Just a couple of questions, ma'am...

1) What's something you’ve done recently that you really enjoyed?

In addition to watching "Andor" with my husband? My weekend D&D game is a life saver. My go-to class is Rogue. I am very much An Old and have so many other TTRPG rules cluttering up my brain that it's full and D&D stuff slips in and slides right out again. For whatever reason I'm finding Rogue the easiest, and I love sneak attack damage.

2) You come into possession of US$20 million dollars, no strings attached. Obviously you are a creature of grace, sensitivity, and philanthropy and are going to make the world a better place with it. But in the meantime what non-ultra-luxury thing will you buy with it for yourself?

Probably a piece of jewelry from NDN Silver by Wings. Absolutely gorgeous, incredible craftsmanship, so many of the pieces have called out to me. They're a luxury to me now, or at least a stretch. Less luxury but still a splurge is perfume from Sucreabeille. So many of the scents smell good. Even less of a luxury is more patreon subscriptions for delicious locked content.

3) What's your go-to hot beverage, and how do you like to prepare it? What's your lazy indulgent hot beverage, and how do you like to prepare it?

I never thought I'd be a coffee person and yet here I am, assuming that "coffee" means "cup of black stuff with a few candy bars and some heavy cream melted into it." Yes, I like a hot latte with caramel syrup - or peppermint mocha, depending on time of year - and maybe some Baileys in it and/or whipped cream on top of it. I'm a sucker for hot chocolate, too, prepared the same way.

4) Have you ever been told that you look like a famous person? If so, who was it? Do you agree?

I'm a fat white woman in my 40s so it went from Camryn Manheim to Melissa McCarthy. Insert shrug emoji here.

5) What type of geographic feature/area would you most like to live in? Desert, mountain, wetland, forest, etc?

Man let me tell you, I want to live right on Lake Michigan. It's way out of my price range. Just... being near the water? Bliss. My husband prefers the mountains, he's a mountain man. We could compromise but only by living in a place in the mountains that has a really nice pool.

Links! Links! Links!

When ‘The Day After’ Terrorized 100 Million Viewers With a Vision of Nuclear War

This anti-Nuclear TV Movie aired when I was 4 and profoundly shaped the way Americans felt about Nuclear weapons. It's also got John Lithgow.

I should watch it.

Bed Habits: One insomniac’s descent into the world of sleep research to understand what screens before bed are doing to our brains.

I, too, struggle with both forms of insomnia: falling asleep, and staying asleep. It's hard! I'm permanently exhausted. And what causes this sort of thing? Everyone says it's screens now but this has been going on for my entire life, not just the past 15 or so years I've had a smart phone. This is a well written bit of pop-sci journalism: breezy, funny, and informative.

It wasn’t an ordinary Red Cup Day at Starbucks this year

Only about 1% of Starbucks stores are fighting to Unionize/striking but that's a LOT considering... and a lot of lost revenue. November 17th was "Red Cup Day," which kicks off holiday drinks season with free reusable red cups for customers. A whole lot of people weren't crossing picket lines this year.

Of special note: One store closed by Unioninzing employees was scheduled to have 7 employees staff it. 10 workers came from other stores - 5 baristas and 5 managers. Those 5 managers apparently couldn't do the work of 2 baristas (5+2=7) and the store closed early.