Met my new neighbor tonight. He's SO excited about the place. Funny thing is, he's friends with Mary Washington, our newest statehouse rep, who lives around the corner (and had come over to see the place, not having realized it was Ben's until she saw it.) And in turn, she is also friends with Ben (former occupant) from working on the Obama campaign together back when. And she knew the other Sarah on the street from the same, and another of new neighbor's friends' kids are friends with Sarah and Mark's kids down the block. Smalltimore it is!

Before coffee, it's hard to make coffee.

Can you tell that to my husband so he appreciates me more?

Aren't the people who want to make a living blogging more like the latter than the former, almost by definition?

They are. And, hey, if you can make a living doing that, I think that's great. I just am not always going to be the person going to that site and giving you the clicks unless I am getting a benefit from it as well. It's like how I only shop at places I like. Or something like that. When I am the thing being advertised to, I only feel compelled to go places that are worth it. Like Gmail. I am clearly not paying for that. But they give me something awesome and, in return, they can shove ads at me. It's the deal I accepted.

Part of me airily opines that stories either never should or cannot be told exactly the same way twice, but I guess I look at the extinction as the end of a particular story, and because of the way things work, we don't really know/notice when the stories are being started, so it feels like all loss.

I'm not as saddened by past extinctions but ones that hinge on what humans have done? I do think they are a loss. Evolution is so fascinating. It's sad to me when the only reason a species doesn't exist is us. And not even on purpose, we just blunder like toddlers that break a vase that was in the family for generations. It was on accident but it can't ever be fixed.

Um, I have feels.

It's sad to me when the only reason a species doesn't exist is us. And not even on purpose, we just blunder like toddlers that break a vase that was in the family for generations. It was on accident but it can't ever be fixed.

I have those same feels.

Two blogs I know of that do not do advertising(they rely on donations/subscriptions) are Shakespeare's Sister and The Flick Filosopher.

It's sad to me when the only reason a species doesn't exist is us.

Also, from a selfish point of view, probability says the species we destroy include some of immense value to us. To take one example, there is a good chance that the Silphium plant, accidentally wiped out under the governance of the Roman Empire, was an effective birth control and aphrodisiac. No way to know for certain, but a fair amount of evidence. [link]

Who knows what else with medicinal properties we have wiped out. For various reasons a cure for cancer is unlikely, but more effective pain control is not.

Jilli - perhaps an email to The Bloggess to ask her how she went/goes about it? I read her almost daily and she is exceptionally picky about what she'll advertise on her site. Hence, the Wil Wheaton coalating picture.

I don't mind advertising when it fits in the page and is presented elegantly. And I actually like ads when the stuff fits the page I am looking at. A good example of a blog I frequently read is Young House Love. They're done a great job, I think. [link]

I would actually like to go to the GCS site and see ads for nail polishes, etc that you like, Jilli. It would help me if I were going for a certain look. As long as you're not hawking stuff you wouldn't personally use, I don't think there's anything yucky or dishonest about it.

I would actually like to go to the GCS site and see ads for nail polishes, etc that you like, Jilli. It would help me if I were going for a certain look. As long as you're not hawking stuff you wouldn't personally use, I don't think there's anything yucky or dishonest about it.

This. I bet a lot of people would actually appreciate knowing where to go to get "Jilli-approved" stuff, and they'd probably be glad to help support the site.

> Also, from a selfish point of view, probability says the species we destroy include some of immense value to us.

There's a reason that the environmental stance I take when trying to convince people that it might matter is Hey, This Is Useful for You and Your Children.

It did get my sister to recycle her cans and bottles. So it's a start. I didn't even nag her. Just talked randomly (with a skosh of passive aggressiveness because it's me and that's how I sometimes roll) and it finally clicked for her.

My brother still goes off-roading in the desert and then does a ton of target practice shooting and brings in recyclable things to shoot and leave. I tried to convince him to take paper cups and fill them with sand. No go. Maybe he'll take some trash out in the future, maybe not.

Give with one hand, taketh away with the other. It's still better than if she didn't recycle.

The earth is gonna survive. It's current life that is threatened. Enough time and new, probably fascinating, things will evolve. But I'd like to think humans are sentient enough not to destroy the world that lets us live.

Like I said, feels. So many feels.