I’ve decided not to write a post for today.  Tomorrow I’m scheduled for a colonoscopy and today I am doing the prep.  You don’t want to know and I don’t want to describe. It is having a negative effect on my mental processes so I feel it is best not to write today.

Even though I am not writing today there are a few things I’d like to bring you up to date on.  This last week has mostly been about the 13 year-old in the house.  He’s a budding computer geek who’s spent most of my evenings trying to figure out what the best language to write a computer game is and which is the best game engine.  Me being a software engineer has made it hard for me to duck the questions and found myself at the browser a few times sending him URLs for him to read later.

Yesterday we totally geeked out by going to the Computer History Museum.  We even stayed to see the demonstration of the Babbage difference engine.  I’d explain more but unless you’re really interested in math, computers and the industrial revolution it does get a bit boring. The simplest way to describe is a steam-powered computer.  The interesting part is that the device was designed by Mr. Babbage in the 1800’s but never built.  About 20 years ago a museum in London decided to see if they could build one according to Babbage’s plans.  They succeeded and two were built.

We got to see it really operate and got to hear the whole lecture on how the engine is used to solve polynomial equations.  Now before you think I’ve gone completely weird on you, I should point out that there were about 50 people there for the demonstration and almost all stayed for the math lesson (well I suspect that at least half in attendance were qualified to give the lecture).

Since it’s been a computer focused week, I did start editing the videos we took of our other kid visits and I managed to get one video completed and delivered to our daughter.  This editing project inspired the grandson to try his hand at editing and he produced two.  We uploaded one and the other one needs a few “grandpa” edits before it gets uploaded.

Last week I mentioned my blogging friend over at YAPCaB.  Well his photo website, Jim’s Pic of the day, was recipient of nomination for the Versatile Blogger Award. If you’ve not been to Jim’s Pic of the day, I’d recommend you take a look.  He posts some great pictures.

Turns out that he decided that I deserved a nomination too so he did.   Thank you!  I appreciate the nod.  I generally don’t put much stock into awards and certainly I didn’t start this website to become “award winning.” But I really do appreciate that you think kindly of my little site.

It really feels good to know that someone out there likes what you’re doing.

Which brings me to one thought that has been in and out of mind for a while now – where am I going with this blog?

I started with a little exercise in spiritual writing, then started posting stuff on my woodworking and there I got a little stuck.  In fact I almost gave up on this blog.  Then I got hit between the eyes with prostate cancer and I’ve been writing consistently since.  But now that I am moving away from that crisis point and have hope of a very long remission I find that I am losing a bit of focus here.  Lately it feels like every time I sit down at the keyboard to write the first thought in my head is, “I’ve got nothing to say,” and go on for 850 words talking about nothing.

At this point a good writer, blogger should have an answer to the question just posed but I don’t.  I am still in that in-between place where I am looking for ‘something.’  I thought about writing more on wood working and marquetry. I’ve still have the incomplete ‘intertexual project’ and I’ve given serious thought to doing some podcasting or even a little video work for my little blog.  There are a ton of subjects I am interested in from the history of computing to the current research in cancer treatments to sea shanties.

That is part of my task for the next couple of weeks.