First things first: happy 21st!

Those irrevocably consigned to the nine circles of geekdom will be pleased to know that Google has officially beta'd Chrome for Linux. In other news, you can now post comments to the new quizzical quincunx; simply visit the post page and fill out the handy comment form. In the process of hacking this together, I finally became frustrated enough with the WordPress API to toss this gem into my functions.php:

function trap_output($function, $args = array()) {
  ob_start();
  call_user_func_array($function, $args);
  return ob_get_clean();
}

Also, I've decided to go with reCAPTCHA instead of post moderation; I'll be interested to see if this is sufficient to defend against the spammer hordes of the Internets.

So - test it out, and let me know if you find any problems!

I'm perched by the windowsill outside Brenda's French Soul Food as I reflect upon this grim reality: only two weeks remain in the fantastic ride that has been (and, for now, still is) my last co-op term down here in San Francisco. (Why Brenda's? I yelped reasonably-priced breakfast joints and sorted by top rated, and this is what I got.) Two weeks - not enough time to seriously launch into a new project at work, nor enough time to truly complete my haphazard exploration of this most multifaceted of cities. Every end-of-term comes with equal parts trepidation and excitement, and this one is no exception.

What next? I'll be heading back up to Waterloo to cap off my undergraduate education. Before that happens, though, I've got (in no particular order) a company holiday party to attend, a certain club by the name of DNA Lounge to pay one last visit, a game of Capture-the-Flag to play, a bottle of tequila to buy (so I can take advantage of the token customs allowances!), a work term report to write, two presentations to give, a couple of projects at work to bring to a satisfactory close, a handful of friends in Vancouver to visit...the list goes on; as usual, it's so much to do, so little time. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Then what? I've studiously ignored this question for much of the past four years, pausing only briefly to give it any thought whatsoever. As I approach graduation, however, this question seems to be popping up with exponentially increasing frequency. According to the hard-earned wisdom of generations past, it is considered Unconscionably Short-Sighted to not have A Plan - and yet that wisdom seems quaint now, politely antiquated when faced with the constant upheaval that has come to characterize modern life. It has never been so commonplace for best-laid plans to go awry. Insofar as I have made any post-undergrad decisions, here they are:

• My decision to spend a while travelling after undergrad is absolutely non-negotiable. I will have spent the better part of five years in the teeter-totter rat-race training ground that is co-op, flipping like high-voltage AC between work and school, and I desperately crave the opportunity to sample the other possibilities offered by this short existence we have on Earth.
• That said, I'll be signing up for the next round of GREs - why not? - and making the round of grad school applications at some point.
• I'll also keep contacts at the places I've worked for. This is rightly considered Good and Smart, and I've no qualms with jamming my feet into as many doors as humanly possible.

Context switch - having finished my breakfast in the cramped temple to tastiness that is Brenda's (Yelp does not lie - the beef cutlets and grits are indeed both packed with deliciousness, and the bottomless watermelon iced tea is wonderfully pulpy), I've meandered my way over to Ferry Building to borrow wireless and power off Peet's. The hallways are packed on weekends, tourists and locals alike buzzing around in the frantic search for produce to the reverberating refrains of street performers - a lucrative profession in this part of town, where no one sets foot without consciously agreeing to part ways with their gold. This may very well be the last time I set foot in this building for quite some time; next weekend is decidedly busy, and the weekend after is earmarked for the aforementioned jaunt up the coast to Vancouver.

Anything else? I still haven't seen Alcatraz, but I consider this no great loss; the only proper way to see it would be late at night, a sort of reverse infiltration that would ideally be carried out by boat. This is my first real post at the new site; it remains to be seen whether this will precipitate a noticeable shift in writing style. I should start posting more regularly, if only to prepare for my travels next summer - my less itinerant friends and relatives will demand compensation for my absence in the form of chances to live vicariously through me, something which I certainly owe them more of.

Anyways, that's it for now. Owing to my unusually pensive state, I've rambled on for far longer than I had hoped - and so, my fingers having reached exhaustion, I shall leave you all with a simple exhortation: keep posted!