So everyone is mailing me, "What happened to updating your site?"

I'm in deep thought mode. I've got a lot of projects on the table, and I feel like there are a thousand things that need to be explored, both mentally and technically.

Work is beating me up. Lots going on, mostly just more work than should humanly be pushed onto one person. I think that some of this may be in violation of the Geneva Convention.

I went to my local meeting of the Association of Internet Professionals last week. A good reminder of how good it feels to be around other people who get it.

I spent much of the evening tonight installing a G3 processor in my old PowerBook 1400. It really feels ten times faster. Despite the limitations of the original system architecture, this upgrade made an almost unusable computer feel snappy.

There's a lot of information at The Obscure Store

This InfoWorld Electric Story Welcome to the 'new Web Order' is a must read for those of you that may have missed it. This is the technological core of where the whole industry is going to be in the near future. Impossible to compete with this stuff using static tools to build static sites.

I regained contact after several months with a good friend and former employer this weekend. I think our brief email exchange helped both of us sort out work situations that we have each have been finding difficult. There's no replacement in this world for people who care about you and are willing to tell you the truth.

I have been spending a lot of time analyzing my process. Do I think about things with a clear head before I make decisions?

Kate has been away the last two weeks straight, and I think that has something to do with this introspection.

Amazon Will Offer Refunds . Maybe I'm just cynical, but I just assume when I go to a site like this one that the recommendations are partially paid for. Is this any different than selling placement on search engines? I know that in this case it means that a financial transaction occurs, but who is buying a book solely based on this recommendation?

I buy a lot of books, sometimes in bookstores, sometimes on the Internet, and sometimes direct from publishers. I don't think this is the big deal people are making it out to be. It's no different, for instance, than Oprah Winfrey having a stake in the film rights to a book she is recommending on her show. I don't see her shelling out refunds. However, this recommendation is also not all that it seems.

Don't take things at face value. Evaluate things for yourself and make good decisions based on the information available to you. I give myself this advice every day, and I wish I followed it more diligently.