October 2012 – Page 2 – Hoyden About Town

Otterday! And Open Thread.

By tigtog on 2012-10-20 • ( 23 )

These cute baby river otters are from SeaWorld in San Diego. Zooborns reckons they are kissing, I reckon they’re sharing secrets!

Please feel free to use this thread to natter about anything your heart desires.

Privacy, anonymity, pseudonymity, outing, accountability: where are the boundaries?

By tigtog on 2012-10-19 • ( 12 )

There are competing ethical imperatives, and there’s a balance to be found. It is basic courtesy to respect a pseudonym or some in-confidence knowledge about a person generally, but should that expected courtesy take precedence over the protection of other people from harm which could be avoided if they knew what you know?

Now the Dust has Settled

By Anna on 2012-10-19 • ( 17 )

Has anyone else been feeling insultingly patronised by the MSM this past week? The embarrassment of completely misreading the wider impact of the Prime Minister’s speech (you know, that one) was such that most high-profile newspaper columnists spent the rest of the week explaining to readers exactly why we were the ones who didn’t get it, not them. They understood better than us because they were thinking about – Context!

Ada Lovelace woodcut engraving-style portrait

Friday Hoyden: Ada Lovelace Day roundup

By tigtog on 2012-10-19 • ( 4 )

It was Ada Lovelace Day on Tuesday this week, celebrating women’s achievements in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields. There’s lots of excellent weekend reading. Did you go to any Ada Lovelace Day events this year? Tell us about it if you did.

Blog comments problem

By tigtog on 2012-10-18 • ( 6 )

If you’ve been having problems leaving a comment recently, please try again on this post.

A little idea

By Mindy on 2012-10-18 • ( 18 )

I’ve been thinking about this whole abortion thing that lots of men in US politics seem to be tying themselves in knots about in their haste to legislate women’s rights and women’s bodies away. It came to me the other… Read More ›

a photo of a stencil-art stripey cat on a brick wall in Newtown

Only in Newtown?

By tigtog on 2012-10-18 • ( 4 )

Mohawk Snake Guy. On a skateboard. Moving too fast for me to get my camera out in time.

an infographic showing a range of words about dictionaries and knowledge management

Dic abuse – prescriptivists vs descriptivists rematch – ‘misogyny’ definition edition

By tigtog on 2012-10-18 • ( 13 )

When you get to my age seeing the pearl-clutchers swoon angrily over dictionaries having the temerity to change something gets old, especially when it’s yet another round of people just showing that they don’t understand what lexicographers actually do.