Still Kicking

Well, I'm still kicking. I have to apologize for my hiatus from blogging. I'm going to make a valiant effort to get back into the swing of things. Since my last post, a few things have happened...

• The holiday season came and went. It was a good celebration all around this year.
• Work has been crazy kinds of busy, but it's a good kind of crazy. I really like my company and my job, which is refreshing given my last work experience.
  
• I've been doing a lot of traveling. Most recently, I spent a week in Houston, TX.
• The weather in central IL has been a little nasty for the past few weeks. Lots of snow, ice, and wind. Apparently, our cat doesn't care for snow drifts, as she didn't see the humor in her little outing yesterday. ;-)
• When the temperature is above 10 degrees, I've been smoking bigger and better things. My most recent adventure was a pork shoulder, which I smoked for around 19 hours. It was awesome.
• As usual, I've been reading lots of tech books. I finished up the "Gimp" book, and I'm almost done with "Open Sources 2.0". Also, per a co-worker recommendation, I'm reading through "Peace, Love, and Barbecue" in my free time. This book rocks! I highly recommend anyone who smokes/barbecues to read this book.

Let the blogging begin!