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This post, my boss reads my emails, TV’s best bosses, and more , was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. I was laid off, and my old employer hasn’t contacted me now that they’re hiring again

This past year has been a really hard one for me. I spent several years working in a job that was interesting, challenging, and helped me grow my skills. My industry was decimated by the pandemic and many of us were furloughed early on; after many months of wondering what would happen next, my position was eliminated last fall and I was devastated.

Now I am many months into a new job that pays me more than my old job, but is extremely dull. They praise my work but I am very unfulfilled. I am rarely busy and the work I am assigned is very one-note and doesn’t use many of my skills. I am applying to new roles because this place just doesn’t seem to be a good fit.

I have been distressed of late to see that my prior workplace has begun hiring again and the job of mine that was eliminated now apparently needs to be filled again. My prior workplace is rather dramatic and prone to firings and personnel-related upheaval, and the main managers of my department were fired shortly before the pandemic began and were replaced by new people who, when the pandemic hit, saved themselves and got rid of many of us. The way they treated us left a bitter taste in my mouth. They have not reached out to me to ask if I’d want to come back (though I worked there for several years and was well-regarded). My mentor-turned-friend who still works there keeps telling me he misses working with me and I miss working with him, too, but I do not feel comfortable reaching out to the new department heads about the job posting. They did, after all, lay me off and I think they should be the ones initiating contact. What irks me is that whenever I am on job boards, I keep seeing my old role being advertised since they are apparently unable to find someone with adequate skills. And it makes me mad and upset because my skills are good and I know how to perform the role.

My spirits are very low because of this situation. There are not a lot of jobs in my field in this town. But I have too much self respect to grovel at the feet of the people who laid me off. Do you think I am taking the right approach here?

It sounds like you’re making this very personal when it’s not. I know it feels personal — losing a job is a big deal. But these aren’t personal relationships; they’re business ones, and “they should be the ones initiating contact” just doesn’t apply here. And do you really want to hang your future professional happiness on that principle?

If you’d like to go back, just contact them yourself! They might be assuming you wouldn’t be interested since you have another job now (which they could know from LinkedIn or your friend who’s still there). Or they might not have thought of you because they didn’t work with you long. If you’d be interested in going back, just apply! Or if you want, you can contact them first, say you’d be interested in talking about returning, and ask if you should formally throw your hat in the ring. None of that is groveling. It’s just … normal business stuff.

However, you sound like you have a lot of bitterness toward the current managers, and if you return you’d presumably be working for them. So make sure you’re okay with that part of it first.

2. My boss reads my emails with customers

I’ve been at my job for close to five years, and my manager has been working here just about as long. Throughout this time, I’ve noticed that my manager will read through my email exchanges with customers. Since the vast majority of these occur through an alias customer service email address that the sales team all has access to (she and I and a part-time team member are the primary users of this account), I haven’t said anything about it because it doesn’t seem like she’s doing anything wrong, per se, so I don’t know how to bring it up without looking suspicious.

I’m not using these emails for anything other than business and don’t have anything I’m trying to hide (and no one has ever called my handling of customer emails into question aside from the usual sales strategy feedback), but it feels weirdly invasive and micromanagey and like she doesn’t trust me to do the job that I’ve been doing for five years. I’ve only noticed it happening when she mentions something to me or others that was discussed exclusively in an email conversation with a customer, and which wouldn’t have come across her desk without reading that email exchange. Since I always make sure to direct her to any emails that require her attention, I’m not certain what the goal is here.

I know that it doesn’t really matter on a large scale, but it has always really bothered me. It also feels like a strange use of time when we’re already understaffed and no concerns have been raised with me about my handling of issues. Am I wrong to feel like this is invasive, and untrusting? Is there something I can do about it?

If she is one of the multiple users of that email account, this isn’t necessarily shady. She could be in there for legitimate reasons and happen to come across those emails without specifically going out of her way to monitor you, right? I could see her thinking, “Oh, here’s an update from Client X, who I take an active interest in — where are things at with them?” I get why that feels like you’re being watched, but it can also just be part of the deal with a shared email account.

Since it’s bothering you, though, you could say, “Do you have any concerns about my handling of emails with customers? When you review my emails in the shared account, it’s made me wonder if you’re not confident that I’ll handle issues correctly.”

If she doesn’t need to be in the account for other reasons and she’s going in specifically to read your emails, that’s more unusual and you’re not wrong to feel untrusted — although there’s probably a reason it’s a shared account, and whatever that reason is might put it in context. There too, though, you could use the language above.

To be clear, managers should spot-check people’s work periodically to make sure they have a good feel for things they otherwise might never see. But monitoring emails without an explicit acknowledgement that that’s the system isn’t typical, so especially if it’s scenario #2, I’d want to know more about where she’s coming from.

3. Can you cite higher insurance premiums when negotiating for more money?

Is it considered acceptable, when negotiating a new job in a new organization, to use higher insurance premiums as a justification for requesting a higher salary? Does it matter if you verbally said a salary was good before seeing the insurance premiums?

You can absolutely say something like, “Your insurance premiums are much higher than I’m currently paying and change the math on the overall package for me. Given that, could you do $X?” If the premium cost difference would cancel out most/all of the salary bump you’d be getting by changing jobs, you can say that too; for example, “Unfortunately the cost of your insurance premiums is so much higher that I’d be taking a pay cut to join you. Could you go up to $X to cancel that out?” (Generally I don’t recommend talking about your current salary when negotiating pay, but where it helps you make the case for more money it’s fine to do. People understand you won’t want to take an effective pay cut, and they understand the concept of “I’d need $X to consider a move.”)

All this works even if you’d previously said a salary range sounded fine; if they wanted your full buy-in on that, they would have needed to show you the full benefits package then.

4. Can I ask for a different desk?

I feel a little petty even typing this, but I’d love your advice on how I can reframe my thinking about this to see it as less of an issue. I just got a new job (I used your cover letter tips!) and currently most of the team is remote but planning to go back in person soon. I got assigned a desk that can convert between standing and sitting. Before, I didn’t even know this was a possibility, but I got really excited about it. However, today I got an email that said I was reassigned to a different desk because someone else who was using it unofficially wanted to keep it because it’s bigger. I’m surprisingly crestfallen. I didn’t realize there would be such different levels of attractiveness between the different desks. And I can’t help but feel a little miffed that someone else “stole” my desk before I had a chance to go in. And the desk I got moved to is smaller and isn’t a standing desk. Should I reach out and make my preference known? I don’t want to be seen as someone who cares more about the desk than the work itself, but also a standing desk would make a big difference in my comfort level in the office.

You should ask if you can have the type of desk you want! They might have one they can give you, and if they can’t, they’ll let you know. It’s not a faux pas to write back, “Any chance there’s another standing/sitting desk available that I could use? I was pretty excited when you told me I was getting this one!” The answer might be no, but it’s fine to ask.

If the answer is no, though, keep in mind that this person didn’t steal your desk. They were already using it. It sounds like it was more their desk, and the person doing desk assignments just hadn’t realized that initially.

5. TV’s best boss

I was talking to my husband the other day about how I like Glenn from the TV show Superstore better as a manager than Michael Scott from The Office. In a lot of ways, they’re both sort of inept but somehow havereally good stores/offices, and they both say sort of inappropriate things and sometimes let their personal issues or values in the workplace too much. I think if I had to pick, I’d prefer someone like Glenn cause he’s way nicer, and some things he says might be inappropriate but aren’t as rude/mean/gross as Michael Scott, and I think Glenn is more amenable to being corrected/called out. It got me to thinking, who are the best and worst TV bosses?

I was thinking of people like Michael Scott from The Office, Glenn from Superstore, Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec, Captain Holt from Brooklyn 99, David from Schitt’s Creek (he does own a store after all, so I’m opening the possibility he’ll hire someone!), and Shannon from Kim’s Convenience. I think I might like Captain Holt the most and Michael Scott the least, even though I love both characters as a “they’re not real and this is purely amusing” kind of thing. Who’s your favorite TV boss (including those not on this list)?

I find most TV bosses truly terrible in painful ways (we covered Michael Scott and Leslie Knope recently), but Admiral Adama from Battlestar Galactica is excellent (although his fatherly affection for Kara is a weak spot). Also, weirdly enough, it seemed like Gus Fring on Breaking Bad might have been a good boss at his chicken stores, even though he was clearly problematic to work for in his drug business.

Good morning. Houston will remain in a hot, late-summer pattern with the potential for afternoon thunderstorms. Rain chances will not go to zero, but they should remain quite low over the Labor Day weekend.

In response to yesterday’s post about whether August or September had the worst weather in Houston, I conducted an informal poll on Twitter. About 70 percent of respondents chose August, compared to 26 percent who selected September. Four percent said some other month was worse.

Thursday

Temperatures this morning are quite muggy, with lows only in the low 80s for some locations. With high pressure building to the north of our region, showers will again be most likely today along and south of Interstate 10. These areas closer to the coast may have about a 50 percent chance of rain later today compared to 20 percent or so inland. Highs will generally get into the mid-90s this afternoon with mostly sunny skies. Winds will be light, out of the southeast at 5 to 10 mph.

Friday

A similar day to Thursday, with rain chances higher along the coast and lesser inland. Highs again should slot somewhere in the mid-90s.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday

Labor Day weekend looks mostly sunny and hot, with high temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s, and rain chances of 20 percent or less as high pressure more directly influences our weather.

