Tone of voice makes a difference. The scarf and especially the bag aren’t associated with body parts, which is better when it’s a man to women. He should compliment men as well. As a woman, I can say “Cute shoes!” without coming off fetishy, might not be so easy for a guy. Also, guy to guy, “wow, looks like you could run so fast in those shoes!” could be nice and funny, but frightening guy-to-girl. Sadly, a young woman can hardly compliment a young man without risking him hearing “I will fuck you” instead of whatever she really said. And being angry because she “led him on.” But now I’m old, I can. Still keeping it uncreepy of course, because most young guys don’t want to feel leered at by saggy old ladies. Always keep the power/age/gender dynamic in mind and imagine being the other before opening your mouth.

Cool, but for a different kind of victory, go for the slow deliberate blink. And hold it closed for a second before opening. To a cat this says, “I’m so not scared of you I can close my eyes.” Which translates to “I like you and we can trust each other, in this moment at least.” Try it a couple times, see if you can get them to blink back.

Regular old coil electric stoves will be fine with, for instance, your old rough-bottomed cast iron pan. And despite no flame, the coils glow red hot like a horseshoe at a blacksmith’s, to hit that emotional spot.

There is a little learning curve: they heat up and cool down more slowly, which can be a plus if you work with it.

Note: If you have spilled, especially grease, be sure to lift the whole stovetop to clean underneath, nobody taught me that at first.

Oh I still think it would be interesting to try, and once rejected send the items to their competitors with the prompt “rejected by WaPo despite being about the topics they claim to support.” After all, I can only cancel my subscription once, but making sure others are aware of this enshittification might lead them to cancel theirs as well. Whether it’s by my item being published or by sparking a followup story by a competitor doesn’t matter to me.

No, it was PERSONAL LIBERTIES and free markets. As in “I’m free to do anything I can afford to do.” No matter how perverse or harmful to others.

Somehow I think he wouldn’t react kindly to a slew of Opinion pieces on Trans Rights and abortion access being prime examples of Personal Liberties, or canceling one’s WaPo subscription being an effective use of the Free Market.

Maybe it’s time for people to start submitting Opinion pieces detailing how we can use the free market to make companies regret discontinuing their DEI programs or Pride merchandise, or telling how bodily autonomy and control over one’s reproductive equipment is a central pillar of personal liberty.

Editing to add: in the event your submission is rejected, consider adding an opener such as: “This article was rejected by The Washington Post despite meeting their criteria of focus on the free market (or personal liberty).” And then submitting it to one or several of their competitors. Even the ones that aren’t any better, pitting their competitive instincts against their conservativism.