I can't imagine my personal life is of interest to many readers, but a few people have wondered if I've disappeared for good, so here's a quick explanation. As of last week I'm no longer working as an editor at Mother Jones. So anyone trying to reach me should now send an email to brad -dot- plumer -at- gmail -dot- com.

The other news, and my excuse for not writing much, is that in a week I'll be moving to Washington D.C. to start work as a reporter-researcher for the apparently much-maligned Joe Lieberman Weekly. And in case anyone's curious, yes, I do still think Israel's war against Lebanon was not just strategically stupid but also morally abhorrent, that the U.S. invasion of Iraq was a criminal enterprise from start to (if it ever comes) finish, and that Lieberman's defeat was a grand thing. But check back in a month or so to see if I've "mysteriously" changed my mind about all of this. (No, seriously, I like TNR a great deal, and am happy to be going there, even if I don't agree with every position they take.)

Anyway, I don't know if the new job will mean I'll have to shutter up this blog for good, but at the very least it may mean a patchy spell for a bit. In the meantime, this New York Times piece on the Poincaré conjecture actually manages to make topology sound thrilling. And it is thrilling! But that's hard to convey sometimes...