9/3: Realized a longstanding dream by taking the train north and then biking 75 miles from my childhood home in Portland, Maine to my adolescent home in Augusta to visit my mother, and then back again on Monday. That was really cool.

8/27: Attended an excellent party for Pan-Mass Challenge and Red Ribbon Ride riders from Quad Cycles, put on by my cycling buddy Jeff.

8/18: Joined my coworkers for a fun company outing, taking Dave's boat "Advance It" on a sunset cruise through Boston Harbor and down to Marina Bay in Quincy, where we ate at Skyline.

8/17: Ran into new friend Simona on the T, and she gave me a really inspiring card bearing a likeness of the Buddhist "saint" Namo Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Kismet?

8/15: Survived an immense business travel ordeal wherein literally everything that could go wrong, did. We spent no less than 29 hours getting from Boston to Dallas and back, with unplanned diversions through Miami and Houston!

8/7: Arrived in Provincetown at the end of my two-day, 192-mile PMC ride and met up with Sheeri, my dedicated support person. This year's ride was a wonderful experience and a resounding success. See the pictures and read all about it on Orny's Cycling page, which now features an awesome photograph of Ornoth taken during this year's ride.

8/6: Cranked through the first day of this year's long-awaited Pan-Mass Challenge, sharing much of my beautiful 125-mile ride from Sturbridge to Bourne in the company of numerous friends from Quad Cycles in Arlington.

8/3: After cleaning out her apartment and getting everything in order, Inna moved back to Pittsburgh for the immediate future.

8/2: After last month's repeated leaks, my ceiling was finally repaired. And there was much rejoicing.

7/23: Had a great time with Inna, as she took me out to dinner at Addis Red Sea, an Ethiopian restaurant in the South End, for the first time. Highly recommended!

7/20: Had an awesome time with my brother, who was visiting from Victoria, British Columbia, on a two-hour ride on the schooner Olad out of Camden, Maine.

7/16: Had a grand time meeting old friends at the second annual Where's George BBQ, graciously put on by DrASK out in Lexington.

7/14: They're baaack! Just when you thought things were under control, the A/C leak returned in force. It wouldn't be fixed for six days and would destroy much of the kitchen, entry, and bathroom ceilings. Fortunately, the condo association was liable for the damage.

7/12: I was delighted to take my friend Inna home when, after 29 days, she was finally discharged from the hospital in good health and spirits.

7/7: Caught editor Kevin Smokler and several contributors as they talked about the book "Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times". Despite the topic, I found they didn't have a whole lot to say that was pertinent to online fiction along the lines of DargonZine.

7/3: Stayed up most of the night for another of NASA's major events: the Deep Impact probe slamming into the surface of the comet Tempel 1.