Ann picks me up at 11 today to go to one of the few restaurants we like in town, the Bangkok House. Our experience this time particularly shows something about how our expectations have changed. It hasn’t opened yet when we get there. Ok, we wait a couple minutes, no problem. Once inside we are…

I’m now running WordPress 1.0. I was enticed mostly by the improvements to categories. There are now descriptions for the categories, and a post can be filed under more than one category. As usual, please comment if anything is broken or simply offensive to your person.

My turn now! I didn’t feel too bad this morning, so I went to work even though my throat was getting sore. I know how people love it when you come to work sick. Everybody loves a live virus. So I caught a clue and came home again. I’m still hoping for a lighter case…

I picked up this new word from a motorcycle license plate on my way to work this morning. I’ve heard the term rice rocket, but this is my first encounter with sake hog.

The Author’s Guild has put up a site for my mom, maryblocksma.com. This is a nice complement to her own publishing site, beaverislandarts.com.

These guys sold my mom a non-refundable ticket to Brussels that looked fine at first glance. Upon closer examination she saw that they had her landing at JFK airport in New York, then leaving for Brussels from Newark! Their customer service offers no apologies or alternatives – it’s make or break. Her only option is…

Ann has caught some kind of virus, has a sore throat, and is losing her voice, so we say goodbye to our friends and head for beds and movies.

This evening our group site is much more animated. We have a potluck, with addictive barbecue chips from John, crab dip from Oscar, brats and kielbasa from Mary and Clint, Ann’s buffalo stuffing, apple pie from Ingrid, chocolate chunk cookies from Karen, with wine, beer, and champagne from all directions. Matty and Ann, who we…

It is REI day, time to make a dent in our gear list for the Continental Divide Trail and our bank account. Some of our acquisitions: North Face Slick Rock tent. It weighs 4 lb 9 oz, maybe half a pound more than the lightest options but with some important features. It has two poles,…

“Let’s split up” was a phrase oft-repeated by my new cousin Jonathan over the holidays, playing Rescue Hero. Today as we all started splitting up for our respective plans we realized the time for a family photo had slipped past. We decided to at least get some sibling pics before Ryan hit the road.