My sites have been hosted at TRKHosting for several years, and Tom’s service has never been anything short of superb. I want to thank Tom for the unfailingly excellent support he provides, and offer my unreserved recommendation: If you need someone to host your website, call TRKHosting.

I think I have it fixed, but if you see any further issues, please let me know. Thanks.

My Twitter updates page is located at http://twitter.com/meatbrain.

Wordpress should have emailed me copies of the comments made during that period, so if you want copies of your lost comments, just drop me a line. Feel free to repost any comments that have gone missing.

The database issue seems to have been caused by a problematical URL in a comment. Until I can work out a way to protect against a recurrence, all comments will be held for moderation. Anything that hasn’t got a suspect URL or isn’t spam will be approved.

I’ll be back in due course. Play nice, children.

Earlier today, ThinkingMeat.net went off the air for a while. Unbeknownst to me, the site had exceeded its bandwidth limit for the month. (Whoops!) I sent an email to my hosting company, TRKHosting.com, and it was answered promptly by Tom Koch, the proprietor. I’m used to that; I am firmly of the opinion that Tom has struck a deal with some dark power that enables him to answer emails almost before they are sent, and to go entirely without sleep.

What I was not expecting was that Tom would instantly increase my bandwidth limit to more than twice its original size! I thanked Tom most profusely and asked him what I owed him for this service. The answer: not a red cent. Tom informed me that “this change is permanent and won’t cost anything extra. As long as you stay a client that’s all I need”.

The only possible response, I think, is… “Holy crap!”. There is good service, there is great service, and there is service that astonishes. Tom Koch and TRKHosting have never once failed to deliver astonishing service, and I cannot recommend Tom’s firm highly enough for anyone who needs web hosting services. I’ve placed a link to Tom’s site in my sidebar, where it should have been long ago. Tom, you are a gentlemen, a scholar, and a true wonder. Thank you.

Because that’s what we are, essentially, every last one of us. We’re creatures that have evolved the power of thought—maybe not a very well-developed power of thought just yet, but hey… we’re a work in progress.

Does that mean I am an atheist? Not in and of itself, no. But I have to say that in my half-century on this planet I’ve seen very little that would support the thesis of an involved and activist God, unless said God is a psychopath.

Penn Gillette recently summed up his beliefs in this regard, in an installment of the audio essay series This I Believe on NPR:

So, I’m saying, “This I believe: I believe there is no God.” Having taken that step, it informs every moment of my life. I’m not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it’s everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more.

I find little in that essay that I can disagree with.

The name itself? It comes from the very short, very funny one-act play They’re Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson. Take five minutes to go read it, then read some more of Terry’s work. He’s a great guy—he must be, because he gave me permission to use the phrase for the title of this blog.

UPDATE: I’ve settled on Devenir En Gris for the time being. It’s a bit bland for my taste, so as time permits I’ll either adapt it to my liking, or create a custom theme of my own.

Find out more about WordPress themes at the WordPress Codex.

The site’s only just been set up, so obviously there’s not much here yet. Bear with me. I’m gluing the bits together as fast as I can. If you have something to say that you don’t want to put in a comment, please email me at meatbrain@thinkingmeat.net.