I have noticed that I'm dealing with more women in tech support than I did nearly ten years ago. Though I still regularly talk to people who assume I'm a man, but not as often. The people calling in to get help are as likely to be women, as well. The biggest divide is age in the industry I'm working with, the older insurance and construction people just purely hate working with computers and don't seem to care what the gender is of the person helping. They'd be happy to work with a trained cormorant if it would get their computers working.

Gah, can anyone familiar with Britain in the 80s help my failing memory? What was the name of the demographic kinda similar to preppies?

Something Rangers, ita? Sloane Rangers?

Sophia, Emory used to it "Lifelong Learning," but recently changed it to Continuing Education.

That's funny, because Lifelong Learning is the name of our department! Continuing Education makes nurses go nutty because it means something very specific to them that is not Lifelong Learning!

Sloane Rangers?

Is this entirely voluntary? Is at least some of this if a man is being paid more than a woman with the same skills, does he get laid off and then in this economy, take what work he can get which may not be in his profession?

Thank you! Sloane Rangers. I can't believe the shit I forget. Especially considering I was tangentially one for a hot second.

They'd be happy to work with a trained cormorant if it would get their computers working.

But would they insist on a male cormorant? (sorry, couldn't resist)

I work for an association for the design and construction industry and we're seeing more women - architects, engineers, contractors. On the whole a good thing; the only downside is that we now have lines in the women's room at our conferences.

Oh, work. It is weird how much my profile has risen thanks to the spelling bee. So many people talking to me in the hallway! I generally think it has confirmed for people who I am -- there are so many people here, and I know so many of them just a little bit, from monthly meetings with ~20 people in them. So they may have seen me at the event and then my name and department were in the daily newsletter, so I think it just puts it together for people. I don't know, it's interesting. I'm also organizing a high-profile meeting, with high-profile people. Overall, I feel like I'm turning a corner (after two years!) of people knowing who I am and what I do.

Of course, simultaneously, I am in the middle of semi-fucking up a project. Or, almost fucking up a project and handling some other messiness. Which is why I'm trying to focus on the other part, so I can get back to cleaning up and not fucking up! Bleh.

Aww, man, can't they trade Tebow to Siberia or something? I seriously need to stop hearing about this guy.