Author: Steph

Bext Holidays Ever

A typo. Decided it could function as an (sortof, not quite) anagram.

Hang on. I’m gonna ask ChatGPT.

screenshot of the Q&A with the answer being "portmanteau" is the process for blending a new word from two separate words
Q&A with ChatGPT, at chat.openai.com

Bext is a portmanteau of next and best. (Not an anagram.) This is the bext christmas that I can remember. It’s perfect for my present circumstances, and is meaningful like some of my other favorite christmasses.

Q&A with ChatGPT, the plural of "christmas" includes a double "s"
Q&A
… Read more...

Misunderstanding and Meaningful Communication

Misunderstanding is a large category with many tails; what intrigues me are skills for resolution—the transition from a 'missed' understanding of each other to a shared understanding happens almost instantly through routine communication skills, and over time through persistent use of collaborative communication skills.
Misunderstanding is a large category with many tails; what intrigues me are skills for resolution—the transition from a 'missed' understanding of each other to a shared understanding happens almost instantly through routine communication skills, and over time through persistent use of collaborative communication skills.

Transcript links for the Parable of the Sower podcast by Adrienne Maree Brown & Toshi Reagon

I started collecting the transcript links for the first season of the O’Parables podcast in one place for those who need or want to read them.

If you’re unfamiliar with Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (1993), it’s a fictional account of surviving societal breakdown which has uncanny relevance to today. The story spans a journey of three … Read more...

The Next Three Months

We’re in the lead-up to a tumultuous time.

I have been listening to the O’Parables podcast. Octavia E. Butler’s trilogy is prescient. She wrote it in the early’90s, set in the 2020s. She is literally describing conditions so many are already experiencing and most of the rest of us (the non-billionaire class) are heading into. The podcast features Adrienne … Read more...

Introducing “Communication Dynamics”

Like all good students, they have questions about the introductory slide show. How detailed will the quiz be, do they need to learn every detail, how much they should try to memorize, etc. “It’s all over the place!” one of them exclaimed.

Another liked the game-type set up, the mystery of searching for the links and the fun of clicking … Read more...

I’m always talking to someone, even though I’m alone

Recently I realized (not for the first time) that my emotional state can be more easily agitated when there is no interlocutor.
Recently I realized (not for the first time) that my emotional state can be more easily agitated when there is no interlocutor.

Over 1000 acres of Massachusetts’ Forest to be cut by DCR in 2020

The Department of Conservation and Recreation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is once again planning several cutting projects. Although the process allows for “public comment,” this is just going-through-the-motions. Based on past history, DCR has no intention of allowing public or scientific feedback to influence their plan. Take, for instance, the Wendell State Forest, where DCR allowed a private … Read more...

Open Letter on Proforestation, to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

To:      Secretary Kathleen A. Theoharides, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs; Claire Miziolek, Decarbonization Roadmap Manager; Hong-Hanh Chu, GWSA Program Manager; Benjamin Miller, Decarbonization Roadmap Technical Lead; and staff of the relevant agencies

CC:      Representative Susannah Whipps; Representative William Pignatelli; Representative Denise Provost; Senator Ann Gobi; Senator Karen Spilka; Senator Jo Comerford; Representative Mindy Domb; Jim Montgomery, Department … Read more...