Next week

By Tuesday or so of next week we should start to see pressures fall, which will lead to a few more clouds and should bump rain chances up into the 30 to 50 percent chance each day. This will also probably knock temperatures down into the low-90s. If you’re wondering when fall’s first real cold front might arrive, there’s still no real sign of it in the global models. Typically it comes around the third or fourth week of September.

Tropics

The remnants of Ida absolutely drenched the northeastern United States on Wednesday and Wednesday night, spawning tornadoes and causing major flooding in New Jersey and New York. While 7 to 8 inches of rain may not seem like a lot to a Houston resident, those are historic rainfall amounts for areas not designed to drain quickly.

As for storms over water, Hurricane Larry is on its way to becoming a major hurricane, and may eventually affect Bermuda, or may turn north before doing so. The Caribbean system we’ve been talking about still has low chances of developing, but even if it does seems likely to remain well south of Texas. We’re getting to the home stretch of the tropics for Texas in 2021, and Matt, Maria, and myself will be recording a video on Friday talking more about what the next three weeks may look like.

Our most-read article of 2021.

Originally published September 2, 2021.

Hi, if you are reading this essay then congratulations, you are still alive. And if you are alive, then you have either gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, or you still have the opportunity to get the vaccine against COVID-19. And holy fuck, if you aren’t fucking vaccinated against COVID-19, then you need to get fucking vaccinated right now. I mean, what the fuck? Fuck you. Get vaccinated. Fuck.

The fucking vaccine will not make you magnetic. Are you fucking kidding me? It just fucking won’t. That’s not even a fucking thing, and that lady who tried to pretend the vaccine made her fucking magnetic looked like a real fucking fuckwad and a fucking idiot, so get fucking vaccinated. Jesus. Fuck.

The vaccine also doesn’t have a fucking 5G chip in it. What the fuck do you think a fucking 5G chip is, fucknuts? You think it’s like some invisible nanotechnology they can suspend in a liquid and then just put in your fucking blood and then it what, exactly? Fucking floats around in your body going on Instagram and telling the government you went to the grocery store? No one fucking cares where you go, you absolute fucking fuck-barf. Fuck off with that. Fuck.

Oh, you’re afraid of fucking side effects? Fuck you. You know what has fucking side effects? Fucking aspirin, fucking Tylenol. You could be fucking allergic to pineapple, you fucking fuckwit. Everything has side effects. You’re being a big fucking baby with a huge diaper full of fucking diarrhea, complaining about maybe feeling slightly tired for a day or two while your asymptomatic COVID case you get and pass to some innocent fucking kid could wind up killing them or someone else. Fuck you, you fucking selfish fucking shit-banana, you unredeemable ass-caterpillar, you fucking fuck-knob with two fucks for eyes and a literal poop where your heart should be. You want a two-month-old to wind up on a fucking ventilator instead of you, a fucking adult, getting a fucking sore arm for a day? What are you, a pitcher for the Yankees? A fucking concert pianist? An arm model? Get the fuck out of here! Fuck you. Get vaccinated. Fuck. Fuck you!

You think vaccines don’t fucking work? Oh, fuck off into the trash, you attention-seeking fuckworm-faced shitbutt. This isn’t even a point worth discussing, you fuck-o-rama fuck-stival of ignorance. Vaccines got rid of smallpox and polio and all the other disgusting diseases that used to kill off little fucks like you en masse. Your relatives got fucking vaccinated and let you live, and now here you are signing up to be killed by a fucking disease against which there is a ninety-nine-percent effective vaccine. You fucking moron. Go in the fucking ocean and fuck a piranha. Fuck. Fuck that. Fuck you. Get vaccinated.

Oh, you say you have a genuine allergy or medical condition that prevents you from receiving a fucking vaccine? That’s fine. I’m clearly not talking to you. I fucking love you. Fuck.

Look, if you have been forwarded this essay from a friend or loved one, then there are two possibilities. Either you are a normal, regular, sensible fucking person like me who got fucking vaccinated at the first possible moment, and this essay channels all your fucking rage and sadness and is therefore cathartic OR, and I really hope this isn’t the fucking case, you AREN’T fucking vaccinated, and someone sent it to you because you fucking fucking fuck, you need to get fucking vaccinated. And rather than being fucking offended that someone is trying yet again to get you to take the fucking vaccine, you should understand that someone fucking loves you enough to try one last motherfucking time to get you to take the fucking vaccine before you fuck off to heaven, or hell, or some in-between place that’s just like a fucking mall or something where everything is free, including and especially the soft pretzels. So, congratulations! There is ONE person remaining in your life who wants to fucking save you from drowning in your own fucking lungs, you fucking fuckshit fuckdick, so for god’s sake, get your fucking ass out of your chair, go to the fucking pharmacy, and get a fucking vaccine, you absolute conscienceless fucking fuck fuck fuck. Get it. Get the fucking vaccine. Fuck you. Fuck fuck fuck. Fuck. Fuck you. Fuck!

Read an interview with Wendy Molyneux about writing this piece.

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R. Kelly Male Victims previously on Towleroad

Welcome to the fourth episode of the Cinemassacre Podcast!! The crew of Cinemassacre (James, Kieran, and Justin) are out of the Nerd Room and into your ear-holes. They chat about their lives and the stuff they love: movies, games, and making videos. You’ll also hear about behind-the-scenes antics, anecdotes about being long-time YouTubers, and a ton of obscure pop-culture crap. It’s the off-the-cuff banter from Rental Reviews mixed with an AVGN panel, every Tuesday around 3pm ET... or find it on https://cinemassacre.com or wherever you get your podcasts shortly after.

Cinemassacre Podcast #4 - Accidentally Putting an NES Game in a Real Toaster, Banging in an Alley, and Joe Bob's Jamboree

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Opening Narration by Gianni Matragrano
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Chainsaw Logo Prop by Chris Moore

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August is over. I always find it interesting to debate whether August or September is the worst month, weather-wise, in Houston. I’m definitely on “Team August” because it’s the hottest month with no hope of relief. But many readers loathe September more, because it’s often nearly as hot, there’s a persistent threat of hurricanes, and the wait for the first real cool front seems to take forever. I can see both sides. But I’m still glad August is over.

Wednesday

Although September is here, it definitely will feel like summer. Tuesday’s high temperature reached 99 degrees at Bush Intercontinental Airport, and today will probably be nearly as hot. Skies will be mostly sunny. Later today the combination of moisture and daytime heating should spark some showers. Chances are likely about 40 percent south of Interstate 10, and 20 percent or less inland, further from the source of the moisture. Some showers could be briefly intense. Lows tonight will be sultry.

Thursday

This day should be a lot like Wednesday.

Friday

Another day where we should see a decent chance of showers closer to the coast, with lesser chances inland. Highs will be in the mid-90s.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday

As high pressure builds over the area, Labor Day Weekend 2021 will be mostly sunny and hot, with minimal rain chances of about 10 percent. Highs will be in the mid-90s. Plan your outdoor activities with confidence.

Next week

Rain chances should perk up by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, and this could help to drive temperatures down into the low 90s.

Tropics

The National Hurricane Center continues to suggest an area of low pressure in the Southern Caribbean Sea has a modest chance of developing over the next week, but pretty much all of our best available model guidance keeps that system bottled up in the Caribbean Sea and Southern Gulf of Mexico. We’ll continue to watch it, of course. Way out in the Atlantic Tropical Storm Larry has formed, and it likely will become a major hurricane over the next five days. It should recurve before affecting any landmasses, including hopefully Bermuda.

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Here’s a brief follow-up about the classic Macintosh game Dark Castle, which I mentioned a few weeks ago in connection with some possible disk emulation bugs. This game originally shipped on two 400K floppy disks. At the intro screen shown above, the player is given a choice of doors, and some of the doors will ask the player to insert disk 2. But when loading the 400K game disk with a Floppy Emu disk emulator, the disk swapping doesn’t work. Disk 1 doesn’t get ejected, and if disk 2 is inserted, it will be ignored. A few weeks ago I speculated that this may be caused by a Floppy Emu bug, but I was wrong.

After a bit of research, I found that the problem is just another example of Games That Only Work In Drive 1. This is pretty common in the Apple II world, but not so common for Macintosh games. When Dark Castle tries to eject disk 1, it specifically tells drive 1 (the internal drive) to eject, regardless of which drive contains the disk. Then it checks the same drive for disk 2. Since Floppy Emu is normally connected to classic Macs as the external drive (drive 2), this doesn’t work. To confirm this behavior, I disassembled an old Mac and connected a Floppy Emu internally, in place of the built-in floppy drive. With this configuration, Dark Castle 400K worked fine.

BMOW’s Vintage Apple Software Collection SD Card has an 800K version of Dark Castle, where the contents of both 400K disks have been copied onto a single 800K disk. This avoids the need for disk swapping, so the game can be played normally from a Floppy Emu or other external floppy drive, but it requires a Macintosh model that’s compatible with 800K drives. The oldest Macintosh models are only compatible with 400K drives. For those models, playing Dark Castle will require connecting the Floppy Emu internally as I did, or copying the disk images from the Floppy Emu onto real 400K disk media for use in the internal floppy drive.

This post, my office got us turtles to take care of and bring home on weekends , was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes:

I work for a nonprofit and Covid has been very stressful for us. We are understaffed, overworked and underpaid, like many nonprofits. But recently our president announced something that is suppose to “bring staff together”: they got every office a turtle to keep and take care of.

