Uebelhart . Net

1) Chris & Lynda have children (Happened 2003 & 2006)
2) Brian joins a corporation and works in a cubicle (Happened 2005)
3) Chris buys & wears a suit (Happened 2007)
4) Brian joins a gym/health club (Happened yesterday)

Beware: Armageddon is nigh!

Last Friday (not yesterday but a week previous), I was working a 1/2 day and we departed Houston around 1 PM for San Angelo.  During the morning meetings we have on Friday, I learned I had an early day Monday in Kemah, then a possible trip on Tuesday and Wednesday to Colorado.

Well on the drive to San Angelo the trip to Denver Colorado was confirmed.

So we finished the drive to SA (about 370 miles), stayed through Sunday Noonish and drove back to Houston.  While we were there we bought a pop-up trailer for camping.  SO we got to experience driving back with a trailer.  Not bad.  Based on our figures, it costs us about 3 mpg in the hill country.

We got in around 8:30 Sunday & parked the trailer.

Monday morning I was out the door around 6:30 (an ungodly hour for me) and went to the office for a quick bit and then out to Kemah for some PI work.  After spending alot of time in the 100 degree heat, I returned to the office about 3PM, tidies up some urgent stuff, reassigned some work, then headed home to sleep and prepare for the Colorado trip.

Tuesday morning about 5:30 (even more ungodly an hour) I headed out for the airport, flew to Denver with some coworkers, spent the day in meetings, went out for a biz dinner, slept, up early for more meeting on Wednesday.  We finished up about 11, so decided to head to the airport for the next flight back to Houston.  We got there, but the flight was overbooked and we had to wait for our original flight at 7PM (it was now about 1).  SO we hit an airport sports bar, had a meal and some beers, discussed the meetings, handled some work by phone, and killed time.  Our flight got delayed (and changed gates twice) and we finally left about 7:45PM getting back to Houston around 11:30.  So I headed home and slept hard.

I went in late Thursday, played catch up on work all day.

Friday we had a few meetings in the morning and more catch up and work.

Then Dawn & I went to a friend’s house in far Northeast Houston (actually Humble) for a “Scotland Reunion” for those of us that had gone to Scotland last month.  Good food, conversations, and pictures were shared.

So today I am pretty much being a slug and trying to relax (I still feel exhausted).  Dawn’s doing alot of chores (laundry, etc).  I tried fixing a few things (I think our icemaker might have died).  The dogs are going sir crazy because it’s a swamp/sauna outside and they can’t play.

I read. I read alot. Often 3-4 books at the same time.

I usually have one at the bedside, one in the bathroom, and one in the car. (The car one I read at stoplights and lunch breaks, or when awaiting Dawn somewhere).

Alot of the stuff I read is fluff. Enjoyable, but fluff. Like Robert Heinlein, Clive Cussler, David Drake, SM Sterling, etc.

But a few authors I read can really make you think. These are authors that as you read, your mind starts building on what was just read and going off on tangents and expositions, and before you know it you have to re-read the page to get back on track. Reading these may cause an epiphany sometimes. Authors like Neal Stephenson (like his Cryptonomicon) or William Gibson (the father of cyberpunk), and to a lesser extent Phillip K Dick (DADoES).
I picked up a Gibson book last week that I had not read before: Pattern Recognition. It’s been several years (6 or more) since I read any Gibson, and I forgot what a joy and experience it is to read his stuff. The pages are packed with descriptions of common events seen through a different light that makes you re-evaluate your interpretation of common. And the insights into culture are, well, insightful. I’m only a hundred or so pages into this book, and already I am awed by the world view and ideas he has spun.

Now I have to go out and get copies of all his other books again and re-read them. It’s time.

Heck, it’s about time to reread Cryptonomicon again, It’s been about 2 years, I’ve only read it 3 times, and it’s just about 950 pages.