Take a bite out of this crunchy treat!

That's whats written on the back of this bag of square pretzels.  I went to high school with someone who absolutely hated the word "treat."  I thought it was funny since that word was one the ones that really has no meaning.  Treat.  Gourmet.  Natural.  Breaking ball.  I wonder if he ever changed his mind.  Maybe he went to college and a goth girl showed up in his dorm room to give him a...treat.

I'm counting down the days until I get to make a couple of Thanksgiving dishes.  I got assign the dressing (cornbread-sausage) and  pumpkin pie.  Instead of using a couple of boxes of Jiffy cornbread, I'm going to do a gluten-free one.  And then I get to let the whole thing dry out a little.  I have vague memories of my grandmother making a dressing with (ick) chicken livers.  In the old days, KFC used to sell a little box of chicken livers/gizzards/thingies (double ick), but I don't think they do that anymore.

Seattle-land was pretty depressing today.  Rain and rainy and gray skies and more rain.  Rocky agrees.

Staging area

It's cold and rainy here today.  What else is new?

I'm almost done with the paperback book I'm reading and I know I'm dragging it on. I like that's one of the few things that fits in my laptop bag.  The power supply for my mac is a little oversized, so I have the choice between power supply and book or power supply and reading glasses BUT NOT ALL THREE.  Good thing my one and only waterproofed jacket has a a few secret pockets in which to keep my glasses.

I haven't gotten back to programming for fun but I have finished a couple of java exercises.  I also downloaded eclipse + the android SDK onto my new mac.  The guilt and copious amounts of free time should make me a decent phone wonk in a couple of months.

There doesn't seem to be anything comparable to Coda.  I don't want to buy it for $100 unless I have to.  I used it at my last gig but I think I just used the file browser more than anything else.  It's not like I could make use of any of the WSYWYG features since the page had to run under a server (e.g., MAMP).

Interregnum

I've only been free from the burden of work for a week and already I'm bored.  I think my not going to the gym has more to do with it than lack of a job.  24 Hour Fitness was cool but I wasn't using my $30/month membership at all.  I've been using the treadmill in the basement of the manager's office but that gets really old, really fast.  If only they had an elliptical machine.  If they only had an overhead TV as well.

My time is spent plowing through Java exercises.  I signed up for an intro programming class because I really have few real CS classes.  I normally program in everything from C# to ruby but rarely do java.  (As my high school teacher once told the class, if you know one language you know them all.)  It would be nice to work on a non-Windows box and get paid for it.   If I get a tax refund, perhaps I'll get up the courage to buy a MacBook.  I have no problem spending a couple of dollars for overpriced coffee that I don't really want, but if it's anything SIZEABLE, I'm beset with financial paralysis.

My brother starts his new job tomorrow.  As luck would have it, I think he's fighting off a cold or something.  It seems that everyone at my mom's place is sick.  At least she's not buried under snow.  I have to plan a trip there soon.  (Yeah, soon.)