Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Hair, Socially Networked

RantWoman needs some facetime with a colleague at the Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing, This particular person functions best on a pretty ad-hoc schedule. RantWoman's own job description is also pretty nebulous: there are tasks that require specific outputs at specific times but RantWoman makes up a lot as she goes along.




For instance, if RantWoman is actually visiting the center, she may be doing some kind of technical self-training, gathering material for narratives needed for some or another form of paperwork, or just observing what is or is not fully operational.



Shhhh about the last point: we aspire to have everything working right all the time! We just got new computers, upgraded a whole bunch of software we naively expect all to play together. Therefore we have whole new lists of ways to be vexed. Shhhh!


Today for instance the internet was working. Key assistive technology was working. But the print server was not. The key assistive technology includes some that RantWoman uses and likes but not the mix on RantWoman's very own laptop so RantWoman was also being fumble fingers about key functions she takes for granted in her own home office. RantWoman is aware that such is her own choice and she should not complain about imposing this heterogeneity on her computing experience. RantWoman should not complain, but she IS RantWoman.



The point is that, although RantWoman has a few tasks she would like to make progress about, she also has a perpetual desk drawer full of things she can do if she has time, like say fuss with her profile on a certain social networking site. Today turned out to be an if she has time moment and the tools available better suited than at home.




RantWoman is perfectly well aware that her profile photo on this certain social networking site is. um. non-standard. Today RantWoman took advantage of more visual tools to poke around her profile. RantWoman discovered that the profile serves up the info that one of RantWoman's friends has tagged her in several photos. One of the photos is not to RantWoman's taste, but might be cropped to something slightly better than the current profile photo. RantWoman is unlikely to do this and will at some point fish in other places for options. The other photos are both miraculous and even more unconventional than RantWoman's current profile photo.


How's that?


The photos are all of RantWoman from the back and show her coiffure in stunning detail!



See, relying on mirrors to style RantWoman's hair has never really been a happening deal and RantWoman has usually done some kind of not very variable simple hairstyle. Currently, this is a French braid starting near RantWoman's forehead and proceeding smoothly along the top and back of RantWoman's head.



It's cheap. It's easy. RantWoman can do this in lots of different circumstances. RantWoman can do this by feel without any interaction with mirrors. Sometimes others find it extremely entertaining just to watch RantWoman braid her hair. Okay, not that entertaining or even RantWoman, incompetent capitalist that she is, would figure out she should charge money to let people watch.



The point is that this hairstyle adds up at its best to really pleasant visual effect. It even manages to cover up the fact that RantWoman's hair is rudely turning grey without asking RantWoman's permission. All of this was clear in several photos of RantWoman from behind. RantWoman likes this a lot....and RantWoman still thinks a view from behind of her braid would be, um, even more original and in a not good way than RantWoman's current profile photo. So RantWoman must keep trying.

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