The Time Sink

...and the rains continue. They're talking about clearing by Tuesday, but they've really given up on calling this system. The guy on the local Fox channel said it well Saturday night with, "It'll all fall, we're just not saying where anymore...". ...but with three feet of snow up around 5500 feet (and more above) and three inches in the foothills, it sure is falling somewhere!

In movie news, Brad and I went to see The Phantom of the Opera yesterday. I have both the Broadway and movie soundtracks, but I've never read the book (okay, I did read the Classic Comic version about forty years back to prep for a junior high exam), and I have to say I was blown away by the production. Whew. ...and Brad too; I didn't think it was possible for him to sit still for nearly three hours of anything. All in all an excellent show, and now I can tie the songs into the plot!

And the rains came down... Yesterday's morning drive to Daniel's school was like something out of a special effects stage: everywhere we looked we would see a light fog in the middle distance, but the rain was coming down through it without washing it away. It was one of those times that drive me a bit batty, impossible to capture with a camera (sure, I had two with me) but also too special not to try to pass along...

I'll be here and there for the next few days, at least in cyberspace. I need to spend some time working on a project I've been putting off; it's reached critical mass and it's simply time to thoroughly investigate, deconstruct and modify a potential solution to something I've been looking for...

What is this pressing need? Well, I have single photos up over on the blog on pretty much a daily basis. ...and while the occasional gallery and specialty piece work out okay, and the walks cover another style I enjoy doing, I've felt the need for something to bridge the gap between single photos and something as complex as a walk (not even addressing the fact that walks take forever to code).

What I was feeling the need for was something to handle a single topic or a single session, such as the one Brad and I went on at sunrise yesterday. There was enough content there to support a small project page, but I don't feel it fits the "walk" format. ...but how about a slide show of sorts? Yeah, that would fit the bill, but most of the solutions I've found seem to be a bit cumbersome for the reader. However... Yep, there's a JavaScript-driven system out there that looks like it could work for what I need. ...but it's going to take some study and some time to modify it for my needs.

-eh, JavaScript I can handle in small chunks, and I do rather like how the code is handled. ...but man, the way the multiple style sheets work together is going to take some study time to figure out and absorb. All in all I think it's a good way to detox after the kids' homework is done for the evening...

...and the rains went away for a time (as yet to be determined). ...and the fog rose early in the day from the sodden ground and blanketed all the land as far as the eye could see in a grey that seemed impenetrable.

...until late, late, late in the afternoon, when light flooded the land and the people came forth from their abodes and places of business to marvel at the pretty blue bowl covering all the earth and the bright halogen lamp that allowed color to show on all the plants and people and H2s moving about the land.

A long week and a nice dinner to cap it off...

Hey, yeah! Today we get to put Christmas to rest for the season. We've been stymied by the rains for the last few weekends, unable to get to the storage place to pick up boxes or drop off things like the tree or the giant resin Santa (half scale?). So today becomes the day to finish the takedown, consolidate the boxes and get everything where it needs to me until late November...

Okay! That's it until November! The fat man took his trip to storage and that is that for now!

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"Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."
Arthur C. Clarke, "Technology and the Future"

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