Blogging Roller

This year we are vacationing in Emerald Isle, NC, about a three hour drive from home. My parents rented a big house about a block from the ocean and invited us to come along. With three kids, having both parents and grand-parents around is really, really convenient. There is always somebody available to take the big kids to the beach, somebody to stay home when the littlest guy needs to nap, and somebody to babysit so Andi and I can drive over to Beaufort for dinner one night. Dad, the expert photographer and physical chemist extraordinaire, brought along his big honking digital SLR camera and his assortment of telephoto lenses, so I don't even have to worry about taking pictures.

This is all great and the only thing really causing any stress is the ProJSP book, but I don't think I'll have to miss a day at the beach to wrap up my changes to my two chapters. My Dad and I have our laptops setup in the kitchen and the only thing that really interferes with my works is the constant derision and calls of "hey nerd-boys" and "get a life" from our wives. This really doesn't bother me at all. I always arrange to bring a laptop along on vacation. I'm not like Raible. My idea of a vacation is tinkering with all things digital, which, coincidentally, is also my idea of work. I'm the last of the great indoorsmen.

I do go outside occaisionally. I'm writing this sitting in a rocking chair on the porch overlooking the ocean. We watched a little motorized para-glider fly by just before sunset. Now we are watching some impressive amateur fireworks going up accross the street and trying to keep the boys from stepping on the tiny tree frogs that appear after dark. Damn, I can't see the keyboard anymore. Time to go back inside.