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Until a couple of hours ago, I was in a relatively good mood. The two things happened at once…

First, I started getting bounce messages from a bit of email spam I didn’t send. Seems some asshole in Florida (aren’t they all in Florida?) may have used my primary email address as the return address for a mass mailing. I’m not sure what the implications of that may be. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see how bad it is…

When I started looking into that by checking my root account, I also realized I had a notification from my ISP that, within 30 days, my webhosting account will include hosting only (no dialup). And for the same price, yet. Imagine: half the service for the same great price…

Note that this is the same ISP which caused me much grief by migrating my sites to an entirely new (and basically half-assed) platform just a few months back, causing me a great deal of trouble in the process. Note to Verio: you fucking suck and you’re cordially invited to bite my hairy ass…

So now I’m scrambling to clean up double fallout, wondering what will happen with the spam and getting all my sites added to my Pair Networks account. It will actually be a better set-up, once I spend the holidays doing all the work. It will cost more, as I’ll have to have new dialup or DSL, but I’ll be well rid of Verio, destroyer of formerly-great ISPs…

Signs and Fresno motels (not to mention motels in general). Thanks to Sarah for the former and to the site’s author for the latter two…

Top it of with my just-completed lunch date with Chef Boy-ar-dee, Safeway Select Diet Grapefruit Soda, and Andy Griffith on KICU, and you have most of the elements of how I’m avoiding work this afternoon…

So as two people have pointed out today, it seems Wil Wheaton has had a similar problem with spam victimization this week. Fortunately, mine hasn’t caused too many problems, and it’s sort of cute to realize that Wesley Crusher and I have to deal with some of the same issues, I guess…

Back to not working…

Note to Mark: hope your day was better than expected and FedEx confirms that your package has indeed arrived…

The question is “how do I arrange an office Christmas party with about three hours notice?”. The answer, as it so often is, would be “Chinese takeaway”…

Most of my work for the year is done, although I have to do a bit of payroll and an inventory next week. I can now concentrate on starting my very minimal Christmas shopping, making my new DVD player do useful things, and (more pleasantly) where I’ll be and (even more pleasantly) who I’ll be with in 1460 minutes, not to mention who else will be here on Monday…

Maybe I’ll even buy an actual DVD this weekend. Or even start making one. Either way, it’s cinch I won’t be answering email, so don’t feel slighted…

Duncan and Rick are apparently in Oakland, it’s cold and rainy, I don’t have to be at work until Wednesday, Mark doesn’t arrive until tomorrow, and I actually have a few minutes to catch up, if not to answer that snowballing pile of email…

I’ll let yesterday’s big pile of pictures speak for themselves about the past week, except to add a few more notes:

• Agreed. No more three-week absences.

• Not Another Teen Movie is actually kind of funny.
• An evening with The Sleepover Disaster is an entertaining evening indeed.
• So is a nice evening by the Christmas tree.
• Semi-lethargic snowball fights can be fun too, especially in the middle of long, stimulating drives through nowhere.
• I make a mean squash and sausage casserole (recipe upon request), Duncan makes a mean macaroni and cheese, and Hormel makes a mean loin of pork.
• Friends from North Carolina are among the best friends to watch Cops with.
• Is it just me, or is the used stuff at Amoeba Records in Upper Haight really expensive?

I make no promises about more (or better) updates over the next couple of days, but I assure you that the cynicism, wry comments, and links to Zippy the Pinhead which you’ve come to expect in this space will return after the first of the year, once I have time to concentrate again. And breathe…

With the exception of a major positive near the end of the year, 2001 pretty much sucked and I’m glad to see the back of it. It’s hard to be sentimental about a year where one of your oldest friends dies, you spend time in the hospital with heart problems, your country is attacked by terrorists, and Bravo replaces “St. Elsewhere” reruns with “Thirtysomething” reruns…

That’s not to say the whole year was all bad. I met some great people (notably Becky, PJ, Sparky, Juan Felipe, and the aforementioned Mark), went some great places (the road trip from hell, Fresno, and more), and actually got things accomplished. I put together a lot of websites, one of my own had a record traffic day, and I somehow managed to support myself…

But what a great end to the year, depsite the fact that I was sort of sick, Mark was sicker still, and even Rick was sick for a while. I had great visitors, great food (which may explain the rash of stomach-related illnesses), great snogging, and I even found a used copy of “Willie Wonka” on DVD…

As I move into 2002, my ticker’s still a little problematic, I’m planning to quit smoking by the end of the month, I’m pondering how to support myself this year, and I’m entering a bit of uncharted territory in my personal life. And I’m pretty excited about all of it…

Happy New Year, and thanks to everyone who’s hung around thus far…