Moving on: A goodbye letter to Blogger

I've had this blog for almost two years now and in general I can say that it has been good to me. It has also not changed very much in that time. Uncharacteristically for google, they have failed to pay attention to improvements in blogging design that have been made since the days when this place used to be the best there was. Even the recent attempts with blogger beta still aren't up there yet in terms of features, though they do seem to have some cool ideas.

Well, I have been paying attention and I think the time has come to move on to better things. Now, the plan isto eventually get my own webspace where I can host my own blog and do anything to it I want. Until then though, I'm moving this place down the street to wordpress which is far more customizable and has cooler features.

Hence, the new address is: ghanageek.wordpress.com

Hope to see you there

The portable writing surface

Remember I mentioned my new mobile writing device? Well here she is.



Pretty isn't she? Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce Wakanda, A HP Pavillion dv2000z carrying

A 1.6 Ghz AMD Turion x2
1 Gig of Ram
80 GB hard drive
intergrated Geforce 6150 graphics
Integrated webcam and mic
14.1 inch widescreen monitor @ 1280x800

Not the most powerful system on the planet, but definitely loaded with enough power for my writing, coding and game playing needs. Right now she's running Windows XP Home(very occasionally) and Kubuntu Edgy(where this post is being typed)

I'll talk more about issues I have with linux, especially in Ghana, later.

She's still being configured though. I don't yet have all the software I want installed on either platform, though the linux box is much further along.

Speaking of configuration, if anyone has wallpapers of the following, I'd love to get my hands on a copy

1. Anything Milestone Comics related, but especilly Static and Hardware
2. Black Panther. She is called Wakanda after all
3. Anything Martial Arts related

Otherwise, this is how I'll be typing most of my posts to you now. Lets hope she holds up as well as she looks

Back to play

Hey people. I guess I've been gone for a while. Sorry about that. I have gotten pointed reminders from several people that my posts were missed. Well, I'm back to regular writing now. About time too. I honestly have missed this a lot.

Luckily I now have my own writing hardware outside of work (more on that later) so I write my posts at home and put them up when I get online later. This should mean I'm back to regular posting. Barring internet issues (more on that too) or things of that nature.

I have been thinking about content in my time off, in case you were wondering. The tone of the blog will probablybe changing slightly. Mostly because I'll be expanding my range of topics by quite a bit. I figure since this is my space then I get to pick what I talk about here. Hence, a lot more science fiction and comic book talk, a lot of stuff on Ghana and Africa in general, a lot of work related posts (science, linux, programming mostly), some martial arts and the regular personal development/human observation stuff you've come to know and love.

Obviously there will be some overlap in all of this. I hope that the stuff that comes out of my head/fingers will be of interest to all of you. Either way I'll still be here. And you're still welcome

And the wheel continues to turn

In the space of three days last weekend I gained a cousin, lost an uncle and saw my father turn 60.

My mother's younger brother died on friday night of cancer. A couple of months ago he fell off a chair and fractured his leg. When it refused to heal he went in for tests and found out that there was cancer in the bone. When they took him in for an MRI they found masses in his leg, his lungs and his brain. From then on it was all pretty much downhill. And pretty fast too.

As of my World Cup post he was lying in bed doped up on painkillers, but still lucid. A couple of weeks later he could barely put together legible sentences and couldn't remember some people. He spent the last two weeks of his life in the hospitol being watched over by his family and slowly slipping away. By the end I was just hoping he wouldn't have to be so helpless or in so much pain anymore.

Last Thursday his younger brother had his second chld. A boy. He gets named today. On friday he passed away. Friday was also my father's 60th birthday.

Not quite the day any of us wanted. At this point I just take comfort in the fact that he isn't in pain anymore. It hurts to see my mother broken up though. Things have been bad enough for her as it is recently. I'm just hoping we're done with the bad news for now.

Spend all the time you can with those you love people. You don't know when or how you'll see them again

They could use some cash

My fellow hybridized African brethren Uchenna and Denis are in the process of trying to make their dream come true by writing, producing and directing a movie in Nigeria. Sadly they are out of cash and not done yet so I'm lending my support to the drive.

Anyone who feels like being generous can send cash by paypal to takestyle@hotmail.com. Otherwise you can leave a comment and we can work out alternate arrangements.

