Notes
Small Web
Much as I make use of them, I kinda resent the persistent presence of social media in our lives. To wit, a musing I posted to Facebook a couple of years ago… Remember when the Internet was fun? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Social media isn’t entirely fun, at least not to me. It’s very homogeneous, heavily moderated, and has a bad signal to noise ratio. It’s ruled by the almighty algorithm. And as these sites are often free, it’s awash in lots of advertising. (To be fair I get it, we gotta pay the bills — but come on!) It makes me long for the days when I floated around the web reading (and writing) blog posts, sharing fun stuff I’d stumble upon, and so on.
Hundred Best Hahas
Rolling Stone presents its list of the “100 Best TV Sitcoms of All Time.” Many of my favorites make the cut, including Daria (#92), Will & Grace (#81), Phineas & Ferb (#65), the Jeffersons (#48), the Golden Girls (#32), Fawlty Towers (#31), I Love Lucy (#4), and the Simpsons (#1).
Snow Day Misers
NYC’s Department of Education — already stingy with snow days — declares instruction will be remote [← WSJ paywall] on inclement weather days. On the plus side, DOE recognizes Indigenous People’s Day in place of “Columbus Day,” and adds Juneteenth as a day off.
Tuckums
MSNBC anchor Joy Reid drags Tucker Carlson for filth. Her delivery on this, [chef’s kiss] perfection. And for the nostalgic, Jon Stewart’s 2004 appearance on CNN’s Crossfire, showing just how much of a dick “Tuckums” has always been.
The Poll Worker’s Tale
I originally posted this as a Twitter thread, but felt I needed to post it here for posterity. —F Over the last couple of years, I had the privilege of serving as a poll worker here in San Francisco. Pre-pandemic, I planned on serving again this election. Concerns for my own health and safety led me to sit this one out as a poll worker. Being a poll worker is largely a thankless task. Here in San Francisco, it involves an hours-long training session to make sure we understand election law, voters’ rights, how to setup and work the equipment, and what to do if something goes wrong. Then there’s Election Day itself. It can take 15 hours or more from setup to breakdown, assuming