A little back story: our president does not like being told no or getting any pushback from the staff. So it has created this odd environment of staff members praising her terrible ideas, while in actuality the staff is unhappy. I don’t work in the same office as the president, so the bad ideas usually don’t affect my day-to-day job. Plus I work in an amazing department with very supportive supervisors.

Even though no one will say anything, no one I have talked to is happy about the turtle. It creates more work for everyone and we’re already super busy. Also turtles carry thousands of diseases, including salmonella, and live to be 50 years old. During her announcement, the president mentioned that staff is expected to take the turtle home on weekends and holidays.

I do not want to take this turtle home. I have other pets at home, and I live with a sick mom who could potentially die if she contacted salmonella. Also, I did not sign up to be a turtle caregiver when I took this job. My direct supervisor is very supportive and also does not want to take the turtle home. But I know it’s going to be pointed out that we have not brought him home. (Our president is very big on calling staff out and putting them on the spot.) So I guess I’m asking, how do I set clear boundaries that I am not taking the turtle home without screwing over my coworkers or pissing off the president?

I just need to repeat it: Your organization got every office a turtle to care for and take home on weekends “to bring staff together.”

WTF.

Instead of addressing the understaffing, overwork, or low pay, they got you turtles to somehow smooth everything over. That would be absurd on its own, before you even get to the added work of caring for the turtles and the intrusion into your off hours.

But more importantly, this is bad for the turtles! Turtles are happier in their natural homes in the wild, and they’re social animals who prefer living in a group (of other turtles, not of office workers). They also have very specific needs, like controlled temperatures, heat lamps, water to swim in, a varied diet — is your office providing all that? Is each person who takes them home providing that?

I feel bad for all of you, but I feel worse for the turtles. I urge you in the strongest of terms to contact a local animal rescue group, explain what’s going on, and see if they can intervene. They almost certainly could do it without revealing who contacted them.

Alternately, you could try getting a group of colleagues together to push back on this, explaining your concerns about the turtles’ welfare and your inability to provide the care they need at your houses. I get that your coworkers have learned not to speak up about anything because your president doesn’t like it — but this isn’t “we’re using a confusing graphic on this mailing” or “we really don’t need these biweekly staff meetings.” It’s “we are causing harm to living creatures.” There’s a much higher moral imperative to speak up, and I hope you can convince them of that. If you can’t, then you’re back to needing to contact an animal rescue group.

Meanwhile, though, if you’re asked why you’re not taking the turtle home on weekends, just be very matter-of-fact that it’s not possible with your home-set up: “Oh, I can’t — I don’t have the right space, and my mom is sick and could die if she’s exposed to salmonella — that’s obviously not a risk I can take.” Say it very matter-of-factly, as if of course whoever you’re talking to will immediately agree now that they’ve heard these facts. As bad as your president’s judgment seems to be, she’s still very unlikely to respond to that by telling you that no, you need to risk your mother’s life.

If you didn’t have that situation with your mom, you could use a similar strategy with other facts — “Oh, I can’t — my house is really unsafe for a turtle.” “Oh, I can’t — I’m almost never home on the weekends and couldn’t do the necessary care.” Or, frankly, even, “Oh, I can’t — this is a bad set-up for the turtles and I don’t feel right about it.”

Or if you have a spouse or roommate, you can also blame them — “Bob said absolutely not” — that is part of the benefit of having them. Same with landlords or homeowners associations. There’s very little your boss can do about “it would violate our lease.”

But please contact a local animal group about what’s going on. Those turtles cannot speak for themselves and need you to speak for them.

This post, how do I know if it’s safe to be out at work … and other questions about LGBTQ+ issues at work , was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

After a post earlier this year about coming out as queer mid-career, an LGBTQ+ reader contacted me to ask if she could share more advice for LGBTQ+ readers and allies. Pulling from her own experience creating an LGBTQ+ employee resource group at her workplace and serving on the board of a nonprofit that serves the LGBTQ+ community, she offered up answers to the following nine questions that come up in this realm frequently.

First, her caveat: “Please note that my guidelines below are U.S.-centric, and that unfortunately it is still unsafe for many people to come out in some or all areas of their lives. Each individual has a right to come out when and if they deem appropriate, and their reasons are not for anyone else to judge. If someone’s gender or sexual identity confuses you, consider saying nothing, instead of asking an inappropriate question to a stranger or work acquaintance.”

On to the FAQ!

1. How do I know if a company I’m interviewing at is LGBTQ+ friendly?

This one is tricky because you might have an affirming hiring manager but a really homophobic person in another department who makes life more difficult. LGBTQ+ affirming companies will show commitments to diversity and inclusion. For example, a company might have an affinity group for LGBTQ+ employees or be involved in local Pride parades or organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign or the National Diversity Council, as well as ensuring their polices are supportive of all people. Supportive policies and identifiers include things like same-sex partner benefits, trans-affirming healthcare, and the ability to identify gender as something other than male/female on forms.

Some companies giving lip service to inclusivity by making gestures like changing their logo to rainbow colors in June, but may not have laid any real groundwork to make  LGBTQ+ employees feel safe being out at work. To tell the difference, ask your interviewers about their commitments to diversity, inclusion, and equity, and listen to the response. Is it concrete, with examples? Or is it more of a vague idea of inclusiveness, with no concrete steps they can point to? If the latter, make sure you really do your research about the company and organization to ensure it is a workplace right for you.

2. How do I know if it’s okay to be out at work?

You are the best judge of your personal safety in your workplace based on your individual experience. That said, if other people are out at work, that may be an indication of how safe it is to be out at your workplace. Generally if there is an LGBTQ+ group at your company, you will likely be safer to out yourself if you choose to. If there aren’t any LGBTQ+ groups or people who are openly out, you can observe the behavior and communications of the people you work with, and look for signs of an affirming culture, such as pictures of same-sex couples on desks, mentions of same-sex partners and loved ones, and people talking positively about LGBTQ+ issues and rights.

For example, at one place I worked, I had one colleague and friend who was initially the only openly gay person in the office, and would talk about going on dates or going to Pride. Because that person was comfortable being who they were, others who were also not heterosexual felt safer coming out at work, myself included. Being the first openly out person is never easy, and I would never recommend coming out if you didn’t feel safe. If you’ve worked at a place for more than a couple months and feel comfortable with a colleague or two, you might try, for example, mentioning hanging out with a gay couple on the weekend and check for biases. That can help you start to get a better idea of if you would feel safe coming out.

3. How do I tell my boss/employer I will be transitioning?

I’d first recommend reaching out to your LGBTQ+ group if you have one at your workplace. If not, make sure that you are familiar with your rights and your company’s policies. Consider reaching out to LGBTQ+ affirming groups in your area, or organizations like Out in Tech, Out & Equal, Pride at Work, oStem, etc. While you may be the first person at your employer to transition, you are hopefully not the first person to transition at work in your state, and you will be able to research what has worked for others, as well as potentially network with other transgender people in your field.

4. How do I share my pronouns at work?

Normalize saying your name and your pronouns, such as “Hi, I’m Alison, I use she/her pronouns” or “Hi, I’m Chaz, I use they/them pronouns.” You can also put them in your signature if you like. Even if you are male-presenting and use he/him pronouns or female-presenting and use she/her pronouns, sharing your own pronouns creates space for others to share theirs. The HRC has more advice about this here.

5. How do I talk to my company about creating LGBTQ+ inclusive policies?

If you have an HR business partner, start with them. If you are at smaller company, start with whoever handles the HR type stuff, and prepare to take on some of the legwork as there likely will not be budget. Consider contacting organizations in your area that work on these issues; some might even be willing to review your existing policies and make recommendations.

When you talk to your contact, here’s a sample script you could use: “I really enjoy working here, and with last year’s Supreme Court ruling that sexual orientation and gender identity are federally protected from discrimination at work, we might want to ensure that our policies and procedures remain current in today’s workplace. This is an area I am passionate about, and I was wondering if I could help create LGBTQ+ inclusive policies for our company.”

If they agree, yay! Ask for time to review the existing policies to make recommendations. For example, you may want to ensure that language and dress code are gender neutral and your policies and insurance plans cover same-sex partners, coverage for surrogacy and adoption, and/or transgender-affirming medical procedures. If you get a non-answer or a no, say that you think it will be a bigger issue in the future and ask if you can check in again in six months.

6. How do I start an LGBTQ+ group at work?

If your company has other affinity groups, there are likely formal processes for creating one. Ask HR to share with you the process for creating an employee resource group or an affinity group, since your company might have a charter process already defined. Many of these will require having several potential members identified in order to present the charter.

If no other affinity group exists and this would be your company’s first, you’re going to need help getting this off the ground. If others at your company are interested in starting a group, recruit them to help you; usually 3-5 is good for a core leadership group. If your company has any sort of diversity and inclusion program or department, reach out to someone in that area for guidance. If you don’t have any of that but you have friends who work at a place with an LGBTQ+ group, ask if you could be put in touch with one of their leaders to get advice. Most group members are more than happy to share how their group got started.

If none of that exists, you may find this article helpful, as it outlines how a resource group can be created and even includes a charter template. That charter template inspired my own ERG charter. Be prepared to have lots of conversations internally with your colleagues and potential members, as well as externally to talk to other similar groups in your area.

7. I think I’m experiencing discrimination at work because I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community. What do I do?

