Well, my baby brother, a Tech Sergeant in the Air Force Reserve, has been Activated. The Force basically owns his ass for two years.

Now, it's not as scary as it sounds, because a) he already works on the base, in uniform, as an electrician on the giant C5 cargo planes; b) he gets nearly $1,000 more per month now; c) chances are just as good he'll be sent to central Massachusetts or Dover AFB in Delaware or even better, Germany, Turkey, or Spain, or maybe he'll stay put right here at Stewart AFB in NY, instead of Kuwait or Qatar; d) at any rate, even though he's got his gas mask and all he'll never be in or near combat unless Saddam really gets lucky.

It was interesting to hear him talk about his training for germ and chemical warfare, and how the airmen really don't want the war but are prepared to do their duty and are bitterly angry at Saddam for not complying with the UN or going into exile like a sane person, and the careful precautions the pilots are going to take to minimize civilian casualties. He never expected to become the vet of a shooting war when he joined 10 years ago but he's upbeat and ready for anything. Aw, he'll be fine, I'm sure.

But ya know--witnessing your baby brother's will and signing the power of attorney papers? Sucks.

Pictures! Lots of pictures, 7 pages of marathon pictures and commentary. 26.2 miles of LA streets. Alas, I didn't bring my camera to the LAista carbo-loading dinner.

Enjoy!

Michiganistas -

I'm going to be in Ann Arbor on Saturday night. My sister and I will be going to see Willy Porter at the Ark at 8pm. If anyone can join us, please do! Willy is great (and a friend of my sister's) and I'd love to see/meet any of you who can come out.

My profile addy is good if you want to make arrangements. Otherwise, think blond, and my sister and I won't be hard to spot.

My mom called late last night to tell me that my grampa passed away.

I don't know when, but I'll be going dark for a few days so I can get back East.

Thanks to everyone who called and emailed and posted support for me and my family.

This is just a drive-by post to thank y'all for the jobma the other day -- it apparently worked, and I have another longish-term temp job at the looniversity starting on Monday.

As always, any jobma I didn't use up is available to the next Buffista who needs it.

I've been debating when and how to announce this, but I can't think of a good, Buffista-y way to do it.... Besides, it's about time Beep Me had some good news in it.

So I'll just follow in Charisma Carpenter's footsteps and announce something that I think some folks have already guessed. I'm pregnant. We're 4 months along and expecting in August. And we are very happy.

Thanks to all the jobma vibes, Mrs. Wolfram got the job she interviewed for. It is 5 minutes from our home and more than double her current salary. There should be a link to this site on Monster. Anyway, thanks Buffistas.

I'll be dark from mid-day today to (probably) Tuesday morning as I'm going to a convention in San Jose.

I just found out that the sister of a former coworker was among the victims of the fire at The Station. She survived, but is still in the hospital, in satisfactory condition with burns on her upper body, arms, head, and face. Her belt was fused to her skin. Vibes for her and the other folks who are recovering from horrific injuries would be appreciated.

Many wishes for a swift recovery, DX.

On a hopefully lighter note, I'm going to be travelling this weekend. Driving the old Beast from Nova Scotia back home to Richmond, VA. On the way I'll be passing through most of the I-95 cities between here and there, but unfortunately I probably won't be stopping (unless someone along the NY/NJ Expressway or Jersey Pike feels like offering a place to rest. Profile email is good) except to sleep along the way. However, I will be in the central/northern VA area with easy access to DC and Baltimore if any Buffistas want to get together in the next month or two. Again, profile addy is the place to send mail for that.

Here's hoping for a safe and uneventful journey.