Gentle request-- don't sign me up for stuff please.

Dearest friends:

I may have shared with you several pieces of contact information. Please feel free to continue to use those for your own personal use. In fact, I have some contact information publicly available in my LJ profile and other places; feel free to point private individuals who want to contact me to those methods to your heart's content.

However, if you join some nifty keen super awesome site and think I would benefit from it, I would prefer that you contact me personally and let me know I should sign up, or that you want to send me an email referral to it or what have you. I'd rather you DID NOT use the "refer a friend" option on the website without letting me know first.

In other words, I would REALLY RATHER you not give out my personal contact information to third party websites without my permission. (That's what happens when you type in my email address, or allow your favorite site to access your address book or buddy list or the like.) It seriously muddies the waters between "unsolicited mail" and "requested mail" if you're requesting things on my behalf-- and if I don't already belong to Nifty Keen Super Awesome Site, it may be for a reason you're unaware of, like not wanting them to have my information.

If you want to know if I also visit a site you like, ask me and I'd be happy to let you know.

Gustav.

False-color imagery of Gustav

From here, worst-case storm surge maps.

Not that any of you are really unaware, I suppose, but just to let you know that even I am paying attention.

I'm just having my emotional flither about it quietly, and then I'm going to rationally decide where to put my efforts toward charity, and whether giving locally will do more absolute good or not. (A lot of local organizations go short when people are drawn toward the emotional impact of a big disaster and send their money elsewhere.)

If you want to pray with me, then know I'm praying.
And if you don't want to pray with me, that's ok, I'm still praying.

"Save me, O God, For the waters are come in unto my soul."
(Psalm 69)

"And the breath of God moved upon the face of the waters."
(Genesis 1)

Yum!

( Guess what I just got out of the oven? )