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Time to start the party

My friend and the best essayist I have ever read, Bill Whittle, has done me the ginormous favor of posting my "return to blogging" announcement on his blog. Thank you, Bill! You are president of the world.

So that means that I should probably start posting stuff right?

Okay first, because I've already gotten tons of questions about it: my pig-like beasts that we call dogs. I already posted a pic of Sunny so you know she's as stern and serious as ever, and also very fat now. That dog has a penchant for pig ears like you would not believe. Digger, I am happy to report, still lives too, but I am not so happy to report that he's declining pretty rapidly. He's 12 years old and has arthritis, and, well, it is much like living with an 85-year-old demented human. He's almost completely deaf, has cataracts, and can't run or catch a ball anymore. I know it sounds like he should be put down but he's not THERE yet. He can eat, drink, poop, sleep, and smile while he gets his belly rubbed. And he's not a total gimp - he killed a baby bluejay just a few weeks ago. I hadn't seen that old boy move that quickly in months.

digger.jpg

As for John, many of you surely remember him, he's fine too. Like I said in my post on Bill's blog, we got divorced last fall. But we remain very close friends and are both very happy with the way things are now. In fact he just left my house after bringing over dog food, a weedeater, and my Browning Buckmark that I forgot to get out of the gunsafe when I moved. Hell, he brought me a whole goody-bag of gun stuff - ear and eye protectors, ammo, targets, yeah baby! Anyway, we actually lived together for seven months after splitting up, that's how okay we are with the divorce. I plan to write stuff in the future about the whole experience because frankly, I think some people could learn a lot from us, namely, how NOT to go psycho and make your ex's life a living hell.

I still have the same job I've had for 10 years now, the much-maligned medical transcription in my home office. Actually, I love it. I love-love-LOVE it. I work in my jammies, for crissakes! And guess how much I spend on gasoline every month? $20, tops. Don't be jealous.

I have my own house now, and I love it. All this room to myself, I am total master of my own domain. The dogs love it too, since they get to be inside a lot more because I have ceramic tile instead of carpet. Those two are so spoiled, it's embarrassing. But I can't imagine a better security system. I can tell they know it's their job to murder anyone who messes with me. It's so sweet. As Digger has grown more frail, Sunny has grown tougher and more aggressive toward "threats" (which usually consist of squirrels). Her Ridgeback nature is kicking in and it's very cute. Or might be if she didn't weigh 90 pounds. Seriously, the pig ears have got to stop.

I could have sworn that I'd backed up all my old archives on disc when I shut the site down a few years ago, but so far I've only been able to find about half of them. Anyway, I'm going to start getting them imported in, for your amusement. I have to be honest, when I read some of them I am mortified, but hey, screw it. I realized long ago that I am not even close to my own best judge. Plus like I said on Bill's blog, I'm 35 now, and with that age comes a certain feeling of just not giving a shit. It's not that I grew a thick skin, I never will, but I have realized that it's phenomenally stupid to pay more attention to the 1% who hate you than to the 99% who like you.

Well there's plenty more to say but I have to get back to fixing my templates. I have to hand it to MovableType, they've improved the installation ease by several orders of magnitude, but the style sheets are now vastly more complicated than they used to be and my CSS skills are woefully out of date.

Thanks to those of you who've already sent me "welcome back" emails. I love you people and I really appreciate your encouragement. As usual, I probably won't manage to respond to all of the mail, but also as usual, I read every word and I can't tell you enough how important and gratifying it is to get that kind of feedback. It's like walking in the door to a family reunion and getting a giant group hug. THANK YOU.

P.S. Can someone PLEASE tell me what I'm doing wrong with the Typekey thingy for comments? I have authenticated it with my site, but when I try to make a comment myself, I get the "Our Apologies, Typekey has encountered an error" message, which I am assuming everyone is getting. I can't bring myself to use no filter at all so I rilly rilly rilly want to make Typekey work, but I can't. This makes me feel very violent. Help.

