Oh, an administrative note:

Probably due to the fact that I mentioned Harry Potter yesterday, I have received a few trolly comments that don't really need to be posted for my family to read. So, for the time being, I've disabled comments.

Sorry!

PS -- For the one gentleman who felt compelled to call me an "idiot" for using the state abbreviation for Alaska (AK) instead of the one for Arkansas (AR), I sincerely apologize. I should have assumed that you would have intimate insight into a private joke.

Amarillo, TX

Another easy, pleasant, day. Piper and I have developed a pretty good rhythm for gassing, eating, and rest-stopping... I think we're almost ready for our trucker hats.

Made it to Russellville, ArKansas...

...pretty casual day. Tomorrow, it'll either be Amarillo or all the way to ABQ.

Piper is a little nervous, but taking the travel fairly well. I've been stopping about every hour-and-a-half for a potty break, so I suspect that she might actually be getting more attention than she'd accustomed to. Combined with the stress and lack of sleep in the car, she's probably pretty exhausted. Still, she is eating, pooping, and doing OK.

As for me, I've really been enjoying the driving. I'm pretty sure that I could step it up several notches, in terms of putting the miles behind us, but I'm liking the time to be somewhat casual. I've been listening to The Deathly Hallows to pass the time (and having a hard time swallowing some of the stupidity of the characters this time around (Why the inane secret clues, Dumbledore? Harry, why don't you just "Accio Handgun!" and take care of "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Asked-Why-He-Didn't-Put-His-Soul-Into-
More-Secure-Objects" the old-fashioned way?*)), as well as dictating some journal stuff by means of Dragon Naturally Speaking (the actual copy of which looks hilarious, by the way. I think I'll leave it unedited for posterity).

Anyhoo, I'm tired, so it's lights out.

*I know, I know...

Greatest thing of the week (2000 NES games for firefox, no MAME)

FireNES

http://firenes.en.softonic.com/

A vote for change

Yes, I was right and they are remaking Highlander

If only they can get Jesse Rae involved...

So go the days...

On the life front, we've bought our new place in ABQ (Yea!) but have yet to sell our home in Chapel Hill (Boo!), we've got moving and travel arrangements set, and things are rolling along. As it stands now, Andi and Colin and Humphrey (with the able assistance of Rachel) will be flying out on the 16th, at which point I will hit the road with the dog. A variety of family and friends will be gathering at the other end to help make life manageable for the first week we're in Nuevo Mexico, so I feel pretty good about the plan.

In a general sense, I'm really anxious to get this show on the road. I have truly come to love Carolina, but I am very ready to turn the page. New lives, jobs, and adventures are right around the corner.

In terms of Shane's world, I've been sneaking in some quality workout time, tying up my social and mental health sphere, and spending a lot of QT with Colin. In between things, I've been trying to not be grumpy, daydreaming about more sleep, obsessing about Indiana Jones a little bit, and generally trying to keep things moving along smoothly.

Duncan

Sadly, our family lost Duncan today. He had been behaving strangely and, in a rapid succession of events, we took him in to the vet, discovered that he was suffering from Feline Leukemia Virus, and -- ultimately -- made the tough decision to help ease him off of his very difficult path. I don't really have any poetry in me at the moment; suffice it to say that we're sad and tired and it is so surreal to lose a part of the family who was with us for over eight years. I believe that he had a good life.

Graduated yesterday -- Woo-hoo!

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

For those keeping score...

...still no house sale, so still no house purchase in ABQ. It'd be fun to blame the economy, the Executive Branch, OPEC, or possibly Professor Moriarty, but I guess it just amounts to bad luck/good luck and/or a lesson in patience.

The family just returned from a scouting trip to the desert, which was very useful in terms of learning a bit about the lay of the land. In this case, the dry, barren, land. The high brown desert will, indeed, take some serious adjustment for this monkey, but I can't deny that the sunset against the mountains as we drove into town from the Sandia reservation was acutely gorgeous.

Passed my Comprehensive Exam

Another thing to check off the list!

Master's Paper is done.

Ug. Finally.

This is critical reading...

I read a bunch of security-related blogs for some reason, of which the Danger Room on Wired is... Well, one. In any event, these two threads are awesome:

How To: Terminate a Terminator

How to: Stop a 500-Foot Monster