October 2005

Women and Engineering

I met a mom earlier today who implied that girls don’t have an interest in things mechanical. Hmm. My partner has a doctorate in engineering. I’ve written programs to collect data from CCD cameras on rather large telescopes. (Not to mention installed the odd hard drive and assembled more furniture from IKEA than I care […]

Halloween Fun

For many of us with children, Halloween is an extended holiday, starting in early October with costume shopping (or making) and ending with two weeks of assorted parties and parades, not to mention the official night of trick-or-treating. Here are some resources to help you survive the witching season. GooGhoul is a directory of Halloween

How to Respond When Meeting Lesbian Moms

October 11th is National Coming Out Day in the U. S. Instead of offering advice on coming out (ably covered by the HRC Web site), I want to flip things around and offer a few hints to people who may be unsure how to react if lesbian moms come out to them. Don’t assume that just

Homemade Fast Food

Lifehacker reports today on a new cooking trend: “make and take.” The idea is that you go to a special store and purchase pre-prepped (washed, chopped, etc.) ingredients for several specific recipes, which you then simply have to assemble at home. The going rate seems to be about $200 for twelve four-person meals, which works

Connecticut Civil Unions

Earlier this week, Connecticut became the second state after Vermont to recognize same-sex civil unions. It was the first state to do so by an act of the legislature rather than the judiciary. The good news is that this milestone caused barely a ripple, news-wise. The other good news is that couples unionized (or is

Alphabet blocks spelling "Child"

How to Get Things Done with a Toddler

Toddlers can wreak havoc on our to-do lists. They have their own agendas, their own pace, and their own counterproductive actions (e.g., pulling all the books off the shelf after you’ve just replaced them). In order to increase the odds of actually completing my to-do list, I divide it into categories.

The Perfect Sandcastle

Although beach season is over for most of us, those of you living or vacationing in warm climes may be interested to know that scientists at MIT have found the formula for the perfect sandcastle. A ratio of eight parts sand to one part water does the trick, and will give you the most stable

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In the U. S., October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Observe it by giving yourself a breast self exam. (Not that you don’t do one every month, anyway, right?) The Susan G. Komen Foundation has a good interactive demo, in English and Spanish, if you need a refresher. (Caution–if you’re viewing this at work

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