Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Hiatus Ends

No, I didn't say Hayata -- that's the dude who turns into a 10-story high, rubber-suited monster fighter whenever Japan is attacked by a RORUS (rodent of really unusual size) or an mega-dillo or something. I said "hiatus" which is defined as follows:
hi - a - tus 

 /ha - e - təs/
[hahy-ey-tuhs]
–noun, plural -tus_es, -tus.

1. A break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

2. A missing part; gap or lacuna: "Scholars attempted to account for the hiatus in the medieval manuscript."

3. Grammar: Prosody. the coming together, with or without break or slight pause, and without contraction, of two vowels in successive words or syllables, as in see easily.

4. A period of BOD (blog output deficit), often caused by unreasonable employer demands (travel, overtime, or expecting you to actually do the job you get paid for) or general ennui (usually demonstrated by such behavioral symptoms as overindulgence in chocolate and/or
spaghetti westerns, planning outdoor activities based on incompetent TV weather forecasters, and writing letters to Congress demanding $750 billion dollars and a new flat screen TV.)
[Side note: You know, looking stuff up online is pretty cool. Not only did I learn what a "Beta Capsule" is, but also realized that I had no idea what "lacuna", "prosody", and "ennui" mean. I will definitely have to look them up too, as soon as "For a Few Dollars More" is over.]

Anyway, the point is that I apologize for my long absence from blogosphere, and I fully intend to attempt more regular entries. (Whaddaya mean you've heard that all before? Are you insinuating something? Wanna step outside and settle this like a couple of giant Japanese building-smashing robots? Cuz that would be SO cool...)

Here's the forecast: Since I have additional business trips coming up, and the near-certainty of overtime & weekend work in the near future, I intend to keep each entry short and to the point. (Yes, I know there is no evidence anywhere to support the theory that I am capable of brevity or conciseness, but it's an intention, not a promise, OK?) I also intend to shoot for a minimum of one blog a week, and if time permits more than that, well, then it's a bonus.

The next few may be somewhat dated, since I still have things I want to say about my recent trip to Huntsville, as well as having some unsatisfied urges to gripe about dangerous trends in government spending, North Korea's missile program, and the uncalled-for delay in switching over to digital television. It's all a Commie plot, I tells ya, and the only way to defeat it is by filling the Internets with bark-at-the-moon ranting from an overfed swim coach. It's a big responsibility for one man to take on, but I shall give it the old college try.

Wait, perhaps that's not a good phrase to use...after all, I didn't really try very hard in college, did I? I excelled at watching TV and providing my roommate a detailed listing of all his hygenic and intellectual shortcomings...but am not sure I'm at all justified in using the "old college try" expression. How 'bout if we just say that I'll rant when I can, try to provide a few insights into obscure topics that nobody cares about, and throw in the occasional 1960s entertainment clip...OK?

Well, unless there's chocolate that needs to be eaten, that is. There are priorities in life, you know.

Have a great day!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Life in the Fast Lane

Lately I've felt a bit like I'm the amphibian in a game of Frogger -- constantly moving backward and forward to dodge the trucks, buses, and Mad-Max-mobiles that have been hurtling down the highway toward me. I sincerely apologize for my letting this blog suffer while I was hippity-hopping through traffic, searching for a lilley pad of peace and quiet.

(Gack! You know I'm losing it when I resort to frog and/or video game similes. If I ever compare myself to Ms. Pac-Man, just shoot me, OK?)

Short summary: I went to Huntsville, AL, for a couple of weeks of intense and brutal proposal work (which I shall describe in some detail when I get a bit of time -- some interesting bits within those lost weeks, I assure you). Upon my return to Colorado, I have spent my time catching up on all those things that keep a person healthy and out of jail (eg, housecleaning, laundry, paying bills), as well as trying to prepare for the State Championship swim meet as best I could after the trip. In fact, the swim meet began last night and continues through the weekend, and I need to get going if I'm going to make it to warmup on time -- especially considering the apocalyptic blizzard that the newsmongers have been wailing about for the last couple of days.

So what this means is that I shall leave you with a promise of another couple of days of blogosphere vacuum, along with the intent to return with tales of strange lands and different cultures, draconian working conditions, athletic triumphs and/or agonies, and finally, the long-awaited follow-up on the voiceover adventure story. There are also additional swim training videos coming (flip turns, etc), and coverage of the public debut of DomeCube. So do not despair, my friends. There are good times ahead!

As always, thank you for your patronage, and have an excellent day!