All of this hit me in a giant, personal-feeling, direct whirl because of a couple big things:

• I am a woman (ta-da!)
• I speak at tech conferences.
• I head up the organizing committee of MinneWebCon.

There are a lot of things in my life that make me feel proud, but being involved with MinneWebCon consistently tops the list. In 5 of the 6 years (the 2013 conference included), MinneWebCon has featured women in keynote slots. In 2012, 10 of the 24 speakers were women – 41%. Going to MinneWebCon in 2010 literally changed my whole career path, partly because of the awesome quality of the speakers, but also because there were women speaking, and I thought to myself, “Self, you have ideas to share. You could do this too, and there’s a place for you.”

I got involved with the planning committee, made up of awesome men and women, who all see having more diversity as a responsibility of our conference to the community and the tech industry. I have never felt like I was a “token woman,” or that I am filling some kind of diversity quota.

MinneWebCon welcomes diverse speakers by having diverse speakers. We make it a point to let folks who have never presented before that they are more than welcome to submit a presentation. What do you do? What have you learned? What’s better/worse? What can others learn from this? We want everyone to be able to share this kind of stuff – its how we all grow.

In looking at what can be done, I’m offering my perspective as a conference organizer: sharing and transparency. Conference organizers need to talk not only with their organizing committee, but with other conference organizers. Don’t treat your whole event like a “trade secret.” Sit down with other organizers and talk through your processes. Learn from each other. Not every process is the best for every event, because not every event is the same, but you gain tremendous insight in hearing how other people make things work, where they’ve struggled and stumbled, and how they’ve gotten better.

And be transparent with your selection process. Here’s ours:

MinneWebCon has a two-part process: one is anonymous voting, where each member of the committee reads over the proposals and ranks them from 1-5. The votes are totaled and the proposals sorted. The second part is the whole committee gets together for a giant 4+ hour meeting where we review every proposal as a group, with the voting as a guide. This where the big discussion about the overall schedule happens: what will the conference looks like, what are we talking about (as a conference), what’s present and what’s missing. Each proposal gets a review no matters its ranking, and folks who didn’t make it in can get more constructive feedback on a non-selection than just “Sorry, nope.”

Including people is important. Diversity in perspective and opinion is what drives us forward, and makes us better, both in our work and as human beings. It is really, really hard to unpack privilege, to challenge your own views. It’s hard and it’s messy and sometimes you screw up – but it is always worth it to try, and to make good change.

Y: The Last Man, by Brian K. Vaughan. I had idly picked up the first trade paperback of Y maybe 4-5 years ago and paged through it in a Barnes & Noble, but it didn’t make much of an impression on me. When Chris brought home all 10 trade paperbacks from the library, I tucked the first three in my bag for the train ride to Milwaukee in October and was hooked. Epically creative, smart, funny, and gut-wrenching, its a brilliant story made even better by its medium.

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green. Hey, has it been a while since you ugly-cried over a book? Here you go. I was suspicious of the “kids with terminal illness” angle being some kind of an emotional gun to my head, but the story becomes far more than that (as people with severe illness are, indeed, so much more than their illness).

How to Be Black, by Baratunde Thurston. I am not black, but found this book hilarious, much as I find Baratunde hilarious. I was so engrossed in reading this book that I wound up taking it with me to the county service center downtown while waiting on paperwork. Did not put together the huge amount of weird looks I got until after reading; the cover has the title emblazoned on it in huge letters. Way to think it through.

Song of Ice and Fire #2-#5 (Clash of Kings, Storm of Swords, Feast for Crows, Dance with Dragons), by George R.R. Martin. Storm of Swords got 5 stars without question, but the rest languished at 3. GRRM’s books have bloated past the point of handling, and I think he is succumbing to his fans who demand EVERY detail and EVERY angle, rather than those of us who enjoy his story. The series was unique to me because of its “point of view” characters; they weren’t in every location of every event, but are important enough people in the world that they heard of those events and their reactions effected global happenings. The POV character list has bloated from 8 to 16 characters, and I think the series has lagged severely because of it. Get this man an editor and get him to book 7 (though that could handily take another 10-15 years)!

Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs, by Ken Jennings. Yes, that Ken Jennings. I was suspicious of this book, but as a big fan of trivia, I was completely drawn in. Jennings tells the story both of his crazy run on Jeopardy! in 2004, and visits other folks who love trivia and ephemera. He is funny, self-depreciating of his own experiences, and honestly respectful and curious about the folks he interviews. He is also pretty hilarious on Twitter.

I have a number of huge books that are half-read and on the docket for the beginning of 2013. I’m also in need of a dedicated reading spot, and living room reorganization efforts are underway. I’ve been using Goodreads to track all my reading, and I love connecting with new folks there.

Seth Godin gives the worst advice ever in this post http://t.co/ABLxmUhi

December 23, 2012 9:36 AM via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@andyrutledge

Andy Rutledge

… linking up to Seth Godin’s blog post “How to make a website: a tactical guide for marketers.” I have enjoyed some of Godin’s thinking in the past; though it is often targeted at more marketing-style folks than I consider myself, there is marketing involved in what I do, and its useful. Even with this post, I could see a lot of good ideas, or parts of ideas, but all of that was overridden by a creeping feeling of separation, of dismissing understanding of your teammates, of thinking that the web can be created in some kind of weird silo vacuum. Best reaction to the blog post comes from Georgy:

Did a web developer kill Seth Godin's family or something? Seriously, what the hell?

December 23, 2012 10:19 AM via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@radiofreegeorgy

Georgy Cohen

Any of the good bits in this article (websites lead to some kind of interaction that is not 100% technical, think about what you want to do before you just start whacking stuff together) is completely overridden by the horrid advice for marketers to put together a design of features from other sites into a presentation deck, hand it off to the developers with a “Here you go, do this” attitude and go away until your site bursts forth like an alien out of someone’s chest.

You don’t need a massive team to do every web project, but you do need other points of view. This feels freakishly exclusionary, not only of people, but of concepts. Maybe you don’t have a designer but is someone thinking about design? Can’t bring on a content strategist, but how are you employing a solid content strategy before you start ganking all those shopping carts and nav elements (that, hopefully, have their own strategy driving them… strategy that is likely different from yours)?

“Do not do any coding at all” also ruffled me quite hard. The elements you’re grabbing and dropping into your deck spec (thanks Jeff Eaton for that one) not only have code driving them, but code is going to be what your devs use to bring things together. While Godin could have meant for marketers not to muck with code, lest it need to be rewritten and is ugly, I instead see a dismissive “Let those developer types stick to all that fussy coding business.” And that kind of self-segregation by “type” or specialty can break web projects, and web teams.

Sure, we all have stuff we’re good at, and stuff we’re not so good at, or stuff we don’t know at all. But building sites is usually a team project, and making an effort to understand what your teammates do and what they know will make the project go a lot smoother. You’ll build respect for each other’s specialties and knowledge. Respect doesn’t prevent conflict, or remove all misunderstandings, problems, and barriers. But it makes working with them, and building awesome websites, a whole lot better.

Marketers, respect your devs – hell, respect yourselves -and don’t make a website this way. And Seth Godin? What’s up.

While there might not be a Wikipedia page about your faculty member’s specific research, the concepts and ideas that support it are probably covered. But scientific Wikipedia articles can be just as tough to wade through. The solution: see the page in another “language.

Wikipedia’s sidebar features links to other languages that the page is available in, one of which is Simple English. (Yes. That’s a language.) The Simple English Wikipedia site is written using only the 1,000 most common basic English words, simplified word use and straightforward grammar rules.  Comparing the Wikipedia entries for atmospheric pressure on the standard English site  and the Simple English site  quickly reveals how the basics of an idea can boil down.
Read the whole article…

This has spurred me on, not to write more, but to make actual, good, concrete goals about writing more. Which will lead to writing more.

• The subtle strangeness and right-on tone makes Windows 95 Tips and Tricks a win for anyone ever confronted with the old Welcome screen.
• Whitney Hess, who I have been fortunate to get to know through professional speaking and conferences, is maintaining a list of names and stories of those who lost their lives due to Hurricane Sandy. Whitney is tirelessly crusading through her blog and Twitter account to connect people with resources and to keep the light burning – communities in the east are still in a terrible amount of trouble.
• Chris began following @sorkinese on Twitter, and then we found that The West Wing is on Amazon Prime to watch for free through the Roku. YES! Also related: West Wing Confessions (spoilers there for the whole show, but given that it ended in 2006…)
• Delta Airlines redesigned their website last week (maybe just for kicks?) and stripped out almost all of the good functionality in the process. Kristina Halvorson, as a frequent Delta site user, has good commentary on the situation.
• More reasons why sign language is phenomenally nuanced and amazing, and interpreters are mind-blowing.
• The truth behind the house at 23 Leinster Gardens is not only a great read, but part of the even greater blog 150 Great Things About the Underground.

