Well, we made it back from our trip to IN alright. We had a great time. It was nice to get to hang out with our families and relax - we hadn't been up there since last christmas.

We spent the first half of the week up in the Frankfort area with sheri's grandparents - mostly playing cards and talking and stuff. We also stopped by Sheri's sister's house on our way back down to visit our neices. They're cute.

The second half of the week we spent in Columbus with my parents playing golf (for the first time in 10 years!), bowling, playing some more cards and generally having a good time.

We returned to find some rather impressive post-it art in our livingroom and office. I sort of saw it coming though - since we had all talked before of doing it to someone else's place. Next time the post-it's strike, i want to be in on it.

In some ways I wish we would have had a bit more time up there, but in other ways its good to be back (aside from some computer issues and people spamming my site).

I put some pictures up in the Gallery. Enjoy.

~PS

So ginger and I went to Schlotzky's for lunch this afternoon. Upon entering, the lady at the register - the one who is always there when we go in for lunch - tells us we should buy one of these discount cards she has since we're in there so much. The cards are for the support of local schools. She insisted that the 10% discount would save us quite a bit of lunch money.

I guess i don't really expect the random people i interact with on a weekly-ish basis to recognize or remember me, so it always seems weird to me when something like that happens.

Maybe next time i go in there i'll just order 'the usual' and see what happens...

~PS

As you have probably noticed, my *new and improved* site now features a (boring-ish) webcam over on the left panel. Not that i really have a good reason to have a webcam, it's more just a 'because i can' thing.

The cam updates about every 5 minutes, showing a slightly delayed image. It has been quite a source of amusment for me/us.

I have discovered i make some really funny faces when i'm confused about some piece of code i'm working on or when i'm playing fps games (particularly if i'm winning).

Kevin likes to IM me and say things like 'dude, weren't you wearing that shirt yesterday?'.

No, no i wasn't.

He's also suggested putting up 'away messages' via large signs in front of the camera when i'm not around. I've yet to try that idea, but i occassionally put one of my penguins in front of it when i'm out.

~PS

Any cable used to connect two pieces of technology is always and without fail either:

A) Much too short

-OR-

B) Way too long

That's just the way it works out.

~PS

It occurs to me that i really shouldn't be surprised when my stuff develops some sort of problem. I am so reliant on technology, and technology is so at the mercy of the world around it (for which is very seldom prepared) that the breaking down of stuff is inevitable.

Further, the liklihood of all my stuff being completely functional at any given time is virtually nill.

In short, the struggle to keep certain things working even as other things need fixing should be a natural state - something I am used to.

Yet I am not. I get very frustrated when my stuff doesn't work the way it's 'supposed to', even though, if i really think about it, its eventual breakdown is an unescapable aspect of its operational matrix - i.e., something it is, in fact, 'supposed' to do.

Not that this is the first time i've realized this paradox, nor its stating likely to keep me from getting just as frustrated as my stuff continues to break, but i sometimes think reminding myself of these obvious principles of technology is the only thing that keeps me from forswearing it completely.

~PS

Push-mowing the yard in the rain while listening to Rage Against The Machine is an interesting experience.

~PS

About a week after starting this latest redesign, I think I have enough of it working to put it into effect.

Take a look around. You may notice that quite a bit is the same, but quite a bit is different. Some features I'm omitting from this new site, and some may come along later.

I'm sure there's a bug or ten i haven't caught and fixed yet, but give me some time and it'll be solid.

Well, i've been up working on this too long already. See you all later.

~PS