The column this week is built around two emailers responding to two recent diatribes on whatever it is I write about. One emailer was bummed that I wrote about Scientology and the Freemasons in the same paragraph:

“I’m certain you have already been contacted by the legal department of the ‘Church’ of Scientology. These jokers will sue people to the point of bankruptcy even without grounds for a case.”

Not so far, no, but this is exciting already, isn’t it? Erik really writes to grab the attention. I did get a chuckle or two out of someone suing me to the point of bankruptcy. If that ever seemed to be on the horizon, I’d probably just buy a fancy meal and beat them to the punch.

The other wrote with very sweet tips on a long-distance relationship:

“Don’t scrimp on phone bills. It’s part of the rent. Use land lines when you can, because the tone of voice comes through more clearly.”

Yeah, I believe in a related rule, which is that people in long-distance relationships should never, ever IM each other. While it’s tempting, I find that people get distracted easily. Maybe you get caught up reading a Web site or the nutritional values of your pint of comfort ice cream. Whatever it is, you’ll eventually accidentally ignore or offend someone.

Plus, there’s the option of logging your chats, which is like setting bear traps all over your psyche. “But you said” is annoying enough without a transcript.

Hey folks. There are a lot of transitions afoot! One includes me writing for a pretty sweet blog called EcoGeek.org. Having looked at the bios and experience of the other writers, I’m probably slightly underqualified, but that’s when I do my best work anyway.

The basic idea? We tell you about the various ways in which awesome technology (recent posts include flying cars) can help cut back on carbon emissions or help the environment in other ways. It’s kind of like combining your love of gadgetry with that desire to get all hippied out and live on a commune. A geek commune.