An oldie but a goodie from Indexed:

Pleased with my ability not only to keep things from just being a blank white screen, but also mucking about with CSS to make some customizations. Pardon the dust, things are still coming together, but its getting there.

I have a “don’t pick fights before 9 AM” rule, but I really wanted to follow this guy into the gas station, just to reassure him that the Socialist Party of America stopped running candidates in 1956 (when Darlington Hoopes won fewer than 3,000 votes), and, with 1,000 members, the Socialist Party USA probably won’t be on the ballot in 2012, or pose a major threat to the two party system.

This morning, around 5:30, we heard the most nasal and obnoxious noise coming from the hallway, and I was wide awake when I realized it was the fire alarm. Spoiler alert: everyone is safe and fine, and there was no fire anywhere near our apartment.

One of the big things I thought of after reading the article and again this morning was, “Where’s the cat?” We decided to stow the cat carrier in the hall closet right by the front door, and knowing where it was instantly was great. Thankfully, the cat was so freaked out by the alarm sound that he didn’t dash under the bed and hide, he just parked himself very firmly in the middle of the hallway, and didn’t fuss in the least as he was loaded in the carrier.

In the spirit of disregarding fire safety, I opened our apartment door, but could neither smell smoke or see fire. I know, I know, this was dumb, but it’s what happened. Chris woke up, we pulled on coats and jeans and I grabbed my purse and keys and we were out the door. We waited outside with about 15 other people (our apartment building is big, and has 3 different doors), many with cats in carriers or wrapped in towels. The firefighters tramped through the stairwell, and the alarm shut off after 15 minutes.

There was a point, just before we left, that I looked around the apartment, at all of our things. I felt remarkably detached from it, though this could be due to not seeing a threat of fiery destruction out the door, and knowing we’d be back inside soon. It felt good to be prepared enough (and know that we have insurance) for Chris and I to quickly grab what we needed and get out quickly.

I can’t see me lovin’ nobody but you for all my life.

Tomorrow is the rehearsal. The day after that, somebody’s getting married.

1. My coworker found herself in the same mindset. In October, she gave birth to possibly THE CUTEST baby boy (which I point out because another friend gave birth to possibly THE CUTEST baby girl in December), and is now giving her wardrobe another look-over. Dear readers, I cannot tell you the absolute super bonus it is to have someone around on a regular basis to bounce ideas off of, and to support and be supported by.
2. The same dear coworker introduced me to Already Pretty, which blew my mind open and resulted in about 20 “to read” tabs in the browser.
3. Summer of Dresses is back for another year in the Twin Cities. I think dresses are the ideal clothes for someone as lazy as I am. Put on ONE thing, and you are done getting dressed. I’m in love, and wearing more dresses.

Sadly, my pocketbook does not simply allow me to waltz to the mall and buy up a new wardrobe, so thrift and consignment stores have entered the picture. They’ve yielded some good results so far, but I revisit places every month or so to allow for turnover. Today, I became a crazy person, and hit up six stores in three hours. All of these stores closed at 6, and I got this idea in my head around 2:30 (while still in my pajamas, what’s up weekend). Some of these spots were new, some I’ve been to before, but all are going to be JUDGED (gently) below.

Savers: A huge massive thrift store, and not my favorite kind of environment. I dislike digging and pawing through huge quantities of clothes, and wasn’t in too much of a mood for it today. I tried on a bunch of cardigans, and lamented how cardigans look weird on me. Purchased nothing, but didn’t spend a lot of time there. Will return when feeling like a deep dive.

Blacklist Vintage. This is rated the #1 Thrift/Vintage/Consignment store on Yelp. I am not cool enough to shop here. While I think I could get away with some vintage pieces in my personal style, I can’t just go full-on retro dress. I perused the accessories areas (belts were on my to-get list), but nothing spoke to me. The shop clerks were super friendly, but this isn’t my style at all.