This is not bogus people. I wouldn't ask except these two are trying to do something great and it needs a chance to grow. Don't take my word for it. Check out their blogs and see what they have to say for themselves. Besides, how often will you get to say you legitimately sent money to Nigeria (Just jokes my naija people. Please don't kill me)

PS. There's a backlog of posts I need to get up. More coming soon

I believe I promised some overdue pictures

These are mostly of from the day of the Ghana - USA game. I'm sure you'll have no problem telling which are before and which are after.

I'd talk about the games now, but I'm hungry and about to head home for some of that great home cooking. Plus monday is a holiday. Well, technically today is, but its been pushed up to monday. Therefore those of you who absolutely can't wait to hear what I think will unfortunately have to wait a little while. In the meantime though, enjoy

sidenote: apologies to those on dialup. I assure you that *I* think its worth the wait

I now have a contract

The job has officially signed me up for the duration of my stay. And, to be perfectly honest, they are overpaying me. I'd do the job for the cost of bus fare, which would be nothing since I usually ride with my father. Still, the money is nice and it does provide some additional incentive to deliver.

As far as what I'll be doing, my primary responsibilities are to the fledgling High Performance Computing department and to the AITI-KACE blog, which I am writing.

As far as the blog goes, I have been given contractual permission to 'freely and joyously speak the truth'
Now, anyone who has ever heard me speak about journalism and the responsibilities of those who have a voice and an audience (think Jon Stewart on Crossfire or any other place he has spoken about the press) might have an idea of where this might occasionally lead to. Much like Bomani, I'm wondering how long it'll take until they figure out what they just did.

Either way, this is shaping up to be a fun ride.

Oh, expect my comments on Ghana, Brazil and the USA tomorrow. With pictures.

You know I had to talk about this: Ghana 2 Czech Republic 0

Saturday was a tense day for most Ghanaians. We had already lost to Italy after playing particularly well except for a couple of defensive blunders and inability to convert our chances in front of the Italian Goal. we'd also seen the Czechs dismantle the Americans. Therefore we knew the chances of our surviving the game were minimum. Nonetheless, our country was playing Whatever happened they would have our support for the entire game. The streets were bare and everyone who didn't have to be out (as well as a lot of people who did) were in front of a TV.



And then two minutes into the game we scored. And outplayed the Czechs completely. And scored again.........


I don't think I can adequately explain to you what that was like. This is Ghana. Everyone watches football. We all played at some point in our childhoods. The world cup causes a dramatic dip in productivity every four years as everything gets dropped in favour of the beautiful game. And despite our supremely impressive record at the African Cup(4 time winners) and in the Under 17 World Cup (2 time winners) we have never made it to the big show.

When it comes to the World Cup, Ghana is like that supremely talented kid with massive amounts of potential who just never lives up to the promise that everyone can see. Teams more talented than this one (most notably the Abedi Pele/Tony Yeboah lead team of the mid 90's) have fallen apart over internal conflicts or discipline issues and failed to perform. Except this year we finally made it.

I will confess to mixed feelings about our qualification. Year after year I'd placed my hope in the Black Stars only to see them fail over something idiotically mundane. Finally they seemed to maybe have it together. Still, experience had taught me and legions of Ghanaians to bury our hope deep and remain cautiously optimistic at best in case the team disappointed us again. When we lost to the Italians, we were proud of how well we played, but still steeling ourselves for the disappointment of a second loss to the Czechs. And then the team pulled together and showed us flashes of the kind of brilliance that led us to knock out Brazil in the U-17 World cup and all of a sudden what every one of us, cynics included, had been hoping for happened.

The partying was insane. Everyone went out and enjoyed the win we'd been waiting decades for. Since then there's been an explosion in the sales of flags, jerseys and other national paraphanelia, which were doing well to begin with. For the final group game against the USA the entire country will be a sea of red, yellow green and black. Win or lose it'll be beautiful.


Speaking of the USA, I've been hearing disturbing rumors that your amusingly named coach was claiming that the three points against us were guaranteed. Plus apparently your soccer pundits spent all of the last week talking about how were were an unorganized, unskilled team which would roll over with 4-5 goals. Guess what, our players heard it too. I would boast or make threats but as a wise old man of my acquaintance says, football is not played with the mouth. We'll see you Thursday.

Pushing hands (video)

I thought the martial arts enthusiasts who read this might enjoy this video. Its me competing in push hands at a kung fu tournament in Ohio about three years ago. I'm the smaller of the two people in the video.

