This is my first
Day log, so please bear with me. I have two little things to say:
First, I'm a newbie and having a bit of trouble dealing with what seems to me to be a contradiction in the two principle currents running through E2 in the form of its noders. I am, so far I guess, what you would call a factual noder. I am a scientist. I like mathematics. I like facts. This does not mean that I don't like art or literature, but my first love is of things scientific. So, when I found E2, a repository for everything, I thought I was in heaven. It's an eclectic collection of facts, thoughts, feelings and creativity.
Now, knowing more about the factual, I decided to dive in with both hands blazing, and contribute by adding definitions and descriptions of things which are missing from E2. And, in very short order, I got soft-linked to the fact spamming node. Now, perhaps I shouldn't take this personally, my first thought was: "If you don't want Everything2 to contain everything, then why pretend that that is it's raison d'être? I have since come to the realization/thought that what is in fact going on is that certain noders like the facts, while others like creativity, and there's a constant tension between them. Am I wrong?
I should, before going on to the second thing I have to say, also state that I think if you're going to soft-link (read: accuse) someone's node to the cut and paste node, you should bloody well be sure that it is a cut and paste job. I wrote a node which go treated in this way, which wouldn't bother me if it hadn't been for the fact that I wrote every word myself, and half of the information contained therein is from memory. So, if we're calling writing what I know a cut-and-paste job, I suggest the editors give me the ability to downvote myself.
Second, I had the first chance in months to spend some quiet time with my fiancée. We have a one year old son who is sick presently, and as all parents know, it has been really hard to find any time for ourselves. This problem has been compounded by the fact that my SO has recently begun a new job, and is working 60-70 hour weeks.
The reason I share this with you is I just wanted to say that I am one man who is immensely happy for St. Valentine's Day. In our cynical world, it is very fashionable to bitch and moan about how the 14th is horrible, a nefarious plot by horticulturists to impoverish my gender, a gyno-centric holiday and perhaps solely responsible for perpetuating the myth that men have the romantic intelligence and sensitivity of a slime mold. However, I can honestly say that without the excuse of St. Valentine's Day, we probably could have gone another week without really looking deeply into one another's eyes and saying, quietly, softly, sincerely: "I love you."