I’ll try to keep this short, becuase I don’t want to do all that typing.
I’ve been home since 10 April, and it’s great to be back. The drive went wonderfully, and the only incident involved us stopping to help someone else who’s tire tore itself to shreds right in front of us. The car is doing even better than before, with some alignment issues having been resolved and some new tires in place. It still needs some little things here and there, but overall it’s in great shape. My only complaint is that they need to raise the speed limits on base, since my car does not like the idea of 20Mph.
I’m loving having my desktop back, which has been upgraded to 2 EVGA Nvidia 8800 GTX video cards in SLI mode, along with a fresh install of Windows 7 Pro x64. Sarai’s computer got the same OS upgrade, and now that sleep mode functions properly on both systems, that room tends to be much quieter. We also finally upgraded our home theater setup. we replaced our massive ~36in CRT TV and 10+ year old stereo with a 42in plasma and 5.1 surround. We moved the furniture around as well to optimized the setup, and the change is working very well.
I’ve been back to work for nearly a week now, and it’s been cut out for me. I’m having to take charge more now, which means I don’t get to be as hands-on, which I would prefer. Such is the curse of seniority. At least my PC is still mostly in the state I left it. As admins we get to customize our systems more than usual, and once you’ve got things running the way you like them, it’s painfull to have to start over.
(Last one, I promise.) I played DnD for the first time over the weekend. I’ve always liked the idea of it, and have observerd it played many times, both in person and via recordings. (The Penny Arcade podcasts are awesome) I’ve read so much from the books, and know enough about it that most people would think I was a regular player. I’ve been very selective about who I tell these things to, since there really is a negative stereotype associated with DnD players. At the same time, I drive around with plates that say “Geek”, so I may as well not care. Perhaps I’ll be more open about it once I find a regular group. Let the search begin…
kramer