Some of you have already noticed, but FreethoughtBlogs has been forced to put countermeasures in effect against various and sundry trolls who thought it the height of funny to pretend to be regulars saying disgusting things. If this has an adverse effect on your ability to comment, please let me know at dhunterauthor at yahoo dot com.

(Trolls need not let me know, because they’ll end up spammed whilst I laugh and laugh at their pathetic selves. Sad, really, that some people are such ineffectual losers they are reduced to lurking around blogs hoping their misbehavior earns them a cookie from other misbehaving dumbfucks. If I myself had such mad playground taunt skillz and the ability to lie with abandon, I wouldn’t be wasting them at FtB, but would be selling them to Fox News or the local Republican party for cash money. But I suppose that’s just because I don’t have the soul of a Troll Artist.)

Anyway. Onward.

A request has been made for the dragonfly porn to be displayed forthwith. But you cannot rush these things. Not when you have just the right soundtrack, and needs must only combine same with photos just so in order to create a masterpiece. Believe me when I say it will be worth the wait.

Also, interest has been expressed in the status of my nicotine habit. It has now, officially, been a month, and I am still smoke-free. Yes, I still want a cigarette at times. Yes, some people in my life have noticed my lack of patience with stupidity. But I think they’re putting irritations down to quitting that don’t belong there – I’ve always been like that, it’s just that they’re noticing for the first time because I no longer smell of stale tobacco smoke.

What I have wanted more of is solitude, and food, and Doctor Who, all of which I provided myself with in abundance over the weekend. Currently, I’m gorging myself on P.G. Wodehouse novels. Yes, while I’m supposed to be blogging. Yes, while my email lies horribly neglected, even so. It’s a reaction to work, which has decided they desperately need a weekly newsletter. Being run off my feet writing, I am. Not to mention fighting with recalcitrant text boxes in Word. Don’t talk to me about Word. Especially don’t talk to me about the fact that Word is, presently, the only publishing program I can weasel out of my employers. Do you understand now my anomie, my anguish, my desire to bury myself deep in British literature and television?

Don’t worry, I’ve also written some blog posts. They only need to be typed and pictures appended to make them complete for your viewing pleasure. But first, Wodehouse. And some more Doctor Who.

Don’t rush me, my subconscious is busy working on dragonfly porn.

I hate doing this, but circumstances insist: I shall be going to a somewhat light to virtually non-existent posting schedule over the next week or so. I’m getting me arse kicked by research, my darlings. On top of this, I’m still adjusting to a lack of nicotine, which seems to involve endless eating, sudden bouts of inertia and exhaustion, and other such woes. When I attempt to concentrate, my brain wails, “But I haven’t had a smoke in almost two weeks!!” and I have to stuff it with non-taxing stuff to get it to stop sniveling. My memory is shot, my concentration ditto. The weather is, by Seattle standards, blazing hot. All signs point to dialing back for a bit.

Continue reading “Stuff and Nonsense” →

Some quick updates and interesting items before I get to some epic post-writing:

