I am spending all day reinstalling my software on my computer at work. This used to be fun, but doesn’t feel fun today. I guess I just have so much to do and so little time. Other than my PC, work is fun. I am enjoying it tremendously. Product Management is alot of fun. Creative, yet constructive.

I have a bunch of JavaScript cookbook recipes I need to publish. The DOM is the best. Rainy today. Gotta get the house cleaned up for staging.

So much to do. 5 days until the house goes on the market. We need to clean clean clean. Pack and clean, clean and pack. I am excited and nervous. Last time our broker messed up the negotiations and we lost 10-15k. I hope this time our broker doesn’t screw the pooch (to coin a phrase).

We need to start looking for houses in San Mateo county. I am looking forward to a shorter commute. I will be able to get home for an earlier dinner. The kids have been going to sleep so late. Jared gets SOOOoooo cranky when he is up too late.

Darcie is visiting the Bay Area today. We are excited to see her and her lovely child. I wonder if we can trick her into cleaning up the house. Darcie or Ben PETERS, if you are reading this: I meant another Darcie. Darcie Goldstein from New York. Not you. Some other person I am trying to trick into cleaning our house. It’s funny how two different Darcies are visiting us at the same time. Ha ha. Hmmm.

Anyway, if I can’t trick Darcie “Goldstein” into cleaning the house with us, we may have to sell one of the children for money to hire cleaners/packers. And what kind of friend would let us sell a child to pay for cleaning?! I ask you! What kind! If I were visiting me from out of town right before selling the house, I would definitely force Katie to help clean. I am helpful!

Sometimes my blogs feel like Saturday Night Live skits that go on too long. I wonder if this is one of those.

I have been trying to get Ethan and Jared to play together, but it is hard. Ethan wants to play with older kids and his friends and Jared is as obstinate as another “brother” I can think of. I tried using some uber-threat techniques on Jared and it backfired.

He was riding his bike with Ethan next to him while I was walking with Matthew in my arms. He started to slow down and then, quite on purpose, turned too sharply and fell over. He then proceeded to cry and whine, “I want my Mommmy”.

I told him, Stop whining! If he didn’t stop whining, I was (here it comes), “going to throw his bike away!” He looked at me a little funny and then said, “ok.” I said, “Im serious, I am going to throw away your bike and your helmet away forever.” He said, “Ok”.

“Damn!” I thought. How could he do this? He has a will of iron! I took off his helmet and took his bike and we walked back to the house. The whole way, I was feeling so mad that a 2 year old outwitted me! We got back to the house and I told him to sit down in a chair next to me in the garage. I held Matt in my arms and practiced the Ukelelee. The whole time, I am thinking, “Damn!” I couldn’t even think of what to do next. He sat quietly next to me for 20 minutes while I stewed and played.

Eventually he said, “Do you want to play soccer with me daddy?”

What kind of son is Jared? So frustrating and so obstinate and yet when he asked that question, my heart melted and all I could think, staring into his disney cartoon sized eyes, “Damn, He is such a great kid.”

In 1995/1996 I used to blog on a site I maintained (by hand) called Commadot.com. For some reason, I didn’t keep any of the posts, and I didn’t even save the domain. Then I noticed someone registered the domain. Well guess what? It’s available again and I just bought it back.

Blogging is fun for me. It’s a release. It makes me sit for a few minutes during the day and think about my life. What interesting thing happened to me today. I don’t mind that other people read it or don’t read it. It’s cathartic for me.

So this website will soon be available as Commadot.com. I am excited. If any friends or family want a @commadot.com address let me know. Also, if anyone has old versions of my site, please send them!

Bavarian, Joseph Ratzinger, was elected Pope Benedict XVI. He should not be confused with John Ratzenberger, also known as Cliff from Cheers. On second thought, please DO confuse them. In fact, lets call him Pope Cliff.

In private, do the new Pope’s friends call him Joey?

The new pope is a conservative, which means many more years of sexual abuse scandals and anti-abortion rallies and general lame behavior. God Bless Religion.

I really think God doesn’t care who the Pope is. Additionally, I think the Pope doesn’t care who God is. “I am that I am, and that’s all that I am.” - Popeye.

I finished “From Beirut to Jerusalem“. Good book. It was well written and gave insightful analysis into the Middle East. I appreciate the current situation in the middle east more now. The withdrawal of Syria from Lebanon makes more sense. I also think the results of that withdrawal may be ugly.

My new book is John Jay. The book is pretty short, but I really wanted someone to write this book. Every American History book mentions Jay a million times, but he always gets the historical cold shoulder. He was a significant player in every stage of the creation of the US. He should have more statues and more schools named after him. The book’s writing is lacking a little, but I don’t care. John Jay deserves at least one biography in the last 70 years and this is it, for better or worse.

Lately I have been using Excel. I love Excel. I don’t know what the question is, but the answer, is Excel.

This story requires you look at the Bart Train Map.

I got on the train at Montgomery Street, the yellow line, also known as the Pittsburg Pay Point train. When I got to Oakland City Center, I transferred across the platform to the Richmond line. (My destination was El Cerito Del Norte.)

All was going well until I went to call Katie and noticed that I didn’t have my phone. Quick mental calculus made me realize I must have had my phone on my lap and when I went to transfer trains across the platform, my phone fell on the floor of the other train. My mind was racing, I looked up and saw people getting on and off at 19th Street in Oakland. I leaped up and lunged for the door. My original train was on the other side of the platform. (This is the second of three stops where the trains run parallel.) I realized I just left my bag on the seat, But It was too late, I had to continue. I ran across the platform and leapt into the original train right as the doors were shutting.

Am I on the right car?? I looked around and started to panic. Where was I sitting? I started looking around. The train was slowing up to MacArthur. This was my last chance. I was crawling on the floor looking for my phone, when I saw a sliver of silver. There it is, under that big guy! I went for it, with no hesitation, grabbed the phone as people were stepping over me to get off the train. Got it! I jumped up and ran for the door. I could hear the little bing, bing tone saying the train is about to leave. Dashing across the platform, I got back on the Richmond train.

Phone in hand, slightly out of breath, I saw my seat and my bag waiting patiently for me where I left them. As I sat down an older woman looked at me with pity and said, “You don’t know WHERE you are going, do you?”

All I could think about was what would I do if I got caught on the platform, with my cell phone going to Pittsburg Bay Point and my bag going to Richmond and me going no where. Lesson: All’s well that ends well.

My mojo is off today. My mind is got a few too many things in it, stuff keeps slipping. I guess it’s the prospect of the move. The birthing and moving that Katie has managed has been staggering. She is a trooper. But I think she has too much going on too.

We need a balance. Too little going on and you are frustrated and bored. Too much and you are overwhelmed and frustrated. The right balance. Hmm. Moderation. Fascinating concept if you think about it. Read these quotes. Is moderation a good thing or not? Where is the wisdom?

This is the coolest thing on the web I have ever seen. Google Maps is awesome. Come on. Look at this. Satellite Photos! For crying out loud. LOOK AT IT! Then click on the top right where it says Maps and it switches! Unreal!

Here is the house I grew up in.
My High School.
Kokopelli New Media’s first office.
The house in Tarrytown where we moved from NYC.
The Tappan Zee Bridge (when it was built, it was the largest Canteliever-Truss bridge in the world).

The building I work in until we move.

This is the best website in the world! You do it. Find the address of some moment in your life.