Yikes. There's some kind of funky paradigm shift occurring within the blogosphere, and most of it appears to be motivated by capitalism. Several blog hosts are switching gears in major ways. Granted, large-scale free hosting entails some formidable overhead. Everyone wants to get paid for something. The thing is that too many entities want to get paid for nothing.

"What the heck are you talking about, fugi?"

So, why on earth would someone fork over their hard-earned money simply to blog unless this cost could at least be offset as a legitimate tax-deductible business expense? Aren't there already enough consumerism-based blogs choking up channels ideally intended for meaningful communication?

The increase in the number of hosts on which I've already invested countless hours of time only to have my labors capitalized upon by corporate gluttons sickens me. Further exasperation comes by way of no-reply emails informing me that for only a few dollars a month I can enhance my experience of getting ripped off by a service that's become little more than a bad joke.

No thank you. Game over. I'm not even going to bother logging into those host's servers to delete my content. At this rate I don't give a rip if it all eventually gets the axe. I will know that I had an active presence on those services- and so will others.

Doing for oneself can often be the most empowering, proactive form of getting even. I'm going to be copying and pasting years' worth of blog entries currently hosted elsewhere to preserve what's mine. I find that blogging in itself can be far more beneficial than incalculable time wasted with dozens of so-called mental health professionals. And blogging doesn't cost me a dime!

Courtesy of one of my StumbleUpon faves, NacMacfeagle.

Suggested Literature Meme Rules: Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages). Open the book to page 123. Find the fifth sentence. Post the next three sentences. Tag five people & post a comment at the originating blog after you've posted it to your blog. Note: I don't tag people. Most good memes do manage to get decent circulation even if not in the manner envisioned by their creators.

Tonight's selection is from the well received book Programming the Universe by Seth Lloyd. Surprisingly enough I happened across a brand new hardback copy at a greatly reduced price at the Town and Country supermarket in Salem, Arkansas. Apparently my tastes in literature are fairly different from this region's general preferences. A cursory glance at the offerings on the shelves of the Fulton County Public Library also tend to bear this out. So be it.

"In the Schroedinger's Cat paradox, the state of the particle, detector, and cat after the measurement is |left, no click, cat alive> + |right, no click, cat dead>. In some weird quantum way, the cat is alive and dead at the same time.

"The Schroedinger's Cat paradox has inspired much confusion. Stephen Hawking got so tired of this paradox that he would often say (in paraphrase of Joseph Goebbels), 'Whenever I hear the words 'Schroedinger's Cat,' I reach for my gun.'"

Okay, so I included a fourth line. Sue me. It was still effing funny!

Occasionally there come times when I want to speak my mind but am vexed by the delicate nature of current situations. Too many considerations are at stake. Where should this be posted? For whom is my input beneficial- and in what context? Will posting directly to a specific forum become part of a solution or merely more fuel dumped upon a fire? I am grossly negligent if I fail to honestly examine both my motives and methodology.

These points are easy to identify with for those who value critical thought and the practical application thereof. This applies for both regular group members and those in an administrator/moderator capacity. At least that's a worthwhile collective aspiration. In the example below my reply has been slightly edited.

"With power comes fascism." - daspider

Ideally, with power should come situationally appropriate discretion and diplomacy. Deletions not performed by the initial poster fall squarely into the realm of administrator privilege. I am not an admin of [this group]. I would have zero right to complain if a ["group X"] admin (or relatively, an admin from any other group to which I'm subscribed) deleted my comments. Same applies to all Multiply members.

Ultimately this is Multiply's party. We are all but guests. For whatever reason(s) some parties need qualified bouncers to ensure that the host's preferences are maintained. Most approach this responsibility in the light of a trusted servant performing a necessary task. Ideally, such instances are not personal.

Volunteer. Group administrators are generally not paid for the responsibilities they assume and the services they willingly share. Administrators are rarely contractually bound to act in any manner beyond those set forth in their site host's TOS- and the site host's legal protections do not cover volunteer administrators.

"So, why would anyone in their right mind be a
volunteer group administrator?" you ask.

I do it out of love for, and belief in the
communities I'm honored to serve.

Yay! Finally, my favorite day of the week-FRIDAY!!! What does Friday mean to me? Hmmm... Let's see... Since Friday is the last conventional workday and schoolday of the week it's extra special at Casa del fugi. For approximately nine kid-free hours I get to:

• wrap up loose ends such as appointment setting and rounds of professional email tag
• set into place necessary elements for an enjoyable, family-friendly weekend
• focus on beginning or completion of domestic matters like laundry and intensive meal prep
• run errands sans company of militant midgets... post offce, pharmacy, grocery store, thrift store drop-offs and so forth
• center and recharge before the onset of 62 variable hours' worth of dedicated Mommy duty

Today though, promises to bring at least one highly anticipated sigh of relief: the dot com should be back online. Not that there's been much time to do anything constructive with it yet, but it's a blessing to have that one safety valve where I can be as rantastic© as occasionally needed- strictly on my terms. Sometimes it's that single outlet which enables me to play nicely when dealing with the rest of Cyberia and the Big Room. A brother of the heart had likened blogging to "free therapy." He was right on some levels, you know. ;oD

Hey- Has anyone else ever had a term named after them? Just curious... Happy Friday, friends! ♥

My site host has been down since January 28th, ergo I cannot resume posting to my personal blog, Dopeless Enigmaniac. Still, my petty annoyances don't stack up to much given the events of late. A quick heads up while I'm at it- Anyone who wants to know whether or not the dot com is live need only check for this image on my Multiply front page. It is normally located in the Video title bar and on each video related page/description. There is a method to my madness. Always. ;oD

Back to "rebounding"... Over the past few days there has understandably been much discussion in this region of Tuesday's tornado hell. Two firsthand aftermath reports were particularly astounding, but from entirely different perspectives.

