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Is anybody checking this?

It's been a while since my last post, and lots has happened. I don't even know where to start.

1) I bought a new grill this weekend. I haven't consummated the relationship yet, but plan to Wednesday. I got the Jenn-Air that Consumer Reports liked (#4), is pretty stainless (3oo series!), and was massively discounted at Lowe's for end of season clearance. Yeah!

2) I've been struggling with the lawn this year. Today I went out to the front yard and saw that a nest had been formed in a patch that some ants had destroyed. I figured the ants were back, so I went again to destroy the nest. That's when I saw that it wasn't ants. Tiny bunnies that didn't have their eyes open yet. Probably five of them. Amanda convinced me not to destroy them. I'm not sure I really could have. So, the grass will grow long for a week or two while the bunnies get big enough to hop away.

3) I gave a presentation on effective technical communication a couple of weeks ago at a work conference. I won one of the best presentation awards, which bugs me. Some of it is the irony. Mostly its the fact that the judging criteria was 50% technical content, of which I had basically none (not a technical topic). The award was not so much a reflection of how well I did, but how poor the other presentations were.

4) Amanda finally relinquished her old laptop to me. Ubuntu is up and running. A very accommodating OS for the masses. I've had to tweak two things total I think. Not bad for Linux. Right now I'm using the desktop, 'cause I still love a full sized keyboard for any real typing.

5) I just got back from DC. It went great! I think I will be joining the ANSI B5.54 standards committee. Yeah! I might contribute to an industry standard. How's that for geek-cred. Also, I (and another guy) came up with a wicked cool implementation for "optimally" sizing the G and Q matrices in a damped least squares controller. Like LQR, but not iterative. I'm going to see if it is publication worthy.

6) I'm about to start my D.Sc. I have a class picked out for fall, but I still need to register. I also need to go over my proposed curriculum with the department chairman, and see if it will work. It mostly hinges on getting my Master's work to count. I should have my doctorate degree by end of 2012. I think. It's scares the hell out of me.

7) I pulled my shoulder several weeks ago, and it is still not back 100%. This sucks, as it has affected my climbing. I'm totally plateaued at 5.9, and can't seem to get to 5.10. It's too hot to run, so I've tried doing some swimming at the Y. By tried, I mean I've gone once. My conditioning is off and my strength is mediocre because I can't load my shoulder. Frustrating.

That can't possibly be all, but hopefully it gives a clue as to what is going on in my life.

Oh, I bought the Ety's and they rock. I never did go backpacking, but I did take the kids camping and we had a great time. Longs Peak is postponed for a year. Still a goal.