No maps for these territories

I am in my mother’s family home on vacation, going through a box of her textbooks that was left in the basement, subject to the ravages of mice and time. How did they end up here? Perhaps she came home in her red VW Bug one summer near the end of college, with a box [...]

Contrary to popular and malicious rumors, I am not dead. I was just very tired after Wikimania
The conferences (plural) went well. I feel relieved and happy that the first conference I have ever chaired (WikiSym) came off without major hitches. It was a rush, checking on every session, solving every registration problem, ending [...]

I’m going to the airport in a couple hours to go to WikiSym. My packing is complicated by bringing all sorts of random things with me that I wouldn’t generally bring on an international flight: signs, packing tape, conference badges, etc.
So anyway, I’m packing away, trying to figure out all the last minute details. I [...]

Tomorrow is the primary election in California. Go vote! Few enough people turn out in primaries that, particularly in your local elections, you can likely make a difference. And remember that when you have a long-ass, intimidating ballot like we do (my ballot is 5 pages!!) you can just vote on the stuff you care [...]

I am a candidate in the Chapter seat selection process for the Wikimedia Board of Trustees. This is akin to an election, but it’s a closed process that works as follows. The community and chapters were invited to nominate candidates they thought should be on the Board (people could also nominate themselves). Then the the [...]

Apparently one of my credit card numbers was stolen last month. That puts the bottle of “natural male potency enhancer” that I got in the mail the other day in a whole new light — I thought it was simply a prank that one of my friends pulled, but now I am thinking that it’s [...]

Good: Holiday weekend!
Bad: Memorial Day already ohcrapohdearohnoes not enough time to finish conference planning ahhh
Good: lovely weather!
Bad: it is teh hot out (for just about the first time this year, shockingly), and I am not handling it very well. Hello, sweat and headaches and lethargy and air conditioning bills, I did not miss you.
Good: Maker [...]