I see that Dr. Weinberger captured the downside of vacations in his July 30 post. You also have to unpack (which I am officially putting off by posting this "hey"), and make sure the Leaning Tower of Inbox misses your less hardy appendages when office re-entry prompts gravity to do its thing. Concerning gravity, it's hard to say which weighed more: the dive gear I slogged along, or the books and magazines. Both were well used. Here are some worthy reads from within the depths of my luggage: God's Debris. Ernie recommended this awhile back. Like brain surgery in book form. Or perhaps quaaludes. I can't decide if I'm more surprised this is the same Scott Adams who writes Dilbert, or that he pulls this off in roughly 130 pages. (Ooh, Ernie's been busy while I've been gone, can't wait to catch up.) If you like this book, you might also like The Holy Man (no, you have not mistakenly stumbled on the Amazon site) -- a little less explosive, but also good fodder for contemplating life, the universe and everything. Geek Love. This strange novel about a carnival couple and the offspring of their home-brewed genetic engineering gets increasingly compelling as it goes on. Eerie juxtaposition to your standard vacation beach scene. Why Software Is So Bad, by Charles C. Mann in Technology Review. Unfortunately, the full article is not available free at the site, but the crux is that products liability for software is screaming down the tracks into the station with no brakes (think Silver Streak). Did not even check email while I was gone. Those ComputoDerm patches really seem to work!