It's safe to leave the edge of your seat; the roof is done. All that remains to complete is the re-installation of the gutters. The entire process from tear off to clean up took five days. Yikes! I've learned a lot. This sentence would usually be a bit of sarcasm saying that I learned enough to never do it again, but that wouldn't be true. I probably would roof my own house again in the future. Thankfully, that future is a long way off.

Thank you to all of you that helped out! I could not have done it without all of your time and effort.

Seeing as I'll be outside for many hours and exposing my house to the elements, you can understand why I've checked the weather three times a day for the last week. Once again, I've seen just how much hot air is produced by the "science" known as meteorology. For the love … the forecast has steadily gone from 68 and sunny to 43 and rainy. That's twenty-five degrees for those of you that are counting. I hear what you're saying. It isn't an exact science. I'm not blaming the poor forecast on the meteorologist community; I'm blaming it on the Democrats. They did win the election after all. It's about time they start standing up and taking the blame due them. The forecast for Saturday was 68 and sunny as of Monday. Come Tuesday, the whole thing takes a dive.

If you happen to have some free time this weekend and would like to help, please give me a call. There should be plenty of love to go around. The rain should be done by Saturday morning around the very time we'll be starting. Good times to ensue …

Thanks to PVT for the tip off on this one.

So here's the deal:

• go to http://www.chunky.com/clickforcans.aspx
• vote for the Colts
• go back there tomorrow and repeat
• do so until the page says the contest is over

"But I don't like the Colts or quarterbacks with rocket-laser arms," you say. Don't think of it this way. You're voting for people of central Indiana that need your help. So even if you like another team, please suck it up and vote for the people of Indianapolis by voting for the Colts.

Thanks for helping out Indy!

I've written here briefly before about Sudan. The situation there exists as a modern day genocide while most of the world sits idly by. May we not be those that do nothing.

Please take three minutes to read about the situation in Sudan. If what you read moves you in the slightest, please take fifteen minutes to contact your representative and senators to urge them to help stop the genocide. Here is a sample letter to support the oppressed in Sudan. Simply print it out, read it, and if you agree with what it says, modify the highlighted areas with the information specific to you.

Helpful Links:

• determine who your senators are
• determine who your representative is

If you'd like some more information about Sudan, and specifically the Darfur region of Sudan, check here:

• Learn more about the Darfur conflict
• Safe Darfur
• Genocide Intervention Network

Be annoyed no more with http://www.bugmenot.com! BugMeNot is a site that gives you username/password combinations that work with most all web sites that demand them. Check it out next time you need to read an article at the NY Times, Washington Post, or Chicago Tribune.

I'm glad to be back. Life is more relaxed when working from a home base. I enjoyed the realization that I would be returning home to enjoy a dinner (after picking it up from Yat's). The concept of having a key, a bed, and a washing machine available at any time is quite comforting. And yes, apparently I really have a thing for my washer/dryer combo.

So, in any regards, I'm back again again (from Africa, from Seattle, from the road trip). Good times behind. Good times ahead. Heck, good times right now.