Buffalo Exchange. The local BE gets mixed reviews on Yelp, but I’ve had regular good luck there, picking up some sweet pieces for absolute steals, including one of my favorite sweaters. Today didn’t pan out for buying, but I still say this place was a win because I brought in 9 different things to try on. Seeing how clothes work or don’t on my body is part of all this, too.

Nu Look Consignment. Meghan had a killer red dress on last week that she nabbed at NuLook for a criminal deal, so this made the list as I moved west across the city. I did manage to find a solid pair of brown Hush Puppies heels that I can wear around (shoe collection also needs expanding, DANGER DANGER), but I was bummed out with the dress selection! So small! The rest of this place overwhelmed me ala Savers, so it’ll have to wait for more time to explore/dig.

Turn Style. I like this store because I can put on an outfit, stand in front of a 3-angle mirror, ask people for opinions, and wander over to the belt/scarf wall and accessorize away. None of the outfits worked, but I did get 4 new fabric belts.

Second Debut. The day wrapped in St. Louis Park, with Second Debut. This is part of Goodwill, but they sort out the higher end stuff and bring it to a separate store. I showed up here with about 10 minutes to go until closing time, and had to laser focus. I pulled three items to try on, but none really worked. There was a dress/jacket outfit in the window that I deeply covet, but I wasn’t about to be the jerk that shows up right before you shut down for the night and ask you to dismantle a display.

So yes, a smaller haul than expected, but I got to check out more stores and give another run through old favorites. Operation Stop Dressing Like A Hobo continues apace.

1. No socks. Falling asleep with socks on is pretty much a solid component in my getting a crappy night of sleep. I’ve always loved being barefoot, and usually don’t wear socks around the house. I will only wear socks in bed if it is unnaturally cold, or if I have the Cold Cancer. This is the term for my waking up in the middle of the night, absolutely sure I’m dying. I will usually bother Chris about it, telling him that I’m stricken by a mystery plague, won’t live to see another sunrise, and love him madly. He will tell me to put on a sweater, because I’ve often fallen asleep in a t-shirt. I’ll flip out and say no, I’m not cold, I’m dying don’t you understand!? and he will hand me a sweater. I’ll decide it’s better to die warm, put on the sweater, realize I was just cold all along, and fall asleep.
2. Jewelry affects my dreams. This is particular to rings, though sometimes necklaces. I rarely wear necklaces to bed, but will occasionally fall asleep with rings on. This has been known to cause restless nights of worry and dreams about real-world things I need to do or get done. Once I take off rings, though, I can conk out and have traditionally whacked out dreams that have no basis in the real world. Case in point: last night. While I was wearing my engagement ring, I had dreams about paying bills, budget crap, house chores, and a shopping list. After I woke up, took the ring off, and set it on the nightstand, I had a dream about kayaking through some kind of space ocean and sleeping on a rocky outcropping which was noticeably free of bird poop.
3. Back avoidance. I am primarily a stomach sleeper, though I like firm pillows, which perplexes every pillow ratings system I’ve come across. Occasionally I will curl onto my side, but stomach is seriously where it’s at. If I try to fall asleep on my back, I just drift into some kind of crazy state of partial consciousness. If I sleep on my back, the cat will show up and try to colonize things.

The cat and his colonization of the bed at various points in the night is another factor affecting my sleep, but he usually pays more attention to Chris by sitting just out of arm’s reach and purring with the strength to power a car. The other night, however, he decided that my pillow was The Place To Be, put his butt near my face so I’d move my head, and curled up on the pillow. I fell back asleep after petting him and had a dream that there was a raccoon in the bathroom.

Me: “Legwarmers.”

Chris: “Beware, for when you look at legwarmers, legwarmers also look at you. No, wait. The abyss. I’m thinking of the abyss, not legwarmers.”

This is NOT my sweater.

The sweater is teal, more blue-teal than green-teal. Teal is never a color I’ve really worn, but I get compliments about this sweater. It has a really nice cable-rib knit pattern that I enjoy in principle, but feel strange about.

