Yesterday, I registered for this year’s Google IO that’s happening at the end of May. Why? I don’t know. Probably because I know there’s very little chance that I’ll get “selected” to attend, so I won’t have to shell out the $300 Academic Rate conference fee ($900 or something for regular attendees) let alone the $300-400 airfare (or maybe when I don’t go, I’ll no drive instead of not fly – it will take me longer to not fly, but it’ll be more enjoyable) or the $750+ for a hotel room (that for 2 or 3 night stay – it would seem a shame to go all that way and only stay for a couple nights). So maybe when I don’t drive out I can skip the hotel and not camp instead. Last time I was out that way (well, OK, the only time I’ve ever been out that way) I camped at Mount Tamalpais State Park (at least, I think that’s where I was – somewhere in the vicinity or Muir Woods) one night and then hiked for a few days at Point Reyes National Seashore. I think I was about 28 years old at the time (ah, to be young again).

When I looked out the window this morning at about 3:00, I thought, “damn, it sure is foggy out there.” HA! The joke was on me – it was a total white-out (the kind that the Ferguson Police Department would truly appreciate, I’m sure). And it hadn’t let up by the time I took the dogs out at 5:00. Cold and windy and snowing like a bastid. The snow plow didn’t get my mailbox, but it did manage to knock over my garbage can and dump out a couple bags. My first inclination was to ignore it. In fact, I got up the corner before I did a 360 and came back to pick up the can and toss the bags back in. I mean, it was snowing and cold and I really didn’t want the poor garbage guys to have to deal with it – after all, it wasn’t their fault (it was clearly my wife’s fault for putting the cans too close to the road).

Oh well, another hour or so of work, and then I can venture out into the great white north once again.