Grumble

Well, I've clearly been really half-assed about this lately. Better than being quarter-assed (not naming names...), but no real excuse.

Currently my willpower is being directed into:

• learning SAP/Java technology for work. Soon I'll start getting phonecalls to fix broken systems, and I'd rather panic some now to avoid more later.
• arbitraging moat carps with foot-powered oyster fishing and cooking funds. combination distraction, patience-building and wrist-resting. Law and Order, CSI, Monk and House make good background noise. And House, if you didn't already know, is really really good.
• reading pithy maxims and marvelling at my range of reactions. call it "living the question", where the question is KP's observations on the Self.
• moving savings. hsbcdirect and citibank have 4.8-5.0% interest rates on online savings accounts.
• trying to figure out how to make dynamic books. as in paper that can do calculations. current status: still impossible, but i remain undeterred.
• reading the supreme court's hamdan ruling. wondering what constitutional authority the congress has to set the judiciary's jurisdiction. see, if i generated fantastic blog content daily, one of my legions of readers would probably comment explaining it to me. better get on with it, eh?
• thinking about iraq. and not, perhaps, in the way some would expect.
• eating well and less, and getting daily exercise. ~3 miles walking a day, and down to 165 pounds (from about 180-185 at peak).
• thinking about the top 10 places to visit. i only know one, but then I've only spent 5 minutes thinking of it. there's a book called something like 10 places to visit or 10 most beautiful places. I read it at Auburn, and found it in the Houston library. There are these islands in China that lift like tiny sharp mossy mountains out of the water. It's surreal, and I'd love to see it. The others I'm gonna have to think about.

On other topics, I was shocked to hear that a recent CNet review of online map providers was *not* won by Google Maps. Are you kidding me? Yahoo Maps took the crown, so after updating my Flash Player I headed over to http://maps.yahoo.com and gave their new beta a try. Ladies and Gentlemen, the battle is joined.