I've archived some pics of the WTC Tragedy. Warning: Some of these pics may be disturbing, especially the ones called "ohmygod".

I can't imagine what the families of the New York and Pentagon victims are going through, but my thoughts will be with them.
posted by Aelred at 10:17 AM

My God. Being in Desert Storm doesn't hold a candle to the events of today, but I suspect that many of us now know how our parents and grandparents felt when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred.

I can't help but think of kids coming home from school and no parents there to meet them.

I hope we bomb the living daylights out of whomever is responsible in any way, shape, or form.
posted by Aelred at 10:16 PM

Helmet arrived today, just in time too, as my brother Mike and his wife Danielle are coming down tomorrow. (If the weather holds, that is.) We should be able to do some riding now, I was a bit worried not having the helmet, but that's fixed!

This should be a good weekend!
posted by Aelred at 6:53 PM

Okay, it's been about a week since the hammer dropped. Resumes have been sent out, friends and such notified. Hopefully I land something soon.

The upside to this whole thing, is I have some spare time now to spend working out, and learning to ride the new bike. Yeah yeah, driving it around the parking lot is just sooooo exciting, but I've gotta learn somewhere and sometime. Helmet will be here friday: HJC Fusion 2.

After that, I should be pretty much ready to go!
posted by Aelred at 3:48 PM

Yikes! Yesterday was so NOT fun. For those not following the Washington, D.C. news, AOL had their layoffs. And yes, I was one of the ones to get get stung. I was very surprised to say the least, especially given that my resign of the web cache network infrastructure will save them on the order of four MILLION dollars on their upcoming data center build in Gainesville, VA.

Life goes on, and there are other places and opportunities to explore. I guess now is as good a time as any!
posted by Aelred at 1:54 PM

Well, I finally did it. I bought a motorcycle, an '02 Honda Shadow Spirit 750. Boy do I love it so far, this is going to be a lot of fun for a first bike. I still have some more riding gear to get, and I'm already starting to plot out some enhancements for the bike, luggage rack, etc.

Rumours are abounding about layoffs at AOL. Needless to say the lack of comment by any managers is starting to wear thin on people. But life goes on, and I have a bike!
posted by Aelred at 9:54 AM

Time for another rare update. ;)

Things have been interesting lately. I'm still not terribly happy with work, but I've managed to get involved in some projects that could have a substantial impact at AOL. One is testing and deploying IPv6, the other is working on a redesign of the web cache networks that has potential to create a major cost savings. Needless to say, both are getting good visibility, and are creating some new challenges.

This past week, my brother got married, and I was the best man at the wedding. WOW, what an event this was, I'm still in a bit of disbelief over how well it went. My new sister-in-law and her family are just great people to know, plus I got to see several relatives on my side of the family that I haven't seen in over 10 years! A bit of a reunion as it were. AND I caught the garter during the toss, so hopefully that will bring me some luck in my quest to find my other half, I know she's out there somewhere...
posted by Aelred at 10:13 PM