Long time no see!!

Well folks, I realize it has been a very, very long time since I updated ye olde blog. One reason it has been so long is that I've debated keeping everything up and running on my old xrismon.org site. I finally decided to shut it down and archived everything that was on the site. Tough decision as I had that site up and running basically continuously since 1999. Oh well. Blogspot seems like it's a bit more stable than the hosting companies I 'rassled with over the last decade.

Work has been work. Lots of it and lots of interesting data coming up. I do need to get some papers out and have been pushing various members of the lab (students, post-docs, etc.) to finish up the holes in their projects and get things wrapped up. I need to start working on a renewal and have a few more experiments to do. We have been battling with the folks above my pay-grade to get support for the basics that a research lab needs over the last 8 months and I'm growing weary of that so I need to make sure we are as financially independent as possible.

Away from work we have had a busy year. We finally felt compelled to break down and have the house stripped all the way to the wood siding and then repainted (don't worry, it's the same cheery yellow that it was before!). That whole process took three months (crappy weather in Cleveland this year did NOT help) and nearly brought us to the point of violence. I have been told that this is "normal" when dealing with this kind of project. Hmmmm. Anyway, the house looks great and our long-suffering neighbors now tell me that it was worth it.

I have finally managed to cycle back to working on the green Telecaster project (see my Facebook page) as the weather has turned cold-ish again. I'm finishing up with the clearcoat and electronics and should have it put together in the not-too-distant future (I know, I know—I said that six months ago!). I'll post pics on the Facebook page for you all. Also, when I'm not reading work-related stuff, I've been reading through John Scalzi's work. If you're a Heinlein fan and enjoy good contemporary sci-fi, get 'em and read 'em!