• Via Skepchick: a tale of cyber-woe, and some good security tips. I’ve spent a few moments tonight hardening myself as a target – do yourself the same favor. Also, do not rely on companies’ policies for over-the-phone account management to keep you safe. Social engineering is alive and well.
• At Skepchick: a very nice answer to people you suspect are JAQing off, or engaging in a little hyperskepticism. Not that they’ll listen, but if they don’t, then you know you’re dealing with a doofus and/or douchebag and can respond accordingly.
• Stephanie Zvan makes me blush quite a lot. Also, she has a post up that connoisseurs of fine fundie fuckery will wish to see if you haven’t already – learn why fundies hates teh maffs!
• Craig daGeek would like some input on a grad-school funding idea: “Okay. So here is a thought. I got knocked out of my masters degree by being financially dependent on a homophobic and bigoted professor last year. I am thinking I want to return to grad school, but I am ambivalent about accepting funding and being trapped by the whims of unethical profs. I was thinking of giving Indiegogo a try to self-fund at least partially my next go around. I was going to tell my story of harassment, bullying, discrimination, and unethical behavior I experienced as my selling point. That way I have more say and can keep the ability to fight back hard and fast in my hands alone. I was totally brutalized last year and wish not to go through that again. I need feedback from earth science folks in particular.” You can leave comments here if you don’t have a G+ account – I’ll ensure he gets them. Also, if you know of good resources for math practice for the GRE online or off, please let us know!
• And on the quitting front: the deed ’tis done, absent any backsliding. I had my last smoke on Saturday night. Despite work doing its utmost to make me return screaming to the loving arms of nicotine, and my bronchial tubes informing me they believe the nice coating of tar was a protective against asthma, I’ve not had one since. I reserve the right to the occasional fumble in these early weeks, but mostly because that opt-out has kept me from opting back in. I am now going to go stand on the porch for three minutes sucking a sour straw candy in lieu of a smokie, because I bloody miss those breaks on the porch, and it just ain’t the same without a reason to be out there. We’ll see if that does the trick. The cat will be thrilled – she was getting pissed about this never going outside with Mommy at night anymore. (Also, yes, I have gained weight, for those who might be curious.)
• Finally: I’m about to begin an epic writing session for Rosetta Stones. You know what’s coming. Grab tissues and possibly something to bite down on, and stand by for Volcano Day.

My intrepid companion and I are off to Mount St. Helens for the weekend. We’ve got a full dance card: quite a bit of hiking on Saturday, and taking Suzanne for her first look at the mountain on Sunday.

This means I’ll have limited access to the intertoobz, and first-time commenters will be stuck in moderation until I can set you loose. Sorry! If it’s any consolation, at least you’ll have lots of delicious photos of one of the most geologically fascinating places in the continental US soon.

I’ve got posts pre-loaded, so the blog will chug right along. Wish me luck getting some great St. Helens UFDs. At least there aren’t so many trees for the little buggers to hide in…

So, this was supposed to be the Big Weekend, where Chantix kicked in and I became a quitter. I should have remembered my body’s reaction to drugs: “So?” It shrugged off the half-milligram like it was nothing. When the dose upped to one milligram a few days later, still meh. And the urge to smoke was strong as ever – stronger, in some ways, because I know I’ll be giving it up soon, and damn it, I’ll miss it.

Continue reading “Update on Quitting, and Why I've Been Scarce” →

I’m fiddling about with settings. Next step is to test. Other things beginning with T and S: Twin Falls on the Snoqualmie River.

I knew nothing of geology when I dragged my intrepid companion here the first time. Also, I didn’t have my super-spiffy shiny Sony Cyber-shot HX5V. So I have two excuses for going there again and collecting photos for you.

Still. I really like this one my intrepid companion shot whilst we were playing down by the river.

His camera kicked my Photosmart’s ass.

Right. So. Some of the changes: I’ve added the G+ and PressThis sharing buttons. I know, exciting, right? You’re under no obligation to use them on this post, unless you want to. But they’re there for you if you ever wish to employ them in the future. And, hopefully, you enjoyed these images, even if one of them was shot with a sub-standard camera.

So, my darlings, what other waterfalls do you recommend?

Figured I’d better check in and let everyone know I’m still alive. Buried in Agatha Christie, still, but alive.

I’m slowly clearing the email backlog, so those of you who’ve emailed without reply for a while should be getting responses soon. I cleaned up ye olde inbox at last, flagged things needing attention, and downloaded all of those papers that have been languishing therein. They’re all loaded on the Kindle, and the Docs folder is looking pleasantly plump. Pretty soon, I’ll be through the Agatha Christie, and on to the science.

It’ll be a relief. I love her, I do, but this concentrated dosage wears a bit. It’s just that I can’t bloody stop… I’m coping by suspecting absolutely everyone, alive or dead. That way, when the murderer is revealed, I can say, “I suspected him/her all along!” It’s a hollow victory, but I’ll take it.