UPDATE: Thanks to two e-mailers, Dana and Manny, I think I may just have fixed the problem. I think I have to approve all comments, though. Woo hoo!!! Thanks, you two.

ANOTHER UPDATE: I posted this in the comments section but it'll get more attention here: I am wondering, is there even any point to requiring Typekey authentication? Am I right that all it does is require you to go through another step to post a comment, and does absolutely nothing for me, or to weed out trolls or spam? I am so confused. If there is something great about it that I don't know, I'd love to hear it, because I am here to make your lives easier, not more filled with pain in your buttocks.

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Comments (78)

No WAY. Did I actually fix the comments?

Dana [TypeKey Profile Page]:

You fixed it! Hooray!!
And now I can comment and welcome you back to the blogosphere.
Dana

LabRat [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Am I really the first non-Rachel commenter?

Rawk.

Let's see if you have to approve this...

rickl [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Great to see you back, Rachel. I just visited Bill Whittle's site and saw your post.

I was a regular reader of your old blog, but I don't believe I ever commented. I don't remember you having comments, but I could be wrong about that.

It's really amazing that I found your new blog today. I just deleted the bookmark from one of my favorite blogs, which I have visited daily for the last few years. Things have happened over the last few days that really soured me. I hesitated quite awhile before deleting it, because that place was like home to me.

So then I clicked Bill Whittle's blog, and lo and behold! I don't think more than 15 minutes passed between my deleting that bookmark and adding yours.

Janna [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Rachel! WooHoo! Fixed!!! I'm so glad you're back. I used to visit your site daily and when you left, it was like a dear friend moved away. I found you through Bills site and then you BOTH went silent. Bummer. Tickled to death to have ya'll back.

og [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Welcome home. We missed you. We needed you. Stick around.

Jeffro [TypeKey Profile Page]:

What Og said.

Hooray, Blogsister! You're BACK!!!!

Bob Price [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Hey! It does work!

Now I can say officially what I said unofficially in email--welcome back, Rachel!

Daddyquatro [TypeKey Profile Page]:

XXOO!
Already said my welcome backs in several places.
(welcomes back?)
Digger looks great. There's much joy there, and as long as there is joy then life is worth living.

Beldar [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Good to see you back. It's been a while!

BTW, caveat on the pig ears...they have been named in the dog/cat food recall brouhaha. I don't recall what the specifics are, only that my wife mentioned them in passing when she was researching pet food recalls. You might find some information on itchmo.com -- they seem to be kind of a grassroots clearinghouse for pet food recalls.

If you can't find anything on the pig ears, give me a shout & I'll hound (heh) my wife to track down what she saw.

Lady Heather of Suburbia [TypeKey Profile Page]:

What a wonderful surprise!

I've loved your writing for years. So glad to see you're back.

Though I hate TypeKey, I went through the process just to tell you this. Now I hope you won't go away again.

Bill H [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Piquant rants and sassy impudence. Too damn cool- welcome back, Rachel.

One Voice In Many Billion [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Blast, Now I'll have to add another URL to my daily favorites list. Just kidding -- so glad you're back and have allowed your voice to be heard again. It was missed.

Manny [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Haha.

No problemo :)

Pedro the Ignorant [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Just like getting a visit from an old friend who has been away travelling the world.
Lotsa news to catch up on, and stories to be told.

Welcome home, Rachel!

Rob [TypeKey Profile Page]:

What Jeffro said.

P.S. You rock, Rachel!

WOW! Just... WOW!

Sooooooo glad you are back, and that things are ok for you!

Best! News! Ever!

alexa kim [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I left a Hi, nice to meet you over at E!3. Congratulations on your triumphant return.

