Whew.

It’s been a long time since I posted, I know. I’m not abandoning this site, despite all appearances. I’ve just been swamped. It’s not a state I relish, and I’m glad that there’s an end in sight. (We leave for Europe on the 14th, so the busy-ness is going to come to an end on that date, whether the world is ready or not!)

Here’s a partial list of things that have kept me occupied:

• This blog. Behind the scenes, I’m working to get things repaired. Anil is working on the old database. Meanwhile I’m trying to figure out what is slowing down the current database. These two problems make me want to switch to WordPress, but Anil is lobbying for an upgrade to the latest version of Movable Type. I know this is gobble-dee-gook to most of you, but translated it basically means: there are technical problems with foldedspace that I’m attempting to resolve.
• Life and death. My cousin Ron died last Sunday. He was 46. The cancer that curses our family took him. (This is why I’m so anxious to get a colonoscopy now despite assurances that it’s not necessary until I am 50.) Ron’s death was not unexpected, but unwelcome nonetheless. Nick has been spending much of his time with the family, which means he doesn’t have time for Custom Box.
• Custom Box Service. Speaking of the box factory, we’re busy. July is not a busy month, but it is this year. To top things off, our truck driver is in jail. This is bad news because he’s an awesome employee. Jeff has done a great job filling in for him, but the fact remains that we need to hire a replacement. We’ve had no luck with Craigslist, so we’ll turn to the newspapers. When we have time. Which we don’t. Because Nick has been taking care of family matters while Jeff has been driving, leaving me alone in the office. On a normal day, this is just a minor nuisance. But now, when we’re busy, it’s a frickin’ pain in the ass.
• Get Rich Slowly. Because we’re busy at Custom Box, I don’t have “slop time” with which to work on my web sites, most especially Get Rich Slowly. That site now accounts for 50% of my income. Put another way, I make as much from GRS as I do from CBS. Guess which one I enjoy more? It has been a mad scramble to get entries written and posted lately. I do have a pile of guest entries I could tap, but I want to save them for vacation.
• Vacation. Our vacation looms large. I have a packing checklist (thanks, Paul H.!) and have been working toward getting things ready. One of my big chores is making sure that Get Rich Slowly has a full log of scheduled guest entries to publish. So far, so good. This site will be barren, I’m afraid, aside from occasional notes from the road. I’m still half-tempted to purchase an iPhone, use one of the many tricks to opt out of phone service, and use it as a mini-computer on the road. For now, though, I’m taking a Mac Powerbook, an iPod, and a digital camera. (I am not taking a cell phone. Everyone else in our group will have one. There’s no need for mine.)
• Ron’s funeral. Coming back to Ron, his funeral is on Friday afternoon. I’ve agreed to create a video presentation commemorating his life, but that takes time. I’ve spent the last two hours scanning slides and photos. I have several more hours to go. Then I have to piece them into a coherent video. (Nick will help me do that tomorrow.)
• Backpacking. Our annual Opal Creek backpacking trip is this weekend. There’s no way I can make the group hike in, but I still hold out hope that I can join the guys on Saturday. This is beginning to look like a feeble hope. I’ve put off many, many things to tackle the urgent tasks in my life. I’m going to need time to get things in order before I leave, and about the only time I can see is this weekend, if I don’t go backpacking. And yet I love backpacking. (In fact, I just spent $80 on a new tent!)

These are just a few of the things that have me buried. I’d write more except I can hear that the scanner has stopped scanning. It’s time to go start the next batch of slides. (In a feat of geekery that amazes even me, I had three Macs in use an hour ago. Each one was doing something related to Ron’s funeral. That, my friends, is efficiency.)

All this is to say: Have no fear — foldedspace will return, and with vigor. But right now it’s experiencing a moment (or thirty) of silence.