A Million Things and DonorsChoose

There is a lot going on around the geoblogosphere (and more than that) and it has been harder for me to post during this most recent round of 10 hour days than I remember it being back when I started blogging. Maybe my posts were much simpler then, just a photo or two, some update about the weather, a link or two, and move on.
First, before I get distracted, let me point you to what I think is one of the most important things going on this week and into next month: Anne Jefferson and Chris Rowan of Highly Allochthonous are sponsoring their annual Earth Science DonorsChoose Challenge, which brings earth science tools, projects, and supplies to students and classrooms in need of your support. Go to their giving page, where you will find several projects worth funding, as well as links to other Earth Science giving pages including one by Maitri of Maitri's VatulBlog. As a bonus, HP is matching the first $50,000 raised during the Science Bloggers for the Schools challenge, this week through November 9th. So, get to it!

Also, it's National Fossil Day, and Anne has a great post up about the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon, which I visited very briefly this summer, and reported on equally as briefly. :)

Back to my rant: I get home after 10 hours at work, sometime between 5:10 and 5:30, and I've been doing that now for almost an entire month. After getting home, I might read a little online, have dinner, then maybe I'll have time to watch a Stargate Universe episode with MOH if he's not working nights. Then, after dinner, maybe I'll hang out online just a little more via mobile after getting ready for bed, or maybe I'll read. (Currently I'm reading - very slowly I might add - Roads: Driving America's Great Highways by Larry McMurtry).

In the morning, my alarm goes off at 4:30, I snooze it until as late as 5:00, make coffee, have coffee while reading blogs and news until maybe 6:00, at which time if I'm actually editing an already written post I might push it until 6:10 or so, then I get ready very quickly so I can be out the door at 6:40.

I think about blogging, not constantly, but often. I think about my many blog ideas, am in the midst of a few things already started, have Wedges to think about, and other stories in progress from earlier this year or last - and I bog down, or give up, or something - because the truth is, it just doesn't seem like there is that much time in the day.

I have access to a computer at work (not my computer, which would be much, much faster), but have not felt at all comfortable writing anything, even during coffee breaks or lunch. Instead, a couple-three of us get together and yak about things: work things, geological things, world of finance things, other things. One thing different than a couple years ago: I share a large room (a coreshed) with one or two other geo-types and don't have an office space to myself.

Then, on breaks between work periods, at least during these last 30 days, I've had a drive-to-meeting and drive-back-from-meeting break (two days); one whole day off, half of which was spent doing laundry; and a field-trip break (three days, all on the road). What I mean is, on breaks, I tend to be going somewhere, maybe because I'm not really traveling for work at the moment. During these various trips, I sometimes end up in a place without a good or easy-to-use internet connection, at least for a short time, or - as during the breaks over this last month - I end up in places where socializing and hanging out with other geos talking about old times, geology, the mining business, good stories, and other things takes precedence over all but the most cursory checking of things online via mobile in the late evening.

So, what this all boils down to, is that you - all my readers - are not getting many posts from me. And I don't see much to do about that right now!