this can’t be a good sign of things to come…

logan: mom, i like the gas.

natalie: what gas?

logan: the one with the big orange nose.

natalie: you mean the gas you got at the dentist?

logan: yes

given our predilection for travel, its occurred to me that natalie and i are the modern equivalent of the settlers of old.

but later this week when we head to california it will be without the threat of cholera or injun attack…

count me surprised – the final season, and especially the final episode of lost really did explain everything.

lost is all the time i spent thinking there might be a plot to that show…

friends of ours flying home from disney world took this picture of the space shuttle atlantis as it blasted off on its final mission.

yeah, on their way home from disney world, they got this minor jewel added to the holiday experience.

last week when i flew home from san francisco, i was thrilled that continental gave me a cardboard box of cereal with mini milk carton…

after three years and a few days, my tenure with dcri has ended.

i’ve decided a flagging economy is the best time to leave a stable, secure job at duke for a start-up company in san francisco.

i’ll keep you posted on how that works out…

i would like to say that my kids aren’t spoiled, but conversations like the following provide ample evidence otherwise…

logan: mom, is the present man coming today?

natalie: you mean the mail man?

logan: no, the other one, the u.p.s. man…

in discussing my resignation from dcri with one of their systems engineers, he wished me well and added:

you fall under the good developer category

having begun my career as a systems engineer, i recognize this is as one of the nicest things he could ever say about a software developer…

i scratch my head at the ethos of people barking in to their cell phones in public, but on my recent trip to san francisco i discovered they have progressed to yelling at skype on their ipads and notebooks.

i long for the good ol’ days when they only had cell phones…

i’ve been seeing census workers all over the city and last night i asked one how it was going. i got a lot more conversation than i expected and can only assume she signed up for the job so she could seek out other victims to talk with. i did pick up two items of interest, first i discovered that the census workers were not volunteers but were actually getting paid. i had not know that, and second she concluded her discussion of how great and diverse san francisco is with this:

“not only do we have ethnic diversity, its even diverse in gender here. there are men who dress like women and love women. there are men who dress like women and love men. and of course, there are men who just love other men.”

to listen to the folks who live here talk about their love for this city you would guess they were talking about a drug habit. after a week here i may need some help putting the needle down…

[picture redacted because it implied my enthusiasm for san francisco may have been rooted in nefarious evening activities]