data binary

Protecting Your Assets in the Digital Age

I had to get the battery in my Macbook replaced recently. It had been on the blink and flashing a “replace soon” warning for at least six months, it was at 1500-odd cycles, and my whole top case was getting glitchy. My mic had stopped working and keys decided if and when they were going to register (and how many times) on a case-by-case basis. It was time.

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work from home

How to Work from Home and Get Stuff Done

Yeah, the world is ending, but before it does many more people are finding themselves working from home for the first time. If you’ve never worked from home before, you’ve probably got half an idea of getting shit done from bed, in your PJs, with Netflix on in the background. And some days, working from home is totally like that. But most of the time, it’s really not that fun.

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Chichester cathedral

Historical Romance and the Arundel Tomb

The Arundel Tomb is a stone monument featuring effigies of Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster. It dates back to 1376 and is currently housed in Chichester Cathedral, for those curious enough to want to see it. Although an interesting artifact in its own right, today it’s most famous for the Larkin poem it inspired.

I was reminded of the tomb recently while thinking about historical queer romance, and the realities of writing historical queer lives. (more…)

gun rights control

Why Rights are Wrong

It seems these days everybody has rights, and don’t we all know them? The right not to be offended, the right not to be upset, the right to have what you want, when you want it. The right of religion. The right to bear arms.

Who gave us these rights, exactly? Here I hear a cry of Americans shouting “The Constitution!” but that’s a document made up and written down by men who were claiming those rights for themselves. They weren’t naturally or intrinsically bestowed. (more…)

scientist petri dish hiv aids

World AIDS Day: Looking Forward

It’s been thirty-four years since the first patient was diagnosed with what we now know to be HIV/AIDS. Last week, UNICEF reported that AIDS-related infections are now the single biggest killer of adolescents (15-19) in Africa, and the second most common worldwide. Most were born with the virus, and are the last generation for which HIV-positive pregnant women didn’t receive anti-retrovirals to prevent transmission to their babies. Many won’t even have known they were HIV-positive until they fell sick. (more…)