So, the weekend events proved to be both as enjoyable and as stressful as I expected. I’m really not complaining about any of it, per se; I enjoyed the company of some quite wonderful people, and, somewhat unexpectedly, I had the opportunity to be a bit of company for someone else who maybe needed it. […]

I did a bit of sleep deficit spending this weekend; such is the toll of a busy weekend followed by a week during which rest did not come easy, followed by another busy weekend. Mostly it was Saturday that did me in. It was really the two-pronged assault of (1) the labor involved in helping […]

Seems a bunch of Rhode Island “Christians” got upset when Governor Chaffee referred to the big evergreen displayed in the state house as a “holiday tree.” Their chosen method of protest? Interrupting a children’s choir performance at the tree-lighting with a renegade singing of “O Christmas Tree.” “Oh Christmas Tree.” A largely secular little ditty […]

As you may be aware, dear reader, I’m a big fan of the kind of pop culture meta piece like this one from (surprise) Amanda Marcotte about what she perceives as the ascendance of mass-market mediocrity in modern American popular culture as being inherently more “worthy” than properties with more limited, niche appeal. I include […]

Last minute changes in plans scuttled my original weekend schedule, but it all kind of worked out. No worries, I got a little bit more sleep and a bit of a break. Doesn’t change the fact that once you’ve properly girded yourself for a given task, having it fall off the schedule at the last […]

For reasons that still kind of elude me, this weekend involved cramming more stuff into 72 hours or so than is really possible or advisable, but a lot of it was quite a bit of fun. Still, I’m finding myself dragging a bit, largely due to sleep deficit and a few aches and pains as […]

I don’t have a particular thesis for today. My mind is swimming with all kinds of random stuff, and none of it is coalescing into one coherent point. But, it still needs to get out, so I’m going to take the shotgun approach and try getting out some thoughts on a handful of things; and […]

So, I think, in the end, a long weekend was most of what I needed. Mostly. As you might have figured, the last few weeks have been pretty stressful. Too many reasons to list at this point, really, and honestly, I just want to get past them. I think I’m mostly done with them, now […]

Going on four days since the power went out. The power company information services still won’t commit to an estimated service restore date. Damn it all. I understand the concept of traige and such, and know that my neighborhood isn’t on the same piece of grid as anything important like a school, hospital, or major […]

I’ve seen several varieties of this sort of thing get passed around via email, but mercuryblue‘s recent essay at slacktiverse does a really good job of covering how political considerations are inextricably woven into every personal decision we make. Every choice we make (or don’t make) has an effect on the larger world, no matter […]