I'm posting this from the public library in Murphy, North Carolina (until recently, the infamous "home" of Eric Rudolph). A word of advice: when you're planning a three-cornered trip, don't take it for granted that it will be a small journey from one part of a state to another.

Case in point: it was about 450 miles from our home in PA to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It was 550 miles from the Outer Banks to Murphy, North Carolina past the Smoky Mountains. Yes, a ten hour trip from the NC coast to its inner mountains.

One a somewhat related note, I have completely reversed my militant stand against in-car VCR systems. It has saved my life and quite possibly our family from a tragic dependence on duct tape and valium (assuming I knew where to find some valium). You can likely deduce which item would be used on which family members.

I will post a funny (or possibly tragic, depending on your point of view) trip log later.

Oh, and I meant that Murphy was home to Rudolph (when he was captured), not the public library itself.

I'm off to North Carolina for a while camping--posts will likely be nonexistent until August 5 or so.

Have a great couple of weeks!

Too busy to post the last few days--bought the van, got all the trailer hitch equipment, made my own lighting wire harness adapter because the camper has such a weird plug, and packed for vacation (all right, my wife did most of that).

Also, I went to Philly today for a memorial service for my friend's mother. Sad, but afterward we went to see another friend who just had twins. That was a nice way to regain a good feeling. I wish her all the best (I guess I should have wished her boundless amounts of energy--that's what she'll need with twins).

Also, another very good friend of mine had his second child (and second boy) today. That's the second really wonderful thing to happen this week. Do good things come in threes?

(I didn't put anyone's name in this post because I'm not sure if people would appreciate having their name in "print" on the Internet. It feels odd to write workaround sentences to make them anonymous...)

Too busy packing the poptop camper and setting up my playlists in iTunes to get music ready for the trip to the Outer Banks (and Inner Smokies).

The big question--am I going to bring my laptop on vacation? I usually do. I can get some work done on my cookbook at the cabin. I dunno.

(Later) Denise is bringing her laptop, so I guess it's OK to bring mine. Woo Hoo! We could, like, do an audio iChat across the room to each other or something.

I am such a geek.

Whenever I leave my diet I can tell. When I eat carbs I feel tired within a few hours. The next morning, I have that draggy feeling and it's hard to get up. If I eat something full of sugar I feel sick for the rest of the night.

Sugar and highly refined flour are like alcohol or drugs to my body--I even get a hangover. So it's back on the wagon for me.

Besides, I've got to be in good shape for the Outer Banks and the Smokies in the next two weeks. Of course, what this really means is that I've got to be in good enough shape to handle my little wiggly children on vacation without collapsing every night in exhaustion.

:-)

I will, for sure. Wil Wheaton writes over at WWDN about a new effort to make a movie out of Watchmen. Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins created this masterpiece, perhaps the best graphic novel ever made. If this project ever comes to fruition, I'll be the first in line to buy tickets.

Tonight I spent a great deal of time calling nine different stores for this Igloo thermoelectric cooler in vain--they were all sold out. I then find the cooler in the KMart two miles from my house (for much less than the price at the web link above).

Now I just hope it fits in my van.

:-)

If you ever have the time, go to the urban legends website Snopes.com. I think the main page looks a bit obtuse at first, but poke around and you'll find some amazing stuff on urban legends and hoaxes.

This is a rule I've learned by painful, painful experience (did I mention painful?):

When buying anything, be ready to walk away from the sale in an instant, right up to signing on the dotted line, especially if you really want it.

Often, this rule applies even after signing the dotted line.

I put this in because I'm looking at purchasing something this month, and I need to resharpen the edge on my mental "sword"...

My brother Joe is on his way to Tokyo as I write this. He spent the last few days in Seattle.

Of course, only this could happen to my brother Joe: he called me from the border yesterday because he decided to go to British Columbia, Canada, for lunch. That would make 4 countries he'll have visited on his trip: Peru, Bolivia, Canada, and Japan.

He's visited the US too, of course, but his home in Guam is technically a US territory, so he didn't really leave the country to get here (or live there).

Also, Joe called me from the SEATAC airport today--his flight was overbooked, so he volunteered to be bumped form the flight. You know the drill--get bumped, then get a free pass on the airlines good for one year, right?

Not with Joe. He didn't get bumped, but instead got a first class seat to Tokyo for his trouble.

Only Joe Mancuso.

