Tuesday, September 21, 2021

September 21, 2021

 I've been mostly offline all day. 

Today was the first day it hasn't rained in three weeks. So, I figured I'd better mow some grass or else I might get lost and eaten by wild animals between the house and office.

My wife and I are also selling some property we own in another state and that's the usual paperwork nightmare. So, part of my day was taken up reading over contracts and signing things. 

I'm also installing storage in my main desktop machine. Which so far is mostly a waste of time given that the operating system will not recognize the new volume. Ah, the joys of living in the information age. It's not really a huge deal, given that I don't really store much of anything on local machines, all my data is storage in my own clouds on RAID based systems. Still, it irritates me. 

I'll have another go at it tomorrow. 

What I'm saying here is that I've been offline and I'm not much feeling like politics today. 


Anyway...


Now that I'm migrating some of my content back here to my own site where I have better control over things and a (possibly) reduced likelihood of getting myself suspended from various social media platforms, I'm seeing an influx of readers who are used to me on social media but perhaps not here on my own site. 

So, a few notes about how things work: 

Comments are moderated. 

So, if you post a comment, it may take a while to appear on the site. Please don't keep trying to repost it. I'll get to it eventually. 

There are commenting rules. 

You should read them. There's a link directly above the commenting dialog box. Those who don't obey the rules will not be allowed to post. 

This isn't Facebook. This isn't Twitter.

I don't tolerate trolls, idiots, or conspiracy nuts. If you're one of those, your comment will not post. Who decides who's a troll, idiot, or engaged in conspiracy theories? Me. Don't like that? Too bad. 

I don't have to give you a platform.

I don't have to give Trump voting, MAGA loving, anti-vaccinated jackasses equal time, and I probably will not. If you're stupid, that's your problem, I won't let you make it mine.

Likewise, I don't have to listen to you accuse me of (insert insult of your choice here: communism, fascism, baby murderin', tofu eating unmanly foreign car driving umamericanism, etc). You're entitled to you opinion, I don't have to listen to it and probably will not. 

Don't be an asshole to other commenters. 

Who decides who's being an asshole? You guessed it. If you're an asshole to other commenters, you'll be removed. 

I generally don't mind people pointing out typos.

I mean, free copyediting, right? However, beyond that, if you want to be my editor, you'd better be paying me. Or, you know, write your own stuff. 

Speaking of paying me, if you like what I do you can pay me to keep doing it, either by becoming a Patreon or via PayPal. It's not necessary that you do so. None of my content is behind paywalls, nor will it be. But if you do decide to kick in, I appreciate it. I'm entirely funded by readers, I'm not beholden to any publisher, sponsor, advertiser, or platform. Seems to be working so far. 

Anyway, thanks for following along. I'm glad you're here. 

See you tomorrow and here's a hummingbird for your trouble: 








53 comments:

  1. One of my bright lights online, keep being you❤️

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  2. I am so grateful for your posts. You don't pull punches and you don't lie. Thank you.

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  3. Hopefully this path will reduce your stress some. I cannot imagine how you let some of these ignorant unfounded attacks roll off your back but I guess you get used to it. Looking forward to your commentaries here being unfettered by worrying about a misguided algorithm deciding you've insulted a yak farmer in Poland or some such...

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    1. Pretty sure it's not the Polish yak farmers who spam the report-bots. It's the American nerf herders.

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  4. Loving your long-form essays being back when time permits. Your photography has been a spectacularly happy distraction. Glad to see you back here.

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  5. I'm in Wisconsin and you keep me somewhat sane!

    Thank you!

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  6. Patreon is the best! I've always felt like it was a more honest way to recognize your work than FB's click farm.

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    1. Only when he's actually being one. Otherwise you have to call him "squooshy-wooshy snugglebebby pantaloons".

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  8. I’m glad you’re back to posting here! I’ve kept it book marked for a very long time. I too was suspended from Zuckerbook and decided to not use any of his apps. Back to reading my favorite bloggers.

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  9. Glad to be here. You are a light during these dark times and I appreciate your work so very much. Thank you!

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  10. I’m glad you decided to post here too. I too was suspended from ZucksalotBook and decided to not use any of his products. Back to reading my favorite bloggers.

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  11. With you back on your own site, and able to moderate the comments without the typical shitshow that happens on FB or Twitter, is there a chance for the return of some content you've been holding back on? Your opinions on science fiction in books, TV series, and film, for example? I recognize that the form and nature of this site don't lend themselves as well to certain kinds of back-and-forth discussion, but I'd still like to see your opinion on a range of topics beyond just politics again.

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  12. Your blog is how I originally found you - I think this is a good move! Also, I miss ShopCat.

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  13. Honestly the only upside to Sarah freaking Palin was finding your blog (and Jeanne Devon's Mudflats) all those years ago.