Simply put, the sweater doesn’t belong to me. Not in that I stole the sweater, or was gifted the sweater. But the color, the texture, the neckline… everything about this sweater reminds me of my childhood friend, the neighbor with the same first name. This teal color is HER color. She always colored with a teal crayon, and the blue-green was her pick to write her name. I usually picked purple or red. Same thing with the texture, though this is less mentally clear: the texture reminds me of her. Maybe she had a similarly textured sweater while we were growing up, and that sensory memory has buried itself deep into a brain crevice.

I’m at a loss as to what to do about the sweater. It’s a nice sweater – flattering, nice neckline, mid-length sleeves – but I just don’t think it’s me. Maybe I should look her up again and let her know I have her sweater – the sweater that she never bought, but was hers all along.

Do I read more books in the winter than in the summer?

The totals bear out that winter makes me way, way more likely to cozy up with a book. Though Minnesota definitely has four seasons, I split things up into two groups of six months: Summer (April through September) and Winter (January through March, and October through December).

Why do I read so little fiction?

I was a non-fiction reading crazed person this year, and my totals reflected that. However, I was wrong in thinking that I have shirked fiction in recent years; the numbers revealed the opposite was true, and my love for non-fiction was a more recent thing. Not included below are comics (which are fiction, but I read them so fast that I’m still figuring out how to count them appropriately) and gaming books (which are fictional settings with rules around them).

59 fiction books versus 47 non-fiction books in the last four years, though 2010 skewed hugely towards the non-fiction realm. This could be attributed to joining up with the library in autumn; while fiction books often have huge waiting lists, the non-fiction that I’m interested in tends to be readily available or have a short list.

2010 was a good year for reading, though 2011 has started off a bit slow. Instead of gulping down one book at a time, I’ve moved back into my familiar trap of reading a ton of books at once and making slow progress on all of them.

December 13 – Action. When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step?

Getting involved and getting out there. Not just hanging out in corners at events, but shaking hands, trading stories, swapping business cards. Make connections, make opportunities, be places and, as my dad says (and it’s true), make my own luck.

December 14 – Appreciate. What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

Schmoopy and dumb, but my fiancé. I appreciate how he doesn’t put up with my crazysauce moments, but shows me love in everything he does and in every word he says, even if it’s not what I want to hear. I never want to be with someone who “puts up” with me. Heck, I’m even done “putting up” with me and some of my nonsense. I express gratitude by baking him cookies and by not “putting up” with him, but showing him love in every action and word. In case you hadn’t guessed, I’m kinda crazy for him.

December 15 – 5 Minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

Fine, alarm set. What is up with this question? Science fiction reader me wants to know what brought this on, and the other side effects. Could I lose my memory, but re-read notes I had left for myself? Read this blog? Will the world be snuffed out, will other people lose their memories of 2010 as well? Get practical, start writing down shit you need to know and people you need to talk to. What about all the code I’ve written? Losing my memory of things I’ve learned from work in the last year would result in me losing my job. This isn’t just some “Oh, I want to hang on to the sweet glowing starlight memories of love’s refrain” blah blah blah. This is SERIOUS BUSINESS. Like the Internet. Would my life continue after this memory loss? Would I be an anomaly of science?

MY CAT JUST JUMPED ON ME, I HAVE LOST PRECIOUS REMEMBERING TIME. Writing prompt, I demand more background from you.

December 16 – Friendship. How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?

My close friends have constantly served as role models for what good-hearted giving looks like. I’m beyond privileged to have them near me in life.

December 10 – Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

I think time is the better judge of if a decision was truly wise or not. I made some good decisions this year, like using the library more to both read a ton and save money, and getting a handle on my anxiety. I’d say the last will turn out to be wise, but I haven’t conquered that beast yet. I did not make the decision to install a candy vending machine in the house. History will certainly scoff at my lack of wisdom for passing that up.

December 11 – 11 Things. What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

I had a bunch of really abstract ideas for this, like drama or procrastination or heartache or untruthiness, but let’s get down to business. Here are 11 things my life doesn’t need next year, how I will get rid of/avoid them, and how my life will be better.

1. Okra. Never trust a vegetable that makes its own snot (also true with natto). I will avoid all okra dishes in 2011, which is not a big stretch, since I hate it. My life will remain okra-free, and I will tell other people about my dislike of okra.
   

