Ummm....

Yes, it's been a whole month since posting. Not that I haven't tried; I had written copious amounts one day (two or three sentences) when my computer decided to be naughty, and it all went away. Between that and not having any ideas about what to write, I haven't really tried that much.

I've had a bunch of mental dust bunnies that have traipsed through my brain. Stuff that comes to mind, and won't go away until I bother someone else with them. For example:

"And now, a man who puts the 'goober' into 'gubernatorial, ...." .

Now if stuff like that isn't an incentive to NOT write, I don't know what is.

I've been much busier lately with computer support calls. I've got a little ad in a small local paper, and it's apparently getting noticed a lot. I've been out to clean up spyware, hookup DSL connections, setup new computers, upgrade some hardware, and to generally pontificate about what people ought to be doing with their computers. It's made me feel like I might be able to grow this side consulting bit into a viable job. I've come up with a flyer to advertise, and now I just need to find places that'll let me post it. A local coffee establishement comes to mind, as does the library and the adult school.

Speaking of the adult school, I've started another couple of classes there. Last year, I took a class on Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, a great web editor. Now I'm taking a class on Macromedia Flash MX, so I can learn to do cool animations on websites (though I have no artistic ability), and also a class on Web Design with Databases, in which I'm learning to use PHP and MySQL. The latter class is far more up my alley; programming and data structure design fits in my head a lot better than visual design.

Taking the classes is fun, if only for the opportunity to kibbutz with the other geeks (and some normal people) in the class. It's making me wonder if I couldn't find some opportunity to teach in such an environment. I think I'd prefer a junior college, where the people in the class might be a little more intent on learning something. A computer class at an adult school will generally have a broad range of people in classes, from those who say, "I want to learn this tool so I can get a promotion at work." to "I'm in this class to learn how to make a website for my kids' scout troop" to "I needed an excuse to get out of the house, now that Friends is off the air, and it's just too depressing to watch TV that night."

One thing that's frustrating about this particular school is that the computer systems are ancient, and the network needs some real help. I could fix the network for them, if they'd let me, but the school district's IT department is a union shop, and they're pretty protective of their turf. Seems odd for a school district in California to not accept any help they can get from volunteers, don't'cha think?

Nina is trudging along in her job, despite personality conflicts, micromanagement by administration, and a general sense that she'd rather be at home more. She's a trooper.

John is doing well in third grade. Part of his homework every day is to do some writing. At first he was struggling for things to write about (gee, that sounds familiar), but now he's got an ongoing story about an old west sheriff dealing with an ongoing series of bad guys. He's a very creative kid.

Natalie says she doesn't like kindergarten.... she LOVES it! She doesn't have homework, most days, so we try to get her working on some of the basics, while John is doing his homework. She's also practicing her R's -- she hasn't learned to say that letter very well yet. It may have something to do with her missing front teeth, I suppose. She's still working on it, with gusto sometimes. "Wwwwwwwrwwwwwrwww-ice! Wwwwwwwrwwwwwrwww-ocket!" So cute.

Next week, I'll be attending the ZOE Group conference in Nashville. I'm looking forward to being there again, even though Nina won't be with me this year. We've made a lot of friends there over the past few years, and have really gotten a lot out of the conference. This year, Brian McLaren will be speaking at the leadership conference. I've not had a chance to read his books, but I'm hoping to get a chance to do so soon. Mike Cope and Jeff Walling (Hey, Jeff! Where's YOUR blog?) will be keynoting the general conference. And of course, Brandon, Randy, Jeff Nelson, and others will lead worship times. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of the folks I've known online from WorshipForum and the blogging community, like Clarissa, Matt, Val, and others whose writings have been a real blessing.

Well, the day begins; we're going to my wife's company picnic today, so it's time to find the sunscreen and hats. Ah, fall in California!