I’m currently in need of a stiff drink – I just finished pruning back my RSS feeds. I had 250 on the last backup list I did, and now I’m working during the week, I just don’t have time to keep up with them all. I’m now down to 150 feeds. I want the list to be even smaller, but I just can’t decide what stays and what goes out of the remainder. Unfortunately, most of the remainder are the high-volume ones as well :S

Scobel has gone. I gave him the benefit of the doubt for a while, but he’s just not floating my boat. I honestly did try, but he’s just not my cup of tea. Also, if I find myself going into withdrawal and changing my mind (unlikely, but I’m female, and it’s been known to happen) I know where to find him. The blogosphere ain’t so big you can loose someone like that, no matter how hard you might try.

Most of the other feeds that have been sent to the great Aggregator in the Sky are web2.0/tech ones like the assorted ZDNet blogs and things I subscribed to back when I was in deep research mode. I’m still gonna be keeping a pinky on the pulse, but at one remove. If the old favourites such as Danah, Molly, Ross, and Liz are talking about it, I know from old I’m gonna be interested in it. Stowe has also managed to wangle his way back into my heart. His eternal tracking of his Technorati ranking is starting to bug me, but he does have the decency to flag those posts with consistent naming so you get some warning and can just skip over them. In this case, the blogging-good pretty much outweighs the bad. He can stay.

So this cull might leave me that little bit further behind the curve than before, but is it really that important if I’m a day/week late with the gossip? If it’s important enough to impact on me, I am sure I will hear of it before it is too late.

I’d like to say I was being original, but it turns out I’m not. Mildly ironically, I check my RSS tonight, and find that Josh has already bitten the bullet.

If you’re curious as to how I’ve chosen who stays and who goes, it’s easy – if I like their style, they stay. Writing should grab your attention. The words you read on a page or screen should let you see the personality of the author. You should enjoy reading them. Even more importantly, perhaps, they should challenge you and make you think. I couldn’t list what makes good writing, but I do know it when I see it. ^*1* That’s the yard stick I used during the surgery, so you can be guaranteed if it’s in my OPML file or on the Bloglines page, then I genuinely enjoy reading it. ^*2* No more sheep-tendencies for Cas. Well, I can try 😉 Sorry if I’ve zapped you from the list, but there are only so many hours in the day. If you think I should be reading your stuff then plead your case, and I’ll give you a second chance. Or if you think of anything I might enjoy reading do let me know. I’m always up to trying new things.

I really hope I haven’t offended anyone – trust me, it’s as hard for me as it is for you. It shouldn’t be this hard to delete a feed from Vienna, but it is. I feel disloyal and nasty when I remove my subscription. I am so pathetic.

Not sure why I felt I had to share this with you, but *shrug* there you go. Oh, and this isn’t a whole anti-A-List rant or reaction or anything. It is a genuine attempt to make surfing the Internet fun again.

Endnotes:
^*1* Good being, of course, a subjective thing. Let’s not get back to the whole Clive Cussler debate.
^*2* The exceptions to this are news sites such as BBC, NYT, and to a degree tech/gadget/funny sites like Gizmodo and BoingBoing. At the same time, I am seriously considering removing Gizmodo from the list as well. They still supply gems, but the dross is rapidly starting to drown them out. Oh, and the sites of friends. They’re exempt too. If I’ve met you in RL/have formed a genuine online relationship with you, then you’re safe. More or less :devil_tb:

Of all the bizarre search phrases that have brought people to my blog, “Chiropractor christian .u.k.” has to be one of the oddest. Who knows what post gets you that search result… :blink_tb:

I just checked Askimet before I signed off for the night as is my habit (once or twice proper comments get caught up, and I hate for people to feel left out or unloved) and was greeted by this most superb piece of spam I have seen in a while. I have no idea which post deserved such a message, and I’ve now sent it to the firey depths, but I did screenshot it so you can share in its glory.

It’s not so much the content of the message itself that made me smile, but what awaits you if you go to the site mentioned. Truly, truly worth a visit, if you are so inclined.

I’m going to Canada, I’m going to Canada…!

*does a little happy dance*

Booked the tickets last night – going to be out there from 6th April to 11th of April. Not as long either of us would have liked, but better than not being there at all.

*does a little happy dance again*

:clap_tb: :clap_tb: :clap_tb:

I would like to talk, once again, about my breasts. I am female, as I am sure most of you have realised by now, and I have large(ish) breasts. These are two inescapable facts about me, and two facts I have, over the years, come to terms with. As mentioned before I like my breasts. Other people have expressed favorable opinions of them as well. At times I would wish them smaller, but on the whole I am just fine with them the way that they are.

Time was, they were ‘stealth breasts’, hidden under polo necks and baggy shirts. Now I am proud of them. Well, I don’t try to hide them at least. But nor do I flaunt them. They are an “asset” and I wouldn’t be female if I didn’t (every now and then) play them up (so to speak). I also have a nice smile, so I’ve been told a time or two, and if the combination of the two makes someone that little bit more wiling to help, then I’m not gonna complain. I’m not exactly a supermodel here guys, and a gal has got to catch all the breaks she can!

I like to dress nice for work, where the dress code is smart/casual. As I never know if I’m gonna be called out on a roadshow to face the rampaging hordes in their quest for concessionary bus travel, I tend to go for the smarter end of the spectrum, but mixed always with my own blend of style. We’re usually talking knee length (or longer) skirt, a cute top, and boots. Slightly sassy, but perfectly respectable. The Boss commented only yesterday how pretty I always look, so I’m not concerned that I dress inappropriately.