For that particular tournament the push hands division had no experience limits and I was 2 pounds above the cutoff for the heavyweight class. Which meant that I was the lightest and least experienced competitor in my division. I think I did ok, it could have been better though.

Anyway, one of my training buddies sent me the link and I thought it might make for interesting viewing.

For those of you wondering what push hands is, in its noncompetitive form it is a training tool used in the Chinese internal martial arts, most famously tai chi, to teach sensitivity to force being applied by your opponent and weaknesses in their structure. In its competitive form you use this sensitivity to manipulate your opponent outside of a marked area, usually a circle, for points.

That's how I was taught to think about it anyway. People might disagree.

Comments are welcome by all.

Edit: looks like whoever put up the video took it down.
I'll see if I can get a copy

Interesting turn of events

I have an internship.

I didn't want to spend my time at home just sitting around. That tends to go badly for me. The greatest personal growth I have gonet hrough has usually come when I'm working hard at things I like. Why mess with a proven strategy?

So... I now work here. And I can happily say that I haven't been around this much Ghanaian geekery since secondary school. Did I mention they have a cluster that I get to play with? The irony is that I came home partly to relax and not work as hard. And here I am pulling 10-12 hour days again. At least its fun.

note to Pam: This explains why I personally am behind in my PrepTime Posse postings. One is coming though.

This post is about Chocolate

I suppose there are more important things I could be talking about, but one of the things I missed most about being away was the food, so expect me to just talk about that at times.

For those of you who are unaware, Ghana is one of the world's leading exporters of cocoa, the stuff that makes chocolate. Its how thousands of Ghanaians make a living, including my grandmother for a chunk of her life. Hence in addition to just liking the way it tastes, I feel sort of a special connection to Ghanaian chocolate.

This is what I grew up eating, Golden Tree chocolate.

It comes in milk chocolate


Dark chocolate


Lemon


Orange


and Coffee flavors


as well as pure cocoa powder


This stuff has no additives. Its great. Think really dark chocolate in a mug


(sidenote: apologies for the poor pictures. I'm on dialup these days sadly. I'll probably go over to an internet cafe with broadband to load the other pictures I am taking)

Anyway, turns out I 'accidentally' opened one of the bars


Now I guess I have to eat it all. Life is hard sometimes

Comments

I'm switching back to blogger's comments system. It does everything I need now and the move saves me from having to switch back and forth between Blogger and Haloscan's sites to moderate them. In case enyone os bothered about all the comments being reset to zero, that is why.

I still have your old comments archived though


Sidenote: In the process though I noticed a couple of interesting messages I never got around to replying to. In between the Ghana posts I'll try to add in a few of those.

I'm Home!

Ladies and Gentlemen, your favourite Ghanaian (or at least one of them) is back home now. And by home I do mean Ghana. (basic info here for those of you who may be unaware of the country)

To head off the question, its not permanent. Its for a couple of months. I'm taking a long needed break from academia to return to the land of hot weather, pretty women, interesting politics and crazy drivers.

Its great being back so far. A lot has changed and yet a lot hasn't. Sometimes what I see fills me with hope about our future and sometimes it makes me grit my teeth in frustration.

Thankfully though, I have a camera and a keyboard, and I’m arrogant enough to believe that people will be interested in what I do with them. Therefore you guys get to go on at least part of this journey with me. Having grown up here and yet having been away for so long means that I’m in an interesting position where its all familiar and yet slightly alien at the same time.

I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I will.

(PS. I’ll still be writing for Prep Time Posse though. Whole continents cannot contain the geekery!)

Here we go again (race and scifi part ???)

Thanks to this post from Nalo I just found a comment on my Octavia Butler obituary that I must have missed the first time. I guess that's what happens when I get lazy and start occasionally skipping my daily blog reading.

Since that quote was attributed to Nalo, she went ahead and answered it here and covered the topic pretty well. I still felt the need to address it though. I guess something in my ego just keeps me from just letting this slide.

Of course, the really amusing thing about that blog entry is how generic it was. Generally speaking, as Pam noted, there seems to be a generic white response to these kinds of complaints about genre writing. Namely, the assumption that any mention of the whitewashed nature of the genre most imply some sort of automatic dislike of white people. Usually this is just followed by some kind of MLK-lite suggestion that we judge the writers by the content of their works instead of the color of their skin. I have seen it over and over again in discussions of race and science fiction and comics. At this point I can pretty much see them coming.

