Random thought . For those of you who were a little taken aback by this week's CSI espisode here's some background information... You think this is strange? Pedal pushing is even weirder - I'll let you google that one...

Trick-or-Treat. Its hard to believe that the end of year looms in the distance. With daylight savings becoming a recent memory we find ourselves right in the middle of All hallow's eve with an eye towards Thanksgiving and Christmas - yikes. Isn't the end of the year a pain? Of course, if you ask me, the bad comes with the good, and for me that's snow. Weird weather not withstanding I'm looking forward to a predicted early winter, new bindings on feet and new gloves in hand. This year I hope to start braving the park and getting some use out of my helmet. I guess we'll all have to see how it turns out...

Speaking of Halloween, I enjoy this holiday a lot. Mostly because of the candy but also because of the underlying tone of costumes, eery music and great fright flicks. This is a time when everyone's alter ego can come out and play and I get hours and hours of macabre cinema and teen slasher flicks. Now granted, it doesn't always coincide with my Judaeo-Christian background but I'm more than willing to suspend belief for the day. Besides, I had always looked at the day as a great opportunity to get sweets and attend a costume party or two. I hadn't thought about the whole "Satan" thing until my Christian friends would get on their pulpit and start the sermon... what a downer. Of course, my argument was that if you're gonna start down that road then you might as well get rid of everything because in one way or another you can make the argument that most things in life are tainted. Now, where's the fun in that? Well, before I get carried away with straightening out the stiff shirts I'll say this - however you're celebrating Halloween, have fun, be safe and enjoy the hell out of it - after all, it only comes around once a year...

Irony. During the heaviest part of the ash falling down around us I couldn't help but notice a smoker in a car next to me. As we rolled up to the stoplight she gingerly opened her window, exhaled her smoke and rolled her window back up just as quickly as it had come down. I assume this was done so that she wouldn't breathe in any unecessary pollutants that were in the air... I laughed, thinking to myself "should I point out to her that she's smoking?" DOH!

Embers. We have spent most of the weekend inside. As the fires rage on in the surrounding areas we are constantly reminded of the continuing fight via the dead air and haze that surrounds everything. Watching the news is sometimes depressing as we watch people like us lose the things dear to them - sometimes you feel guilty about being glad that it isn't you. It's been difficult to breathe and wearing contacts has not been pleasant. Karen's asthma has taken a bit of a beating but she seems to be doing okay. Today seems to be the first day where I've actually seen some blue in the sky but if you look over the hills you can see the brown in the air and the haze over the horizon. I think the worse part about the whole ordeal has been the reports that the fires have been started by arson. I don't understand it and it makes me sick to think that someone could have started something that has caused so much loss.

Hopefully we'll see the fires put out and then all the victims can start to move forward and repair their lives. A little rain wouldn't hurt either... If you find yourselves close to the areas that are affected remember to be safe.

Random Link . Tech Bargains

That's how we got here... It all started with the old "I'm going to see what the market's like..." Two days later we were in escrow, wondering when the other shoe would fall. Ironically enough, five years to the month we went to check on the housing market yet again and with any luck, we start escrow on our first "real home" (read; unattached domicile) tomorrow. My head is still swimming and I'm in shock of course, but I am looking forward to more space, a backyard - of sorts and not having a hyphenated number at the end of our address. For all intents and purposes this will probably be the house the kids spend their childhood in, unless of course we win the lottery or someone starts paying me what I'm worth. In any case - I'll post the progress and with any luck, some pictures. We haven't moved far away from this place and we hate to see it go but we both feel that its time to move on and a deal is a deal - especially in today's housing market. I can't wait to get my definitive theater speakers and be out of debt! Stay tuned for details as they develop.

PS - The official Videopolis reunion site is up! After some weeks of hard work we've got the ball rolling. You're all invited, so stop by and check things out.

Cheap isn't always best. Nokia on Thursday pointed the finger at counterfeit batteries after another of its phones exploded and burned its user, the third such case in two months, and said that original batteries sold with its phones were safe. The Finnish phone manufacturer said earlier that a young Vietnamese woman was hospitalized with burns after her mobile phone apparently exploded. The incident postdates two similar accidents in the Netherlands, one last week and the other in August. After the latest Dutch incident, which left a 15-year-old boy in the town of Hengelo with leg burns, the country's consumer watchdog said it would investigate the case.

Random Thought . Napster's back - Yawn...

Videopolis. Call it a guilty pleasure or a deadly sin - either way, I'd have to admit that I was part of the Videopolis madness. Though its hard to imagine, I was there on opening night and closing night. And in the middle, a neverending parade of 'in-between" days, each summer, that melted one into the next. I made some great friends back then and I wouldn't trade anything in the world for the memories of those years. As it turns out, I have found "like minds" that love to reminisce and talk about the days of Goth make-up and Duran Duran-esque fashion. We have banded together to help bring about a reunion to end all reunions - a Videopolis reunion. So if you were there with any frequency or were social enough to make friends with the local crowd, drop me a line and I'll keep you up to date with our progress. With any luck we'll be on that dance floor once again - some time next year...

Random Link . DOH!

My Godson. He's the bomb!