Last night, the orange cones were still blocking my driveway. This morning, when I got up at my usual, inane hour, no cones! Woohoo! I can now park in my garage.

However, when the pavers replaced the curb in front of my house, they damaged the brick walkway by my mailbox. I've let the management association know; they've already called back (very fast service) and have let the paving company know. It doesn't like a major repair job, and it will be their problem, not mine.

---

I was online, checking my mail, and getting ready to email scottro an excerpt from book2 for an article in Intelligent Gambler (ConJelCo's free publication spotlighting their books) when my attempt to connect to a website failed. I then realized it was 7:45, and I had promised to call a client about his taxes. I pick up my phone and get...

Nothing.

I call him on my cellphone, and then call my phone company/cable company. I get my phone service from Cox, and have a cable modem. Cox has had great service, but it appears something's out between me and Cox. It's a forty-minute call, as I give the same information to the phone department (they try dialing my home and get nothing, but will not confirm there's an outage -- 30 minutes with them) and the ISP (high speed cable) department. The ISP department, in five minutes, confirms there's an outage, says they even think they know where it is, and gets all the needed info. By 8:40am the service is back up. I'm supposed to get a call from them confirming this, and I probably will -- this afternoon.

---

One of my favorite lines has to do with the light at the end of the tunnel.

You're walking down a dark, empty tunnel. Suddenly, off in the distance, you see a light. As you continue to walk the light gets brighter and brighter. Is the light (a) the end of the tunnel (sunlight), (b) a bank of fluorescent lights, or (c) the light on the engine of the oncoming train about to run you over?

In our case (Scottro and I) it's (a). Our editor (we can't name mickdog publicly, but he's done a great job) sent us the last chapter--the longest in book2--and I've gone through it once. I'm going to be doing the second read-through tonight, and then the book is off to Chuck. We do have to go through the pdf (galley); I'd guess that's in about 2-3 weeks. I'll stick by my publication estimate of June 1, though it might be two or so weeks sooner.

---

There's a stack of tax returns by my feet, just waiting to be put in envelopes. So off to work I go....

This morning, at 7:00 am, my blissful sleep is interrupted by pounding on my front door and the doorbell ringing. As I groggily head towards the door, I figure maybe somebody's house is on fire. Or perhaps something else equally bad. Peering through the peephole is a construction worker.

"Yes?" I ask him.

"We're going to start tearing up the street in front of your driveway. You need to move your car as your driveway won't be usable for at least the next week."

Wonderful. Now I knew that our complex was going to be repaved (the pavement is 30 years old and is showing its age), but there was no notice that this was starting today. I spot a bulldozer, a couple hydraulic drills, and other equipment. And one of the drills starts working on the street near (but not in front of) my driveway. I tell the guy give me five minutes and I'll move the car.

I move my car, and ask the foreman why I wasn't notified. "Well," he began, "We figured the drills would wake you up and everyone would move their cars." After I told him that I work from home, I let him know my displeasure about not being notified. Later, I called the management company. I was the 23rd person to complain (at 9:15am) about the lack of notice (they open at 9am). He promised us that they would give us at least three days notice in the future....

---

If you want to see me playing poker, I'll be at the Bike Friday morning. I'm meeting with a client just after noon in that area, and it's a convenient location for me between meetings to eat lunch and maybe win a few dollars. Looking at the stack of tax returns on my desk, and in my office (and the inbox), I doubt I'll be playing much real poker until May.

---

The editing process on the book marches forward. There are only about three chapters left for editing. scottro and I will soon be working on our website (since we'll soon have more than one book on the market, we might as well engage in some marketing). I expect we'll be announcing the title around month-end.