What is really amusing about these statements is that they tend to reveal how little critical thought the person making them has really put into the issue.

Why do I say this? Simple. How exactly would a black person who hated white people get into a whitewashed genre to begin with? Who would they be reading?

Personally, I've been a science fiction fan for the better part of two decades. I already made a post about the books that most influenced me as a child. Long before I'd ever heard of Octavia Butler, Samuel Delany, Steven Barnes, Nalo Hopkinson etc. I was reading Asimov, Heinlen, Ben Bova, Andre Norton, John Brunner.... Obviously I have absolutely no idea what it means to relate to someone who does not look like me. Ok, bad sarcasm aside, the truth is that every genre fan of color must by definition be able to relate to people who are different from them. There is no other way to get into the genre. There just aren't that many non-white people in it. The chances of there existing a black science fiction fan who has only read black authors and/or characters is so small I'd rather lay odds on that snowball in hell first. On the other hand, it would be remarkably easy to find white fans who have almost never read a science fiction book which didn't have a white writer and/or character.

Hell, as far as I know there isn't a stigma against putting white faces on a book because they might not sell as well. Which makes it remarkably interesting that the question being asked is why people who have to make a special effort to *not* read a genre story which requires them to identify with someone who doesn't look like them are prejudiced. If anything, the question should be reversed.

Why is it that putting a black face on the cover of a book is automatically a bad thing?

Why are non-white authors such a rare thing?

Where are the non-white fans?

What keeps them out of a supposedly universal genre?

And why is it that those who do exist tend to cluster into their own communities?

What is the cause of this defensiveness that shows up chiefly among white fans whenever the racial makeup of the genre is discussed?

Like I said, that piece displayed an all too common lack of critical thinking about the issue. I understand its probably due to long standing unquestioned assumptions that people are not even aware they hold. Still, since cornute was kind enough to ask.....

The "David Chappelle's Block Party" playlist

I finally saw "David Chappelle's Block Party" last weekend in my brother over the weekend. Personally I think its brilliant. There have been a couple of comparisons to 'Wattstax' in a some of the reviews I have read so far. To me they are more than apt. This is by far the closest thing I've seen to that movie ever. I'd review it, but far smarter and more eloquent people have already done that in several places online. My favourite so far is the Boston Globe review. I am simply going to talk about the music.

Now if you are one of those people who has made up their minds to treat all hip-hop music as violent, angry, nihlistic, misogynistic musoc with little if anyredeeming social value then you will not get what made the music so great. If you aren't, you might have heard of some of the people who played, or at least you should have. That concert basically got together some of the best musicians alive today. People whose music has kept me company for literally thousands of hours over the last decade or so. At the very least you might want to open up your minds and grab the soundtrack when it hits. I know I will.

Otherwise, these are the albums that I have been inspired to play this week.

The Roots: Things Fall Apart, Phrenology and The Tipping Point
Mos Def: Black on Both Sides
Takib Kweli: Train of Thought, Quality
Black Star: Black Star
Common: Like Water for Chocolate
Kanye West: The College Dropout
The Fugees: The Score
Dead Prez: Lets Get Free
Erykah Badu: Mama's Gun
Jill Scott: Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1

Sidenote: While I'd personally love to see this movie get some Oscar recognition in the documentary category, I'll wager a small amount of money that it'll never happen.

Either way, good listening.

Universal Black Constant #1

I kind of wondered into this post topic by accident while writing about Eric Jerome Dickey's new 'Storm' comic book. One of the things I found interesting about it was the fact that he showed the animosity that sometimes tends to exist between Africans and black Americans. At the same time I've been thinking about a post on the genius of the boondocks character 'Uncle Ruckus'. What they both have in common is what I tend to refer to Universal Black Constant #1. Namely black people don't like black people

The most damaging legacy of slavery and colonization is , in my opinion, the widespread inferiority complex it left across all of those affected. The truth is that most black people, regardless of where they are born, have to deal with the message that the very fact of their birth makes them less than everyone else, but especially white people, from the day they learn how to communicate. Maybe a little after if they are lucky.

