Firebee Dispatch #14: Fuck Tha Police
It's been a few weeks, but I'm back. This week is a weird mix of content from the last few weeks. Hoping to be back on track with the regular dispatches next week.
- What I'm Up To
- Recommended Reading & Current Events
- Mass Media Musings
- Julie's Cooking Corner
- My Writing
- Miscellany
- Cuteness
What I'm Up To
- One of my cats has been sick for a little over a week now, so that's been eating a lot of my time and stressing me out. Little guy just got back from the hospital tonight, and I'll be keeping a close eye on him this week and making sure he eats enough.
- It's been a bad last few weeks both personally and in the world. :(
- I am really behind on a lot of things because of the sick cat and the world being terrible. I'm trying to do my best to catch up.
Recommended Reading & Current Events
Black Lives Matter
The news is filled with police getting away with murdering black people. Over and over again. It is horrifying. Black lives matter. I am not even remotely the best person to talk about this, so here are some people, publications, etc. that might be better. My apologies for these being limited --- I am still trying to play catch-up myself.
- Colorlines -- a great general news resource.
- Shaun King has been providing some good coverage over at DailyKos.
- on Ferguson, riots and human limits video by Jay Smooth.
- Intimate Partner Violence, State Violence and Marissa Alexander by Trudy at Gradient Lair.
- A lot of good discussion and information is on on twitter. Below are a few people who I read that you might benefit from following.
Recommended Reading
- Metafoundry 17: Twenty-Five Years Later by Deb Chachra.
The École Polytechnique shootings are as much a part of the history of women in technology as Ada Lovelace or Grace Hopper.
- Reporters are not your friends by Malcolm Harris at Al Jazeera.
Mass Media Musings
Film
Guardians of the Galaxy
This film is adorable and cheered me up a good deal (minus the sad opening) when I missed the kitten while he was at the hospital. I will likely revisit it and write a more proper review in the future.
Games
I played a ton of Don't Starve over Thanksgiving because it was on sale on Steam. It's a quirky survival game with a spooky aesthetic I enjoy. It kept my short attention span entertained a lot longer than I expected. My favorite character was (unsurprisingly) the woman who liked to set things on fire.
Julie's Cooking Corner
No recipe this time, but thought I'd share my cute Thanksgiving dinner. It's ground turkey tacos with chips, refried black beans, and pan fried sweet potatoes. Not pictured is a mini no-bake pumpkin cheesecake. I love the little yam bunny.
My Writing
- I shared some rambling thoughts about my feelings on the 25th anniversary of École Polytechnique (trigger warning).
- I transcribed the male allies panel from this year's Grace Hopper Celebration. I recommend giving it a read to understand why people were upset about it. I may write up an annotated version with my thoughts in the future.
Miscellany
- Dispatch title from "Fuck Tha Police" by N.W.A. [youtube].
- This tl;dr wikipedia for Peter Pan made me laugh.
- I was cleaning a little bit this weekend and found my collection of tech conference badges. I snapped a picture and then threw them all away. It felt good. After leaving the tech community, they aren't happy memories. Badges? I don't need no stinkin' badges!
Gittip Update
I haven't provided an update on this in ages, so I thought it was about time for a follow-up. Below are charts with data from week 107 to week 131. The continued decline is not surprising. Many people were not able to immediately leave, so they are doing so slowly as they find alternatives.
Active users have largely stabilized with a decrease of -2.60% since week 107.
Weekly gifts continue to decline with a decrease of -29.74% since week 107.
Cuteness
Here are some foster kittens I got to play with when I hung out with my friends after Thanksgiving.
