11:25 PM PST — I went backwards today. At Chris's suggestion, I went back to 10.3.1. His remedy for my complaints about too many spinning color wheels on the iBook since running the 10.3.2 updater. So after a complete backup and an erase and install, all seems right again. Still, it's unsettling on a certain level. Haven't had to do anything this drastic since the bad old days of System 7.5.

Random playing through iTunes reminded me how brilliant New Order's Technique is.

I'm kind of feeling like Catherine O'Hara in Orange County tonight. Where did that Chardonnay get to?

3:20 PM PST — Rich just suggested that from now on I should flush the toilet by pressing on the back of the handle. "That way fingerprints won't get all over the flusher. I hate that."

And you know what the scary thing is: The boy is serious.

10:02 PM PST — What's the deal with all these cable networks running marathons of this show and that show. The West Wing and Queer As Folk are one thing but who really wants to sit through Boy Meets Boy again?

9:36 PM PST — Ah, holiday traditions. We're one "you'll shoot you're eye out" into A Christmas Story around here tonight. Tons of fun to come. Hope you're having as much with you and yours.

11:20 PM PST — A Japanese Saab? What next, one based on a tired Detroit truck platform? Oh never mind.

10:56 PM PST — Oh yeah, we did feel today's quake. Venetian blinds rattled. Then we felt a jolt and the building swayed for a couple of minutes. Didn't seem like that big of a deal until I read about the two deaths just now. Sad.

10:43 PM PST — New Panther feature? I accidentally discovered a cool OS X trick tonight. In the Save dialog box, you can select the name for a document by click on a document in the list view. Handy if you need to replace an existing document with a new version. I'll have to check one of the office computers tomorrow to see if Jaguar's Save dialog boxes work the same way.

10:32 PM PST — Best iPod accessory ever. Super lightweight. Compact. Extra portable. And the sound is great. Going to find a permanent home in my roller bag.

It's also example of why I pity anyone attempting to buy me a gift. Why in the world would I buy myself such a toy less than a month before Christmas? Doesn't it just scream as the kind of thing a sane person would never buy himself? Obviously I'm a spoiled brat. But you know who's even worse? My husband. I'm taking any and all suggestions about what to put in his stocking this year.

9:45 PM PST — Jake sent this fun link last month. Seems particularly apropos given today's news.

9:29 PM PST — Where was I when the lights went out? Just about to put in a DVD and relax. Oh well. Getting high and a bit of lovely Reserva Triperfecto provided plenty of entertainment. I should turn the TV and computer off in the evening more often in fact.

9:18 PM PST — Back from a couple of working days in LA. Even though at times I bitch about the long hours, weekend work and seemingly constant travel, it's times like these that I've got to admit my job has something going for it. Being the creative director on a commercial shoot isn't bad. You and a couple of others come up with an idea over lunch and then several weeks later scores of people are bringing it to life. All of which is a self conscious and long-winded explanation for how I found myself on the cockpit set where Peter Graves and Kareem Abdul-Jabar once sat.

10:54 PM PST — December 10, 1987 was a rainy Thursday evening in New York City. On a whim, I found myself at Uncle Charlie's on Greenwich Avenue for a quick drink and just to see who was around. Very unusual because my normal routine on Thursdays was to work a volunteer shift at GMHC and then meet my best friend Michael for a late workout uptown at the Jack LaLane on Broadway. That particular night, I was disappointed in the crowd at the bar and ready to walk back out into the rain. But then this tall, lithe guy who had the air of a blonde Morrissey strode into the front room. I couldn't take my eyes off him.

Sixteen years later, I still can't. Happy anniversary sweetheart.

We celebrated tonight with dinner at ElisabethDaniel. If you're in or around San Francisco and you haven't been there, just go. At the risk of hyperbole, it was the best restaurant experience we've ever had.

10:31 PM PST — A full day later and I'm still in awe of Angels. The one aspect I didn't expect was the realization of how much things have changed in the past 10 years. One character's reference to toxic plasmosis really hit home. I used to hear references to that horrible oportunistic infection all the time. Weekly at least during my volunteer stints at GMHC. But literally, it's been a decade since I thought about it. Amazing.

10:05 PM PST — Oh yeah. Angels in American lived up to all the hype. Reason enough to justify the HBO subscription all by itself and there's still a second half next week.

9:51 PM PST — I'm in lust with a guy who lives across the street. He's got dark shaggy hair and a tall, lanky frame. He sits in his window wearing white t-shirts and square, brown glasses, smoking cigarettes. I see him when I'm in our workout room. If I saw him on the street, I probably wouldn't give him a second glance. But the 200 or so feet and dual layers of glass allow my fantasies to blossom. At the very least, it makes the workouts tolerable.

7:45 PM PST — Another 60-hour work week down. Looks as if it's just going to get worse. Though how it could get worse than Thursday I'm not sure. Eleven, count them 11, back to back meetings on my calendar. The only saving grace, I suppose, was that none were double booked.

The coming week doesn't look much better. Two trips to LA currently scheduled. Shooting a spot. Casting call backs on Monday so it's just a day thing. Not too horrible. Then back on Thursday for pre-pro and overnight for the actual shoot on Friday. Though the spot is set on a plane so we get to use one of those whacky aircraft fuselage sets.

Enough about work. Someone please make this cold go away. Two weeks if more than my fair share.

10:56 PM PST — Interesting article on the design that makes an iPod simple. Surprisingly I agree with Rob Glaser, despite his prejudiced view, may have a point about the ability to hybridize. A simple license agreement and some code should enable the iPod to play WMA files. Why you'd want to is another matter but options are probably good.

10:30 PM PST — Damn, another month blows by. At this rate, at least the holidays will be over soon enough. I for one am not ready or looking forward to Xmas and New Year's.

Previously