Today is World Mental Health Day, so it seems an opportune time to bring the topic out of the dark cupboard and shine some light on it. This year’s focus is schizophrenia, and as some may know, I have a close relationship with that topic in the form of my mom. There is still a…
Author: kittyireland
Paying attention to attention, psychology, habits, art, writing, literature, mysteries, nonsense, addiction, humanism, humor and cake.
The Truth About Networking
The thought of networking events makes me shudder. I picture rooms full of people with name tags and strained smiles clutching plastic cups of wine and repeating their “elevator pitches” over and over. That’s not really networking. That’s speed-dating. Networking is something you do with people you know and trust. You could, in theory, develop…
Dating: I Give Up (part deux)
Sometimes I like to do social experiments on the internet. So yesterday I reactivated my OkCupid account, added a cleavage selfie, and ticked the box for casual sex. Inevitably, a fresh photo leads to an influx of bizarre messages, so I thought I’d share a few I’ve received in the past 24 hours. Bob, 52,…
Dating: I Give Up
Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to resign myself to a life of celibacy or deny the possibility of a future life partner. But I am going to set reasonable expectations regarding my relationships with men, especially when it comes to online dating. I’ve started reading Dataclysm — because I am fascinated by this stuff…
The Perfect Project Management Process
In the course of my career, I’ve been fortunate enough to wear a numerous festive hats, and they have put me on all sides of the project management equation: the vendor, the client, member of the creative team, executive producer, product/ feature owner, and straight up project manager. After more than a dozen years, and…
Demolition
On Saturday, they tore down the house where I grew up. It was never “my house,” but rather always “grandma’s house,” until she died in 1983. I really only lived there full time for six years, and even during those years I stayed with my mom most weekends. Still, those years are the only years…
Job Hunting for Dummies: Structure and Connection
When unemployed or freelancing (or some combination thereof), it’s pretty easy to sink into an anxious, disorganized funk. Throwing résumés into the void of the internet feels “productive” — except of course it isn’t. I’m always strangely satisfied when I actually receive a rejection form letter two weeks later, because that means there actually is…
Storytelling For Public Speaking
I’ve gone to numerous Quantified Self meet ups and conferences, and I’ve sat through untold numbers of Show and Tell talks. They tend to follow a similar pattern: Identify what you measured, show a few charts, and end with some spurious correlations. These have ranged from actually pretty interesting to mind-numbingly boring. Every so often…
The Internet is a Hostile Environment for Women (and it's not getting better)
Surprise! Sexism and misogyny are still huge problems on the internet, even though women have a stronger voice and presence online than ever. Case in point 1: stolen nude photos. Let’s just get this straight. Every adult is allowed to take nude photos of themselves and do whatever they like with them. There’s nothing illegal…
The Internet is a Hostile Environment for Women (and it’s not getting better)
Surprise! Sexism and misogyny are still huge problems on the internet, even though women have a stronger voice and presence online than ever. Case in point 1: stolen nude photos. Let’s just get this straight. Every adult is allowed to take nude photos of themselves and do whatever they like with them. There’s nothing illegal…
Plumb Wonderful 