First of all, I’m sorry you are experiencing discrimination. You are the best judge of your situation and the company. Personally, I did file a formal complaint after discriminatory comments in my workplace. I reported the issue, there was an investigation, and in the end the person who made the comments was told that their comments were unacceptable in the workplace and instructed to not talk to me unless it was directly related to work we needed to do together. I was thanked for coming forward. Ideally, something similar would be the norm when someone reports discrimination, but we all know that doesn’t happen in all cases. While gender identity and sexual orientation are protected classes, if your company culture tolerates racist or sexist comments they likely aren’t going to be on your side when it comes to homophobic or transphobic statements.

My recommendation would be to investigate if your company has a formal process for handling discrimination complaints and review the process and your company’s code of conduct. If your company has an anonymous ethics or complaint hotline, consider calling for advice and guidance. Think about what you want to happen if you complain – do you want an apology? Do you want the person fired? Do you just want to share what happened to you, so it doesn’t happen to anyone else? What’s your goal, and is it something that you think the company will be capable of doing?

For me, I was in a place where I felt secure in my role and job, even if my complaint was dismissed, which is not a luxury everyone has. It might be better for you personally to find a new job if you fear retaliation, because you deserve to work in a place that is not discriminating against you.

If you have local LGBTQ+ organizations in your area, they might be willing to help you navigate the situation. There are also national organizations that can provide guidance such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Human Rights Campaign, the National LGBTQ+ Task Force, and Lambda Legal Defense and Education fund, as well as many state and local organizations. You don’t have to go it alone.

8. What should I do if I use the wrong pronouns or misgender someone?

Apologize quickly and once per incident, do not agonize over your mistake, and resume the conversation using the correct pronouns.

9. How can allies help in the workplace?

An ally is a person who is supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and challenges personal and/or systemic discrimination. Typically, LGBTQ+ affinity groups are about half allies, half members of the LGBTQ+ community. Being an ally is an action, not just a label. Specific actions you can take at work include things like joining existing LGBTQ+ employee groups as an ally, advocating internally for gender-neutral language in job descriptions, and advocating for inclusive health care benefits or the ability to choose a gender other than male/female in the HR system. If your workplace has gender-specific dress codes, suggest inclusive changes to create one dress code for everyone. If you hear someone defaming LGBTQ+ people, speak up and say something. If you hear someone using the wrong pronouns or name for a person, gently correct them with the right ones. GLAAD shares other ideas on how to be an ally here and the HRC has this article with ideas and more resources.

For allies, and really everyone, respect is key – respect pronouns, chosen names, appearances, and partners. In addition, consider bringing awareness of LGBTQ+ issues and concerns to conversations about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Challenge your own internal biases and do not make assumptions or generalizations.

The post Battleship appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.

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Every year seems worse than the last when it comes to the number of bright lives that we've lost. In the end, death makes us all equals. But the work actors do, telling stories that inspire us, helps them to live on in our memories longer than most. We may not know these people personally, they become a part of us. We let them into our living rooms, and let them tell us about the parts of our world -- or, sometimes, a make-believe one ---that we may not get to see for ourselves.

The entertainment industry is busier and more vibrant than ever, but that doesn't make the lives we've lost hurt less. With COVID-19 still raging across the globe, the impact of the pandemic can also be felt in the industry we turn to for comfort. Yet, by remembering those that we've lost, we're also continuing an ancient human tradition: We remember, we survive. and we carry on the spirits those who came before with us. These are some of the stars that we've lost in 2021. We won't forget any of them any time soon.

Tanya Roberts

No one should be reduced to their physical appearance, of course, and Tanya Roberts is no different. At the same time, we can't ignore the impact that Roberts had on her audience. She was a Bond Girl, a Charlie's Angel, and brought an animalistic vigor to both "The Beastmaster" and "Sheena." At the very least, Roberts was always comfortable with herself.

Roberts leaned into her bombshell persona on "That '70s Show," on which she played Donna's mom, a sexy housewife that all the boys not-so-secretly lusted after. But, like Roberts herself, Midge was more than that; over the course of the series, the elder Pincotti gradually transcended her sexiness, learning about feminism and ultimately taking her life in her own hands to become her own independent woman.

Roberts died on January 4, 2021, from complications due to an infection that turned septic. She was 65 years old.

Mira Furlan

Croatian actress Mira Furlan brought the understanding of a homeland at war with itself to the exceptional science fiction series "Babylon 5." Her love for her Serbian spouse and her refusal to let the Croatian War of Independence interfere with their joint love of theater forced them to flee Yugoslavia together. New York City took Furlan in and gave her the stage back, but it was a beleaguered space station that gave her the stars.

As Ambassador Delenn, Mira was the heart of "Babylon 5." Spiritual by nature, Delenn sought to understand a race that she secretly pushed to the brink of genocide. Later, she started searching for redemption, becoming a bridge between two worlds. After "Babylon 5" ended, Mira returned to the theatre for a while. In 2004, she surprised science fiction fans with a recurring role on "Lost," in which she played the mysterious Danielle Rousseau.

Mira Furlan died on January 20, 2021, from West Nile Virus complications. Her friends, including "Babylon 5" showrunner J. Michael Straczynski, continue to keep her legacy alive.

Larry King

Larry King wasn't a conventional actor, but he was the voice of more than one generation and was an indelible part of our pop culture history. King appeared in movies and on television shows for decades, typically as himself. It was an easy way of giving a story some real-world veracity, tempered by King's dry Brooklyn accent. Only once did King voice a character not named Larry -- he played Doris, one of the ugly stepsisters, in "Shrek 2." It's not a gag that's aged well, but that's not a knock on Larry King, who turned in his best effort.

A descendant of Russian Orthodox Jews, Larry King embodied the concept of Brooklyn itself. Without his heritage and his hard-scrabble childhood, he wouldn't have been the Larry we came to know and love. One of the modern era's most visible journalists, Larry scored exclusive interviews by the thousands. An hour with Larry could make -- or break careers -- yet he rarely abused that power.

After decades on television and radio, seven spouses, and five children, Larry's body gave out. Larry King died on January 23, 2021 of sepsis and other complications arising from his fight with COVID-19.

Hal Holbrook

Despite the existence of real photographs showing otherwise, millions of people still picture Mark Twain with veteran character actor Hal Holbrook's square-jawed features. "Mark Twain Tonight!" was Holbrook's signature creation, a one-man stage show that arguably qualifies as Holbrook's magnum opus. Over decades, Holbrook grew into Twain's face, the makeup and the man blending into one. But that's not the only mark Holbrook left on the industry he loved.

Holbrook also shaped the history of the political thriller, playing the enigmatic Deep Throat in "All the President's Men." His work was rarely weighty, his style conveying earthiness, as he would prove when turning up in John Carpenter's "The Fog," or making laughs with his real life wife, Dixie Carter, on "Designing Women." He would return to political films with Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," playing journalist and advisor Francis Preston Blair.

Holbrook died on January 23, 2021 at the age of 95. No cause of death was released to the public. He rests next to his wife, Dixie, in her Tennessee hometown.

Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman will be remembered by many as the stoic yet secretly unhinged Frau Blücher, whose over the top villainy in "Young Frankenstein" always came with the sound of a horse's frantic whinny. But Leachman's legacy was written as early as 1971, when she won an Academy Award for her role as the needy housewife Ruth Popper in "The Last Picture Show." The younger set might also recall her turn as Granny Moses in the better than it had any right to be 1993 revival of "The Beverly Hillbillies."

But Leachman's filmography is too vast to be limited by these two roles alone. She never stopped working, turning from theatre to voice acting and back to movies in the blink of an eye. Capable of playing almost any role, and equally at home with the gentle and the profane, one of Leachman's final parts was the aged aspect of the Slavic goddess Zorya Vechernyaya in Showtime's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods."

Cloris Leachman died in her sleep on January 27, 2021, at the age of 94.

Cicely Tyson

Cicely Tyson broke new ground in 1972 with her award-winning turn as Rebecca Morgan in "Sounder," a film that timing and marketing positioned as a response to a glut of cheap blaxploitation films. While the title character might've been the family dog, Tyson showed both the struggles and the love Black mothers carry on their backs in Martin Ritt's grounded, human drama.

Tyson continued to push for Black representation in film, also appearing in "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" and the culture-shifting miniseries "Roots." She built a legacy of work that earned her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, granted to her by President Barack Obama in 2016. On "How to Get Away With Murder," one of her final major TV roles, Tyson played Viola Davis' mother, Ophelia Harkness. Overprotective and gradually lost in the haze of her decaying mind, Ophelia served as an ironic counterpart to the role that made Cicely famous.

Cicely Tyson died on January 28, 2021, at the age of 96. No cause of death was made public.

Dustin Diamond

Dustin Diamond was a child star with a troubled adulthood, a man both uplifted and trapped by a single, life-determining role. Screech was the Kramer of "Saved By the Bell," a vaguely annoying kid whose geeky quirks gradually became his only defining features. Humanity was stripped from Screech as a character; he became an archetype, and not a well-liked one.

Diamond got himself in plenty of trouble without help from others, but also loved the theatrical joy of professional wrestling and writing and recording music. When he died of lung cancer on February 1, 2021, a victim of a rare small-cell carcinoma that was discovered when it was already at stage four, his agent made his death a celebration of the human behind the role, asking people to remember Diamond's humor and empathy. He was 44 years old.

