This Week in Nerdom

I took down the red, white and blue bunting we leave hanging on our front porch all summer long, retiring it to the basement until we’re ready to pull it out next Memorial Day.  As I walked past the big pot of dahlias I keep at the head of the driveway this weekend, I noticed some of the stalks browning slightly, and started to curse myself for not watering them enough when I realized that, yeah, it’s getting to be that time when the plants and flowers start to turn in for the season.

We decided to give summer one final hurrah this weekend with a hike out at Cunningham Falls in western Maryland, a waterfall that probably pales in comparison to those roaring cascades in upstate New York or the ones we traipsed over in Austria.  It sort of tumbles, rather than falls, but it’s ours and we like it, and it’s fun to see families scrambling joyously over the rocks, completely ignoring the state’s obligatory liability statement: DO NOT CLIMB ON ROCKS.

This is my last week of camping in my basement office full time, pounding away at Project Blue Harvest.  Starting next week, it’s back to my regular programming in Rockville, meaning writing time is relegated to the mornings, evenings, and weekends.  But I’ve made good progress, and I’m happy with what I’ve written so far.  It’s still a long way from even printing it out and letting my wife have the first look it, much less shipping it off to Agent J and having him read it.  I’m hoping to have everything tidied up my mid-October at this point.

Oh, and making things even more challenging as far as seat time is concerned, both The Office, Season 5 and Beatles Rock Band are shipping this week. I’m one of those knuckleheads who got a fairly decent discount by pre-ordering BRB back in the spring, then ate up the difference by paying to get Day of Release shipping—which means I paid about the same as the regular joe who walks into Best Buy tomorrow and buys it off the shelf.  But I still saved four bucks, avoided the crowds, and I get it in the mail early tomorrow afternoon.

Hmm, better get back to it, then.  I’ve got a lot of bass playing to do tomorrow.