(no subject)

I just emailed Chuck my regrets that I'll be unable to work on the second edition of Mac OS X in a Nutshell. He cemented my decision in his most recent email to me, where he clarified that his concerns lay not in my ability as a writer, but rather my ability to stick to the very tight schedule he has in mind for 2E. I think I could have done it were I prepared to sacrifice my productivity at my ICCB job, and once again shut down my personal life for a few months, but I found myself really unwilling to wade back into that, even for a single season.

No sooner had I made this decision than Eray mailed to ask about my feelings about the next Perl & XML. Yeeeeeeees indeedy. I said: let's meet about this. And so, we will, in a couple of weeks. And that's that for that.

Orange poop

The HMS security guards have started actively asking to see IDs again. I only now realize that their periods of increased vigilance are directly mappable onto periods of national "orange alert" status. So be it.

In other news, while the buildup to war didn't affect my demeanor much, it did seem to affect my insides, which decided several days ago to start stockpiling materials in fear of the unknown. Things were worst last night when I decided for some reason to eat an extra-greasy plate of fried catfish before bed, causing protests in the streets which blocked traffic entirely and prevented me from sleeping until 5 in the morning. Just now, though, after some sleep, strong coffee, and a few hours' good work, I finally relaxed into my new role as a citizen of a nation at war, and came to productive agreement. After the last few days, it's like walking on air. Ready to face the future.