Why I less-than-three Astrology

One of my favorite astrology-related moments came when I'd just started seeing my (current) ladyfriend.

We had been seeing each other for about a month, and she had already discovered that astrology was one of my hot-buttons. Up until this point I had always held my tongue whenever she raised the subject, but it made me squirm... And she's exactly the kind of girl that is vindictive enough to do that to me on purpose.

So one day she pulled out an astrology textbook from her shelf and claimed it to be highly authoritative on the subject. She would prove to me that astrology was real. At this point, she asked for my star-sign.

"Taurus," I said, looking unhappy.

Backstory

Five months ago (or so) I started commenting online using my real name.

Friends and family have told me I'm nuts. "Don't blog online under your real name!" they warn. "You work in IT. Your future employers are bound to Google your name, and if one of them is religious you could lose a job opportunity."

I'm an atheist, you see. One of the strident, loud, angry, disrespectful breed of atheist. The (allegedly) 'new' kind of atheist. And I like to write about it. It's a pleasure.

In one sense this was very good advice. I very well may lose future jobs because of this blog. But the advice still made me angry. Not red-hot, foaming at the mouth, fast anger. Slow anger - a low simmer. It took a while to bubble over.