Ever since we moved into this house, we have shared the property. Truth to tell, the unofficial residents were here before us... barn swallows. The nest is on patio, on the underside of the upstairs deck. By lying on the deck and peeking through the slats, we could look down on the eggs and, later, the chicks. It was amazing to see how quickly they went from naked funny-looking things to "teenagers" learning to fly (each with its own "wingman" instructor).

After the first year, we set up a camera on the nest, so we could watch the babies grow without disturbing mom and dad. At first, the mama would turn to stare at the camera when it turned on, but eventually she grew accustomed enough to ignore it completely. Each year would would watch in anticipation for the flock to return from their winter home, and each year it was a little bit larger. We learned their various calls, and could even identify the mother that used the nest. (The others never were on camera long enough to pick out their individual features.)

Last summer, tragedy struck. Or, I suppose, we just got to see a different arc of the Circle of Life. Hearing the swallows' "alert" call, the Commander checked the camera to see a large bird grabbing one of the young nestlings and making off with it. A few minutes later it came back for another. One by one, all the nestlings were taken, while the swallow flock watched agitatedly, unable to stop it.

This year, the first thing we noticed was a "roof" over the nest. "Great," we thought, "that will help protect the chicks." We should have known then what had happened, but we were (naturally) thinking in human terms, not as birds would. It wasn't until we got a clear look at the brooding mother that we realized we had new neighbors.

For the first time, the barn swallows have not returned to our house. The abandoned nest has been adopted (and adapted) by marsh wrens.

For some reason, it's just not the same.

Where am I?: United States, Georgia, Villa Rica
Background noise: occasional bleep from chat
How am I?: sad

As mentioned previously, my Texas friends have all (or so it appears) migrated to Facebook. So far, I don't find it better than LJ, nor is it really a replacement. It seems designed for quick little snippets, the sort of thing you'd mention if you and your friends still all went to school together, and saw each other 15 times a day. It's not the place for deep thoughts or essays, which is why I think I'll still keep my LJ — even if I don't write ENOUGH deep thoughts or essays, I do occasionally have something to say that takes up more than the character limit allowed on Facebook.

But I've yet to have my fears calmed about the whole "potential employer discovers sordid fandom activity" — for all the progress we've made, sci-fi is still a dirty little secret. So my Facebook account will remain anonymous. Perhaps later I'll add a second account in my real name for mainstream purposes, but I don't foresee that I will ever merge the two.

If you have a Facebook account and would like to add me as a friend, the name you're looking for is Kitty Katz. I'm going to see if I can add "Ell Ayn" somehow, to make me more recognizable to my FoL friends.

(Fun fact: Kitty Katz is an official alias. Since I use it online, including an email address, I had to list it on my background check form for my government sub-contractor position.)

Background noise: the commander's playlist from down the hall
Where am I?: under a cat
How am I?: recumbent

Hey gang, I could use your advice.

Last time I posted, I was on my way to a root canal. That went… as well as can be expected. The day took a severe downhill turn after that.

( Background story behind the cutCollapse )
So I signed up for a Facebook account, but not under my real name. Besides being wary of having my name just Out There ("You mean it just spills out into people's living rooms?"), I'd heard stories of at least two people who lost job offers because of social networking postings/pictures.

So my question, aimed at the more paranoid among you, is: should I switch it to my real name? It would make friend requests much simpler, as I won't have to add an explanatory message each time, and people who never would have found me under the alias will now be able to find me.

And therein lies the rub.

Comments, suggestions, personal experiences welcome. Just click the little comment link ("skritch the kitty's chin") down there.

Background noise: Sirius XM 80s on 8
Where am I?: in a quandry

< sing-song >
A mouse click, some plastic
My membership to NASFiC
I wasn't sure if I could go
But now I know I'll be there,
I'll be there.
Is anyone else going to show
To make an FoL lair?
</ sing-song >

Okay, so I've got my membership to NASFiC (in case that wasn't clear), and now I'm wondering if there's going to be enough FoL presence for a Liaden Lounge, or even a party room for one night. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

That bit of news posted, I'm off for a root canal. Way to kill a buzz, eh?