Daddyquatro [TypeKey Profile Page]:

"Piquant rants and sassy impudence"
LOL! I had totally forgotten that!

lintfree [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Good to see you back, you were always
a must read back when.
/bachelor days

Rachel, this from the comment I left over at Eject3:

Welcome back, from just one of the countless blogs you directly inspired.

Please accept my sincere thanks for all that your blog was then, and even the moreso for your return now.

The trite thing would be to say that the timing of your return is splendid, and not a moment too soon. Truth is though, the time is always right for your voice to be heard.

Always.

Welcome back. Hopefully, evermore.


Indeed, for you ma'am, the welcome mat is always there at the door.

Enjoy it this time around. You deserve to!

Jim
Sloop New Dawn
Galveston, TX

BigEZ [TypeKey Profile Page]:

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! That wasn't nearly enough "A"s, but I don't have all day. Welcome back!

Welcome back to the B'sphere, Rachel; your ever-cogent observations have been sorely missed.

Sorry to hear that you and Richard broke up, but as you stated, you two show that you DON'T have to be mortal enemies with an ex, as all too many seem to think is a requirement when a relationship just can't stand up to a day to day interplay. My ex is one of my best friends, even though we can't seem to agree about anything...

Beth [TypeKey Profile Page]:

OMFG, you're back for real!
Good news for you--half the blogosphere is too lazy to update their blogrolls so you're still on them. ;)
Welcome back--you've been missed!

Patrick [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I. feel. faint.

I can take my rainbow "Imagine" coffee mug out of the trophy case and drink from it again.

Welcome back.

Burgie [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I was late coming to the original party and thought the show was cut way to short. Fortunately, thanks to you, I was guided to Eject, Eject, Eject, home of one of the finest essayists on the web; and he works and thrives in Hollywood, a miserable swamp for most conservatives. And now, he returns the favor and sends me back. I too, recently deleted your old URL, after checking every couple of months for signs of ressurection.

Welcome home sister -

toni.in.ny [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Welcome back!

Divorced you say? Does that mean you're single and available again? Inquiring minds would like to know. :-)

As for Typekey, the whole thing must die an excruciatingly painful, ugly, pus filled death.

Thanks, everyone! It is so nice, and totally shocking, to be remembered by so many, so fondly. I'm sorry I ever left.

I am wondering, is there even any point to requiring Typekey authentication? Am I right that all it does is require you to go through another step to post a comment, and does absolutely nothing for me, or to weed out trolls? I am so confused. If there is something great about it that I don't know, I'd love to hear it, because I am here to make your lives easier, not more filled with pain in your buttocks.

suds46 [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I honestly don't remember if I found Bill's site from reading your site or the other way around. Regardless, I can't tell you how great it is to have both of you active again.

Birdman [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Welcome back Rachel! The world has changed a lot since you last blogged, and I've been waiting for your sassy take on all of it! Every time I hear someone else utter the word "Asshat", all I can think of is you (in a good way!).
Mega-grackles for Sunny and Digger from my pup Cookie!

Rachel --

Your return to the keyboard has put a big smile on my fizz; I'm looking forward to your take on the latest rant-inducing news.

After all, you introduced me to the Best. Way. Ever. To. Sound. Infuriated.

It's great to have you back.

Definition of a amiable divorce: Your ex-husband coming to your house with a gun is a GOOD thing!

LC Gunsniper [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Sunny makes for the perfect desktop…

Standing guard.

Good to see you back at it, Rachel! Would've been a shame to let the jackass trolls have the last laugh. Best wishes.

BoxStockRacer [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Welcome Back! I *know* it won't be long before you will once again have the

Best. Blog. Ever.

BoxStockRacer [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Welcome Back! I *know* it won't be long before you will once again have the

Best. Blog. Ever.

pbmaltzman [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Well, hey, welcome back! And I hope that your hands and wrists are still holding up okay. I'm still doing medical transcription too, with a new computer and software.