Christopher Plummer

Christopher Plummer was one of those actors who seemed like he would be around forever. As the Nazi-hating Captain von Trapp in "The Sound of Music," Plummer was an early romantic ideal for many. His career was bookended by his turn as Harlan Thrombey, the family patriarch whose death spins his clan into a greedy frenzy in 2019's "Knives Out." Thrombey was another father with goodness at his core; he might have made millions off of terrible fictional people, but he had no time for the terrible people in his own life.

Plummer wasn't the stuffy actor his storied resume might suggest. One of the best roles of his career was Klingon General Chang in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." Though they're never in the same shot, Plummer won in ham-to-ham combat against Shatner, roaring out Shakespeare quotes faster than his minions could reload his ship's missile bays. Plummer was the leading voice of the Greybeards in "Skyrim," a French pigeon in "An American Tail," and the emotional heart of "Beginners," for which he won an Academy Award for playing a gay man who comes out after his long-time wife dies.

Christopher Plummer died on February 5, 2021, not long after he struck his head in a fall. His remarkable voice will forever echo in our minds.

Yaphet Kotto

Yaphet Kotto made his mark as Bond villain Dr. Kanaga in 1973's "Live and Let Die," the first film of the Roger Moore era. Inspired by the blaxploitation craze, Kotto's Kanaga leaned into racial stereotypes and transformed the one-note character into something larger than life. Kotto took another iconic role six years later, playing the blue-collar space trucker Parker in Ridley Scott's "Alien." Always grinning yet perpetually exhausted, Kotto was the crew's sensible core, who becomes quickly destabilized when the alien hunt takes out his buddy, Brett.

Kotto kept cult classics lively, turning up in "The Running Man" with Arnold Schwarzenegger and 1988's unmissable "Midnight Run." In the '90s, he won awards for playing Al Giardello, one of Baltimore's lead homicide lieutenants in "The Wire"  predecessor "Homicide: Life on the Street." For his final role, he returned as Parker in "Alien: Isolation," a video game that turned out better than some of the franchise's canon films.

The 81-year old Yaphet Kotto died on March 15, 2021.

Jessica Walter

Jessica Walter may be best known for asking how much a banana could really cost, but her decades-long career had countless other high points. As the utterly unaware Bluth family matriarch on "Arrested Development," Walter nailed every punchline she was given. She was also the hard-bitten, feisty core of "Archer" and an overly controlling villain on "Star vs. The Forces of Evil." And yet, that's all a far cry from one of her most notable roles: in 1971, she co-starred in "Play Misty For Me," Clint Eastwood's directorial debut.

Walter's career took off in the '70s, and she was a regular fixture on the "M.A.S.H." spinoff "Trapper John, M.D" and won an Emmy for "Amy Prentiss," a too-brief cop drama tied to the Raymond Burr-led series "Ironside." Walter was the voice of one more famous family matriarch in the '90s, too, leading the Sinclair household in ABC's bizarre but often unusually progressive "Dinosaurs." Yes, the one with the terrifying puppet baby.

Walters died in her sleep at the age of 80 on March 24 2021.

DMX

Earl Simmons, better known by his rapper name DMX, lived as large as possible during his 50 years of life. A gruff voiced East Coast fixture, DMX and his Ruff Ryders lit up the rap scene with barely contained intensity. Signed to Def Jam Records in 1998, DMX went gold quickly. "It's Dark and Hell is Hot" ripped up the charts, and DMX's growling lyrics backed up deep percussion made his tracks a house party fixture.

His film debut, "Belly," is the epitome of a cult film. Trashed by critics -- and for good reason -- DMX, Nas, and Method Man nonetheless prove they have screen presence to spare. DMX was the best part of Steven Seagal's "Exit Wounds," and re-teamed with Seagal for 2019's "Beyond the Law." He wasn't in 2016's "Deadpool," but the movie revitalized interest in his single, "X Gon' Give it To Ya"; the song went multi-platinum in May, not long after DMX died.

Earl Simmons died on April 9, 2021 of a drug overdose. Ahead of his funeral, his casket was loaded onto a monster truck and driven through the streets of Brooklyn. It was the sort of farewell he would have loved.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Helen McCrory

Helen McCrory's feature film debut might have been a tiny role in 1994's "Interview With the Vampire," but she'd already made a massive impact on the London stage. Theater would remain the focus of McCrory's career, but she also had a long filmography filled with roles on both the big and small screen.

As "Harry Potter" nemesis Narcissa Malfoy, wife of Lucius and mother of Draco, McCrory was the Death Eater counterpart to Molly Weasley, a woman who was willing to do anything for her family. McCrory also appeared in the popular BBC crime drama "Peaky Blinders," based loosely on the true life history of post-World War I street gangs, the James Bond film "Skyfall," and Martin Scorsese's children's film, "Hugo."

Helen McCrory was 52 when she died of cancer on April 16, 2021.

Olympia Dukakis

Olympia Dukakis made it to the Off-Broadway circuit within two years of her first acting gig, and parlayed her talents into a long and storied career in the theater. At the movies, Dukakis' big break was 1987's "Moonstruck," the spicy Italian-American romance film that turned both Dukakis and Cher into Academy Award winners. Two years later, her wry but loving demeanor warmed up "Steel Magnolias," an underrated if occasionally too-saccharine affair. Matched with the sardonic Ouiser, played by Shirley MacLaine, the bickering pair showed the ups and downs of real friendship. 

As she continued to appear on stage, Dukakis played roles in films like "Mr. Holland's Opus," and helped kick off the cheesy but good-natured "The Librarian" franchise, in which she appeared as the mother of Noah Wyle's tomb-raiding, vampire-hunting librarian, Flynn.

On May 1^st, 2021, Olympia Dukakis died peacefully at home. She was 89 years old.

Tawny Kitaen

Tawny Kitaen was one of the biggest "It Girls" of the '80s; in 1987, she helped usher an unknown number of boys into adolescence with her unforgettable relationship with the hood of a car in the video for Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again." Starting with Jack LaLanne commercials, Kitaen used her looks and smart business sense to build an enduring career as an actress, a model, and reality TV star.

Kitaen began acting in small budget horror movies like 1986's "Witchboard," but had better luck playing to her strengths, landing guest appearances on "Seinfeld" and a recurring role on "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys." As Deianeira of Thebes, Hercules' first wife, Kitaen brought beauty and longing to the show, along with a deep grief.

At age 59, Kitaen had begun working on her memoir. Unfortunately, Tawny died at home on May 7, 2021. The cause of death is unknown.

Norman Lloyd

Norman Lloyd had a straight-backed, authoritative, and scholarly look that made him everyone's nightmare in 1989's "Dead Poets Society." Rigid to a fault, he was the villain to Robin Williams' energetic teacher, the thief of joy who takes a Pyrrhic victory at the movie's end. But Nolan reached even grander depths during his long career. He barely missed a chance to appear in "Citizen Kane," but took a part in Hitchcock's "Saboteur" as a consolation prize, which earned him the famed director's friendship.

Classic television fans know Lloyd better as Dr. Auschland in the long-running medical drama "St. Elsewhere," where he was able to show his more lovable, approachable side. Lloyd also appeared as an ambitious but doomed archaeologist on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in a series-defining episode called "The Chase."

A voice from the radio era and a veteran of classic Hollywood, Norman Lloyd died in his sleep at his home on May 11, 2021. He was 106 years old.

Charles Grodin

Charles Grodin always seemed younger than he was, and he was as funny as they come. As De Niro's scuzzy accountant target in "Midnight Run," Grodin's rubber-faced comedy made the film an instant cult classic. For latchkey kids across America, Grodin was also a big dog's exhausted dad in the "Beethoven" franchise, and a doofus jewel thief in "The Great Muppet Caper." Grodin made falling in love with Miss Piggy feel as natural as being green, but it wasn't enough to turn his character to the side of the angels.

Grodin's career was touched by black comedy from its earliest days. He appeared in the horror classic "Rosemary's Baby," in a role so blind to Rosemary's needs it feels satirical. He also played Captain Aarfy in "Catch-22," an eccentric navigator who kills prostitutes.

Later years saw Grodin on a career decline, but he never stopped working. One of his final roles was on ABC's prime-time miniseries "Madoff" alongside Richard Dreyfuss. Charles Grodin died on May 18, 2021 from plasma cell myeloma. He was 86.

Gavin MacLeod

Gavin MacLeod was the face of '70s television -- or, rather, he was the decade's singular captain on deck. As Captain Stubing, MacLeod steered "The Love Boat" for 250 episodes of the oft-beloved, frequently parodied, dangerously cheesy show. MacLeod earned for that level of job security, originally appearing in grim war dramas like 1959's "Pork Chop Hill," although his appearance in the original "McHale's Navy" film and TV franchise offered some clues about his sitcom future

Before "The Love Boat" gave MacLeod his signature role, he spent seven years on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" playing Murray Slaughter, a news writer for Moore's fictional radio station. He continued to make regular appearances on TV, including guest roles on "Murder She Wrote" and, fittingly, "That '70s Show." MacLeod's final credited role was an homage to his most well-known character. In 2011, voicing a character named Captain Gumble, he helped the Pound Puppies set sail to adventure one last time. 

MacLeod was 90 years old when he died on May 29, 2021. No cause was made public.

