Author Archives: Jeff Porten

  • Darth Vader:
    Happy Memorial Day, we’re having wookiee steak on the Death Star, it’s a little Chewy.

Ironically, if I had a TARDIS right now, the first thing I would do is jump ahead to the November episode.

  • Faith E. Korpi:
    How most people feel about alcohol is how I feel about snow cones.

The first step is submitting to a higher power. Such as a frost giant.

  • Glenn Fleishman:
    I have learned literally a hundred million bazillion mozillaian things about responsive design and CSS in the last two weeks.

I’d like to find someone with expertise in Glennbrain Information Density Limits to confirm or deny.

Just curious?are you in favor of “tape/rape” being classified as hate speech?

  • Glenn Fleishman:
    It?s probably protected speech in America. Likely not in many other countries.
  • Glenn Fleishman:
    The bar for hate speech should be high. An active and present specific encouragement likely to result in actions.

I think it’s repugnant, but I don’t think anyone will take it as encouragement for acting out.

  • Glenn Fleishman:
    Right. I think it should be discouraged, and Facebook moderates and removes a ton of stuff already.
  • Glenn Fleishman:
    By its own standards, this category (prevalent, apparently) should be removed.

  • Glenn Fleishman:
    I have friends who I think of as being in another time zone because their sleep schedule is 3 to 8 hours off mine.

One of the weirdest things of 2 months on Pacific time was realizing you’re *not* on my schedule. I’m used to reading you at 3 AM.

  • Glenn Fleishman:
    Dan, I?ve been of mixed mind about this. Yes, it seems like an abuse of prosecutorial discretion. But shouldn?t there be

I readily admit that this line leads to squirmy situations.

  • Jesse Spector:
    Why did the Pens even get Jarome Iginla? Could it have been to get out of the first round, where he had points in every game?

need more coffee, because I thought you were writing about penis iguanas.

  • Melody Joy Kramer:
    Finishing up a grant proposal, finishing three articles, researching some things, eating schwarma.

That’s a DC Avenger morning if I’ve ever heard one.

  • Patrick Matthews:
    Law of Unintended Consequeunces, recycling edition: How Dirty Diapers End Up in the Recyling Bin

Well, OF COURSE. What else is the point of throwing out the baby with the bathwater if you can’t avoid cleanup? Yeesh.

23 weeks, 6 days

Posted on

Fascinating and moving story by Radiolab about the choices presented to a couple whose baby was born premature.

Juniper was born one day short of the rather arbitrary 24-week line at which fetuses are considered viable outside the womb. I was born six days short of the 28-week line, which is where it was drawn a few years after when Roe v. Wade made it a matter of law. Some Googling informs me that the doctor to whom my parents always attributed the saving of my life, Dr. Mary Louise Soentgen, died in 1999.

So I’ll send out a posthumous thank you to Dr. Soentgen, and anyone else working at Jefferson in 1969 and 1970. I’m still here, too.