On Monday I got a comment that has, quite simply, made my week. I got called a shameless hussy by a little old lady! I quote:

“I had a Marilyn Monroe figure when I was younger too, dear, but I never flaunted it like the shameless hussy you are”.

(So I paraphrase slightly, but that was the gist).

Now, laying aside for now that I don’t quite have a Marilyn Monroe figure (if wishing would make it so), I found this absolutely hysterical. Almost as funny was watching the Boy Temps’ face and his repeated denials – he was really rather sweet in trying to make sure I knew he didn’t think I was dressed as a shameless hussy.

Now, before you wonder why I didn’t tell the old dear to take a running jump and to stop insulting me, I have this to say:

1) I was there as a representative of my employer. As such, I wasn’t really at liberty to be rude.
2) The lady was clearly several screws short of a hardware store, and lonely to boot. She just wanted conversation and, on top of that, quite clearly wasn’t totally aware of what she was saying.
3) I do have cleavage. Anything short of a polo neck will expose some of what god gave me – there is no escaping this. And I was sitting down at a low table verifying forms at the time. So sure, dirty old men could have, if they wanted to, got an eyeful. It costs me nothing and if they get some pleasure from looking, who am I to deny them that? Going by the moral standards of her pre-WW2 day, perhaps I was being a bit of a hussy.

I’ve always had a reputation as a bit of a flirt online. This is clearly starting to move over into my real life as well, which isn’t altogether a bad thing. I’m happy in my body now. I am me, my breasts are an inescapable part of that identity, and I’m not going to go around dressed in sackcloth and ashes on the off chance people might get offended by that.

(The top, by the way, wasn’t even that low-cut. Nor was it one of my see-through ones. The woman was clearly just jealous 😀 )

Yes, she shouldn’t have said anything, but it amused me far more than it offended me. It gave me something to blog about if nothing else. Just don’t get me started on her opinions of the Italians and a woman’s place (though that might have been part of the problem – I am mid twenties and not chained to a kitchen sink).

I do so love my job. The potential for completely random and hilarious occurrences is just huge! That, and I got to play with firemen today 😉 I already have a rep as the happy one. The one who sees the bright side and humour in every situation. Dr Temp mentioned to me the other day how I was always willing to laugh at myself. Of course I laugh at myself. It’s only when you appreciate the ridiculous in yourself that you can truly appreciate the sublime in everyone else.

Anyway, I’m going to stop now before I give you all the impression I am a incurable tart. This is the Shameless Hussy saying goodnight and happy browsing 😉

Endnotes:
This post was written first in longhand, with a proper fountain pen on real paper! Blame Josh and his ideas of breaking free of the tyranny of the computer. That, and I had this urge to write at gone midnight last night and couldn’t be arsed to boot up the Pocket Calculator. And no, I am not going to be making a habit of it. Notes and drafts will be being kept on the computer. It just takes too damn long to type it all up and make it look pretty.

breasts, humour, Marilyn Monroe

Opposable thumbs are one of the most underrated things in our daily lives, something that has been brought home to me over the past 24 hours. It’s amazing what you can’t do when one thumb is out of action: pulling up tights; washing your hair easily; opening a pack of polos; doing up a pair of trousers; typing properly. Even doing up my bra this morning turned into more of a palaver than I had counted on.

How did I injure said digit? For reasons best known to myself, I decided that what my Spaghetti Bolognese really needed last night was “Hint of Cas” in the shape of a chunk of my left thumb. Instead of onion, I chopped me. Not pleasant, for me, or for Moose who was very speedy with the band-aids. (Thank you Moose 🙂 )

Now, what I should of done, when curious as to the taste of human flesh, was take myself off to EatHuFu.com. Hufu^TM is the Healthy Human Flesh Alternative. The tofu based product was created for those anthropology students curious about cannibalism, but who weren’t too keen on chowing down on their dorm-mates after lights out. However, and I quote:

We also found that Hufu^TM is a great product for cannibals who want to quit. Hufu^TM is also a great cannibal convenience food — no more Friday night hunting raids!

Now, if I was a cannibal, I think I’d find those hunting raids part of the fun. Free range always tastes so much better than battery-farmed, don’t you think? Then again, you might fancy a burger but not fancy going out and roping a steer before you can have supper. I’m all for equal opportunities. Why shouldn’t cannibals have fast-food as well?

I am indebted to the “Head Temp” for finding out about Hufu^TM for me. It says something for how odd I really am: I’ve not been in the job a month and she stumbles across fake human flesh and the first thing she thinks is “Hmmmm, Cas would love that!” Anyway, I would like to proclaim her as the latest Blog Minion.

That’s not to say I give the impression I would like fake human flesh. Rather, I obviously give the impression that the weird and the bizarre on the ‘Net float my boat.

Everybody say hello to “the Head Temp” and make her welcome around Bright Meadow 🙂

(The “Head Temp” is only a temporary blog-name for this individual. I’m currently all uninspired, and I do like to give people the option of choosing their own blog-names if at all possible. One notable exception being the Cute Canadian. Well, it would have given the game away a lot sooner if he’d chosen the name under which he was being blogged about, wouldn’t it? Much less fun 😉 )