So, still have all 3 kittens. They are wonderful, but I wouldn't complain if someone wanted to take 1 or 2 just due to effort needed by one guy who isn't home as much as they'd like. LOTS more pictures posted in the kitteh area. They had so much fun with the bubble-wrap! Today when I let them out of the basement (so I don't have to constantly be protecting the few remaining plants and other breakable items in the house), only 2 appeared though the 3rd was audible... then I noticed the ceiling panels were bowing one by one. Q-Bert was trapped up there! It was hilarious - no idea how she did it, but the other 2 were fascinated watching me try to pull her out. They've gotten big enough that they're no longer as scared of the Roomba, mostly just annoyed by it (Baxter plays chicken with it, too).
My non-working life has been full - weekly game nights with friends, swing dance lessons and parties (no, still a newb at it!), weekly ultimate (frisbee) games, and lots of ad-hoc events mean there's never a dull moment. In fact, I miss my neighbors! Cooking more at home, using the kitchen. Finished the Harry Potter book (I don't usually put a book on pause to read another, but so many people were talking about it, I felt peer pressure to read before major plot points were revealed. I loved the book, but can tell that it's a kids book as knowing these plot points can ruin it whereas the "adult" books I read doesn't really matter as much what happens, it's all about the journey).
Better call it a day, but there are still pics from Spain to arrive next (so close to being caught up!). Thanks for your patience and for reading!

The day after the work party at my house, I drove to Tulsa (picked Sara, my sis, up along the way) for a Buckles family reunion (my Dad's side). It was nice to see family that I hadn't seen in so long, but a storm hit (recurring theme) and took out the electricity in our hotel. It was damn hot and muggy, so made a mess of the event, though the kids, Sara and I still tried playing a board game in the dark.

After spending a few days back in KS for work and seeing the fam, I hosted a Forney family reunion (Mom's side) at my house. One day of lots of BBQ, games, ping pong and hanging out. Good to see everyone!

Been a crazy, busy summer. So many violent storms have hit while the temps stay in the 90s. It wasn't your usual July/August. In work I said goodbye to a coworker and friend, Connie, as she moved to Madison.

We had a ribbon-cutting publicity event to announce the formal opening of the Nebraska Arthritis Outcomes Research Center where I got to meet the chancellor and the donors, Bill & Ruth Scott (without whom I wouldn't be here!). That same week I was the guest on the local weekly Community Health Line radio show (here's the site where you can listen to it from July 25 - I can't stand that they only use RealPlayer files!).
That same night my house was host to a rheumatology section party where everyone brought their fams, catered great food, and Renee did some juggling (I tried, too, to much lesser effect). Fun time!







Work hasn't let up - flew to Dallas last week to work with the VA, this week I'm off to Chicago for an all-day meeting, and I've got conferences in Pittsburgh, DC and Boston this fall. Bringing on the miles again!

Last week was my birthday as much of the world discovered through the help of myspace, facebook and even skype. It was a wonderful day - starting to finally feel like this is my home. So many birthday wishes, hellos and little things really added up and just made my day. My coworkers took me out to lunch at a local Thai restaurant (Bangkok Cuisine), and a few good friends joined me for wonderful and unique pizza (La Casa), a new board game (Mall of Horror), and a new vid game, Bioshock, that came out the same day.

I also got a special treat from Amy who was in Leipzig, Germany for work (at a games conference).

Who is this? Why it's the infamous, attractive, and face of gaming (the Baroness)... Jessica Chabot! Since I probably know much more about video games from the media rather than from actually playing (end sob story); she's been reporting and playing them for fans like me for as long as I've been paying attention to such video reports. Her IGN blog. Myspace (who knew a myspace profile could look so good?) & personal site. Yeah, I should have known that she would have a larger web presence... guess that makes this gift that much more thoughtful!

Plus, a couple other friends "celebrated" my bday by discovering they were pregnant. To each their own way of celebrating.

OK, I'm back and I have TONS to write about, but first thing - let's dump off the new links to share.

Frozen smoke as new material to impact our world.

Further evidence that working out helps your brain/smarts.

An incredible and talented member of my family, Tony Sheets (son of Millard Sheets), has worked hard to get a book of much of his fathers paintings in one exhibit at the LA County Fair this month. You can read more about it here.

I'm so excited that football season is almost here again. Of course, living in Nebraska means I have to take this a bit more seriously than I did before (is that possible?), and I'm in a few fantasy football leagues as well. I thought this was one of the more entertaining columns on Nebraska's football team for this season. (plus be sure to check out the embedded brief Family Guy clip about Nebraska - there's a corn eating contest tonight at the local swing dance festival, too! )