December 19, 2004

Because Earl and I have been very, very busy getting ready for the holidays, running from store to store, mall to mall, restaurant to restaurant and party to party, I’ve decided to jump with both feet into a new project.

I’ve begun rebuilding jpnearl.com from scratch.

It’s an excellent opportunity for me to brush up on my coding skills as well as do some serious house cleaning around here. We’ve had the site for a number of years, but it’s often played second fiddle to my road geek site, UpstateNYroads.com. It’s time for a major overhaul. Clean out the cobwebs. Spruce up a bit.

I’m currently working on the main page, plus I’ve tinkered around with my blog template a little bit (you may have noticed). We’re going to be adding some new features over the next couple of months, including a guestbook and feedback page, some other tidbits about our personal lives and perhaps the webcams again. And lots of photos. LOTS of photos. I’ve also decided to focus on one blog, and this is it. Geeky stuff, political thoughts, life in general, its all going to be in one place.

Earl and I are working hard to experience everything life has to offer. There’s no reason for us to keep it to ourselves.

As I mentioned a while back, Earl and I both have notebook computers… I have a PowerBook and he has an iBook. They offer the versatility of being wildly mobile, essentially doing computer stuff anywhere in the house or even doing it in public at a local coffee house or cafe, yet offer the power of a regular desktop computer.

Tonight is the first night that I’ve taken the advantage of that portability to the bedroom. Now I could get all kinky and say that I have a webcam focused on the bed and you can click on a link to see what we’re up to, and while I’m sure that would be quite popular, it’s not the case. At least not right now.

No, I’m doing some surfing while Earl is sleeping right next to me. Not ready to call it a night when he was, this seemed like a fair compromise. Kind of like Mr. and Mrs. Brady sitting up in bed and reading. Small wonder they didn’t have any children after they got married, and no, Oliver doesn’t count.

So while I have Earl snoring to my left, Tom contently purring at my feet, and the whirr of the fan invading my thoughts (it masks the ringing in my ears that I constantly hear when I’m trying to fall asleep), I’m chatting it up with some friends on Yahoo! Messenger and surfing ebay, I’m doing it while enjoying the comfort of my bed and my family.

I heartily recommend that everyone try whispering in the dark some time.

With Christmas official a week away, and the holidays in full swing, one can’t help feel the warm, fuzzy feeling in the air. The glow of children’s cheeks as they sing Christmas carols. The sweet smell of egg nog and brandy, filling the glasses of the loved ones surrounding you. The warmth of the fire, crackling happily in the fireplace, as the family gathers and shares memories of holidays gone by.

That’s the way the holidays should be. And I must say that we’re getting there.

Of course the holidays are not complete without a madcap experience at several malls. Earl and I hit two malls in Albany yesterday to finish up the shopping. I’ve adopted a new activity to liven up the fun. If a person is chattering away on their cell phone and completely oblivious to the people and activity around them, I trip them up. Yeah, I can be an asshat.

There was a customer ahead of us at Boscov’s yesterday that gave one a new purpose for living. She seemed like she’s enjoyed a good life. She was alone, catching up on her holiday shopping and enjoying the local Brownies troop singing Christmas carols. She chatted merrily with other customers. She is 100 years old. She wrote a check, and when she presented her driver’s license for identification, the cashier noticed that she had aged a century. “Yeah, I know, I’m 100.” She then quipped, “I just had my driver’s license renewed – it’s good until 2011.” She’ll probably be around to renew it again!

Tonight was the annual Christmas party for my Dad’s side of the family. Not as many people attended this year, for various reasons, but it’s nice to experience the holiday joy with others.

As long as they stay off their cell phones.