to Gypsy's

By Ben |

This morning we exchanged the laptop hard disk for some memory, and I was able to get Rich's laptop fully functional in Knoppix -- but it still couldn't see it's hard disk.  Next step is to see if this is a documented problem.

Gypsy picked me up in the afternoon, and we drove to her house in a southwest neighborhood called Oak Hill.  Then we picked up some dinner and had a picnic -- it was a beautiful day -- at a little waterfall near where she used to work.  Then we caught the last matinee of "The Incredibles" and got some Lammes candies.

Game Day Parade

By Ben |

This morning Gloria took me into downtown to see the Aggie cadets parade down Congress on their way to the UT / A&M football game.  We ran so many errands along the way that we didn't get home for lunch until 2:30!

We bought hard disks for both Rich & Gloria's computers, and I made some progress with them in the aternoon.  We also stopped at Central Market, a sort of cross between the Wedge and Lunds, heavy on the customer service and free samples.

Thanksgiving

By Ben |

Today was spent mostly in getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner.  I made creamed onions using Velveeta as the sauce base, and Marisa's brother Sean -- whom I had consulted about how to melt cheddar -- didn't identify it as counterfeit, so I guess I disguised the Velveeta flavor well.  I also made egg nog.  Rich made devilled eggs, Gloria brought a low-carb pumpkin cheesecake, and they baked a turkey for leftovers (not to bring).

to Austin

By Ben |

Today I passed through practically every extreme of weather... flooding, fog, cold, heat, dry air, humidity, hail, high winds, driving rain, gentle rain, and sunshine.  Through most of this I was in pretty heavy traffic with no shoulders.

To Temple / Belton Lake, TX

By Ben |

The high point of today was passing through Crawford, Texas: "Home of the Pirates, President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush."  Oh, so they're pirates!  That explains a lot.  I have this vision of W dressed in pirate garb, saying, "Avast there!  Hand over yer booty ur prepare ta be barded!  Are ye with us or against us?  Arr!  Bring it on, ye scurvy evildoers!"

to Clifton, TX

By Ben |

Today was pretty uneventful... I kept waiting for the predicted "partly cloudy" weather to materialize, but I only saw the sun for about 15 minutes total.  When I was a few miles from my evening destination of Clifton, rain started falling, and it got gradually more intense as I rode into town.