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  14. Always glad to see you and your work. And I appreciate that you moderate your platform to keep the lunacy at bay. Thank you.

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  15. If you need help with your install, message me on Facebook and I will introduce you to my son, a computer consultant.

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  16. Just do you, and yes, screw the trolls, antiscience and the like.

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  17. I’ll click through for your pithy comments. At least I know I won’t be “smh”.

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  18. I have been following Jim for nearly 17 years, We are both Combat Veterans. We think the same way. I am sick of the Trump wankers.

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  19. I was trying to come up with some witty comment about how I'm glad your commentary is freed from the constraints of social media. Yeah...I got nothin'. Anyway, cool hummingbird pics and awesome insights on recent events.

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  20. I did miss your usual snark today but real life has priority. And your photos are frequently bright spots in a sea of depressing news. Thank you for sharing them and for your political insights, we value them.

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  21. Thank the lord of your choice for all of the above!

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  22. Wow this is cool. How knowledgeable and clever you are to create a safe haven for us. I’m feeling good about this.

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  23. The last day of a great Summer.

    The blog was where I started reading Stonekettle. It was fun. I liked the commentary. Looking forward to more. Have a great Fall!

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  24. I have had you bookmarked for quite some time. Great that you are back here, where the trolls and Magidiots don't have a forum. I am so looking forward to the new format and have been enjoying the recaps.

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  25. I've been following you for a while now and appreciate your honesty, tone, and the new format. By the way, your dogs are adorable!

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  26. This forum is less aggravating than FB. & Twitter, which I still haven’t really figured out because I’m old already, as our cook in the Philippines used to tell my ma when she didn’t really want to do something. 😂

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  27. Your pictures are like cool water on a thirsty day, a great break from the world. Thanks, and thanks for the great commentary.

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  28. Jim, I've been reading your stuff since you lived in Alaska, loved it then still love it. Rock on!

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  29. Have to say I've missed your more long-form work. Your photo work is excellent, as always.

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  30. So glad to see you back on Stonekettle! Not that you left, but you get the reasoning.

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  31. Thanks Jim, your post is encouraging me to migrate as well... Suckerbook is becoming "only for ignorant folks who refuse to know better..." and we don't need to suffer it... Anyway, love your sharpshooter precision, wit, caring use of the language, and commitment to real facts and events... (irony and satire too).
    Keep up with this great work...

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  32. I’m really enjoying the daily long form.
    Keep up the great work Jim.
    Love your son’s fly fishing videos as well.
    John Huber

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  33. Hope being in Florida has, at least, given you a greater breadth of interesting wildlife to photograph.

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  34. Now I have a vision of you banning yourself.

    EMH

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  35. I'm just happy to see you posting here, I gave up Facebook some time ago and like reading your stuff.

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  36. This seems to be a wise move. Hope it will be less stressful / aggravating for you. The hummingbird pix are amazing, would love to see dog photos again.

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  37. You and Heather Cox Richardson have been the saving grace of my sanity for the last year. Thank you

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  38. Jim's blog, Jim's rules. Nuff said!

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  39. Wherever you're posting, I appreciate it! One HUGE advantage: being able to zoom in on the photos you post, here (and the detail!) I know FB/Twitter aren't good for photo quality, but I didn't realize how poor they were. I don't have Instagram, but if it does justice to your work, I may need to rethink it, just to see the dewdrop dandelion fluff photos, again!

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  40. Beautiful hummingbird. May we please have doggo pictures here, too, from time to time? If we promise to behave ourselves?

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  41. Love the hummingbirds (I have a tattoo of one on my back - gotten at age 70!). But although I am really a cat person (instead of a dog person) I'd love to see more photos of your two hounds.

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  42. I especially like the pictures. I mean, militarye of the stuff I read these days doesn't have pictures in it, and the world is decidedly bleak as a result.

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  43. I'm loving the long-form and the daily recaps!
    Keep them coming please.
    Also love the hummingbird pictures, they're fascinating little creatures.

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  44. Jim, I've followed you faithfully for years and have never seen one of your blogs that I disagreed with. When in doubt about a situation, I can't wait to read your take on it. So many times yours seems to be the lone voice of sanity. And, in a world that seems to be descending into madness, your photos provide such beauty and happiness. Thank you for all you do!

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  45. I followed you here long before you started posting on That Other Site, and I don't blame you for changing back to a space you can control.

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Comments on this blog are moderated. Each will be reviewed before being allowed to post. This may take a while. I don't allow personal attacks, trolling, or obnoxious stupidity. If you post anonymously and hide behind an IP blocker, I'm a lot more likely to consider you a troll. Be sure to read the commenting rules before you start typing. Really.