Guess My Algorithm

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Blair and I were out to dinner with friends on Saturday and the conversation turned (as it will when two of the four people present are wanna-be-well-known-billionaire-authors) to book sales on Amazon. I asked my friend how a book he'd edited and contributed to was doing which launched a conversation about how, only days earlier, Amazon had changed their algorithms with the unfortunate effect of making sales appear less then they would have otherwise. 

This led to a brief discussion of how Amazon periodically changes its algorithms so that people (probably wanna-be-well-known-billionaire-authors) can't learn how to game the system. 

Later in the night, the two men were whining complaining moaning discussing how every time a man thinks he has a particular woman figured out, the woman changes her mind and messes with him. 

"That's called 'changing our algorithms,'" I volunteered. "Fear it."

"I change my algorithm every 30 days," offered my friend, sipping her drink. "It's marked on my calendar." 

The guys were all, "That's not fair, blah, blah, blah," so I pretty much stopped listening. If anything, shouldn't all the men out there be thanking us ladies for keeping the world interesting? If any of you guys are looking for gift ideas to express your gratitude, here are a few hints: We like fine wine, dark chocolate, flowers just because, and you'll never go wrong surprising us by cleaning the house. 

At least, that's what all women want THIS week. I can't speak for next week when we're all due for an algorithm change. 

Cheers,

Dena 

Ask Yourself, "How Do People Experience Me?"

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I'm reading the Wall Street Journal yesterday and almost the entire MarketPlace section is devoted to an article on "The XX Factor: What's Holding Women Back?" 
It's an interesting read, broken into numerous subsections. One of the subsections offers a Tool Kit for society and individuals on how to encourage more/better participation by women in the economy. Under the header Personal Strategies: Tools for the Individual, one of the recommendations is that women do Self-Assessments.
"Regularly consider, 'How do people experience me? Am I a game changer and value creator who builds trusting relationships?'"
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Merle Norman To The Rescue: A Sole Sister Makeover?

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A scene from the winning cheer: We Be Cruisin' In The 'Boro!" This past Sunday I teamed up with 7 of the Sole Sisters to run the ALS Amazing Race sponsored through The Club of Greensboro. We divided into two teams of four and--along with 11 other teams--used clues to race around Greensboro and complete tasks. 

My friend Christie summed the day up best in her FB post:

We have dove in pools, rode tricycles, pushed wheelchairs blindfolded playing hockey, answered 10 hard travel questions, we were blindfolded and had to guess flavors of gelato, recited "proper names" of English desserts, surveyed a boutique for red belts, struck a pose at photo studio, ran on treadmills and jumped rope, bowled underhanded backwards for a strike, and fished around in a pool of noodles, oatmeal and sardines -we chanted a cheer that led us to victory (thanks to Cindy Barbour). For what?? To WIN the Amazing Race and raise awareness for ALS-one of the most memorable days we've ever had. We did it girls !

Although the day was filled with laughter--maybe even mocking while Christie and I cursed the tricycles--one moment stands out. 

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Reading Lists

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Bibliophiles typically keep a list of books they would like or intend to read. This is normal. 

I'm a bit backwards. For the past sixteen years, I have kept not a list of books I want to read, but rather a running list of every book I've ever read. 

I no longer remember what started this cataloging obsession, just that in the early part of 1996 I opened a file in Word, called it "Books," and listed the 8 or so books I'd already read that year. Then I kept going. For sixteen years. Textbook, comic book, fiction, non-fiction... short of recording the nutrition label on cereal boxes, if I read it, it made the list.

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