The Frustrated Bunny

Technology. Science. Politics. Geek. Etc.

Author: Hillary

Politics

Could the end of DADT mean the end of DOMA?

Today at 12:01 a.m., the military policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which prevented gays and lesbians from serving openly in the United States Armed Forces, ended in its entirety. As of today, the estimated 66,000 gays and lesbians serving in America’s military may now, if they so choose, be open about their sexual orientation, be seen in public with their partners, and (in states where it is legal) get married without fear of losing their jobs. All current investigations into “homosexual conduct” have been ended. Ninety-seven percent of personnel have received whatever training it was that the military deemed...

Conventions

Simplified overview Dragon*Con map

One of the things that the Dragon*Con Pocket Program has always lacked is a simplified overview of the entire convention site that shows where the hotels are in relation to each other, the surrounding streets, and the connecting skywalks. When the convention was only in two or three hotels, this wasn’t really necessary, but now that Dragon*Con is officially in FIVE hotels in downtown Atlanta, it can be pretty easy to get lost or forget where you are, especially if you’re a first-timer or if you haven’t slept much. While the Pocket Program does have an overview map, it’s hard...

Politics

S&P’s downgrade of U.S. credit rating in a nutshell

Standard & Poors (S&P), one of three agencies that rate the credit of national governments, downgraded the credit rating of the United States from the highest rating, AAA, to AA+ with a negative outlook. This is the first time in history that this has happened. The U.S. Treasury, upon examining S&P’s analysis that prompted the downgrade, claims that it has found a math error that indicates that the downgrade should not have occurred. S&P rebutted that mathematical calculations are not the only factor in the decision to downgrade. Sovereign credit ratings, also referred to as national credit ratings and bond...

Conventions

Surviving Convention Season: Part 5 — Etiquette

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a new installation of my convention survival series, and this topic is an important one. Every social situation has its own rules of etiquette. Some things are just basic manners and apply to nearly every social situation; other things are specific to being polite in crowds; other things still are specific to the convention environment. This post will primarily be divided up into those three parts, but the entirety of everything below can be summed up in two points: Do not neglect personal hygiene. Don’t be a dick. However, as I am well aware, the...

Georgia Tech / Personal / Random

Items for a happy dorm life: An incomplete list

About a month ago, a college-bound acquaintance asked me if I had any advice about things that would make living in a dorm a bit easier. I haven’t lived in a dorm since about 2005, but I have a pretty good recollection of some of the things that were either indispensable or that I wish I had and didn’t. Two things prompted me to post this list on my blog: 1) Tomorrow is the send-off party for new Georgia Tech freshmen from the DFW area. 2) Last weekend, I recovered my blog from my senior year of high school and...