How am I?: good news, bad news
Background noise: Sugar, Sugar
Where am I?: on my way out

And already the guilt-trip starts. The poor little thing is sitting there labeled "unnamed." I knew there was a reason I didn't have kids.

Thanks to everybody who helped the poor little egg not die.

Edited to add:
Now they're both hatched (Saturday)! I've named them both, but the second name isn't showing up yet, even though I've refreshed the page.

How am I?: guilty

I just discovered a new-to-me webcomic. It's math humor, so jenna_thorn will probably want to give it a miss, on the whole. But every now and then, it's just geeky and not mathy — like this one, which nearly made me snarf: Star Trek funny… with plushies!.

In other news, I finally made it back to my dragon page today. You folks are so sweet to help out! *blows kiss* My page views are over the top! And to think I was planning to go use the Commander's computer to cheat my way into upping my unique views. (Hey, it's not like I'm going to the library and using every computer in there.)


(Edited to correct egregious grammatical error. Well, egregious to me.)

How am I?: amused
Where am I?: same old spot on the couch
Background noise: purring kitty

Why, oh why? Maybe because I went to bed early, only to wake up at 2:00 and now am wide awake. I have been out to this site before, and even clicked on other people's eggs, and yet didn't succumb. Today for some reason I couldn't seem to help myself: I clicked on an abandoned egg... then later on another. Okay, the second one I accidentally adopted when I thought I was just adding a click to help it stay alive, but even though it's just a collection of electrons I didn't want to re-abandon it.

So I am now the proud(?), if bewildered, "mommy" of two dragon eggs. I hope they don't die of neglect but, judging by my livejournal, I wouldn't bet on it. Here's a link to my Scroll of Future Shame.

Where am I?: my usual spot
Background noise: wild kitties from Borneo
How am I?: awake

I like to start my Christmas shopping early. I don't always ship things out on time, but I usually have them in-hand in plenty of time to enjoy the holiday season, rather than getting frazzled and cranky, trying to do it all in a few weeks.

Some members of my family like to keep an unofficial watch on how early I start. Well, wonder no more: I got the first one yesterday. It's for my newest brother-in-law, "Glen."

How am I?: relaxed
Where am I?: southwest corner of the green couch
Background noise: Return of the Jedi

No matter how many times I think, "That would be a good LiveJournal entry," it just doesn't ever seem to get from the brain to the 'Net. Maybe when they add a feature for mental updates...

Adding a snippet from a chat I had with my sister while writing this post, when she mentioned a new blog site she's on that I'd never heard of:
me: Never heard of them. Not that it would matter, since I blithely ignore both LJ and IJ.
me: Maybe I'll create a "ghost account" for it, with a generic "one day something might happen here" page that other slackers can link to - kind of like the rejection hotline. I could do the same for del.icio.us, MySpace, FaceBook, and Twitter (none of which I've even joined).

So, apologies not being worth the electrons from which they're launched into the ether, I'll just leap right in.

( The Commander has a new car.Collapse )

Also, we saw two movies this weekend: Star Trek (finally) and Up! I'll put my thoughts on those in a different post, to make sure that those who clicked on the link above won't accidentally be spoiled without their permission - assuming that any of my friends have managed to put off seeing the movie longer than I did, which I don't truly believe, but still…

How am I?: Wow! I posted!
Background noise: I got nothing.
Where am I?: North corner of the green couch

Talked to otaku_tetsuko last night, arranging a meet for this evening. It was short notice, but I needed to make sure that plans to get together with my brother would allow it, rather than getting her hopes up and maybe having to cancel. Really looking forward to it!

Other than that, this is a public service announcement to my friends that I am currently considering my katspit dot net account to be my primary email. I had switched primary contact to my gmail account for the last few years, as it was the only one I could access through the firewall at work (and that only through a loophole). As I no longer work there, I can indulge my preference for non-web-based email as my primary.

Not to say that I will no longer use or check the gmail account, but it will be "as time allows" rather than being the first one I check. Also, I'm going to redirect all of my non-personal messages there, so personal messages may be lost in the clutter for a bit before being noticed and answered.

Where am I?: mom-in-law's
Background noise: bro- and sis-in-law packing car