On the train, zipping down the East Bay to work after a fun weekend.

My friend David (Bjalfi) visited from Makon, Georgia this weekend, and is right now on his flight back. David's a friend from my SCA days (1993-ish) and is a frequent reader of the site (Hi!). David's as into games as I am, and we played some old favorites (Fluxx, Cribbage, Scrabble) and some new ones (The Big Cheese, The Big Idea).

Having someone else staying at my apartment made me re-realize some of the oddities of my apartment:

• Don't ever go into the fridge. Really.
• There's plenty of hot water. It will never run out.
• There is rarely cold water. Turn on the cold water and you may have to wait 20 minutes before the water turns from scalding to cold. Even the toilet water. Really.
• A few light switches don't work unless you hit them. Use the floor lamps instead.
• The downstairs buzzer for my apartment is cross-wired with that of my neighbor, so whenever one of us gets buzzed, we both get buzzed.
• Don't mess around with Jim.
• The light switch for the bathroom is outside the bathroom door.

I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of at the moment. Anyhow, David had a fun time, we went to a barbecue at Karen & Crystal's (you guys really need to name your place). Karen and Crystal yesterday went to the Novato Craft and Music Fair, the same one that the three of us went to last weekend, or would have gone to, if we had had the dates right. As it was that trip was a lot of fun anyhow. I'll have to see how it compared to the actual fair.

As you can see on the 'Look Ahead' left-hand navigation, the 'family vacation' is starting in just a little over a week. I and twenty of my closest relatives are all off to Barcelona, Spain, the first leg of a Mediterranian cruise. My shipment from Amazon should arrive at work today which, among other things will include a 128meg CompactFlash card and extra battery for my camera, so I'll be able to take all the pictures I want at each of the stops, including France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. There are also (very) limited uplink facilities on the ship, so you can expect periodic fury-on-the-move updates right here for the duration. It's just like having you all with me!

Well, we're coming up on Fremont station now, which means I should wrap this up so I can write a quick qwer update. Ooh! My cellphone horoscope just came in! I've got to tell you, these horoscopes are the stupidest things I've ever read on a daily basis. They always consist of three short sentences, and seem like they're randomly put together from a huge list of vague catchphrases. Todays: "All your ducks are in a row. Neat answers feed the starving. Clear your conscience." For one glimmering moment this weekend I thought maybe they were haiku, which would suddenly redeem them in my eyes, but alas, they're just stupid fortune cookie-esque koans. Pity, that. I am still working on Federation Horoscopes, weekly respective advice for Human, Klingon, Vulcan, and Borg. I may put up the first week before I leave for Spain.

Okay, gottagobye! Don't forget to wish a happy birthday to Emily if you know her! And if you don't, just pass on your birthday wishes to me and I'll see that she gets them!