Or Joe Way--he pulls this kind of stuff all the time too. Disgusting, isn't it?

:-)

My friends Joe and Laura (not my brother Joe--this is a different guy) moved away today to North Carolina with their two little ones. Sad times for me, although I'm glad for them--new jobs, close to family, nice place to live.

My psyche is wired a bit differently from most people--I may not see someone for ten years and then connect like no time has passed at all. I usually don't miss people because they're often in my thoughts (and heck, the Internet keeps people only microseconds away). This time is different. I guess I'm getting old (or middle-aged, at least). Good luck, Joe and Laura--may the wind be always at your back.

While watching Cosmic Voyage, a film about the universe and the microverse, shown in IMAX theaters last year:

Five Year Old Alyssa: Wow, this isn't as boring anymore. It's actually getting interesting.

Four Year Old Drew: Yeah.

Alyssa: Look Drew, thunder! Cool.

Drew: Yeah.

Alyssa: See, Drew? God makes thunder, not Kevin.

Drew: No--Kevin makes thunder.

Alyssa: You're wrong. See right there on the screen? God makes thunder!

Drew: God makes thunder...AND Kevin makes thunder.

Alyssa: Whatever.

Later, at end of movie:

Alyssa: Wow. If that's a ride, then I want to go on it.

My brother Joe has returned from South America and is now in Seattle for a short stopover on his way home to Guam. I hope he comes back next summer.

Despite the picture of Joe in South America below, most of his trip was in freezing weather at very high altitudes. Joe hiked up to Machu Picchu and also crossed over into Bolivia for a short time.

Dad, Joe and me, and little Drew. Taken on June 21, 2003:

Ummm, Denise corrected me about Drew's comment--I'd apparently heard wrong. Drew said the woman was a hot chick because she had a red bra, not a red ball.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, he's only four. On the other hand, at least he's showing a healthy interest in girls (I think). Of course, he kept asking Mommy today if she had a bra on--he seems to have a bra fixation. I'm not which way to take that.

I'm also not sure how to take the fact that he keeps wearing his dragon costume from Halloween several times a month. The costume is now over two years old. The legs now only go to his knees.

I guess part of raising kids is being at a puzzled loss.

:-)

With the family at McDonald's:

Drew: Daddy, the lady on the TV. Is she a hot chick?

Denise and I exchange raised eyebrows.

Me: Uh--I didn't see her, Drew. What do you think? Was she a hot chick?

Drew: Yeah. She had a red ball.

Later:

Drew: Daddy?

Me: Yes, Drew?

Drew (pointing to the Happy Meal box illustrations): Look at the monkey, Daddy!

Me: Yep--cool monkey, Drew.

Drew: Daddy, he's got a heart butt!

Sure enough, AIAI the Super Monkey's hindquarters were heartshaped. My Drew, the detailed observer...

Robert Scoble writes of a great video of two guys playing tennis Matrix-style. The "special effects" are hilarious. (You'll need Windows Media Player to view it, although mPlayer also played it on my Mac).

New movie trailer: The Incredibles. I can't wait until it gets into the theaters (November, 2004). It looks like a lot of fun.

From the Prelinger film archives: Are You Popular?

"Ginny think she's got the key to popularity--parking in cars with boys at night."

We laughed all the way through this one--a classic must-watch!

I got to watch Drew, Alyssa, and cousin Megan all day today--I was worried, but it was actually a lot of fun. It's amazing to watch the group dynamics of three little people. Well, it's more fun when you aren't separating them every five minutes so that they don't kill each other.

Seriously, they were pretty well behaved. We got to do a lot of things: play in the pool, play in the house, draw, watch a matinee (Rugrats Go Wild), clean up (a lot), and make some banana bread along the way. I even got to catch up on housework.

I could get to enjoy this. After all, I need to have some kind of marketable skill--this technology gig can't last forever, right?

If I were more energetic tonight, I'd tell you about my quest to find fireworks on Saturday at Knoebels. I can tell you that canvassing the entire staff of the park at every ride and refreshment stand would net you the information that both Shamokin and Millville had fireworks on Saturday night. Furthermore, Shamokin's fireworks were to begin at 10:15pm, but wouldn't be that long because "they didn't have much money for them this year." Millville's fireworks were "very nice," but when pressed, no one could say that they had actually attended the Millville fireworks. But they were at midnight anyway, so that was kinda late.