One Fulton County, Arkansas DHS employee who had to travel out to Highland on Wednesday reported that the wild weather had practically plastered dozens of cows upright against fencelines, giving the eerie but mistaken impression of having survived this ordeal. Amongst other disturbing notables, an entire strip of businesses along 62/412 had been completely leveled. Sadly, this surely includes what was the BEST Asian cuisine in the Ozarks. It is with great sorrow which I accept the unconfirmed probability that last Friday night's meal at China House was my family's final one to be enjoyed at that establishment. (Note to ArBear: Please stick to what you know and quit personifying the stereotype of an ignorant American.)

他的區域中國餐館的研究是不值得的考慮

Anyway... The second tornado aftermath report comes courtesy of fellow Arkansas Freecycle group moderator, Margaret, who had been assisting through the Red Cross with response efforts in Atkins.

"Now for the good part - the community support is outstanding! ! We have had 3 cook trailors from 3 different Tyson plants come with chicken to cook, Pallets (not just cases) of Water has been donated. Olive Garden from Little Rock brought food to feed 100 people. They also brought 12 servers that stayed and served food for supper. Community members are out helping others to salvage what they can, cut trees, etc. People are donating clothes, bedding etc."

Donation requests are now filtering into the Freecycle of Fulton County group for nearby areas. FYI, that group is one of the Yahell betas, in case anyone's curious. ;oD

Well... My little guys are raring to go. Back to active Mommy duty. {{{hugs}}} to those who want/need 'em. ♥

Please pardon the roughness of this entry. This isn't a pretty time. Last night was one of the scariest ever experienced by my family and countless others in the Southeastern United States. All I want to do right now is to cry and scream at the top of my fucking lungs. Powerlessness blows.

Below is a cut & paste of the email sent with the past hour to family and Big Room friends...

Please forgive the mass email. I'd wanted to call, but all long distance circuits have been nuts since last night's tornado fest. I can't even call long-distance in-state. Anyway, we're all okay. There was much nearby damage along the eastern border of Fulton County and into Sharp County, in the cities of Ash Flat and Highland. Pat was on-call last night (he's certified for basic firefighting and emergency response now). We listened to the tri- county 911 radio traffic as nature unleashed her fury. Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" paled in comparison

Just got home from running errands in Salem, AR and Thayer, MO. The storms affected everyone we encountered in significant personal ways in addition to the overall regional shell-shock. Not much for words right now, sorry. Anyway, Pat, the boys, all the critters and I are safe and sound.

Highland is now under National Guard protection. My family has several friends in Highland, Cherokee Village, Ash Flat and Hardy. We have no idea how any of them are. The death toll for Arkansas currently stands at 13.

Please understand if I'm not as visibly active online for the next few days. Those who need to find me- and know where/how- are more than welcome to do so. Otherwise, I'm not inclined to be cordial with strangers until I've had time to process this tragedy. Thanks for your understanding. Namaste'

The sound you just hear **ahem** read was that of my head hitting the keyboard. Today was the Snow Day From Hell. Last night I knew that I'd be keeping the youngest junior crew member at home. He'd been losing an argument with a budding upper respiratory annoyance. Last night I had also figured that the oldest would be going to the education center only to be whisked back to base a few short hours later for weather-related early dismissal. Nope. Sessions were cancelled outright first thing this morning.

It's a good thing, too. The ground was barely dusted with that cold, white flaky stuff when I checked the local radar loop. Oh shit. Houston, we have a problem. Vital medical supplies and food rations are nearing critical. Time for a challenging shuttle hop to Planet Salem for restocking. But what might the situation be like in that quadrant of Galaxy Ozarks? Surely the indigenous peoples of that locale were becoming aware of what was fast approaching this region.

Mission commencement: 07:30, -6 GMT. Systems sluggish, but functional. Green light, with caution.

The fugishuttle made careful but swift time to the primary commerce outpost. Most of the district was still inactive as large puffy chunks wafted downward with increasing fervor. Great. I'll just fetch the crew's supplies and jet on out of here. But woe unto me if I accidentally cause injury to any of these few unusual beings that are starting to mill about, or to their numerous offspring. (Note to self: Check quadrant regulations on cloning; an abnormally large percentage share similar overt genetic traits...) Gee, look- they're arriving in droves now.

The refueling depot wasn't that bad upon landing, but soon became as congested. Thank goodness I was able to secure adequate quick nutritional supplements before those entering from the docking bays wiped out that resource. Even mediocre hot brown substances in liquids and solids are better than none at all on missions such as this. At this rate there was no reasonable estimate of when I might arrive back at my home base. I was only marginally concerned for the well-being of my safe-at-home crew in comparison to that of my own.

Upon return to my crew's remote base I was greeted by the co-commander. He was gracious in offloading our supplies, and his thoughtfulness for having prepared good hot brown liquid in anticipation of my return may earn him yet another medal. The junior crew members though, are another matter entirely.

My rejuvenation chamber beckons. Signing off now. Tomorrow looks to be a "cabin fever" day.

♥ Thank you. ♥
You know who you are.
"I" didn't do this; "We" did. ;oD

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