While on my latest research into Quakerism, I found a link to an online Nontheist Quaker Community.

This includes people who have the view that "God's" existence doesn't matter to their religious beliefs, as well as atheists who consider themselves Quakers. Or you could look to their own definition of what "nontheism" means.

Having first heard about this something less than a year ago, it's interesting to run across it again.

So yeah . . . I have friends in New Jersey now.

Yesterday was spent hanging out with the insanely wonderful tscheese. This time there wasn't moving per se, just a few purchases at some places here and there (psst: hey Ms. tscheese, I bought too much coffee at Trader Joe's, so if you'd like one of our cans of coffee, you're welcome to it.), and a whole lot of various types of geekery. She also got introduced to my cats, who were much better around her than most people I bring home—Herbie didn't hide under the bed at all, for once.

Today I spent a fair amount of time with a fellow attender from the Quaker meeting. He's sort of spent the opposite amounts of time trading places with me over his life: grew up in New Jersey, went to undergrad in Atlanta (Morehouse graduate, no less), and did his Graduate work in St. Louis. A fabulous man who held a wonderful conversation with me about three hours long before he had to go visit his grandparents.

I've also been working on a new-ish composition for full orchestra. I even have homework for the piece: listen to other people's symphonies and orchestral suites from Haydn to Penderecki. It's starting to take a very rough form, and I'm excited about it.

I encountered an ant swarm on my way to Meeting for Worship.

Centimeter long ants, some of them carrying pupae as large as they were, scurrying about over the sidewalk with no source for them in sight.

I was not bitten, despite having two on my shoe.

Meeting for worship was silent, but had one long-absent attendee returning from his schooling at Washington University in Saint Louis. He also went to Morehouse and is a member of Atlanta Friends Meeting, but I'm not sure if I met him, or even saw him there.

Made out with six blueberry muffins, homemade with homegrown blueberries. They taunt me from the refrigerator even now.

Power flickered several times during the thunderstorm today. I'll probably have to bring the cactus out from the edge of the porch, so that it doesn't get over-watered; in addition to yesterday and today's thunderstorms with periods of sheeting rain, the next two days are predicted to be more of the same.

Lastly, in a fit of doing something very random, I drew a tree.
( a tree grows for Sasha )

Went to Meeting for Worship, then Business meeting (not even a quorum present), and came home to be productive. Made a few touch-ups to a couple of scores, then while loading the dishwasher, saw a deer in the apartment complex. I'd say it walked in "bold as brass," but it looked pretty skittish the whole time. About five minutes later it decided there was nothing to be had, so it vanished back into the woods.

Also done today: found the Rutgers community gardens, saw a juvenile groundhog (it reminded me of my wife's recent pictures of sea lions on Facebook), and tried my best to motivate my brother to do something with his summer other than play computer games.