Various updates, including another about the 2nd gravlax, the letter I wrote to the president, etc.
1. 2nd gravlax, 2nd update: The thicker of the two pieces turned out fine with just a thorough rinse. I do think the Charcuterie book’s advice about texture is key here.
1a. Also, I ordered that book from Atomic Pop, so we’ll see it soon. Also, an order for The Whole Beast, which was not available at the library, came through there and we are both thrilled with and curious to try about 50% – 75% of the recipes in there. It’s definitely not run of the mill food, but mostly has to do with eating offal for which, with respect to organ meats, I already have a passion.
2. Looks like the Administration changed its tune with respect to the VA insurance proposal (about which I wrote a letter to the President). I am pleased to see spokespeople using my vocabulary from my letter. 
In truth, I think my letter was just part of an onslaught he probably got and was just part of the statistics, but it’s cool to feel like I have a personal effect on it all.
3. I am feeling either content or bored, I can’t tell which. I think more content than bored. I am a little worried about the economy and whether my company will decide I have a job any tomorrow, but whatever, I guess. I mean, my family will pull together like we always do if necessary. Otherwise, gardening is hard work but rewarding (didn’t have to do it in the old house) and work done stays did as Hanne sometimes says. Work proceeds as a daily fight for scarce resources and a daily fight to be heard among a throng of qualified technical experts. I did finish a draft of a 24 page white paper (technical paper) about our Kerberos configuration Friday and have already received a lot of compliments over it. And my boss who is not always effusive about praise has recently been praising me for doing my job well. No speculation as to why this upturn of praise, but I’ll just keep on truckin’ and hope it reminds people that I’m a good, retainable employee.
Honestly given the folks they end up retaining when they lay me off (I’ve been laid off twice in my life so far), I am more and more privately convinced (I mean it is convincing even my lizard brain of this) that choosing who gets laid off is much more a matter of politics and charisma than skills, loyalty and productivity.
4. Facebook: Meh. Twitter: Ew. LinkedIn: Meh. LiveJournal: Good to read, but not so often do I contribute. This blog: Cool. The old social networking MOO: Meh. Activism: Meh (with a side of thinking about writing about it anyway, privately). Not that I necessarily want a more socially exciting life, not that I necessarily don’t want one, but meh. I am feeling like I should have maybe a few more local friends I see regularly, but I am also enjoying having time alone to do me-things at my new home which is quiet and protective even if it’s still in Charm City (note the irony in my voice here).
I should say that I do enjoy Facebook – it’s cool to be hooked up to new and old friends and to know what they’re up to and I update occasionally. But it’s not very compelling for me. Same is true for LinkedIn.
5. I also feel retired. From the circumstances that necessitated my shutting up and leaving the activist circuit for a while. I’ve been through this kind of mental/emotional withdrawal before when I “hung up my spurs” as a vigilante troller type (7 years ago? 10?). Part of this feeling just has to do with where to put the excess energy that used to go outward. I want to put it to some good use, but honestsly I won’t have really withdrawn/retired/left the scene until I figure out something else to put it to, so for now that’s the house, my family, food explorations, etc. Inward instead of outward.
6. Since my post in which I used “loyalty oath”, “witch hunt” and “howling mob”, I am left with a few interesting impressions. (a) Plenty of folks disagreed with me about “loyalty oath” and “howling mob” but I don’t recall getting negative feedback about “witch hunt”. Interesting. (b) “howling mob” is easily taken as being animalistic, and plenty of folks disagree with my usage of it in that post. It wasn’t meant as an animalistic phrase and I can’t find a good etymology that includes an exclusively or explicitly animalistic interpretation/derivation. Wind howls, mobs howl, animals howl. I guess that’s the link (in set mathematics, essentially, though I know what we’re actually talking about here is emotional meaning and understanding), though it’s tenuous. I wonder if there are other phrases that are/were not derived from racist or other power/privilege-bias systems that aren’t okay now. I did see someone discussing “chink in the armor” on the new racism-101 livejournal community as if it were bad (that is not its derivation at all). I think we have to be extra extra extra careful of meanings an possible (mis)interpretations now. Especially me.