Every so often, I need to remind my readers that because, like PBS stations and the old MAD Magazine, I don’t accept paid advertising, every so often I need to ask my readers for their voluntary support. And by “voluntary”, I mean truly voluntary, not extracted from y’all by paywalls, nag screens, annoying popups, or other methods of coercion. Other than a reasonably-inobtrusive little paragraph three times a week which most readers probably don’t even notice any more, I limit myself to asking for your support in a full column like this about three times a year (the last time was in early May) unless there’s some sort of emergency need. And now that I’m only supporting myself and have throttled my driving back to one weekly trip to Aberdeen and 4x a year to Seattle, even the emergencies come less often (and I certainly hope that remains the case from now on). But fewer and smaller bills is not the same as no bills, and while I’ve now got a modest buffer against minor calamities, the unexpected is always possible (and a certain fraction of supporters do fall by the wayside every year). Furthermore, regular readers know that I have never and will never delegate my work to employees or chatbots; every word was written by me, and nobody or nothing else. So if the mad emperor’s attempts to demolish the world economy haven’t hurt you too badly, please consider subscribing at one of the regular levels in the right-hand column, or even one of the superstar levels listed here; if you can’t do a monthly expense, you could show your appreciation by a gift from my Amazon wishlist. As always, thank y’all for reading, and for your generosity!
