I finally broke down and ordered a digital camera last night. It's from some hole in the wall on the Internet, so I don't really know when it will be here. But expect to see more visuals on this page in the future.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I spent the afternoon studying and listening to a bunch of bluegrass guys jamming at BJRC.

Then I went with some friends to saw a very long (but quite good) 1954 Japanese action movie called Seven Samarai at The Belcourt. If you've seen A Bug's Life, you know the general gist of it.

All in all, a lot better than today's marathon session at work. And more of that in store over the next week, since we have a product launch coming up. Gak.

Just confirmed my reservations for the trip to Europe. The good news is that the airfare only cost me $93 due to creative use of frequent flyer miles. The bad news is that I had to fly into Rome to make this work, since US Airways doesn't serve all that many European airports. So I'm arriving and departing in a different city from the friend I'm traveling with. But still, for $93 I'll put up with some hassle!

We've talked about renting a car, but one snag is that most cars over there seem to be stick shift. I haven't driven one of those suckers in years, and the last time I did the owner (who was in the car with me) apparently swore she'd never let me touch it again. But I got us home, and the car survived the experience...

Anyone know the Italian for "I'm trying, but it keeps stalling -- pull around me!"?