Happy New Year!

Happy 2008, everyone! I have big plans for the new year, but I think I'm going to keep them to myself. That way, when I a) crash and burn or b) fail to even try, I won't have to be accountable to y'all. Of course, if I succeed, you'll all know it when you see me doing the late night talk show circuit.

Housekeeping issues: I'm playing around with adding some new features to my right nav bar. Check out two new sections: Recommended Online Reading (links I've come across that I've enjoyed and think you might enjoy, too -- updated often) and Recent Reads (which is, as you'd guess, books I've read recently -- if you're looking for a new book or two, give it a look).

Rational Compassion

I really like this post over at Masala Skeptic. I don't usually do resolutions, and this New Year's will be no different, but I will do my best to keep Maria's post in mind throughout the coming year and beyond.

Geek Crushes

Airan's super-fab Christmas gift got me to thinking about my long-enduring crush on Captain Picard, and how basically all of my fantasy crushes fixate on cerebral men -- we'll call them geeks, as long as we all understand that we're using "geek" as a term of high respect and admiration. Got it? Okay. So let's examine a few of my favorite geek crushes, both the fictional and the real.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Well, isn't every girl attracted to power? Captain Picard has at it all: A commanding presence, impeccable ethics, a way with the ladies. Every time I hear that voice say, "Engage," an arrow goes warp nine straight into my heart. Make it so.










Alton Brown: How can you not love Alton Brown? He doesn't just tell us how to cook something -- he explains why it works, and while he's at it, he uses super-cool props and devises clever uses for common household items that you'd never have thought to use in the kitchen. And those glasses! Va-va-voom.










Stephen Colbert: I normally don't fall for conservative republicans, but I make an exception for Mr. Colbert. He has the guts to tell it like it is, and America can't help but take notice. Stephen serves the cause of truthiness, which every woman is used to -- men love to spout things that are sort of true-ish in attempts to win our favor. Stephen has perfected that art and extended it to inspiring patriotism in our hearts, rather than lust. Or maybe in addition to. Whatever.



Gaius Baltar: Sure, Lee Adama is the pretty one, but that Gaius -- he's bad news. Totally insane, self-serving, morally craven, shameless womanizer, mad genius. Yes, please.













Carl Sagan: This crush is less lust and more overwhelming admiration and respect. What I wouldn't give for half an hour to talk to with Carl Sagan about our amazing, awe-inspiring cosmos. And then maybe he could hold me. (Please, no one bring up the pot smoking. You people know that drives me crazy.)











And, of course, the biggest crush of all.

Some thoughts on unemployment

Yes, I was not exactly what you'd call "employed" before, I know. But I recently lost my steady freelance gig, and I'm finding that the loss has had a much bigger affect on me than I'd have expected.

Other than the affect it has on my bank balance, that is. The monetary lost is to be lamented, for sure. But I'm extremely fortunate in that Airan has a good, steady income that takes care of our basic needs. The mortgage will be paid. The kids will eat. That's all that really matters. We'll be feeling a pinch, for sure, but the straits are not dire.

I know that as recently as four weeks ago, I was stressed out from my toes to my earlobes about how I was going to get everything done in the course of an average day. Between taking care of the girls and getting my freelance work done, I was maxed out. So, honestly, when I first heard rumors that my freelance project was likely to end, my first emotion was relief. I won't have to juggle everything anymore! I can be a good mom and stop feeling guilty for neglecting something or someone all day long.

And now that I have no freelance work coming in, it's not like I have any free time. My days are still full to the brim just keeping up with these crazy kids. Honestly, I'm not sure how I was doing the freelance work before without going psychotic.

But something isn't right. I've never been terribly career-oriented, likely because I've yet to figure out what I want to do with my life. And despite that, I find that having no work has left me feeling inadequate, insignificant, diminished in some way. I'm not pulling my weight, but worse than that, I've lost my value. I contribute nothing. I take up space.

This is all very silly, of course. I take care of two wonderful but demanding kids all day every day, which is job enough for anyone. I'm cooking up little projects for myself (that I rarely find time for), I try to help Airan with his many projects, and I try to keep up with y'all in the blogosphere. I'm busy. I'm active. I'm useful. Right?

I never thought that my own self-worth could be so tied up with something I considered to be an inconsequential, insignificant job. I need to find some other yardstick to measure my own value. I guess that's my main project these days. And it seems to be a full-time job.

And Merry Geekmas, Too

This is what Airan got me for Christmas Geekmas, and I couldn't be happier.

Merry Christmas

Perhaps we should have named her Veruca

Ah, the spirit of Christmas.

We were having a little pre-bedtime chat with the girls about what Santa might be leaving under the tree for them tonight. Sophie, always a [sarcasm] retiring, delicate flower [/sarcasm], got nose-to-nose with her father and made this proclaimation at the top of her lungs:

"I want a pony! I want a pony! Do it now!"

If there isn't a pony under that tree, I have a feeling there will be hell to pay.

A Christmas Miracle

What I ordered:

One Bacon Salt sampler

What I got:

TWO Bacon Salt samplers

Enough Bacon Salt to feed the masses! And in time for Christmas!

Some sort of processing error, I'm sure. I guess I should make sure they didn't double-charge me before I call this a miracle.

Billions

The Bad Astronomer reminds us that today is the eleventh anniversary of Carl Sagan's death. Many of you know about the deep affection I have for Carl Sagan. His book The Demon-Haunted World was life changing for me, not to sound too melodramatic, and I still think it should be required reading for every human. His series Cosmos is smart, fascinating, accessible, funny, wonderful -- even now, 27 years after he made it. (I need to get those DVDs out again.) This video, adapted from Pale Blue Dot, is a nice setting for some of Carl Sagan's very wise thoughts about this mote of dust we call Earth.



Check out the second-annual Carl Sagan blog-a-thon here.

12 Days

Some holiday choral humor for you.