Jason Ritter, not Josh.

That is all.

I knew someone on the plane, a colleague. Not well, but well enough to be a little shaken by what happened, and to be a little obsessed about the "why" and "how." Some of the reportage on major news sites was dramatic verging on the exploitative, and many of the reader comments attached to those stories were ignorant, offensive, verging on the paranoid.

But your two columns, and the letters attached to those columns, have had some of the best information and perspective available about this crash. Many thanks to you and the pilots who post here, for so thoughtfully sharing your expertise.

The wingnuts must be salivating. You -- all of you -- are giving them just what they wanted.

You can keep feeding the beast, or you can refocus on the real issues. Either way, it's going to be a long campaign.

The sun rose in the east today, and there are pathetic, bitter trolls hating all over the Salon letters boards. Alert the media.

Visiting the troll-infested letters sections for this column, Broadsheet, and "Since You've Asked" is a bad habit worth *trying* to break for the new year -- witnessing conflict and devoting energy to people who get their rocks off from negative attention just doesn't cut it. I'd rather watch TV. Even bad TV.

Before I sign off, Heather, I've been reading your column for quite a few years now and just wanted to say thanks for being consistently entertaining. And hopefully for your sake you've already abandoned this area of "reader" "feedback." Because, after all, there are many more rewarding ways to pass the time. When's the new season of Project Runway? ANTM?

A very readable, fictionalized account of some of the activities of M16 and the Resistance during this period is Marge Piercy's "Gone to Soldiers." Perhaps I'll reread it when I pick up Helm's book.

First of all, "well-preserved" is apt, if you can believe it. I worked with the intrepid Ms. K. when we were both in our early/mid 20's, and lost track of her until I stumbled on a long puff piece in WWD about the glorious life she is leading with her investment-banker husband. I was shocked, absolutely shocked, at how her appearance had changed. In her twenties, she was a pretty girl, maybe slightly, and I mean slightly, overweight. But her personality was what you noticed: she was a force of nature, somewhat intimidating if not slightly terrifying, sophisticated beyond her years, with a keen intelligence.

The Alex I saw portrayed in WWD, whose NYT "Style" columns I've caught up on, who is portrayed in this review, is disappointingly shallow. Her appearance, shrunken, polished, and highlighted -- although she is indeed in her late 30's she appears to be in her "well-preserved" 40's -- is generic to NYC socialites. As is her lifestyle, gloriously privileged as it is.

I guess *my* inner Mean Girl is coming out. Whatever. When I read pieces like this, about people like this, it's hard to help myself.

The Healey campaign ads have been truly appalling and are not resonating with MA voters. And I hate to say this, but I wonder if voters find this approach more offensive coming from a female candidate. It was certainly a risky, desperate move.

Another ploy by Healey, Romney, and friends a last-minute push to eliminate Mass Pike tolls west of Route 128. This could potentially garner some support from voters in Western MA, who had been pretty much resigned to being ignored by Boston politicos. (How we're going to replace that revenue is anyone's guess, of course.)

There are still a couple of weeks to sink even lower...I will be watching with interest. Sorry, Kerry, I've already cast my absentee ballot for Patrick.

The previous posters have made excellent points about HP, and I don't claim to be a Carly Fiorina fan. However, as a woman manager, one comment she made stood out to me:

"...Meritocracy in a truly gender-blind, color-blind workforce is so hard, because people can't get to the substance of the person's contributions because they get enmeshed in language and style."

If you remove CEO's from the mix, because in many cases, regardless of gender, they are astoundingly overcompensated; seem mostly interested in self-preservation; and spend more time managing the BOD than running the company, this point illustrates a relevant, ongoing issue for women in business. What is the best way for a woman manager to command respect? Do you act like a nice girl (pushover) or do you give as good as you get (shrill bitch)? If you're expected to go along to get along, you get pretty sick of hearing that you're "angry" or "emotional" those times when you do stand up to a "take-charge" or "passionate" male colleague. The double standard is much more subtle these days, but sorry folks, it's still out there, and it influences your progress, your rewards, and your punishment.

I'm not sure Ms. Fiorina is the most effective person to highlight the problem. However, I can understand what prompted some of her theatrics, and how they may have been (temporarily) effective. Not that I'm thinking about stuffing socks down my pants anytime soon.

and a good Friday morning diversion. There are plenty of places to go, online and offline, for strict political and news analysis. I read these areas on Salon, but I also visit for "Ask the Pilot," Cary Tennis, Broadsheet, articles on organic produce, book reviews, "The Fix," etc. It's been a pretty consistent mix of news *and* features, at least for the several years I've been a subscriber.