By: Revanche

Sharing is caring: Dogs and problemsolving edition

March 27, 2013

from @morgainemoney: Debating whether to stay on a contract position with no maternity leave/benefits or look for a full-time job with benefits in anticipation of pregnancy.

from @geekinheels: Review of Prey: An open source anti-theft software meant to track your laptop, phone or other tablet. This has been in the back of my mind lately. Free for up to three devices? THANK YOU.

also from @geekinheels: MIND THE STUBHUB FRAUD. Stubhub is apparently fantastic at taking care of the problem after the fact but still.

from @eemusings: the reconciliation of feminism and the default settings in arranged marriages. My thought is that the default settings she observes is also prevalent outside of arranged marriage.

from @marriedwithluggage: how your habits merge, or don’t, to form a relationship.  PiC and I, even after nearly ten years together, have to reconcile our different habits and preferences for a “more perfect union.” We don’t always do a great job of it, other times it works out well. We celebrate our strengths and grumble (sometimes good-naturedly, sometimes not) over our differences. It’s just how it works.

Thanks to @vanessasmoney, I am flabbergasted. Vanessa linked to this article on Australian Student Debt and I just … don’t even know how to respond.

@hufflepup gets a bath.

@mochimoc has ported her blog to its new, permanent home: Save, Spend, Splurge!

from @funnyaboutmoney: Toxic cooking utensils? Really, guys?

more on books and reading from @grumpyrumblings. I think my renewed library addiction will be the death of me. I’m reading every Terry Pratchett I can get my hands on and clocking in nearly a book a night. Good bye, sleep.

from @amy_geek: Star Wars kiddie

from @chroniclesofcardigan: on a domain name change from blogger to .com. I didn’t write up my process so for those who were curious (@SavvyWorkingGal of the same blog and @StephtheBlogger of Graduated Learning) about how it went, this is one description. I would absolutely NOT use GoDaddy though. I recommend NameCheap as it was recommended to me and I’ve found working with them is easier than pie crust. If you’d like to, you could use my affiliate link over there on the right.

Hilarious pitbull works out the problem with gravity

10 Responses to “Sharing is caring: Dogs and problemsolving edition”

  1. Thanks for the link! Discworld rocks!

  2. eemusings says:

    Thanks for the link. What specifically boggled you about the Australian student loan thing? The way they are set up/structured or the writer’s slightly cavalier attitude towards repayment?

    • Revanche says:

      A few things bother me about it. I think it’s really nice the way they’re set up to be so supportive of students but there were some lines in there that resonated badly with me.
      They’re like the universal excuses used the world over, including here at least, for an inability to (in many cases that I’ve seen: a choice to) not repay obligations big or small.
      On a macro level, there’s an inherent social and financial responsibility that’s being ignored. They’re set up to be very supportive of students with the lack of interest, how long can this system go on if “many” of her friends and she don’t feel like their debt is real or needs to be paid back. In the bigger scheme of things, that’s foolish and sounds like entitlement. It’s already a nice set up, why ruin it for future students? Of course, I understand that I don’t have a full picture of how Aus govt finances work, I’m merely thinking in basic finance: if more money keeps going out on trust but many of the recipients don’t feel the need to repay it, then it’s going to pose a greater burden on someone.
      And I do think loans should be repaid or not taken out if you don’t intend to or make an honest effort to repay it. It is a responsibility, after all. This is a combination of my traditional upbringing and work ethic: you never let a debt go unpaid. So don’t take a debt you don’t figure you can repay.
      On a personal level this reminds me of people I know, here, who have this attitude that “well, sure it’d be nice to pay it back but I just want a job that pays enough to let me do what I love.” You know what that’s been code for, here? I only want what I want but I don’t want to have to care about things I deem “too much.”
      Today, it’s this loan from the faceless govt. Tomorrow, it’s a loan from a friend or family member. And next week, it’s “not paying my own way for anything because oh gee, sorry but I just don’t make enough and it’s a shame but if I can’t even pay for my student debt then …” It’s a slippery slope that I’ve seen people use as a convenient slip and slide over and over. Generally writ across many years because like boiling a frog, you as a bystander become acclimated to the excuses one degree at a time. Again, the problem with that it’s not simply a personal choice. The result is that it impacts people around them, family and friends, to varying degrees because we’re all carrying their asses one way or another. It’s very like the people we know who “just have bad luck with money” and have to keep getting bailed out. It. Is. NOT. LUCK! Some of it is just freakin’ life, much of it is you choosing to do the same things over and over.
      Last, as a humanities major myself, I rather resented the statement that those friends who DID pay back their loans? “…they studied something “proper” and got a “proper” job (hello accountants)” Yeah. You know what? That’s a false equivalency. Your degree and your job and your success and your ability to pay back loans is not one immense correlative event. You decide what to do with the degree that you earned and you decide to work in whatever way that does or doesn’t put you in the position to repay the loans. You decide that, your degree doesn’t.
      I agree that if the environment is non-conducive, you’re fighting your way up a hill. I’ve been there, trying to find a good job during a really bad recession, and it was all kinds of suck. But just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s not possible or that you shouldn’t try.
      I’m sure that she’s speaking in generalities to some degree but she managed to hit many of my triggers. I don’t think someone should be “shamed” by their debt or anything like that but I do think that one should stand up and say: this is what I chose, I’m going to deal with it. Not: *shrug* maybe I will, maybe I won’t. It’s all of a piece really.

  3. My first time here and you have some good stuff in your roundup! As a side note, your site makes me feel very calm, haha. It’s nice.

  4. Linda says:

    That Australian student loan thing: wow. I didn’t realize there was so much support for students. Student assistance to cover living expenses (free!)?! And no interest on loans! I don’t think the attitude about repayment is very different than what happens here in the U.S. for people with heavy student loan debt. It seems like many of them assume they will be paying the debt for the rest of their lives. Very sad.

    The dog video was fun to watch. I’m currently reading Patrician McConnell’s most recent book For the Love of a Dog, which is all about emotions in dogs. Patrician McConnell is a behaviorist and professor, and I love her approach to understanding and addressing behavioral problems in dogs. Watching that video it was great to recognize how the dog expressed confused/slightly frustrated emotions about the situation, but did not get angry and figured out a solution. Such a smart, well-behaved dog is good to see!

    • Linda says:

      Ugh! I see my typo now. I misspelled the author’s name…twice! It is Patricia McConnell, not Patrician. I need to increase the damn type size on my screen again. 🙁

  5. Mochimac says:

    Thanks for the mention of the blog port 😀

  6. Jenny B. says:

    Love this roundup! I just had a nice chuckle before bed watching the video you posted. Love how the dog starts going in head first after the ball falls in… for the billionth time. What a cutie!

    The domain change post from @Chroniclesofcardigan will come in handy as I’ve been thinking of getting a domain. Made sure to bookmark that!

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