So typing in that annoying code before posting a comment was a pain in the ass part of the body. In fact, it was not enough to stop spam, so not long ago I added a vaguely fun (or not, for some people) math entry plug-in as well. Both of those, together, were enough to stop all the spam I was getting.

But I love convenience and ease of use, so I will be trying a few new services to automagically capture spam and do away with it. I do not know how well these supposedly transparent items will work, so if you notice anything strange or confusing or if comments don’t seem to be getting through, let me know. (I will still be able to see your comments if they are caught as spam, so do try.)

If the plug-ins don’t work, I will, sadly, have to bring the numbers back into play.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and love of fine cheeses.

I just got done telling a very cool and nice person with whom I work that we have chosen to not hire him for our open editor position here. It was hard to do! I can’t tell if handled it well, or with fumbling awkwardness.

I have never had to go through a true employment interview process on this side of the desk. Last time we hired an editor, Lauren, she was pretty much the only candidate. This time, we had four candidates, three of which were very qualified and would have been good for us.

We ended up hiring someone who was less experienced, partially because of salary and partly for creative reasons. My current co-worker is a very smart, very technologically astute fellow, and it’s always a pleasure to work with him. I would love to have him here permanently! With multiple qualified candidates, however, all kinds of details come into play—political, economic, personal—and you simply make the best decision you can.

My boss and the other director here are both out, so it was up to me to dole out the bad news. The second rejection I have to deliver should be easier, as we are rejecting him based solely on his asking price. We can not afford him. That’s an easy out.

But it’s much harder to tell someone you like that you have to pass. Ouchie. This makes me feel way too grown up.