What’s a Little Exchange of Bodily Fluid Between Friends?
I have a plethora of things to share with you today, so strap in, buckle up and get ready for the ride.
First of all, plethora is a great word. I use it to mean something along the lines of “a metric shit ton.” Or what my friend and frequent commenter here at Geekcentricity, “Snapper” would call an “ass load.” I’m not sure why he’s so fond of that terminology and I’m afraid to ask. It actually originated from Latin and first made it’s happy little way into the English language in the mid-1500′s as a medical term meaning “an excess of bodily fluid.” That means that in my first sentence above, I basically told you that “I have an excess of bodily fluid to share with you today.” In addition to straps and buckles, we may need some rubber gloves or… something. Which brings me to my next point.
I’ve been losing fans.
No, that doesn’t mean that the cooling devices on my ceilings have been disappearing, it means that people have been dropping off my fan list over on Geekcentricity‘s Facebook page. Sure, I’ve been gaining new ones, but I’ve been losing others. I don’t like it when that happens. I know, I know. I shouldn’t even look at that stuff, or take any stock in it. But still. It bothers me. I feel like I need to have an exit interview. Or at least I can send my buddies Big Tony and Vinny the Snake over to the former fan’s house and have them ask a few questions. No pressure or anything. Just tie them to a chair, pull out the rubber house and get some answers.
“Our boss wants to know why you don’t like him no more.”
I figure the most likely responses would be one of two things. Okay, the most likely, and desirable, responses would be screams of pain segueing into tears followed by smashed fingers on the mouse and keyboard correcting their sorry mistake. But I’m not bitter. Actually, what I would expect to hear would be either just a general lack of interest in the topics at hand or that I had said something that offended them. The first one I can understand. Not everyone is a geek (I know – shocking). Even some who are geeks aren’t interested in everything I’m interested in (also shocking). After all, at this point, this is still a personal blog, so my personal interests and endeavors are strongly featured. I get that. As for the latter issue, I get that too. I know that some of my fans have more delicate sensibilities than others. It may be uncomfortable for some people to read about my excess bodily fluids. Hell, some of you might even flinch when I use profanity. I realize that I know a good number of you personally in one way or another. Many of my readers have a concept of who I am. Or of who you perceive me to be. Got it. I’ve served many roles in my life for many of you, from teacher to nephew to uncle to fellow congregant to student, etc. So, what I plan on doing is writing something inspired by what Wil Wheaton wrote on his blog when he started using Twitter. I referenced it recently in my Geekcentric Guide to Twitter. By the way, if you found that post useful, you should check out Dane of War’s Guide to Twitter.
I used to be anonymous. My first blog didn’t contain my real name, photo, or any references to my real identity. There was comfort in anonymity. I didn’t tell people who I was. I only posted under my pseudonym. I could write whatever I wanted without offending people who knew me in “real life.” After all, I was still teaching when I started that blog. I tended to keep my private life a bit private. That just got old after a while. I spent so much time as “teacher me” that I got sick of always being somebody I wasn’t. Geekcentricity embraces who I am. It’s ugly and offensive sometimes, but it’s genuine. Writer and game designer Rob Donoghue wrote something a few weeks back about the benefits and dangers of internet anonymity that I found helpful. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
So stay tuned for my disclaimer. If you’re still with me after sharing my excess bodily fluids, you’re doing pretty well.