Africans and West Indians have the advantage of only being stuck with each other, which means that we are required to acknowledge each other's competence to a degree that isn't necessary here. Its still there though. Just about every African I know can tell you stories of Ruckus style comments made by other Africans. Most notably a wish for a return to colonial rule because the Europeans ran the continent better.

Now consider the fact that human beings have a natural tendency to place themselves in a hierarchy and consider what happens to those who know from day 1 that they are assigned the bottom rung. A struggle to stratify the bottom rung begins with everyone trying to be on small of that little space so at least they are better than someone. Hence all of the above reasons are amplified by the need to put down the other group in order to feel a little better about yourself and your group. Not the smartest solution known to man, but definitely understandable. And that right there is a vast majority of the reason different groups of black people stay at each other's throats.

The genius of Uncle Ruckus, in my opinion, is the fact that he brings light to the thoughts that lie buried in the minds of a lot of people, black and non black, tend to carry around with them and avoid talking about. I think there's a lot to be gained by actively admitting to and confronting the mindset instead of pretending it doesn't exist.

We just lost a Giant.........

Octavia Butler died on Saturday. I found out maybe an hour ago.

I'm looking for words to describe how this makes me feel but I keep coming up short. Better writers that me will have to deal with that.

Here's what I will say. Like a lot of black science fiction fans I came across her work at a time when I was growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of people who looked like me in a medium I enjoyed so much. As such she wasn't just a great writer to me. She, and writers like her are symbols of the fact that the subtle limitations that the world tries to place on who I can be and what I can do with my life are illusions. For that I will forever be grateful.

Rest In Peace Miss Butler. You will be missed

Some things of interest

My first Prep Time Posse piece is up. In true Die Whitey warrior tradition (yes Pam, I'm stealing that from you) I talk about marvel's new family of black Captain Americas and how much they irritate certain fans. Enjoy

Pam also sent me this link which covers a lot of the frustration I feel whenever I hear people talk about the continenent: How to write about Africa

Found it: Commentary on Steven Barnes' "Lion's Blood"

This was the last commentary essay I wrote on black science fiction in college. I posted the others up earlier but couldn't find a copy of this one.

Luckily one of the advantages of liking to play around with linux distros as a hobby is the fact that I change and reinstall operating systems a lot. Which also means I try to keep backups of all my important stuff. Of course, I have to find them first, which was the cause of the original delay.

anyway, without further ado, here it is




With “Lion's Blood”, Steven Barnes attempted to write an alternate history of alternate history of America that raises a lot of incredibly interesting questions. In his alternate world, Africans conquer Rome and are the ones who find America. Since they have all that land and require manpower to farm it, they begin to capture slaves from various parts of Europe. The central characters in this story are Kai, the son of a plantation owner and Aidan, a celtic slave who becomes Kai's best friend. Using both of their perspectives. We are shown a view of slavery as it would have looked had it happened to white people. That premise alone makes this book worth reading. The way Barnes chooses to handle that premise only serves to make the book a more interesting read. It is definitely very disturbing in parts and there are creative decisions he took in constructing his history that I am not necessarily a huge fan of. I am also not especially happy with some of his decisions regarding Kai's character. All of that aside, this is still a good read and a book which should be recommended to any white person claiming slavery was benign or a good thing for black people since Barnes pulls very few punches, especially in the earlier sections of the book.

It is going to be hard for me to discuss themes in this book, not because it isn't full of them but because my reaction to it left me with more than enough questions and issues with the book that, in this case, I thought taking a closer look at the reaction it caused in me might be more interesting. There are several things about the book I find worthy of comment. First is Barnes' description of the middle passage and slavery through Aidan's eyes, a section of the book I think a lot people need to read. Second is his choice of Islam as the religion most of the Africans adopted and some of the interesting turns he takes in exploring religion. There is also his portrayal of Kai and his father as almost benign slave masters in certain places, which I find myself not entirely comfortable with.

The book opens up with a look at Aidan's life in a little village learning how to be a fisherman from his father. We are shown enough of his life and his community for us to realize that he has a good life here. Immediately we grasp that picture, his world is torn apart by vikings with guns who kill his father and several other members of the village before the rest of them, including his mother and sister, are carried off to a larger ship, bound in chains and stacked next to each other like sardines. During the trip, we watch through Aidan's eyes as his friends die and are thrown overboard, his mother is raped and miscarries and the survivors begin to form into a larger family in order to keep each other alive. After arriving in America, his family is split up and sold. He ends up with his mother and his sister ends up by herself. The language in which all of this is described is chosen to be as disturbing as possible, perhaps so white readers of the book, who will already empathize with Aidan's family, gain a clearer understanding of the pain that comes with being in his position.

