Preparing for Tryptophan Overdose and Giving a Few Thanks
LL and I were originally planning to leave town for Thanksgiving weekend today, but plans were changed and we're headed out tomorrow morning instead. We're off to visit my sister and brother-in-law's family for Thanksgiving dinner in upstate New York. The following day, we're all headed down to a campground in Pennsylvania owned by my sister-in-law. We won't exactly be roughing it, though; we'll be staying in a heated cabin with a nice bed and a hot tub available. We're looking forward to a fun weekend and I'm particularly looking forward to seeing my niece. I'll have my camera, of course, so be prepared for numerous photos come Sunday, when we'll be returning home.
Tycho has been taken to a babysitter (lizard-sitter?) while we're away. LL has put together a care sheet for him that I wish I could post here. It includes such statements as "give him a piece of satin and he'll be your best friend" and "if you have some mac-n-cheese, put it on a plate for him." Note that the crooked veterinarian had prophesied that he'd be dead by now. Instead, he's going strong and apparently about to have another shed, which means that he's still growing. One of the things we're thankful for this year is that we still have Tycho in our lives.
Generally, today has been an unusually lazy day. I didn't have much to do, so I didn't do much and I've enjoyed the heck out of it. That's not to say that I didn't accomplish anything at all today, however. I managed to get an Intelligent Design Creationist to admit that he really didn't know what he was talking about on a forum discussing Florida's new science standards and the opposition of the Polk County School Board to them (they want to teach intelligent design nonsense, of course). Who knows... perhaps this person will make an effort to actually educate himself rather than uncritically accepting Michael Behe's junk as valid science. I can dream, can't I?
I don't know that I'll have net access from tomorrow through Sunday. If not, I'd like to take the opportunity to wish American readers an enjoyable Thanksgiving. The rest will have to settle for my hoping you have a nice day. Wherever and whomever you are, it's not a bad idea to thank people every so often.
So, thanks to LL for moving to our third state together this year so that I can take a shot at fulfilling a lifelong dream.
Thanks to the folks I work with at my new university for taking time out of your busy schedules to bring me up to speed on oh-so-much that I need to learn. You guys have been terrific, every one of you.
Thanks to the people online who educate me, who point out my errors so that I can learn from them and who do so in a good-humored way.
Thanks to all the people out there who expend so much energy in defending reason from the darkness that will always threaten it, people like Eugenie Scott and PZ Myers and Wes Elsberry (whose name I may never spell correctly!) and Nick Matzke.
Thanks for reading, one and all.
