The funny thing about this post is that it’s been sitting in my que for 4 months. Seriously.

To start, I have been busy. September was punctuated with the acceptance of a couple manuscripts, revisions on a couple others, job applications, work, etc. October was ramp up for the election. Being in Congressional Affairs, our job changes depending on the makeup of the House and Senate. Basically, we were preparing for a more conservative Congress. November and December I just haven’t been around. I spent a week in Memphis on a long-term research project, a week picking my replacement (a new Knauss Fellow; more on that process later), then the holiday. The past two weeks were spent in Bend, OR, at the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Bend Field Office (more on that later too).

So what happened to the blog? Honest answer – it stressed me out. I’m coming to the end of my postdoc and am applying to multiple positions every day, across many disciplines, and thinking about any other science-related issues has stressed me out. I reached the point where my “fun” science-related activities were not fun anymore, so I decided to take a break.

This is a similar story with my blog collaborators. People get busy and stressed,  and things fall by the wayside. Hopefully the holidays will allow some time for catching up, relaxation, and some science fun.