Twittersheep is a web app that creates a tag cloud of what followers of a Twitter user talk about. The above is mine.

Think I need some more variety in my followers The Linux and Ubuntu references are understandable, but love and lover?!? Wonder which of my followers have been talking about that.

And yes, I do use identi.ca. Actually, thats how I post over to Twitter.

Depending on where we are in the release cycle at work, I can work from home now and then. I had a 20″ and 17″ Samsung hooked up. The 17″ had the typical 1280×1024 resolution. Most of the time it got used for gwibber and irc. The 20″ wasn’t bad at all. But looking at code all day, trying to split screen and look at two files side by side at the same time was difficult. The 1680×1050 was irritating.

Strolling through Office Depot last week, I saw the Acer X243Wbd. 24″. 1920×1200. DVI. Colors looked sharp at the store. Nothing amazing about it, but nothing bad either. Got some decent reviews online. Decided to sleep on it. Went back the next day and picked one up.

I’m in heaven.

Oh yeah, walking to the cashier, I saw the famous Slimline stapler that was in Office Space. Had to get one to pay homage to the great movie.

In the middle of November, the wife and I were planning to go Jamaica for a week. Unfortunately, my mom and dad fell sick, and we spent the week taking care of them.

My dad had symptoms of sciatica. At night, the shooting pains in his leg wouldn’t let him sleep. Since then, rest and medication has almost completely made the pain go away. He is now weening off the pain killers. With some physical therapy and knowledge of what he can and can’t do (like no more bending over to pick up anything), dad should be able to prevent any future attacks.

On the other hand, my mother, who sprained her ankle and tore a ligament, isn’t healing as fast. Unfortunately, its her own fault. The doctor put a boot on her to keep her foot and ankle from moving around too much. She isn’t supposed to take it off at all. But noooooo! My mother is one of those people who always has to be doing something. Cooking, cleaning, running errands. She can’t sit still for more than 10 minutes. My mother refuses to wear the boot (she complains its constraining even though thats the point) and tries to walk several times a day, causing her foot to swell up. The doctor gave her crutches, but she complains it makes her feel like a gimp and refuses to use it. Basically, its going to take her at least one more month to heal properly.

After that week, my in-laws and sister-in-law came down to visit for Thanksgiving. Now, my in-laws are really nice people. But spending that much time with family, is a bit tiresome. The wife was pretty much stressed out, and for anyone who is married or in a relationship, if the wife ain’t happy, no one is .

That was followed by UDS. Anyone that has attended UDS will tell you that its extremely fun and entertaining, but not exactly relaxing.

After UDS, I was pretty much burned out. Plus we knew we had more family visiting for Christmas.

So we decided to take some time off and head down to Cancun.

Nothing but eating and sleeping for a few days. We did take a day trip to Chichen Itza to check out the ruins.

The Great Ball Court was amazing. The field is 545 by 232 feet. Rules of the game aren’t exactly known, but it must have been fun with so much space.

Anyway, our visiting relatives left yesterday. I’m looking forward to a slow start to 2009!

Last week, the wife and I were supposed to head down to Jamaica for a relaxing, tech-free week.

Didn’t happen.

Monday, we put our suitcases in the car. I go back into the house to make sure all the doors and windows are closed and locked. My mother calls just as I’m about to lock the front door. Dad is in extreme pain. He has pain radiating down one leg and can barely move. I tell her to take him to the doctor.

In the meantime, we cancel our reservations and drive down to Orlando. Turns out my dad’s symptons are called sciatica. Basically, there is a nerve that is completely on the fritz. The doctor gives him some pain killers and tells him to take ibuprofen. During the day, there is minimal or no pain at all, but it flares up at night.

To alleviate some of the pain, doc recommends he sleep on the floor with some blankets underneath. If the meds don’t help over the next couple of weeks, he will get some injections close to the nerves so they don’t flare up. Between the meds and some physical therapy, he should do better soon.

But there’s more.

In the middle of the week, with dad sleeping on the floor, my mom tries to walk around him. She slips, sprains her ankle, and tears a ligament. Now she has to use crutches for the next six weeks!

By the end of the week, my parents are doing better. They feel guilty that we canceled our vacation, so they kick us out of the house and tell us to go to Disney or one of the many theme parks in Orlando.

We end up spending a couple of days at Disney World. It was a good time to go, the lines weren’t long. Its hard to believe that Space Mountain is still entertaining after all these years. It isn’t the coolest thing on the world, but its definitely fun. I forgot about the Aerosmith Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster which is probably one of the better rides at the park. I’m surprised it doesn’t get more recognition like the Tower of Terror.

With the parents doing better and killing some time at Disney, the week ended on the up swing.

I will admit, seeing all the “thanks” on the Ubuntu Hall of Fame definitely helped improve my spirits. Thanks to all folks who “thanked” me (can we get an infinite loop going here?)!

To all of you in the US, have a happy thanksgiving.

Yes, I turned 30 today. Its all downhill from here.

At least my wife had a sense of humor about it. My birthday gift bag:

And it burps when you hit the press me button! That will be me in a few years!

I do have some MicroCenter gift cards coming my way. Wonder what snazzy new gizmos I can get.

Is it time for a mid-life crisis yet?

Over the last couple of months, I’ve visited quite a few big chain bookstores in Wichita, Atlanta, and Orlando.

I see a disturbing trend.

The big soft comfortable chairs are disappearing.

Thats not completely true. There are still a few around the magazine sections, but none in the rest of the stores.

Well, except within the in-house Starbucks, Seattle Coffee or whatever.

Is this is a business decision? I should have asked a clerk. Maybe they don’t want people coming in, sitting down, reading, and then leaving. Instead, people will stroll through the stores, make a quick decision to purchase since there is no way to spend any significant time with the books, and leave.

Or maybe its to steer customers to the coffeeshop, where the bookstore surely gets a kickback.

Too disturbing for me.

The Crackberry Whores, originally uploaded by boredandblogging.

Sitting at a cigar store, enjoying a stogie, just not enough for the guys.

Is This Communist Russia?!?, originally uploaded by boredandblogging.

Bread aisle is practically empty at a busy local grocery store on a Sunday afternoon.

Delta Puddle Hopper from Wichita, originally uploaded by boredandblogging.

This never happens with AirTran. What is up with Delta?

Wizard of Oz Monopoly, originally uploaded by boredandblogging.

Yep, we are definitely in Kansas.