Welcome to the rebirth of your desire to write.

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The notochord is a defining feature of the phylum Chordata

It is a stiff, flexible rod made of collagen that runs along the body below the hollow dorsal nerve cord. It functions as an anchoring point for muscles, enabling chordates to move their bodies by flexing their muscles against it. The notochord is the precursor of the spine found in all vertebrates, or members of the subphylum Vertebrata. Through evolution, a column of vertebrae eventually replaced the notochord in most (but not all) chordates. 

There are two surviving, or extant, groups of chordates that aren't vertebrates: tunicates and lancelets. Tunicates (also called sea squirts) have a notochord only during the larval stage, while lancelets retain their notochord as adults. 

Also worth noting is the hagfish, an extant chordate that has a skull but no spine, making it difficult to classify. It has a notochord in all life stages. Whether it's a


we were pre-teen girls 

two dozen in number

Kamp Kiwani was a Girl Scout camp

it sat in the heart of Middle Tennessee

and we came to learn skills 

and earn merit badges

but middle of summer in Middle Tennessee

90 can feel like 103

so we ate s’mores and drank powdered iced tea 

we spent most of our time indoors

and a butch of a girl whose name was Elaine

taught us all about

I. You're both married to other people, to start with, heavily entangled on the quantum mechanical level with other humans (?) who could marshal considerable resources to rein you both back in. But there was that time at tapas where the tempranillo got flowing and there might have been non-ritual skin-to-skin contact? Twice? and you think about this while waiting for the squat machine to free up sometimes.

II. This other person is long dead and

News for Noders

February 1: Brevity Quest 2025 begins!

February 2: Happy birthday Auspice!

February 2: Happy birthday npecom!

February 5: Happy birthday wertperch!

February 8: Happy birthday to panamaus

February 15: Happy birthday Admin to the goo!

February 23: Happy birthday Samuel Pepys!

February 29: Happy birthday Browncoat!


If you have an item for this calendar, /msg Tem42.

January 1: Gregorian New Year.

January 16: National Nothing Day.

January 24: Happy Birthday Silverai_me!

January 26: Happy Birthday Segnbora-t!

January 30: Happy Birthday O-Swirl!


If you have something to add to the monthly news, /msg Tem42.

December 1: Iron Noder ends

December 9: Smallpox eradication day.

December 9: Grace Hopper's birthday.

December 12: Happy birthday to horacetheclown!

December 21: Winter solstice arrives 10:27 PM, EST.

December 23: Happy birthday to Nemosyn!

December 25: Hanukkah begins.

December 25: Merry Christmas!

December 29: HairQuest 2024 ends.


If you have an item for this calendar, /msg Tem42.

November 1: The IRON NODER CHALLENGE starts today and runs through December 1. It's never too late to sign up, and all writeups get rewards.

November 1: Happy Birthday Zephronias!

November 5: Bonfire Night in the UK.

November 11: Veterans Day in the US.

November 13: Everything2's Birthday.

November 27: Happy Birthday Estelore!

November 28: Thanksgiving in the US.

November 28: HairQuest 2024 begins!

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October 1: Oh no! It's The Halloween Horrorquest!

October 17: Happy Birthday gnarl!

October 31: Something spooky will probably happen today. It usually does.

October 31: prepare yourselves for the XVIInd Iron Noder in November!



If you have an item for this calendar, /msg Tem42.