   Fried okra, one of the greatest threats to mankind.

2. People who don’t pay attention to snow parking rules. They keep my street from being correctly plowed during INSANE BLIZZARDS (rant post forthcoming, natch). I will eliminate them by calling tow trucks and/or leaving passive aggressive notes on their windshields along with the city-issued citation.
3. Yarn snobbery. I am not rich enough to keep buying hand spun wool that was plucked by angel babies from heaven-sent llamas. I will get over myself and shop at the damned craft store if that’s where the right yarn is.
4. Zombies. Not sexy.
5. Sexy zombies. I can only see this as being some crazy book trend, which I will violently oppose, for the good of all.
6. Small cowl-necked sweaters. Note to self: STOP BUYING THESE, they make you look puffy and weird. Next year I will look less puffy and weird by buying v-neck wrap sweaters instead.
7. Pants that don’t fit. I have gotten over vanity sizing and am now just buying pants that fit me well. Nobody will look at the size of them, they will just see that I’m body-aware enough to buy clothes that fit me.
8. Thermonuclear war.
9. Any television show with Kate Gosselin in it.
10. A resurgence of fake Australian accents. Fake New Zealand accents are acceptable.
11. The complete collapse of society, such that I no longer have access to food, shelter, or peanut butter.

That was too hard. Moving on.

December 12 – Body Integration. This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

I’m sure this is meant to be another prompt aligning with the ooh-ahh cultivating wonder twee ridiculosity, but whatever. My moment was after waking up from knee surgery, with my whole left leg numb from a femoral nerve block. I would punch my leg and not feel anything. I hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours and felt like I was in space. I wanted to curl up into a ball but could not curl. This was pretty much the biggest affront to my senses ever, not to be able to curl. I love to curl.

I definitely felt alive, not in that exhilarating standing on the prow of a ship way, but in that nauseous, reeling, numb/pain way. My body had just been through An Ordeal and my mind was acutely aware of it.

December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful.

Oh, come on. This is up there with the “cultivating wonder” thing from before. Seriously? Seriously? I just deleted the last paragraph I wrote because it was so snarky that I was choking on it. I would answer this by saying that I have a wide array of so-called “herp-derp” noises that nobody else can make. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL AND SO AM I. Ugh. Next question.

December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

Nick, Kareena, Chris, and I went on a crazy driving trip this summer. We were originally going to go camping, but then tornado-producing storms were set to come down on the whole state. We instead drove around southeastern Minnesota in ultra humidity, finding a Cambodian Buddhist temple in the middle of nowhere, hitting the trails in two state parks, of course nomming on burgers at King’s Place in Miesville, and scoping out hotels in Red Wing (criteria: POOL). Photo recap! (Click any of the photos for bigger versions on Flickr.)

Burgers at King’s. (It kills me that they don’t have the menu online!) Nick and Kareena are trying to eat every burger on their formidable burger menu, so they each order two burgers at a go. My favorite burger has lettuce, tomato, bacon, pepper jack cheese, and sour cream, and I inhale it when it is placed in front of me.

Hidden Falls at Nerstrand-Big Woods state park. What this picture does not show is us drenched in sweat, due to 1000% humidity. Also, Kareena and I successfully identified a bird using the birding kit.

Nick and Kareena had run across this place before, and it is a STUNNER. You’re driving along a quiet road in ultra-rural southeastern Minnesota, pass by a stand of trees and BAM: Buddhist temple! Had a great time exploring around, the whole structure is astonishing.

Of course, drive just a bit down the road, pass another stand of trees and SECOND BAM: a gigantic fiberglass man in his underwear holding a truck by a leash. I’m standing at the bottom for scale. Oh Minnesota, you’re a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a delicious burger.

December 5 – What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

I let go of a bunch of old, crappy grudges. They don’t even bear repeating because they were ridiculous. At some point in the summer I heard the saying “Holding a grudge is letting someone live rent-free inside your head,” and that was just the end. Booted. Out. Evicted. And it feels so good.

December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

I continued my foray into knitting, and loved it. This year I learned to make hats (love the decreases), mittens (which are like fingerless gloves with small hats on top), and cowls (never knitting a scarf again). Ravelry continues to sustain me with its plethora of free patterns and amazing forums, and my weekly knitting group is a big part of my life in more ways than just fiber-related.

