I’m Back

The all-consuming work project has moved from an insane development schedule to an even more insane maintenance schedule. There have been times in the past two weeks when we were releasing two or three new versions per day. We’ve reached the point where the software does not crash everytime somebody uses it, so we’ve slowed down on the releases. And, yet, the insanity continues. I’m trying to get back into the groove of updating web sites and reading e-mail (Never take a break from two high traffic lists. You’ll never catch up.). This entry is my first step.

I’ll write a story about the past two months at work, and it will be a humdinger of a story. But not yet. The story is not over. Which brings us to the question I keep asking myself: When will it end? It will either be when most orders are flowing through the system smoothly, or when I get fed up enough times with their demands on my time that I tell them no enough times to get fired. The smart money is on the latter.

But enough about work. The past month+ has been a long, steady, working pain-in-the-neck, punctuated with moments of fun. (Hmm, work snuck in there again, didn’t it? Bad work, bad! I’m sorry, I’ll try to keep him on the leash.) Christmas was fun, New Years was fun, our Anniversary was fun. That’s been the key to not going crazy and taking refuge in the nearest cave: finding those moments of fun, grabbing hold with both hands, and hanging on for dear life.

One new fun thing in our lives is geocaching. If you’re unfamiliar with it, think of it as treasure hunting for gadget geeks. It’s a good excuse to get outside, and good way to get rid of all the little free toys I’ve collected over the years. Angela & I have found about 14 caches since Christmas, and we’ve hidden one of our own. It’s kind of weird (and fun) when you realize that, anywhere you go, there’s a good chance something is hidden.

And now, something for the CSS fans: Slashdot has a link to instructions for blocking ads using CSS. Is there anything CSS can’t do? The instructions specifically mention Mozilla, but Opera may also have the necessary CSS support to do the same thing.

One more thing: I’m not entirely sure what this entry will do to News Goat. All previous entries were in the same year. Where I’m most concerned is the archive list to the side. I had hoped to have time to modify that so that all the past year’s entries would be under a single link. As is often the case, hoping for time is a waste of it. In theory, everything should be just fine. If I keep telling myself that, I just might believe it.