Finally back from Chicago. It seems as if empires have risen and fallen since I've been gone.

Of course, first thing that happens when I try to blog--sorry.blogger.com. I had a brief moment when it seemed as if the whole blog thing never happened, like it vanished into the cybermists from which it came. But it turns out that no, they just created a new interface to confuse me just as I had the old one figured out. Maybe I'll feel nostalgic for the days of disappearing archives--the blog needing constant maintenance like an old jalopy.