The last thing I made was this picture in MS Paint, to convince my coworkers to bring more meat dishes to our holiday potluck:

December 7 – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?

Since I started my new job in March doing more exclusive web and content work, I’ve discovered a lot more of the local web and interactive community, which is thrilling and exciting and intimidating (mostly the first two). I was able to attend MinneWebCon and An Event Apart this year, and am now serving on the planning board for MWC2011. I’ve met people through the web standards group at the U, and through the fledgling but awesome Girls in Tech chapter in the Twin Cities. The whole community is full of energy, ideas, and great connections – I’m stoked to be a part of it.

This is from my last blog, and arguably one of the more popular posts, written in January of 2007. I’m bringing it over here for some new life, as the question of what Meat Loaf will and won’t do for love still haunts our collective subconscious.

I have a fairly eclectic music collection, and sometimes “eclectic” can mean “downright embarrassing.” Here is the logic behind some of the more questionable songs (usually pop ballads): songs get in my head, and flat-out will not leave until I give them a good listen. That usually does the trick, but I rarely – if ever – delete music from my iTunes, and that leaves some perplexing entries when people browse through later on. “Is this seriously a Eurobeat football-chant song from the World Cup in the early 90′s?” Yes, yes it is. Please move along.

Pop songs are pop hits because they have a good hook, and I have a deep admiration for a good hook – they’re hard to write, and harder to pull off. Sometimes they’re obnoxious, sometimes deliciously complicated, but they always do the trick: you wind up humming the thing for days, weeks, years after the fact, and the tiniest aural hint can trigger a return, surfacing like a bubblegum submarine from the depths of the subconscious.

Last night, Meat Loaf’s 1993 #1 hit “I Would Do Anything For Love… But I Won’t Do That” ahoogah’d its way to my forebrain. I remembered seeing the video on VH1 and MTV in late elementary school, and then as a Pop-Up Video in junior high school. Determined not to add this song to my already outlandish music library, I pulled up YouTube and got my listening fix via watching the video (directed by Michael Bay!), which I vaguely recalled having a “Beauty and the Beast” theme.

… though I didn’t recall “Beauty and the Beast” having motorcycle chases. Or cops being killed by crystal chandeliers. Or the eponymous Beauty splashing around in a bathtub and retreating to a heavily-blanketed bed to have an orgy with some kind of vampiric brides. Or the line “Will you hose me down with holy water if I get too hot?”.

Regardless, my mind still went back to the questions of ”What won’t Meat Loaf do for love? What is the ‘that’ in the title?” With a song coming from the same guy who sang “I can see paradise by the dashboard light”, my mind drifted to some fairly bizarre acts. Sadly, it turns out that Meat Loaf says exactly what he won’t do for love in the song, just a few lines previous to the title line.

Things Meat Loaf WILL NOT Do For Love

1. Forget the way you feel right now.
2. Forgive himself if you and he don’t go all the way tonight.
3. Do it better than he’ll do it with you. (For so long!)
4. Stop dreaming of you every night of his life.
5. Forget everything and move on.
6. Sooner or later be screwing around.

Though I’m pretty confused about how a guy would consider cheating and screwing around something he would do for love, I guess it takes all kinds. Also, if the above list didn’t convince you that Meat Loaf is totally your ideal guy (he also prays to the gods of sex, drums, and rock n’ roll), check out the following list:

Things Meat Loaf WILL Do For Love

1. Run right into hell and back.
2. Never lie to you. (that’s a fact!)
3. Be there until the final act.
4. Take a vow.
5. Seal a pact.
6. Raise you up AND help you down.
7. Get you out of your godforsaken town.
8. Make it all a little less cold.
9. Hold you sacred and tight.
10. Colorize your life. (ed.: Interpret that however you want.)
11. Make some magic with his own two hands (e.g. building a replica of a “Wizard of Oz” set with some sand… Meat Loaf is into beach sculpture competitions?)
12. The above-mentioned holy water stuff, and other kinky allusions.

… and the list goes on. I briefly thought of downloading the song and posting a link here so you, Gentle Reader, could have it for your own, but getting busted by the feds for illegal file sharing over a Meat Loaf song? Hell, I won’t do that.