Wow. I haven’t posted in a month. Sorry about that.

Some updates:

1. Weight loss 2.0 is proceeding in good order — as of this morning, I’m down 17 pounds since I started. Woohoo. Only 50 more to go. I’ve been pretty good about monitoring calories and doing at least 30 minutes of cardio most nights each week.
2. I’ve been watching the reboot of Doctor Who, and I love it. Almost done with Series 2. Will probably do Torchwood next.
3. Last Monday, I hosted an all-day, offsite retreat for my department. All eight of us spent the day at Casa de Jason. Ronda brought fillets (which Christian grilled to perfection); Pat brought asparagus; Pam brought potato salad; Keron brought Logan’s rolls. Shannon and Alaric brought themselves. We had a good time and got a lot accomplished.
4. Last Sunday I invited my mom and grandmother over for dinner — lasagna, brownie and salad. We had fun, and Jess’s contributions were invaluable.
5. Tony stopped by a while back; we had tasty cigars, yummy Uccello’s pizza and fine Scotch. Yay.
6. Speaking of Scotch, my preferred purveyer of perfect spirits sold me an $84 bottle of Ballentine’s 17-years-old Scotch whisky. This is the exact same Scotch that Jim Murray — editor of the 2011 Whisky Bible and world-famous expert on the brown spirits — delcared the No. 1 whisky in the world. It compares favorably to the McCallan 30-year, which retails at $1,100 per bottle in Michigan. And let me tell you — sipping the Ballentine’s 17 is an almost orgasmic experience.
7. I installed Windows 7 on my netbook, slipping away from Ubuntu Linux. I have access to an Exchange server, so I’m standardizing my entire networking platform (including a more robust homegroup) on Windows. Next, I’m going to dump my Samsung Epic, with its Android 2.2 OS, for a Windows Phone 7 from one of the carriers. Maybe I’ll finally drop Sprint, since the network in West Michigan has been erratic since January.
8. I’m enjoying the shellacking Barack Obama has taken from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days — whether it’s addressing the world with half-baked ideas about Israeli security or flubbing a toast to Queen Elizabeth, the president’s gaffes have been a source of constant amusement.
9. I finally did finish one of the two planned bookshelves for my office. It’s 6′ tall, 4′ wide and 12″ deep, with 2×2 pillars between shelves to provide additional structural support. I like it; it looks good and is structurally stable.
10. My poor truck is dying. Something with the transmission (or perhaps the torque converter) is on the fritz. Will probably need to get a new vehicle sometime this summer.
11. Planning to be in Miami Beach in early August for a conference. Yay.
12. Looking forward to celebrating Tony’s birthday tomorrow with Tony, Jen, Jon and Emilie. They are all staying in Grand Rapids, for once.

Ciao.