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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 5h

There's loads of those for the US/UK, too

Birmingham being the obvious example

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 5h

No, wait, she used tapping in 1989-1990, I think. There was a very old-fashioned payphone at school

Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 5h

In the middle 80s my friend's Cornish phone number was 3 digits, but the code for her village was 6 digits long or something

She learnt to use tapping to get free calls on payphones, because it's dead easy to do 3 digits, and it even worked from another town, although she had to do all the numbers

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 7h

Too burned out to change course? Or they don't want to lose their kids, or fight in front of the kids

I do know that you need energy to start the readjustment back to balanced again, and my partner at least wants to be a partner

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 8h

Very amused to see that the NHS provides a very broad brush description of who gets the COVID jab this season, and says to ask your GP

And then every GP has a post saying, essentially, we've received a LOT of calls about vaccine eligibility. Here is much more detailed info, please stop calling

Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 8h

They are, but you have to be over 75 and/or have specific immunocompromised conditions, so most people don’t qualify. www.nhs.uk/vaccinations...

COVID-19 vaccine

NHS information about the COVID-19 vaccine, including what the vaccine helps protect against, who should have it and when, how to get it and side effects.

www.nhs.uk

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Reposted by Word_Geek

Sarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 8h

Here's a handy video on how millionaires like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are EXACTLY the kind of person the farm bailouts are for.

pls pardon the clickbait thumbnail, it does have real math in it

youtu.be/3kEr0jb6zhU

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 20h

And we have lots of research to show that, as a group, men won't do tasks or jobs that they perceive to be mostly women's work. But I think a lot of the getting less manly stuff is about them actually doing that, over time. Like, secretaries disappeared and they reply to their own correspondence now

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 20h

The other part is that men don't get taught the whole task, eg Alex is a better cook than I am, but it comes from growing up in a place where you had to invent something to eat with what you had on hand. He can't menu plan or shop at all, but he would kill at Ready Steady Cook

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 20h

The second is when one of you has to be home for an extended period, often maternity leave but potentially also after losing a job. If they start doing the house stuff, the other person will stop doing their share, and won't make time to start up again

You have to actively fight this

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 20h

I think there are two danger points: you move in together into your own place, and only one person's mental model of the space they are responsible for expands to the whole space, instead of just their bedroom and the part of the common spaces they made messy

That's usually the woman, obviously

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Reposted by Word_Geek

Paul Fairie @paulisci.bsky.social · 1d

A Brief History of Men are Becoming Less Manly

🧵

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 1d

So many Reddit posts that include "my husband and I both work full time, but when I get home I have to do all the housework too and my husband won't help because he says he's tired and deserves to relax"

And here is that same attitude, described as a new problem in 1967

Paul Fairie @paulisci.bsky.social · 1d

1967

Are men becoming less masculine?

Answer: Yes, according to psychiatrist Ralph R. Greenson. "As women have become more assertive and daring," he told an AMA meeting, "men have become more passive and timid; more apathetic and lethargic." Another factor, he said, is the typical middle-aged man's notion that he must be protected from any undue stress and strain. A man, Dr. Greenson added, seems much more interested in preserving his body than his marriage."
--Ledger-Enquirer, 9 Mar 1967

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Reposted by Word_Geek

Anthony Moser @anthonymoser.com · 1d

google wants to introduce errors into my spreadsheets and attribute them to me

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 1d

My kid used to call it the sand, and it was, to her, the best part about finishing up a cereal box

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 1d

I used to have a kettle in my dorm room. I kept Cadbury's hot chocolate powder, mugs, and Bailey's Irish cream in the room, and I would make up hot chocolate using hot water and Bailey's, instead of milk. Saved me having to go to the fridge late at night, and is still good

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 1d

😥

Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 1d

I hope the new people find that out and feel bad. Otherwise they will now notice your ducks

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 2d

I finally got around to the final episode of the latest sewing bee, and then this pops up on my following feed

Kate Strasdin @katestrasdin.bsky.social · 2d

So much of the design of this early #1930s dress is about a trick of the eye - the trompe l’oeil - created in the illusion of pleats from the placement of the beadwork that covers the entire garment. Designed by Jean Patou it shimmers in pink and gold #V&A #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Beaded detail of a pink 1930s evening dress by Jean Patou. The photograph focuses on the gold beaded belt and the illusion of pleats

Full length view of the sleeveless pink and gold beaded evening dress with trompe l’oeil pleats and scoop neckline

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 2d

I took a few CDs I had bought on the band's retirement tour with me to my father in law's, because I remembered at the last moment that their internet is shit but they have a CD player

The look I got from the 16 year old when she realised how I was playing music was priceless

Jake Wright @bcnjake.bsky.social · 2d

I was explaining CDs—literally the compact discs that were central to our youth and early adulthood—to my 8YO and the QUESTIONS he had. Like, "What's an album?"

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 2d

I wasn't expecting you to not know about author tours being work most authors dislike

Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 2d

I got two responses to that post this morning. One person who didn't know about bookshops charging, and this one

And the thing is, back when I worked in publishing, a surprising number of authors didn't know that's where some of the marketing budget went🤷

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 2d

Sorry to shatter your illusions

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 3d

Bitte schön😁

I used to be reasonably comfortable in German, at least for everyday chat. I au paired for a summer

Getting back to that level would depend on living there for a bit, plus lessons. All the Germans I know are fluent enough in English to switch languages if I tried talking to them

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 3d

I think I will treat it as something that didn't happen. Like Highlander 2

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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 3d

Ur is just a German prefix for original. Urgrossmutter is great grandma, for example. I meant it as the source of terfery, sorry

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