My company will soon start doing stuff with voice recognition, so at some point I may be doing more editing than straight typing.

pbmaltzman [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Forgot to say: Sorry to hear that your marriage didn't last forever! Sometimes people go along fine just living together, and then crash and burn after they get hitched. But glad to hear that you are still on good terms with each other.

The dogs are cute... My critters are all cats, and I'm up to four now. All females (three tortoiseshell cats and a young solid gray kitten whom I rescued when someone moved away and abandoned her), and they don't like each other. They're so lazy that they won't kill anything, not even bugs.

Corsair09 [TypeKey Profile Page]:

YAY! We missed you Rachel! Welcome back, and JUST in time for the election follies to heat up!

Larry in Rochester,MN

At this late date, this feels like piling on, but I just want to reinforce how deeply you've been missed and how welcome your return to blogging is to all of your myriad fans.

Really.

Here's hoping you find the experience more pleasant than you did before.

M

Late to the party, but let me add a heartfelt "WHOOOOOYEAH!!!!!" to your long awaited return!

Welcome back!

Charles [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I gather that all of this is happening for a reason, so I have bookmarked your site Rachel. You come highly recommended.
This party is taking shape.

It looks like nobody has answered your question about TypeKey, Rachel, so let me give it a try.

TypeKey DOES let you weed out trolls and spam. It does this by preventing people from being able to post comments anonymously. Commenters don't have to use their real names, but you can require them to use their TypeKey accounts to identify themselves. In other words, they can use pseudonyms, but each comment poster will be using the SAME pseudonym every time.

This lets you identify patterns of behavior. Specifically, it lets you determine that a particular TypeKey account belongs to an obnoxious troll. You can then block any further comments from that account. You can ban the trolls.

Spamming is specifically forbidden by the TypeKey terms of service. If somebody uses a TypeKey account to post spam in your comments, you can report this to the TypeKey folks and the spammer's account will be disabled. In practice, you almost certainly won't have to do this. Spammers won't bother trying to use a TypeKey account to post spam, because they know that it's a waste of their time. They prefer to post in total anonymity, and if you don't allow that in your comments, they'll go elsewhere.

Does that help? Oh, and WELCOME BACK!!!!

Kelly [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I was told to come over here and say Hi or dieeeeeeee. So...Hi! Welcome back!

Tully [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Woo hoo!

Missed you, Tex. And Bill.

Wecome back, welcome back....

Oh, I forgot to mention something.

You probably won't need to rely on TypeKey for spam filtering, because you're using Movable Type 3.35. That version includes the SpamLookup plugin by default. SpamLookup is a very effective spam filter for your comments and trackbacks. I've been using it for months, and it never lets any spam get through. SpamLookup is your first line of defense against that sort of thing.

But you'll still need TypeKey in order to identify and ban the trolls. If your new blog is anything like your old one, it will attract some asshats. TypeKey gives you the means to boot them out of your comments.

Regarding your archives, Rachel -- If you can't find backups of all your previous posts, it looks like they're all preserved at the Internet Archive:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://rachellucas.com
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://blueeyedinfidel.com

You would have to copy and paste the text from there, but it's definitely possible to recover that stuff if you want to.

Dick [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Nice to see ya back to writing. Good to see the pups too. Hope ya hang around for a while this time.

Dan G. [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Just saw the good news over at Kim's. Good to see you return! Hope you were raising sufficient hell in your absence.

CKO1986 [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Welcome back! :)

Sweet. Nice to have you back.

I especially like the banner...seeing it matches the 'imagine no liberals' mug I happened to scam the last time you were on the Net.

Eventually I expect that mug to be worth a lot of money.

jackie [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Welcome back! Judging from the number of comments, you will soon be back to or exceeding that 5000 number for daily hits.

LabRat [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Thanks, Pat- I'm going over the archives now giggling to myself like a demented six-year-old.

I had forgotten just why it was I liked this stuff so much...

