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I'm sorry I haven't written! But I've been so, well, relaxed, and busy doing relaxing things. For instance, sleeping in. And sleeping on the beach. And sleeping next to the pool. And drinking almost every rum-based drink known to man. But I did take some pictures in between, because I care. Or, because I did wonderful things and want to make you jealous. To wit:

<![CDATA[From the busy, crazy Honolulu — at least, if you ask the locals, it’s a high-stress, high-traffic place — we flew on one of those little jets made by dirty Canucks, to sunny and slower Kauai. The “garden isle” of Ceti Alpha 5 Hawaii, Kauai has a cute little airport that looks like it’s made of Lincoln Logs and is open to the air. Walking to get our rental car, we discovered that the laid-back Hertz staff had shut down for the day; but we caught a shuttle, got our car, and, despite signage that was either absent or the size of postage stamps, navigated to the hotel.
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Today, we tore right through our to-do list, just like two good type As. To wit: Get morning coffee Get…

Today was a very relaxing day; which was good, because we both needed it. Normally, I plan out my vacations ahead of time — learn what sites I want to see at each stop, plan out the day to make sure I hit my itinerary, and make sure my list is completed each day. But this has been a less-planned trip, and we're trying to relax. This is what happens when two type As relax. To wit, today's complete schedule:

As promised, I am in fact on vacation. The AIG and I are on a trip to Hawaii; badly needed, since this will make something like two vacations since 2000 for each of us. Perhaps I should've brought a book on how to relax?

Somehow, the five-year anniversary of this blog crept by me — Friday the 23rd was the big day. Post #1 was a cheap, unfunny Slashdot reference. Since then, 683 more posts have brought 878 comments, most of them smarter than the entry itself.

Waiting in line to check out my new book, I realized I'd forgotten to bring back the overdue book that I owed. Checking in my pocket, I only had a few Mexican coins — two large five-peso coins, a small three-peso coin, two tiny two-peso coins, and a medum-sized one peso coin. She'd take them.

As the weather turns to summer — well, at least as it does here in sunny Southern California — we may be coming to the time of year when brown liquors are replaced by clear ones in your everyday drinks. But, if you want something a bit refreshing, something that can stand up to a bit of spring sunlight and warm air, then let me recommend the Presbyterian.

Well, I feel like I was run over by a truck or two. But, after six hours of being pounded on during a sunny Sunday afternoon, I now have my Krav Maga yellow belt! The AIG and I have been taking Krav classes since October — first once a week, and now three mornings a week — and let me say we're hooked. It's great exercise, great fun, and a great chance to clobber some poor unsuspecting person.

Had a nice service for my friend Rick earlier today. Driving home, I came out of the strip mall flats of Inglewood and through the tangle of I-405 on-ramps and suddenly the sky was bright and a bank of cotton candy-fluffy white clouds sat just to my west, halfway to the ocean.

Thank you for taking me on a scenic tour of your city today, as I searched for parking for an industry conference at your convention center. I never would've seen the reaches of Katella or Harbor avenues without the direction of the digital signs above the road, telling me where to park, what was full and what was open.

Thank you for coming so early this year. I really appreciate how you gave me the old get-up-and-go by taking away an hour of my wasted sleep time last Sunday, and how you bring light to the evening hours. Those energy savings would sure be nice, too.

We — that is, myself, the various madly-retreating Spanish Nationalist troops with which I was traveling, and Generalissimo Francisco Franco — were trudging through a lightly-forested area of gently rolling and quite verdant hills. The sky was clear and the sun bright, but we didn't expect the three Republican fighters that appeared in the distance, charging towards us.

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