...at least I've never learned this the hard way.

Many times in my life I've had men say to me:

"You should
- go out with X
- ignore the creepy things X is doing
- let X into your house with you alone
because he's a nice guy."

Yeah, no.

Why not?

Because men rarely notice the creepy things other men do.

So no, Dad, I will not go out with your co-worker in a country where I don't speak the language and they mostly don't speak mine (and where women aren't respected and rape laws are laughable) just because you say he's a nice guy.

No, Friend, I will not ignore the way X is stalking my friend just because you say he's a nice guy. Did you know about X's arrests for public indecency? Nope, you didn't.

And what spawned this post today, no, Landlord, I will not take you at your word that I shouldn't worry about letting that guy you know who fixes drywall into my house when I'm here alone because he's a good guy. Especially since you can't even remember his name.

I really dislike the way the BBC News feed uses quotation marks in their headlines. Near as I can tell they use them in place of the word 'alleged'. Not only is it confusing and wrong and sometimes incredibly funny, but sometimes it comes off as insulting.

For example: Bolivian Mennonite women 'raped'

Not exactly something that should read as scare quotes, eh?

I have a cup of tea, a bunch of lit candles, a blanket, and a lap cat -- the perfect way to spend a dreary morning.