bigger and healthier thank goodness!
- Going to Chuck E Cheese was such a fun experience, especially since I have a soft spot for nostalgiacore and dreamcore stuff on YT. The day we went was pretty busy too! They had the amazingly cruddy looking pizza (I was joking that I wonder if it was as god-tier as Tombstone pizza), and the entertainment was so amazingly cringe and I loved it. Chuck E playing the guitar, the birthday party footage, it was vibes all the ways and I enjoyed it more than I thought!
- Current Obsessions: Still Pokopia, Brud the Kitten. Any video essay critiquing tech bros, especially if it has Ed Zitron. Chocolate covered espresso beans, weekend cups of coffee, and raspberry leaf tea in the evenings.
The word "weed" itself doesn't indicate whether a plant is native or invasive. Weeds can be both. All the word "weed" meant was that a plant wasn't wanted; it wasn't intentionally planted. It wasn't "subordinate." It grew where it was able within the general monstrosity that is most human development. It had adapted to human infrastructure. Few people were ever paying attention to weeds. I began to find them fascinating. I realized I was observing the continuously evolving interplay of a cast of plant species that had only recently gotten to know each other. For the majority of their existence, most of these species had never grown in proximity to each other. The landscape of "weeds" in the anthropic environment was usually a clusterfuck of invasion biology, plants plucked haphazardly and mindlessly from all over the world. It was usually the ecological equivalent of Frankenstein's monster, but it was fascinating to think about and observe.
– Joey Santore (Concrete Botany)
