Didn’t watch much of the recent Winter Olympics. Not much interest in winter sports, and NBC’s archaic time-delay policies pretty much eliminated any suspense in the competitions.

Did see this photo of the U.S. Bobsled Team circulating the internet the last couple of days though. It’s been kinda hard to miss.

We’ve done our fair share of bobsledding.  We hit the local faux-Swiss alps regularly and catch sight of the Yeti now and then.  But somehow our post-ride team photo looks a bit different.

Maybe we need to get suspenders?

It would be too easy to just say 2009 sucked and be done with it.  It brought a lot of stress and heartache, and gutted my business, but there were some plusses, even if I had to browse the archives here to remember some of them.

January: Our third Penguin Plunge together, a quick trip to Pismo Beach and Morro Bay, and the arrival of the magic Roku box.

February: Cal Rugby.

March: Turned 45.

April: Las Vegas and La Reve.

May: Still married, despite the best efforts of the H8ers.  Baseball.

June: Pismo Beach (again) and the  San Luis Obispo farmers’ market. First anniversary of our marriage.

July: Comic-Con.  New car.

August: Body surfing championships in Oceanside.

September: Triton Invitational water polo.

October: Disneyland, and the decision to become annual passholders.

November: Thanksgiving in Las Vegas with the in-laws and my little brother.

December: Christmas and a new laptop from Santa.

Sure it had some rough spots, but despite whatever else I can say, 2009 certainly wasn’t all bad.

Yes, I’m well aware the world is ending. At least that’s the case according to the professional media feed on the TV at the gym. The gym I finally got to after a detour down the coast highway this morning. With the window down. And a stop at the Oceanside Pier to watch this for a while.

Cuz ya know, the world stops and ends when it falls below the horizon visible from a network anchor’s chair.

So with all due respect to our friends on the East Coast, we thought you’d appreciate some photos of Snowpocalypse (Not).

Refugee Centers are standing by.

It’s that time of year when the big man comes. The one who knows if you’ve been good or bad. Never been quite sure how the jolly old elf knew what happens behind closed doors, but I suspect our holiday Sith Lord would have no trouble figuring things out.
Bobbleheads are kind of taking over here this year, so don’t be suprised if a few more to run amock on the site between now and the big day.

I won’t be here tonight to personally hear your requests for treats and your threats of tricks, so I’m just leaving a few things out on the honor system.  Indulge your need for eye candy, and let the scary tigers (Princetonian and Malayan respectively) make your hearts race.

Now that I’ve given you your treats, my trick: a reminder that the temperatures here will be in the 80s today and I’m headed out for a swim in a few minutes.  Happy Halloween, especially to those of you in the midwest and plains states.

Eye candy for the Howling Point trick or treaters!

Take all you need, there’s plenty more.

Yes, I’ve been a little busy. Yes, that’s distracted me a bit from this site. Not just work and having a life, but Facebook and Twitter and texting with real-life people all leave the fingers a bit sore and the brain a bit fried. I should be generating billables, but I’m hanging out with y’all for a few minutes. Why?  Because I miss it here. Facebook and Twitter both started off cool, but now they spend all their time trying to introduce you to new people and products rather than just letting you hang out with the cool kids that brought you there in the first place. So I’m hanging here today. Me, iTunes, and a pile of dead tree pleadings that need to be highlighted and stickied and generally digested.  And when the fingers get tired and the eyes start glazing I’ll try and dig up some orange to make the place a little more presentable for the holidays.

Had a great weekend over Labor Day, then a sucky work week, and now I’m just bleh about the upcoming weekend.  The heat and humidity drains the life energy away.  Even Diego’s a lethargic little slug.  The only thing around here showing energy are his #$^# fleas.

Might go to the La Jolla Rough Water on Sunday, even though injuries killed my training and no one I know is swimming this year.  Should get reminded of why I want to keep training and hope I can make it competitive next year.  I still think it would be fun if I can just avoid getting trampled to death on the start.

Finally getting caught up on some projects now that the lack of Cipro in my bloodstream is letting me focus for more than ten minutes at a stretch.  Not just work, but the household stuff like getting Diego in for a very overdue haircut this afternoon.

But that return to focus is starting to drift again as I look forward to this weekend’s annual Triton Invitational. Eight teams playing 16 games of water polo over the Labor Day weekend down the road at UCSD.

Randy’s in class all weekend, and I’ve got a bit of cabin fever after convalescing all week, so I drove over to Oceanside this morning with the camera.  

I was expecting some quiet time on the pier with a cup of cocoa and maybe a chance to snap a few surf shots.

Instead I stumbled onto the 33rd Annual World Bodysurfing Championships, which I watched for way too long. Just another reason why I love living in Southern California.