Writing will probably return soon. I’m getting restless and fretful, with occasional flashes of ideas, which is a good sign. And if worse comes to worse, I can always beat something out of myself with a rock hammer – I’m going down to see Lockwood soon, and I have a feeling that will provide the necessary goad to ye olde Muse.

I’ve been out of the loop for a long time. I’ve no idea what’s going on, aside from the fact that Washington State approved gay marriage, and Gov. Gregoire should be signing it into law. Weddings! At last! I’m proud of my adopted state, and hopefully shall be attending a wedding or two this summer.

So what else have I missed? Let me know the happenings, the awesome science papers, and whatever else comes to mind.

And thank you for standing by while I get my shit back together. You, my dear readers, keep me from giving up. I owe you.

And with that melodramatic Dickensonian post title, I shall now announce nothing much of substance. Aren’t you glad you clicked over? I knew you were.

The good news is, having mostly finished my blog reading backlog, Los Links will be fat and sassy this week. The bad news is, I still have to compose it. Good news: I’ve got some old school Doctor Who to watch, during which links shall be linked. Bad news: my brain is so fried after several hours of solid reading that it’s oozing gently from my ears, which means Maclargehuge Post Containing Actual Substance and a Quote by Ed Yong Hisownself shall be delayed. Sorry.

The good news is, I called my mother whilst walking over to Quiznos for some sustenance, and she sounds miles better. Very nearly as good as she gets. Good enough that I could broach the topic of her signing a release so her doctors can share information with me, and she didn’t freak out, but thought it was a brilliant idea. The bad news: good times don’t last. We just savor them while they do, and do our best to ensure there’s more good than bad, which isn’t such a bad thing after all. Every life is a matter of trying to extract more good than bad, and we haven’t done so badly, overall.

The good news: kitteh and I eschewed the living room for the bedroom today, where beautiful bouncing sunshine leapt through the windows. The bad news: that bloody bouncing sunshine woke me up. Argh. And now it’s close to setting. Double argh. The good news: I write best in the dark.

And speaking of writing, I have got good news on that front: I’ve been beavering away steadily on ye olde WIP. The bad news: I had to return to the notebooks to figure out why the story stalled. The good news: I have made what seems to be a breakthrough, and may be able to wrestle some story out of what seemed like a pile of disjointed words. Bonus good news: I’ve filled quite a few notebook pages with useful thoughts. The bad news: I forgot to stop by Staples to replenish the notebook supply. The good news: Staples is close by.

And that’s about where life is at the moment. Now for the really bad news, the worst possible: it’s laundry day.

I shall see ye for Los Links if the pile of dirty clothes doesn’t eat me.

I’ve been lost in NaNoMadNess and neglecting you terribly. So here are a few things by way of apology.

Andrew Alden has a wonderful little piece telling of victories made possible by geology, and celebrating its influence on and connections to the other branches of science. I think it’s quite possibly one of my favorite things this week.

Daniel Fincke has got a lovely roundup of delights from around Freethought Blogs. I say delights, but some of them aren’t so much delightful as they are important, such as Greta Christina’s piece on the American Cancer Society and its rather desperate attempts to pretend it wasn’t discriminating against atheists at all. That’s more infuriating than delightful. But I’ll tell you what is delightful: Daniel’s new banner. It has made me consider the logistics of modifying my bathroom to fit a camel with a hammer. I wish I wasn’t so certain the cat would be terribly upset by such a thing. Perhaps I’ll just have to frame the art in there instead.

Go say hello to Maryam Namazie, who is our newest FreethoughtBlogger, and makes me even more honored to be a part of this collective. She’s an incredible woman.

And, finally, go perform a good deed for the day and tell Delta to stop with the anti-vax insanity, if you haven’t already.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go enjoy a brief visit with my bed before I have to abandon it again….