So much to say...

What?! He's posting again?!

Sorry I've not been around here for a while. I've been otherwise occupied -- with life!

So let me get a few things out there and then I'll try to get back to regular posting...

One big thing that has happened over the past couple of months involves our home computing environment. My wife and I were both really excited when Google announced their Chromebook beta program. We'd already come to love Google 's Chrome browser and the idea of having a Chromebook (for free!) was simply amazing. It's not quite a notebook and not quite a netbook. It's a laptop that's intended for web surfing. I filled out all of the lottery applications and kept my fingers crossed. I even found a site that was listing (still not sure how) all of the shipments as they went out and to which ZIP code they were shipped. Every time I found one that had been shipped to my ZIP, I'd call my wife and make sure she checked the porch for a delivery. But alas, it was not to be. Or was it...

I got my coworker caught up in the frenzy as well. He submitted his lottery form and waited with me for our present to show up at one our doorsteps. But again, nothing.

AND THEN... his other friend received one! We were geeked just to be able to hold it in our hands (on loan). I must admit to feeling a little bit like the Apple fanboys that I keep making fun of. I get you guys now. My friend was able to use the the CR-48 (the official name of the beta Chromebook) for a while. In fact, he just kinda took common law possession of it after a while. Oh well. I could live vicariously I guess...

THEN... One day, my friend came in to work and said he had something for me in his trunk, but he couldn't bring it inside the office. We had been talking about me taking some of his scrap computers to use for parts to beef up a few old ones I had laying around, so I figured it was an old CPU tower, or a monitor or something. He wouldn't fess up, though, so when it was time for lunch, we walked over to his car and he pulled a small briefcase-sized cardboard box out and handed it to me...?! It still hadn't hit me. Then I glanced at the side of the box and recognized the cartoon-like Rube Goldberg diagram of the CR-48 boxes I had seen in the YouTube unboxing videos! WHAT?! REALLY?! Apparently his friend had snagged another Chromebook! And he was giving it TO ME! WOW!

I snuck it home that night and waited until my wife and kids were asleep before I brought it in the house. I got a couple of hours out of it (configuring, charging, playing, investigating, etc) that night. And I've not seen it since :-( Well, not completely true, but it has definitely become my wife's laptop and not mine. I still use it occasionally, and really like a lot of what it has to offer (including the free built-in Verizon 3G access for 2 years, and the instant, OK, 8-second, boot up from power off, etc), but by allowing my wife to take ownership of it, I've been able to take over the other laptop we got last fall. Now we've both got something to use when needed.

Moving on...

My daughter ran track last spring and plans to run again this coming spring. I think that helped spur my son to join cross country this fall. They planned and raced all summer together. My son is definitely more of an endurance runner and my daughter the sprinter. He had some growing pains in his bones that kept him from fully participating in all of the meets, but I think he had a good time anyway. He's not the fastest runner, but he kept up with it. I can't fault him at all since I didn't even make it to the first meet when I was in track :-( I hope he continues with his plans to join track in the spring with his sister. It will make our lives a little more chaotic (I'm certain that the meets will be at the same time on completely opposite ends of the city), but I'm proud of both of them. My son and I were also planning a 14-ish mile bike trip for just the two of us late this summer, but I fear we may have missed the weather-window. Maybe we'll try again in the spring.

Both of my older kids spent the better part of the summer at my mother-in-law's house in North Carolina. They had a blast and have many great memories. They've both been talking about what to do next summer.

Hmmm... The older two have also had band and choir concerts this year. I'm glad that they've both found something creative that they enjoy. I enjoy hearing them "practice" at home as well. All of them are doing very well in school (as expected) and they have each found that they are smarter than they give themselves credit for (-- right son?! I know you're reading this. No more dumbing down the tests so you don't have to work as hard. They know how smart you are already!).

My wife has three jobs this year so far. Well, three paying jobs, all part-time, in addition to the volunteering she does at all of the schools and keeping the kids and the house in line. Tax time will be fun next year.

Speaking of jobs, I've got a new one too. My new job is pretty familiar territory for me, but for this move, I left a career of 18 years to start at the "bottom" of the totem pole again. It's a little, ok, a lot scary, but I think it was the best move for me right now. I'm excited about the possibilities for the future.

So that's a quick recap to bring me mostly current. Sorry I've been so lax lately, but I promise to try harder to post more often. Thanks for sticking with me.