Clarence Williams III

Clarence Williams III brought Harlem style to the mainstream in "The Mod Squad." For younger generations, Williams' undercover cop Linc Hayes was the epitome of cool, with his proud afro and flashy street looks. Williams kept Harlem's soul alive throughout his career, aware of the role that blaxploitation could play in giving Black Americans a place to fantasize and explore who they were in a society that still barely tolerated them.

As Prince's violent father figure in "Purple Rain," Williams depicted the results of cyclical abuse and repressed frustrations. Four years later, Williams helped introduce Keenan Ivory Wayans' directorial debut, "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka." Controversial and unrelenting, Williams' presence, along with those of his fellow mod-era legends Isaac Hayes and Jim Brown, helped make this satire about the era that built their careers stick the landing.

Williams came back to the spotlight as part of Hallmark's "Mystery Woman" franchise, and as a recurring voice on the kids' show "American Dragon: Jake Long." Clarence Williams III died on June 4, 2021 at the age of 81.

Ned Beatty

Ned Beatty's feature film debut was in the horrifying "Deliverance," in which he played a rare (on the screen) victim of male rape who hunts for revenge alongside his camping buddies. But that's just the beginning of what Beatty could do. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in "Network," and just a few years later appeared as Lex Luthor's hapless, bumbling henchman Otis in 1978's "Superman."

For fans of cop dramas, Beatty's biggest claim to fame came in the mid-'90s television series "Homicide: Life on the Street" in which he played Stanley Bolander, an irascible combat veteran based on a real-life cop named Donald Worden. Beatty also voiced the villain Lotso in 2010 in "Toy Story 3" and had a smaller voice role in "Rango." In short, there's very little Beatty couldn't do.

Ned Beatty was 83 when he died at his home on June 13^th, 2021 of natural causes.

Robert Downey Sr.

While his son might be the most famous star in the world, Robert Downey Sr. had his own opinions about fame, fortune, and high society. They were not always favorable opinions, and the Downey family patriarch had the nerve to share them via the loudest medium he could access: the big screen.

Downey took the world of underground filmmaking and made it part of his soul. He was a true counter-culture icon who found a place in the post-war Absurdist movement. The films he made had slim budgets but big ideas; his breakout piece "Putney Swope" precedes the darkly funny social commentaries of today. Where the Coen brothers' "The Hudsucker Proxy" waters down its critique of commodification with twee comedy, "Putney Swope" goes after the racism implicit in most of America's capitalistic schemes with guns blazing.

Robert Downey Sr. was diagnosed with Parkinson's a little over five years before he died on July 7, 2021. He was 85.

Charlie Robinson

"Night Court" was one of the '80s great comfort shows, a long-running sitcom about a late night municipal courtroom and the souls who are summoned to appear before it. It was the necessary counterpart to more serious shows of the time, like "L.A. Law," and the regular cast quickly felt like old friends. Charlie Robinson played the court's regular clerk, Mac, a reliable but relaxed figure who served as the courtroom foil to Harry Anderson.

Robinson came to the sitcoms via a youth spent on the Houston stage. While Robinson is still best known for "Night Court," he kept working after the series ended, making guest appearances in shows like "Key & Peele" and an episode of "30 Rock" that reunited Robinson with fellow "Night Court" stars Harry Anderson and Markie Post. His final role was in the four-part miniseries "Love in the Time of Corona," a romantic comedy about social networking while social distancing.

Charlie Robinson died on July 11, 2021 at 75 years old from complications with cancer.

Pilar Bardem

Pilar Bardem, the mother of Academy Award-winner Javier Bardem, was a powerhouse of Spanish cinema. While she'd been acting since the '60s, she won acclaim for her role in the 1995 drama "Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead," a Spanish-language thriller with echoes of her son's "No Country for Old Men." When a young woman is caught in a the crossfire after a drug deal, returning home to her spouse and her mother-in-law (Bardem) provides little comfort.

Bardem was an outspoken activist who fought for better conditions for the women of Spain, a wiser and more inclusive Catholic Church, labor rights, and changes in the Spanish government. Though her son is far better known to English-speaking audiences, Pilar's career helped lay the foundation for his. Javier Bardem's outspoken beliefs and his humble behavior as an actor can be traced directly to his mother's powerful guidance.

Pilar Bardem died on July 17, 2021. She was 82.

Jackie Mason

Jackie Mason was the last of the Borscht Belt comedians, the final hurrah of the "take my wife, please" generation. He was a fixture on '60s TV, appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Dean Martin Show," and the pre-Carson era "Tonight Show," then helmed by Steve Allen.

Mason also made a number of cameos on the big screen, appearing in Steve Martin's "The Jerk" as well as "Caddyshack II." "The Simpsons" introduced him to the current generation, casting Mason as the voice of Krusty the Clown's rabbinical father, Hyman Krustofsky. Mason won an Emmy for the part in 1992, and it would also be his final gig -- he played the character one last time in 2019.

Jackie was a controversial man, but despite his flaws, he remains a pivotal part of the history of comedy, a titan of a very different era. He was 93 when he died in the hospital on July 24, 2021.

Thea White

Thea White lived a quiet life as a librarian after spending her youth on the stage, including a stay at London's prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. White was happy living with her husband, musician Andy White, but all that changed in 1998, when Cartoon Network needed a woman with a kindly Scottish voice. Thea, comfortable with the necessary accent, took a chance and auditioned.

"Courage the Cowardly Dog" is a strange cartoon. Blackly funny, it's a cozy catastrophe about a dog so far lost to his neuroses that it's not clear what's real anymore. Thea voiced Muriel, Courage's adoptive human mother who gives him his ironic name. Muriel is disinterested in the weirdness going on around her, but her kindness and love made White's voice something that a lot of people needed to hear.

Thea White died on July 30^th, 2021 from an infection that resulted from treatments for liver cancer. She was 81.

Markie Post

Markie Post was a wonder of the small screen. While "There's Something About Mary" is the only notable feature film on her resume (and that was a small role), Post appeared in dozens television shows throughout the early '80s, including "CHiPs," "Buck Rogers," and "The A-Team." 

After a regular role on "The Fall Guy," the Lee Majors action vehicle about a group of stuntmen who also happen to be bounty hunters, Post joined "Night Court," becoming a regular in Season 3. Post portrayed the forthright public defender Christine Sullivan, whose greatest trial was putting up with the prosecutor's increasingly tacky advances. Post's chemistry with John Larroquette kept their various skits from feeling too predatory; Christine typically got the upper hand -- and an escape route -- to help her avoid her lusty opposition.

After "Night Court," Post kept working steadily, with regular roles on "Chicago P.D." and an appearance on "The Santa Clarita Diet." Markie Post died on August 7, 2021 of cancer. She was 70 years old.

Trevor Moore

An internship on "Saturday Night Live" gave Trevor Moore the experience he needed to forge his own brand of irreverent comedy. When his troupe, the Whitest Kids U' Know, made an appearance at HBO's 2006 Aspen Comedy Festival, a bidding war broke out among networks trying to sign the group; the fight ultimately landed Moore and the Kids at IFC.

"The Whitest Kids U' Know" ran for six seasons, with skits like "The Slow Jerk" and an expose about the love between a man and his vacuum becoming some of its highlights. After the show wrapped, Moore began blending music and satire, releasing three albums. In 2020, Moore launched "The Trevor Moore Quarantine Show," a YouTube series that reunited Moore with old friends and allowed him to show off his dog's capable comedy skills.

Trevor Moore died in an accident on August 7, 2021, hours after finishing an episode of his livestream. His final project, the animated Whitest Kids U' Know movie "Mars," is in post-production.

Una Stubbs

Una Stubbs was a fixture in shows with names so relentlessly British that they're almost unintelligible to us heathens across the pond. For many English children, Stubbs was a major part of their childhood, playing a living doll named Aunt Sally in "Worzel Gummidge" alongside the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee. Una also made frequent guest appearances in shows like "Midsomer Murders," "Fawlty Towers," and "Keeping Up Appearances." Like nearly every English actor, Una showed up on "EastEnders," although her run didn't come until 2006.

To many, Una Stubbs personified Sherlock Holmes' long-suffering landlady, Mrs. Hudson. Stubbs imbued her role on BBC's "Sherlock" with such depth and charm that she forever defined the character, similar to what Jeremy Brett's angular smile and deerstalker cap did for Sherlock himself. Stubbs' Hudson grounded Benedict Cumberbatch's flighty Sherlock, and provided much-needed stability for Martin Freeman's exhausted Watson.

Una Stubbs died following a long illness on August 12, 2021. She was 84.

Francis Mossman

Francis "Frankie" Mossman was a young New Zealand actor who was on the verge of more. In 2012, Mossman was part of "Spartacus: Vengeance," the 3rd season of Starz's epic sword-and-sandals production. Mossman joined the popular LGBTQ+ web series "The Horizon," a low budget but richly emotional drama that remains beloved by its fans, in 2013.

Mossman was a graduate of the University of Auckland's drama program, and he started off doing kiddie television in New Zealand, including the goofy superhero show "The Amazing Extraordinary Friends." He was energetic and well-loved, populating his Instagram account with cute pictures of his dogs. Mossman died on August 14, 2021, and the circumstances were not made public. His parents would make a statement that he was dealing with "old scars and trauma from high school" exacerbated by the pandemic-related lockdown. He was 33.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Sonny Chiba

Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba was the West's gateway to the fast-paced, high-stakes world of Japanese yakuza films. 1974's "The Street Fighter" made Chiba a martial arts star -- it's that film that caught Quentin Tarantino's eye. In 1993, Tarantino's script for "True Romance," with its Chiba-obsessed leads, made the actor a worldwide sensation decades after he'd already done a lifetime's worth of work.

