RayVernagus

Thank you, Betsy! Thanks also to the rest! I really appreciate it. Sorry I haven't been around but raising a toddler has been kicking my you-know-what. And there's another due any day now! Life is good albeit very busy...

The world seems less interesting now.

Thanks, gang!! Sorry I'm not around much these days. I'm still here regularly as a lurker, just been too busy to post. I had a great birthday and coming home to find your kind words made a great end to a great day! Cheers!

David Allen wrote a gem of a book called Getting Things Done and in this book he often talks about "the very next physical action required to move the situation forward." I have found this book and its principles to be extremely clarifying in situations like the one Fidgit describes above. When you have this big looming cloud "get a new job" hanging over your head 24/7, you can't do anything but suffer mental paralysis. In the Getting Things Done methodology, these sorts of "projects" break down into discrete, actionable steps. A step is some physical action that takes about a minute or two to accomplish. So instead of these clouds of uncertainty, we maintain lists of steps that need to be done: "visit the job board at 37signals.com," "send résumé to fred@potentialemployer.com," and "call job lead at Cool Place to Work." I have found David's system to be a powerful tool and I think that it would be worth checking out if you have the time. If not, then I hope that the concept of "actionable steps" can help you find some clarity in life.

Yep! I've been a Rubyist ever since I first laid my hands on it! I'm a regular user of several languages but every time I work with Ruby it's like coming home after a long, grueling trip. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Outstanding news! Congratulations to the newlyweds!

Dream Theater says, "Happy birthday, Alex! Rock on!" Fun game, Stephen!! I just have one guess, #13 = Leibniz??

Happy birthday, Sarah! And HUGE congratulations on your engagement, you two! How exciting!

That's an ambitious project! I don't really have any comments on the content of your strategy but rather on its method. Seven pages is really quite short so you might consider really keeping it to just three points. A large part of what your professor should be grading you on is your ability to focus on a point and to develop that point to its fruition. This is especially important in a short paper on a very long topic. So you might forgo the bit about emotions and perhaps even leave out hasty generalizations. Make it relevant to Bacon and resist the temptation to "Objectivize" your paper. Good writing!

Here's hoping there's love in all of your lives!

Great card! Happy holidays everyone!! Next year I'll try to have an enjoyable Christmas card to share too.

That's hillarious! Happy belated birthday, FreeCap!

BIG Happy Birthday to you, Stephen!!

Happy birthday, Bill!!

More hopes for a speedy recovery! You're both in my thoughts.