Found this at work today. Go here, then click the map. Type in the first number of your zipcode, then slowly type in the rest. Who knew postal codes could be so much fun!

Italy is fast approaching and my biggest concern is a new digital camera to capture the sights and sounds of the journey. I’m stuck between two 8 megapixel cameras: the Sony DSC-F828 and the fresh off the line Canon PowerShot Pro1.

I went to Circuit City over lunch to test drive the Sony and was pleasantly surprised. Who knew Sony could make a good digital camera? Having had my Olympus 3.3 megapixel camera for about 3 years now, I’ve noticed difference in these newer models. First off, they’re much faster to turn on (an important feature when trying to get that fleeting shot). The “movie” option on the Sony was also impressive. It can take virtually television quality shots and read and write them in real-time… a vast improvement from the grainy look of the postage size clips that my current camera takes. And to make things worse, it usually takes a minute or two to write it to the disk, and just as long if you wanted to view it.

Image quality seems pretty darn good to me, although I can see where the elite professionals would have their complaints. But I think I can manage

If you’re in the market for a digital camera, check out www.dpreview.com. It don’t get much better than that.

Mutant gerbils. Pure marketing genius.

Update: Eric informs me he likes the coupon commercial better.

I talked to my sis, Alyssa, today… she told me my brawny hulk of a nephew is sick. And this is no normal baby sick, this kid goes all out. He has a respiratory snafu, basically a cold gone all wrong, which requires periodic use of his baby respirator (sounds cute, but relying on machines for life isn’t cute, so wipe that smirk off your face punk)… he’s got an ear infection… and for fun he’s decided to work up some form of an eye infection.

So pray for the little tyke, he has a doctor appointment on Wed, and if he’s not better, he’s goin’ into the hospital. (where they’ll wheel him around in his baby wheelchair and make him wear a baby gown that gets all drafty in the back.)

The top of the mountain at Sunlight. It was a beautiful 3 days of perfect weather and great powder. My body got quite the beating, but then again, isn’t that how you have fun?

The pressure was high to move back to Kansas. The incessant badgering by everyone on the trip was almost enough for me to move back just to stop the madness. But honestly, it’ll cause me to take a long look at why I’m here in southern California. Not that I’ll move any time soon, but it’s good to evaluate from time to time if you’re at the right place.

A big thanks to Penny for coordinating the big trip and especially for driving me to the airport at 5 in the morning.

And another thing… I realized it sure would make things easier if my parents moved to Colorado. (think about Denver guys)