Fresno. I've been out of town all week in Fresno, CA. The highlight of the week was being wined and dined by blogger extraordinaire, Peter Sean Bradley, more about below. I stayed at the downtown Radisson which promised Wi-Fi in every room. It must've been on a rotating basis, because I was able to get it for somewhere between 30 seconds and 5 minutes each night. Not good for blogging.

More bad news: I learned when I upgraded my OS, I'd wiped out my Earthlink software -- I stopped by Best Buy and CompUSA, hoping to get a promo disc, but nada.

Fresno was cold -- but I'd been warned of this by Mr. Bradley, so I was steeled and ready to go.

Peter was a very gracious host, driving out to the hotel to pick me up, giving me a tour of Fresno, taking me out for tapas and beer, wonderful conversation, and not letting me pay for a thing. (I owe you big time, Peter.)

And, as usual, he has asked several probing questions and given me much to think about.

Oh, and work went well too.

I got back Friday night and spent Saturday morning catching up on mail and things. Then Joe and I went out back and split wood for a few hours. I remember when President Reagan used to split wood, I thought it was kind of a photo-op thing, but the more I do it, the more I love doing it. Whether it's the well seasoned log that I can split with one whack or the very green (and too long) piece in which I bury my wood grenade before hearing that satisfying cracking noise (like think ice breaking on a pond), it's all good.