Tarantino followed up by casting Chiba as master blacksmith Hattori Hanzō in 2003's "Kill Bill." The role was an homage to Chiba's tenure as the legendary ninja and his descendants across the five season jidaigeki series "Shadow Warriors," with this final Hanzō being the 14th in the family line. Chiba was one of Japan's most prolific actors, with over 200 roles to his name. His final film, "Bond of Justice: Kizuna," is in post-production.

Sonny Chiba died on August 19, 2021, from pneumonia and other complications caused by COVID-19.

Ed Asner

Ed Asner was a man everyone loved. He built his reputation with small roles on television, a reoccurring fixture on '60s dramas like "The Untouchables." His world changed when he was cast as the grumpy but wonderful Lou Grant on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Not yet known for his comedic ability, Asner played the role with deadpan seriousness and laser-accurate timing. He made the perfect foil to Moore's eager new reporter; not as condescending as a father figure, but more to her than an emotionally distant mentor.

Lou Grant gave Asner a permanent place in the television pantheon, but he was no slouch on film, either. It's an oddity of Asner's career that he showed up in a number of Christmas films, although there's no doubt that it's Santa in "Elf" that will always be his most fondly-remembered holiday role. Ed also voiced Carl Fredrickson, the cantankerous yet lonely widower of Pixar's "Up," which gave Asner a second career as a voice actor and cameo star -- he later turned up on HBO's "Doom Patrol" and emotionally scarred on Johnny Lawrence in "Cobra Kai."

Ed Asner died of natural causes on August 29, 2021 at the age of 91.

Read this next: Ed Asner's 10 Best Roles, Ranked

The post Actors who died in 2021 appeared first on /Film.

The hidden Windows 95 credits screen was snuck into the build under cover of darkness.

Okay, maybe not, but it was snuck in.

The code for the Windows 95 credits was snuck into shell32.dll, in part by writing it in an obscure language nobody understood.

It was written in C++.

At the time, C was the well-tested, well-supported language, having been de facto standardized since 1978 (K&R) and formally standardized since 1989. The C++ language wouldn’t become standardized until 1998. C++ was the language to use if you wanted to live dangerously on the bleeding edge.

The code for the credits is the only code in the Windows 95 shell that was written in C++. Aside from a small amount of assembly language, everything else is in C.¹

Related reading: An insight into the Windows 95 startup sound, and the origin of the Windows 95 credits music.

Bonus video: Composer Brian Orr answers questions about the Windows 95 credits music.

Bonus chatter: Even though Brian in the video says that management mustn’t find out, at least one manager did know about it, because I remember sitting in their office to go over the list of names to include.

¹ The Windows 95 shell was COM-based, but it used COM in C. So don’t say it can’t be done.

The post How to sneak the Windows 95 credits screen into the build without anybody noticing appeared first on The Old New Thing.

This post, my boss told me not to give greeting cards to older men because it could seem sexual , was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes:

This happened back in April, but I’m talking about it now because a coworker brought attention to it.

I’m a female junior employee in my early twenties who just graduated with my bachelor’s last year. My manager at my office job is in his fifties. This past April, I gave Easter cards to the coworkers I’m close to. My manager had been off on a business trip that day, so I had left the card on his desk.

That following Monday, he returned the card to me and told me privately that he appreciated the card, especially since people my age never send cards anymore. However, he told me that although he knew my intentions were pure, it unfortunately comes across as unprofessional when a young woman like me gives a greeting card or personal note unrelated to work to an older man in a higher position like him. He explained that the greeting card could become a liability for his career because others could assume that the card has sexual intentions, or people could assume that if I got a promotion in the future, it was only because I was exceptionally nice to him. He told me, “Unfortunately, the world is crazy these days, and even though you have a heart of gold, nobody else has one. It’s just what needs to be assumed in the professional world.”

It felt really weird to hear that at the time, especially since there was nothing sexual hinted at in the card at all (especially since I had written that I hoped he would enjoy his Easter with his wife and kids). However, I apologized to him because I figured that it’s true that anybody could misconstrue the meaning of the card, and I guessed that there was still a lot of office etiquette that I had to learn, including this.

Now move forward to this week. I’m chatting with another female coworker and an older male coworker. The conversation led to greeting cards, and the older male coworker mentioned the card I had made for him back at Easter. I said that I was glad he liked it and that I wish I could give him more. Both of them looked confused and asked me why I couldn’t make another one.

I was confused because, again, I thought this was just some normal part of office etiquette. I told them that it would be weird for me to give a card to the older male coworker. I eventually repeated what my manager had told me, and they both looked at me like I had a dead rat on my head. The male coworker said that my manager sounded really inappropriate and strange for saying that, and my female coworker added that it was gross. They both told me that there was nothing wrong with my greeting cards and that what my manager said was wrong.

This whole ordeal has left me extremely confused. Have I actually done anything inappropriate here? I tried googling what I could online, but every result I get talks about unrelated topics like “when I should I send a thank you card instead of a thank you email” or it’s someone selling funny work-inappropriate cards. Did I do anything wrong?

What on earth.

No, you did not do anything wrong.

Your manager made this gross.

Giving a greeting card to a colleague — even an older, opposite-sex colleague — is not inappropriate. People do it all the time.

For your boss to suggest that it could be misconstrued is bizarre. For him to suggest that it could be seen in a sexual light — especially when you wrote you hoped he’d enjoy his holiday with his wife and kids! — is more than bizarre; it suggests that he has really out-of-touch ideas about how men and women should relate at work. It also suggests that he might find normal non-sexual interactions to be sexually charged, and that he might be the problem he is worried about.

Your female coworker found his response gross because it is gross; he’s sexualizing a wholesome interaction and making you feel like he and others will see you as Sexually Available Young Woman more than they see you as a normal colleague.

His reaction is similar to people who worry about men and women having work lunches together or going on business trips together. It means, unfortunately, that you’ll need to be very attuned to whether he interacts with you differently than he does your male coworkers, and whether you miss out on professional opportunities because of it.

For the record: giving your coworkers cards is not inappropriate. (I would stay away from Easter cards, though — not because Easter cards signal you’re looking for some kind of sexual bacchanalia, but because it’s a specifically religious holiday and not really a secular work thing, although I realize you might be in an area of the country where it’s treated differently. But that’s totally different than what your boss was saying.)

Your boss is the one who made this weird, not you.

Let’s be honest, Houston. This summer has not been that bad. June’s average temperature was 0.6 degrees below normal, July was 1.1 degrees below normal, and August has been 0.6 degrees above normal. Although there have been dry spells, there have been no prolonged droughts. And while we’ve had some heavy rainfall, as summers go, there has been no widespread flooding. And then there’s this: The National Weather Service notes the city has not recorded a 100-degree day since August 29, 2020. So we’ve gone a full 365 days. The last time our region recorded a year without a 100-degree day was 2014.

That is not to say summer is over, but it is winding down. Most notably, days are getting shorter. Today there will be 12 hours, and 46 minutes of daylight, compared to 14 hours and 3 minutes in June. Each new day is now a couple of minutes shorter. The next 10 to 14 days do look fairly warm, to be sure, and there’s a chance we’ll yet hit 100 degrees this year. But after that I think we’re safe. I’d say there’s even about a 25 percent chance we see our first cold front in about 12 to 14 days. Finally there’s the threat of hurricanes. Fortunately we don’t see any immediate threats to the Texas coast.

Tuesday

Today will be similar to Monday, with mostly sunny skies and highs in the upper 90s. As atmospheric moisture levels increase a little bit later today we could see a few isolated to scattered thunderstorms, but rain chances are probably only about 20 percent. Winds will be light out of the west. Conditions tonight will be warm and muggy.

Wednesday and Thursday

Atmospheric moisture levels should peak mid-week and this will perhaps allow rain chances to rise to 30 or 40 percent. Showers should still be pretty scattered in nature, with partly to mostly sunny skies. Highs will be in the mid- to upper 90s.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

As high pressure builds over the region we should see mostly sunny skies this weekend with low to non-existent rain chances. Look for highs in the mid- to upper 90s with slightly cooler nights in the mid- to upper 70s. Plan your outdoor activities this weekend with confidence.

Tropics

The National Hurricane Center still gives an area of low pressure in the Southern Caribbean Sea a 20 percent chance of developing later this week. However, should anything eventually form—and this may well not happen due to the proximity of Central America—high pressure over the northern Gulf of Mexico should keep it bottled up to the south of Texas. For the end of August, things look pretty good across the tropics for the Gulf.

This post, riding a motorcycle to work, is my chronic sneezing distracting my coworkers, and more , was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. Riding a motorcycle to work

This is a low-stakes hypothetical, but I’d like to get your input. I work as a developmental therapist, and my job is to go to people’s homes and encourage toddlers’ development (the toddlers are all less than three years old, and my work is all home visits). There is not a real dress code but I typically try to keep it more professional than others with my title, because I am in my early 20s and they all have at least a decade on me.

