Random discoveries: two-thirds the surface area of the continental United States is Pennsylvania, every other trucker on I-476 smokes crank at the wheel, and the remaining half are fresh out of the stuff and want my car down a ditch.

Otherwise, a relatively uneventful trip so far. Except…

During the Wife’s driving spell, somewhere in Ohio, I called an old friend about a story idea we tossed around ten years ago. My question was what happened with it, because the premise was comedic gold. Always I had wondered if he wrote it. He did not, though he remembered our drunken conversation near a golf course and some bits of dialog.

So I asked if he minded if I ran with it, as the concept was entirely his idea. He agreed. I now take back everything evil I’ve said about lawyers; there is one who has a soul and a sense of propriety. And this story will be a good project because it’s impossible for me to think about the idea for more than sixty seconds without chuckling.

True, what punches my buttons may only resonate with those who share my brand of humor, which who the hell knows how many people that really is, but I can deal with that possibility. If nothing else, I’ll bring enthusiasm to the page.

Last thought, a slow hotel Internet connection is better than no connection.

In the morning, the Wife and I leave for the Heartland. Middle America. Kansas — the Wheat State. Think I’ll tear through a cornfield at mdnight and summoun Malakai. Or maybe I’ll just wish my grandparents a happy 60th wedding anniversary, and take some pictures.

The eerie thing about this excursion: their 50th blowout doesn’t seem all that long ago. In fact, the Wife — she was the Girlfriend, though she was always the One — had just moved in together.

The blog will improve when I return next week. Less clunkers, more grins. Seriously. If there’s Internet access between now and then, I may through up a post or two. And I get to see Pollster’s new house.

Closer to the halfway mark with Team Eagle Eye edits. Of the 32 chapters addressed thus far, 32 end with a cliffhanger. Expect the unexpected, I say. Also, the hero figures more prominently in the narrative. The action is tighter and more consistent. Overall this is getting to be the sort of story I wanted all along, but lacked the tools, the chops, and the life experience to write.

Before the first tech bust, I worked at a consulting company which employed three tech professionals I respect. One of them said, “Deploy the sort of solution you would pay for, nothing less. That’s the greatest measure of quality.”

He may have been talking about code, but I think his theory applies here as well; this is almost a book I would buy.

Hard to believe it’s been a week or so since the last entry. Despite the best intentions, life just happens.

I learned something about working weekends. Avoid them. Let me repeat that; it’s important. The first rule of the good life club: weekends are for relaxing, not the job.

Last week a disaster prompted emergency action, this round was by choice. I had looked forward to this particular Saturday for more than three months, because it meant a hands on network upgrade — a pink elephant among system admins. I always heard about techs who swapped out the old and busted gear for the new hotness, but ’twas never me. Today it was.

On the plus side, the Team Eagle Eye edits are coming along. Some sessions go very well, I emerge from the office with 1-2 brand new pages to replace cut material. Good days. Other sessions feel more like running in place, the changes are subtle. And that realization is biggest reward so far, that no matter how long this process takes, the advances are tangible. They feel real, even if I’m one of the few that see them right now.