Over the years I've had to manage an awful lot of computer equipment, and I've had a whole lot of luck with it. Unfortunately, very little of that luck has been good.

My latest trials came from Brian Carnell's dedicated Conversant server, which Macrobyte hosts.

Sometimes I think I'm the Mr. Glass (from Unbreakable) of hardware. There must be someone out there who's my opposite.

Simply because this kind of thing both annoys and amuses me...

I hope lots of people point to that story. Lets see that idiot try to threaten the whole net. :-) In this case, I don't even care if the hotel was right or wrong in the first place... I'm just irritated that they would try to stop anyone from even mentioning them.

(Never mind the fact that the RIAA did manage to sue the net and win (sort of). Ahem. That's another story.)

My Dad's hip started bothering him a week or two ago. Badly. He went to the chiropractor who told him to stop working for a little while so that it could heal, but he didn't listen. A day or so later, and he couldn't even crawl anymore, let alone walk.

X-Rays apparently show some bone spurs and arthritis in the hip. He's had bone spurs before, so we're not surprised.

Still, he's too young for this kind of nonsense.

While he's laid up at home, my Mom's feeling the stress. Art's been a huge help, and Jed's done what he can in spite of his work schedule. I was gone for the weekend, but today it's my turn to help: it snowed last night, so I'm heading over there to shovel the driveway and put some plywood under the couch cushions to add a bit of firmness.

My Dad and I have nearly identical frames. I'm just a little longer and have a bit more padding (what I call my adipose layer). ;-) I think watching this happen to my Dad is like looking 25 years into my own future.

Bone spurs. :::shudder::: More proof that the hardware is the enemy.