To quote Bender, "I'm back baby!"

So much is going on! I've been working on a new business venture with a friend a lot lately, but since I haven't yet seen the NDA I'm supposed to sign (and he is a friend) I don't feel like I can say much about it except that it involves Linux and probably Macintoshes. Consequently, I've been messing around with Gentoo Linux a LOT lately. School begins again on Monday for me, and I will probably write about that a lot too. So far, it looks like it might really be a neat semester. My tentative schedule is this:

Monday & Wednesday (ONLY!)
1pm-3:15pm - CECS 328 Algorithms) (I'm not officially in the class, but I should not have any real problems getting in
2:30pm-4:45pm - CECS 455 (Intro to Game Programming) I'm in this class, and I'm really jazzed!
4:00pm-6:15pm - CECS 572 (Advanced Networks) I'm not in this class... yet. With luck I'll get in.
7:00pm-8:15pm - CECS 524 (Advanced Topics In Programming Languages) I'm in, and it could be interesting, but it's hard to tell at this point.

Yes, those of you who can tell time may realize that there is overlap between classes. The overlap shouldn't be a big deal since no lectures actually overlap. (I usually do labs on my own laptop when I can)

455 could be a lot of fun. However, it's very very odd that despite the fact that I got back into computer programming 13 years ago for the expressed purpose of developing computer games, I am only now taking a class (or focusing in any real way) on computer games. So far, the closest things to games that I have coded were the assignments I made for my classes for the battleship, tic-tac-toe, and the Go-Fish game. These are nowhere near as complex or as interesting as the games I was mapping out on paper when I was 9 years old.

I still need to figure out my master's thesis (the details at least). I've had a rough idea for months now, but it's still pretty amorphous, and entirely in my head.. I need to fix that, and soon. I also may add a databases class in the morning (ugh) so I don't have to do it in the Spring.

I was also able to take my eldest younger cousin to Magic Mountain last week. He's now as old as I was when I first started taking him and his brother to amusement parks (15). I don't know how many more times (if any) I'll get the opportunity to take him or really any of my younger cousins to amusement parks, but I'm going to do my best to enjoy it while I can. Also, aren't 15 year olds supposed to be really difficult to deal with?? Aside from the fact that he and I almost totally disagree on music (he wore his headphones for his discman MOST of the drive), we got along fine. I just don't get it! Most amazingly, we even somewhat found some common ground on music for part of the trip... I was able to play Bob Marley & Nirvana, which he was willing to listen to. The kid may end up ok afterall. Still, it's very odd that I can only find that in common with him (musically) given it was his father who introduced me to the Beatles back when I was three. (I still remember the event quite clearly, and hearing "Love Me Do" for the very first time) I will probably take his younger cousin there sometime in the fall to even things out. BTW: Magic Mountain is probably the best deal in the LA area for a major amusement park... I think I ended up spending well under $60 (not counting gas) for parking and two tickets. Given that will pretty much only cover a single ticket at Disneyland, that's quite a deal, and Magic Mountain works MUCH better for a kid over 8 years old. (I even went on four rides despite my neck/back)

Many more things are cooking, and many thoughts I'm still trying to organize... (ok, there's actually very few thoughts, but many prejudices coupled with observations)

More uniformed rants will follow... (in less than a week)