Would it be unprofessional to ride a motorcycle to work? The logical side of my brain says it should be fine, as long as the loud noise doesn’t scare the child and I have a way to carry all my supplies. However, something about pulling into my to my clients’ driveways on a motorcycle does not click as a family-friendly/professional thing to do. I am female-presenting, if that’s relevant. What’s your take? I do not own a motorcycle nor do I plan on getting one, but I do think they are kind of awesome. Hypothetically, the fuel efficiency would be beautiful because I spend hours a day driving from house to house.

I think pulling up on a motorcycle to work with toddlers would be badass and not at all unprofessional.

Whenever you’re doing something outside the norms of what people imagine when they picture “generic person doing job X” — whether you’re a lawyer with pink hair or a doctor with tattoos or a developmental therapist for toddlers on a motorcycle — there’s always a risk that some people won’t like it … but there will also be lots of people who do like it, and who see it as a plus about working with you and who like the idea of a lawyer/doctor/therapist who’s different/more relatable/shows personality. Sometimes you might decide that you prefer to screen for clients who will like it or at least not care. Other times you might choose to play it safe. There are also issues of privilege in this — it’s easier to defy norms when you’re not already fighting to be taken seriously because of your age, race, or gender.

2. Is my chronic sneezing distracting my coworkers?

I have terrible seasonal allergies and have all my life. I’ve seen specialists, I’ve gotten injections, I take pills, but when the seasons change I sneeze a lot. There are no real other symptoms so I resigned to my fate a long time ago.

For the first time, I’m now working in a small, open-floor-plan office and worrying that people are getting annoyed by my sneezes. Everyone definitely understands that they’re just allergies and not contagious, and we’ve reached the inevitable understanding that you don’t need to say “bless you” every time, but I imagine it might be distracting or annoying. For reference, on a bad day I might sneeze every 15 minutes three times in a row. Bad days only happen maybe once every two weeks, if I had to guess. If I have a bad sneezing fit or need to blow my nose, I leave the room.

Does this sound excessive to you? I’m so used to it I’d never thought about it, but now I’m worried that it’s rude for me to come into the office when I’m like this. My organization is extremely flexible to remote work and definitely wouldn’t mind if I just told them I was having bad allergies and would be working from home for the day, but I hate working from home and much prefer working in the office, mainly because my home has bad internet and no desk/workspace. Am I overthinking? What would you think if I was your coworker?

Well … it does sound like it could be distracting, but that doesn’t mean it’s rude (it’s not rude) and it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to change what you’re doing, especially if you can’t work comfortably or effectively from home. Lots of things happen in offices that are a little distracting, and that’s just the nature of working in close quarters with other humans. Decent coworkers will understand it’s a health issue you can’t control and you’re likely suffering from it far more than they are. (But if you are scream-sneezing, all bets are off.)

3. Interviewer blamed me for a scheduling mix-up that wasn’t my fault

I had an interview scheduling snafu last week and want to see if I should have handled it differently, in case it happens again. I applied to a job and immediately got a call from the recruiter to screen me, check salary expectations, etc. The recruiter was clearly new and awkward at her job, asking the same question multiple times, not able to answer specifics on the role, and struggling to interpret the more technical questions in her screening. She finished up the call saying they’d be in touch. Literally 30 minutes after that, she emailed me and said that the hiring manager wanted to meet with me the next day. Could I meet at 4:30? I responded back that I could meet then.

The next morning, I got an invite at 10 am for a video call with the hiring manager at 10:30. This wasn’t the time we had agreed on, I wasn’t ready appearance-wise to be on camera, plus I had a conflict at my existing job. I double-checked the email and yes, it was 4:30. I emailed her back and said that I must have misunderstood, because I thought we had agreed to 4:30. She didn’t respond, but I got an updated invite for 3:30. Fine, I could make that work.

At 3:30, I’m on camera with the hiring manager. He immediately asks why I couldn’t keep the earlier appointment. I was a bit taken aback by his directness, but I also didn’t want to throw the recruiter under the bus. As a manager, it’s my personal pet peeve when people don’t take accountability, and he clearly thinks this was my fault. So my response was, “There must have been a miscommunication and I’m very sorry for any misunderstanding on my end, but I’m glad we were both able to find a time that works so we can connect.” But he wouldn’t let it go, and said, “I really need someone in this role who can keep appointments.” At that point, I realized this wasn’t the job for me, but continued on through the interview. I sent my thank-you and withdrawal after we were done. If this happens again, is there another way I should have stated this to make it clear that this was not my mistake?

The hiring manager sounds like a jerk, but the answer you gave him did sound like the mix-up might have been your fault and that you were avoiding saying that. It’s still odd that he harped on it to that extent, but it would have been better for you to just be straightforward — “I confirmed in our emails that Jane and I had scheduled for 4:30 today. When she asked this morning to do 10:30 instead, I wasn’t able to accommodate that on such short notice.” That’s not throwing the recruiter under the bus; that’s a simple, factual statement of what happened. I agree that it’s annoying when people don’t take accountability for things they’re accountable for, but (a) you weren’t responsible for this and (b) it’s also annoying when people don’t give straight answers about what really happened!

I also wouldn’t have recommended taking responsibility for the mistake when emailing with the recruiter (like when you said that you must have misunderstood “because I thought we had agreed to 4:30” — you didn’t misunderstand, and you didn’t just think you’d agreed to 4:30; you definitely did agree to 4:30). Ideally you would have been more straightforward there too — “We actually scheduled for 4:30 (see the email below) but if that doesn’t work anymore, I could do 3 or 3:30 today instead.” It sounds like you’re dancing around simple facts to be diplomatic, but in the process you’re letting people believe you’re to blame. Just be matter-of-fact and direct.

4. Should I quit if I can’t get time off at the holidays?

I’m an employee for a pretty big retail company, and months ago I tried to start submitting some time off for holidays (I always submit time off months in advance, so I’m one of the first). For context, I’m a 19-year-old college student who works part-time. I live hours away from my family currently. Every request I’ve made has been denied. I’ve even tried moving the dates around, asking for less and less time off, but nothing will be approved because the holiday season is the biggest time for retail. While I understand this, I feel like my manager should understand that this is the first year I’ve lived on my own, away from my family. I don’t need every holiday off, or weeks at a time off, but they aren’t working with me here. Is it unreasonable for me to quit over this if they continue to not try to work with me?

You get to quit over anything you want! That said, if your question is more whether your employer is being unreasonable, the answer to that is probably not. Holidays are all-hands-on-deck times for a lot of retail jobs, and if they let people have those dates off at all, they may do it by seniority. Employers with hectic holiday seasons won’t normally give extra accommodations to people who are living on their own away from their families for the first time; it’s just not a thing that workplaces generally make special exceptions for. But you get to decide whether the job’s schedule works for you or not.

5. My employees are spending their own money to buy work tools

I manage a team of managers. One of my managers let me know that their reports are buying equipment on their personal cards due to me not getting approval to purchase the equipment through the company.

For example, a manager will tell me that we need to purchase a new flashlight as the old one is not as efficient as it used to be. They’ve taken steps to repair the item but it hasn’t been effective. The manager then requests a new flashlight, I submit a request to purchase one, and it comes back as denied. My managerial report informs his team, and they pool money together and buy a flashlight.

This makes me feel bad and I don’t want my employees spending money on their own equipment. How do I remediate this situation?

It sounds like they’re spending their own money because they need these tools to do their jobs, and for some reason the company won’t pay for them. You’ve got to push back with whoever is denying the requests — figure out why your requests are getting denied and escalate the issue if you need to. It could be something simple to fix (like you need to provide more info in your requests or present them a different way) or they could be going through a Guacamole Bob or who knows what. But the right move here is to actively advocate for your team and figure out why the company isn’t paying for the tools they need to do their work.

Everything is bigger in Texas, even the act of unconstitutional spitting on the 1st Amendment. We've already talked about the blatantly unconstitutional bill, HB20, that picks up where Florida's already-declared-unconstitutional bill leaves off, and makes it even worse. Well, that bill was voted on Friday and Texas Republicans approved it by a vote of 76 to 44.

But, as Adam Kovacevich noted on Twitter, some Democratic legislators wanted to make sure that the Republicans supporting such a gross infringement of the 1st Amendment were on the record for what they supported. So they introduced amendments to carve out the "must carry" rules for Holocaust denialism, terrorist content, and vaccine disinformation. And Republicans made sure to reject all three amendments, thereby explicitly admitting that with their bill they want to make sure that websites are forced to carry vaccine disinformation, terrorist content, and Holocaust denialism.

Now, to be clear, all three of those things are (mostly) protected under the 1st Amendment. But so is the right for a website to remove them and not be associated with them. Anyway, 73 Texas legislators said that websites should not be able to takedown "vaccine misinformation." Literally, that's what they voted against:

And, reading the amendment on terrorist content, it appears that no website will be allowed to remove ISIS-promoting content any more, which is an interesting choice by Texas Republicans.

And then there's the Holocaust denialism bit. Social media sites will have to include it as well. I'm kind of surprised that the legislators introducing this amendment didn't also do one explicitly about "critical race theory." Now that really would have tested things. After all, this very same Texas legislature that, earlier this year, passed an equally unconstitutional bill that says teachers in Texas can't openly talk about America's racist past.

And, I guess that is at least consistent. You must post stuff denying the holocaust, but suggesting that there is systemic bigotry? Well, that's beyond the pale.

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Anyway, back to my time machine to bring up dongs with Archimedes.

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Leaded gasoline has finally reached the end of the road, the UN environment office said Monday, after the last country in the world to use it stopped selling the highly toxic fuel.