Hey Rachel,

How are things going. I don't know if you remember me or not, but I was a regular commenter before. Black guy, Democrat, from Kentucky working for State Government. I have since gone back into the military, now serving as a Platoon Leader in an Infantry Battalion in Camp Slayer, Iraq. Welcome back, I will read you every time that I get a chance. Take care.

Welcome back ... its been way way too long!

Cheers

Chantry [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Yay! Rachel's Back! Yay! Rachel's Back! Yay! Rachel's Back! Yay! Rachel's Back! Yay! Rachel's Back! Yay! Rachel's Back! Yay! Rachel's Back! Yay! Rachel's Back! Yay! Rachel's Back! Yay! Rachel's Back! Yay! Rachel's Back!

Welcome back, Rachel. So happy I'll be getting updates on Sunny and Digger! Oh, and you too.

CatscapeBarb [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I've never posted on your blog before, but I have read tons of them and have missed you! Welcome back! I look forward to hearing more from you.

bolivar [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Glad to see you back Rachel. Life is good isn't it? You are on top of the world - don't let go it will be a wild ride!

Huzzah! Welcome back, Rachel. The blogosphere hasn't been the same without you.

62 comments already, not a bad start m'lady.
As I said over at Bill's, good to see you back Rachel.
I have been pretty inactive over the last year (2006) due to personal problems but maybe I will get motivated again. Probably not as much as I used to be since I have just taken on some majors tasks but I will make an effort to stay current.
If nothing else I will stay current in reading my favorite blue eyed infidel.

BoneShaker [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Welcome Back. Already bookmarked and ready to go.

Barb [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I barely got started reading you before you pulled the plug, so I'm glad to see you are back. And I love what Bill's doing with his place. Things are getting interesting :-)

yetiman [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I'll add my welcome back along with all of the others. I checked your blog daily along with Bill's and others. It sounds sort of pathetic but I did miss you when you quit blogging. So welcome back I'm await your words of wisdom.

Elizabeth, Imperial Keeper [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Denny told me you were back. Glad to see it.

Elizabeth
Imperial Keeper

I have realized that it's phenomenally stupid to pay more attention to the 1% who hate you than to the 99% who like you.

Amen.

I'm new to this particular avenue of blogging (having been an LJ-er for 5 years), and I was referred here by several sources. I like your style. Not that you're hurting for readers, but you can add me to the list. :-)

Fred Jameson [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I'm late to the party, but feel the same. It wasn't your politics that made you good to read Rachel, it was you passion and verve.

I'm very pleased you're back.

Fred Jameson [TypeKey Profile Page]:

I'm late to the party, but feel the same. It wasn't your politics that made you good to read Rachel, it was you passion and verve.

I'm very pleased you're back.

Open comments on a Rachel Lucas blog? Things are definitely good again in this long-missed section of the blogosphere.

I dropped you an email, but let me reiterate my position: welcome back.

CT [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Glad to see you back. Your blog was one of the first I read. In fact, I learned the term "blog" from your site.

Hope to see more of you.

So great to see you back!

wch [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Thanks for coming back. Please assume 25 folks agree with what you'll write for every one that doesn't. For the most part, folks who agree just nod their head; I know I always did.

You were missed...

Jeremy [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Thank you for coming back! You definitely were missed.

Schmermie [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Oh for the love of God...you're a medical transcriptionist???

My theory is holding true. It seems like it's always an "either/or" situation with every woman I have met in this field. Either they are milquetoasted wallflowers or balls to the wall and in your face outspoken. I think we all know which category you fit into Rachel. Shy people give me the heebie jeebies.

From one medical transcriptionist to another...

Welcome back! You were dearly missed.

MrSpkr [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Yay Rachel! I am so glad to see one of my favoritest early bloggers step back into the arena.

Now, if only Steven den Beste would do the same . . .

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on May 19, 2007 3:44 PM.

The previous post in this blog was Sunny Interprets My Emotions about Templates.

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