Religiously, Barnes makes some very interesting decisions and asks some interesting questions. He chooses to have almost all of the Africans be Muslim, except for the Zulus, who are regarded as bloodthirsty savages for the most part. I fail to understand his choice of Islam as opposed to a more traditionally African religious system, even that of the Egyptians. It makes very little sense to create a grand African civilization and then make its religious base an imported religion. However, it is worth noting that the book critiques certain Islamic practices by choosing to make Kai become a sufi an then having him question several Islamic beliefs. Another interesting set of questions is raised by Aidan's view of slaves who leave behind their religions and convert to Islam. In his eyes, it is almost unpardonable that slaves choose to adopt the religion of their oppressors, even though in a lot of cases, it is done to gain extra freedoms for them and their family. Still, it does raise very interesting questions. Since Barnes' beliefs seem to be more in line with eastern religions than christianity, it is easy to see this also as a question about the large numbers of black people all over the world who adopted christianity from slavers and colonizers.

As I mentioned earlier, I have issues with the way Barnes writes about Kai and his father, Ali because he turns them into benevolent slave masters. Ali seemingly believes that his slaves are human beings. He treats them with respect and allows them to practice their beliefs and retain their names. However, they are still his property and several members of the house do seriously maltreat them so his benevolence is highly suspect. I suspect Barnes may have written him in to show the impossibility of the concept of a benevolent slave master who respects the people he considers his property. Kai is probably a lot closer to what a person would truly have to be like in order to be maintain his principles and treat his slaves like real people. In the beginnings if his friendship with Aidan, he sees him as less of a person, almost a pet or plaything. However, as they get older and wiser, he begins to realize that he owns fellow human beings. This leads him to free his slaves at the cost of his social standing. I felt that part of Barnes' point with him was to show that a really benevolent man couldn't own other people even at the cost of most of what he held dear. Although, technically, Kai doesn't lose everything but he is willing to kill his uncle in order to save Aidan and his family. In doing so, he gives of himself a lot more than most people would in his situation and gains very little in return.

“Lion's Blood” is a very interesting and intricate book. Barnes' future history is incredibly well researched and his characters ask questions that I have a hard time answering. It is definitely something I would recommend to anyone interested in taking a look at slavery from a totally different perspective to open up their minds.

New writing duties

Those of you who also read Pam's blog already know about my new hobby, a collaborative comics blog called Prep Time Posse. This is another one of those things Okayplayer has gotten me into. The people on this blog are people I usually end up discussing comic books with on the boards. Between all of us I'd imagine there probably hasn't been a significant comics event in the last two or three decades that we lack expertise in. The stuff currently up is definitely gold and I expect that to continue.

(sidenote: the name comes from our version of the standard 'which hero would win in a fight' argument where it was eventually agreed that given enough prep time batman could defeat pretty much anyone)

I don't have a piece up yet but it will be coming soon. In keeping with my comics talk here, it will probably border on the sticky issue of race and comics fandom at some point. I'll also talk about comics I think you should be reading, recommend old stuff I like and maybe work in at least one Milestone Comics post. There will also be some general 'what is wrong with comics' posts

I'll definitely let you know when my stuff starts to roll out.

I'm also taking part in an online food log where I shall be providing all the gory details of my daily eating patterns. I might also use it to log exercise. That I haven't decided yet.

I'm back!!!

hey people. Merry chrisrmas and a happy new year to you all

Sorry I've been gone for a while. First there was school and then there was me just being distracted by other things. I'm back now though.

Just in time for my return, we finally have Pam's long awaited post on race in science fiction and specifically what happened to the sci-fi channel's adaptation of Ursula LeGuin's 'Earthsea' books here.

She told me about this one a while ago and I've been waiting for it ever since. Please read it soon, that site is apparently going away. Especially since she's a better writer than I am and it shows.

(Incidentally, Pam, that thing I promised you is supposed to ship tomorrow so be on the lookout)

Anyway, I'm back on schedule as of tomorrow. I'm not sure what I'll be talking about yet, but I'll try to surprise you.