If you took the time to put the kids in the car and drive the 30 minutes to Shamokin, you'd find that 10:15 pm fireworks start at 10:00 pm, despite the evidence of roadside signs and local radio, due to the strange time warp the town apparently experiences (it seems to be the only conceivable explanation). Lucky for you that you started out early.

But the fireworks were pretty good.

I saw a segment on the Discovery Channel tonight that referenced the Prelinger film archive on the Internet. If you go there, you should be able to get up to 1,900 clips of archival footage of old films, e.g. public service films on procedures to follow in case of nuclear attack. I can't get there right now--perhaps the site is flooded with traffic--but I plan to keep trying. Cool stuff.

OK--we're back from Knoebels, which was a lot of fun and a great weekend (we camped there with Dawn and Mike--Dawn's only a week from her due date, so events had an added dimension of suspense).

Drew, however, set new standards for whining and carrying on for the entire weekend. He really went above and beyond--he should get a trophy. As a result, we're exhausted.

He'll grow out of it--I know he will.

Right?

I flew all day from Seattle to Chicago to Philly, and then drove two hours back home at midnight to 2:00 am.

One comment: you know you've been in an airport too many times when you remember exactly where in the terminal the AC outlets are to recharge your laptop.

Just a note--I'll be traveling all day tomorrow, returning home after midnight, and then going off camping the next morning for the weekend. I'll fill in some posts when I get back. Have a great Independence Day weekend!

I walked several miles around the downtown area last night to find a good meal, but ended up at McCormick and Schmick's again. The appetizer was seared ahi with spicy seasonings, which means that it was sushi without the rice, seared on the outside but raw in the middle. It was awesome.

The entree was tilapia crusted with Cajun seasonings (yep, I was in the mood for spicy food last night). Again, awesome. The asparagus side vegetable was very tasty, just as on my Saturday night visit.

After dinner on the way uptown, I saw a long limo made out of a Hummer. Wow.

Then I checked out a reception that 3COM put up in the Westin hotel. Nice party--good people. And I won a 3COM network jack, the NJ90 four port wallplate switch!

After that I went to check out the Animatrix--they had a private screening for NECC attendees. We saw three of the Animatrix animated shorts and then had a question and answer session with the Animatrix producer (and head of AOL/Time/Warner Animation), Ken Duer. AOL/Time-Warner gave us all gift bags with The Matrix:Reloaded Soundtrack too. The animated video shorts were good--nothing I'd ever let my kids see, but good. Anyone who thinks cartoons are for kids should watch these, but be aware that some of them are quite violent.

I went to a reception last night with N2H2, the BESS people. They had a nice get-together at Gameworks in Seattle. We got food, a couple of drink tickets, and an unlimited play card for all the games. I talked to them for a while. They're very proud of the fact that they keep their database as open as possible while locking down what they have to. I run into BESS blockage all the time, but I understand the fence they balance on.

Sadly, my unlimited play card is probably wasted on me. I spent most of my time in the "classic" section, which is a small room with games like Pac-Man, Frogger, Missile Command, etc. I tried some of the other games, but I was just really bad at them. Oh well.

I spent the day yesterday being annoyed that there weren't more of me to see all the sessions I wanted to attend.

I did get to talk to Jamie McKenzie a bit after his two presentations--that was cool. He was a superintendent in Pennsylvania until he got fed up and walked out one day. He lives out here in Washington state now and has made an incredible name for himself in educational technology. I particularly liked one exchange during his presentation:

Audience Guy (with an obvious axe to grind): "What do you think about getting more corporations to give schools their three year old computers? Should we push for that as a nation?"

McKenzie: "Well, it's a terrible idea. These corporations foisting these old computers on schools--the repair and upkeep alone costs more than it's worth. Kids need new technology, not old junk."

Audience Guy (taken aback and now angry): "Well, how much power do you need, anyway? What would you need for just writing letters?"

McKenzie: "An Alphasmart. Buy an Alphasmart. That'd be a heck of a lot better than dumping an old junker on the class that can't be supported. But hey, let's have a drink later and talk about it! We obviously have diffeent opinions, but we can always knock it back and forth later."

Amen. One of the toughest things in my job is finding gentle ways to tell people that something won't work. My strategy is to not say no, but to give people a "different yes." McKenzie liked that tactic a lot. It works well for me so far.

He also told us (several times) that we must ask for wild salmon in restaurants to get Pacific Northwest salmon. Otherwise you get farm-raised Atlantic salmon.