Just before the turn of the century, I moved into management at work. Shortly thereafter I found myself becoming decision averse in my personal life. I think this drove/drives Ali crazy (though over the last year I've been getting better).

I would still make decision for work because, "that's what they pay me for," but when it wasn't required, I would avoid making a decision like the plague.

All of this is to say -- I was sitting in the Cincinnati airport eating lunch when a mother and son came in, and sat at the table across from me. It dawned on me as I was watching the mom order for her son that the number of decision you have to make must increase exponentially once you have children.

Therefore, this is reason #28 why I/we don't intend to have children.

This is just a quick note to say congratulations to Joe and Tonya -- Congratulations! -- and to share a few pictures from the occasion.

Lately I've been coming across a disproportionate amount of stories and pictures about bacon. Normally it wouldn't make an impression on me, but my friend David is sometimes affectionately called bacon. So in honor of David:

10 Ways to Eat More Bacon
Fried Bacon
Bacon Briefcase
Everything's Better with Bacon
Bacon iPhone Case
Candied Bacon
I <heart> bacon
Obligatory wiki entry

Do you have any bacon links to share?

Edit: More bacon
Pre-bacon
Bacon hater
Goat + Bacon + Ron Paul
Bacon Mints
Bacon Weave
Bacon wrapped bacon
Bacon Dispenser
Wall of Bacon
Bacon Races
Bacon Flavored Jelly Beans
Bacon Man
Bacon Bra

I've been trying to get Ali to go and hang out at McDonald's with me for a few weeks now. She finally gave in and we were there on Saturday when I saw a young girl jump out of a minivan; arms full of McDonald's debris. The car was in the drive through line. I guess they were just makin' room.

I've been with the same company for over twelve years. Just over five years ago I started telecommuting when Ali and I moved to New York (state). The first 15 months I rented office space because there was no high speed Internet available where we lived. Other than not having personal interactions with people, things weren't much different. Eventually we moved to a place where high speed Internet was available. My commute changed from driving 10 miles to my office to walking up a flight of stairs. That was about four years ago.

Back in June I went to Portland to visit a friend. One of Adam's things is working from a cafe a couple of times a week. All of the cafes in Portland are setup with free wireless Internet, free power, tables, couches, and comfy chairs. Though we only did it once, I really enjoyed it.

When one works from home (and ones wife does the grocery shopping) one finds that they don't ever have a reason to leave the house. Consequently, over the last four years I've been turning into a real recluse.

Visiting Adam has turned out to be a very good thing for me. He lived in downtown Portland, and everything was in walking distance. I really liked the experience and vibe. When I got back home I started changing my ways - I was looking for was to recreate my experience. The first thing that I did was to start walking to the deli to get lunch every other day.

When Ali and I went to Alabama recently, we hung out at Starbucks a couple of times and that brought the whole cafe experience back. Walton doesn't have any cafes, but I've found that the local McDonalds fits the bill. It doesn't have the amenities of a cafe, but it can be made to work. The largest short coming is there is no power available, which means I get about 2.5-3 hours before my laptop dies. Also, they don't have free wifi, so instead of using it I just tether my cellphone to my laptop. I have been surprised at how well that works. The only issue is I can't be on the Internet and take a call at the same time.

So for the last month, once or twice a week I go to McDonald's; get a large tea (and sometimes a cookie); and sit at a booth and work. It has been great to get out of the house.

I just found out yesterday there is an art store on Main St. that has free wifi and the lady who runs it welcomes people to come hang out. I'm going to be giving her place a try the first chance I get.

About a year ago I decided (and successfully convinced Ali) that collecting guitars and holding them as assets would be a good thing. The agreement that we settled on is that I can buy one instrument, uh I mean asset a year. I also got her to agree that my first purchase would count against 2007 even if it occurred in 2008 -- quite a coup!

My first purchase came in March. I had wanted a hollow bodied guitar ever since I played around with one that John Jetmore had. I think he picked it up from a boutique dealer in Louisville. I was talking to "Uncle" Kenny about them at Thanksgiving and he turned me onto the Gibson ES-335, which is a semi-hollow body. I was really keen on one I found online which was a custom shop model with an "iced tea" finish. I picked it up in March and have been pretty happy with it.

My second purchase just occurred about a week ago. I have wanted a Taylor acoustic guitar for most of this decade. I have been eying the 800 series for a while and was pretty sure I would end up getting one of those. Then in late August I stumbled across the Fall Limited edition guitars. The 2008 model hadn't been announced yet, but they would be in a couple of weeks. I eagerly checked the Taylor site every couple of days until they were announced. The 2008s came in two flavors: Cocobolo with Koa trim, or Koa with Cocobolo trim. I was smitten. I identified three Taylor dealers in Alabama for our annual trip, and we went to each one only to be disappointed -- no one had them in yet. When we got back I contacted the nearest dealer in New York and was told they didn't have any either.

One of the dealers we visited in Alabama was located in Huntsville and a week and a half after our vacation in Alabama I was back there to meet with Adtran. It just so happens that Adtran's headquarters is in Huntsville. On a whim I called the dealer to see if they had gotten some in during that time -- Score! They had one of each model I was interested in.

This guitar is beauty incarnate. The craftsmanship is simply amazing. The sound is much brighter than I expected and it has a nice tone.

After checking it out, I knew I had to have one. When I got back home I got in touch with "Uncle" Kenny who has contacts in the business from a prior life. He was able to setup a sweet deal through Mandolin Brothers. The guitar arrived late last week and I absolutely love it! Thanks, Kenny!

2009 is just around the corner ... what to buy next?

In other news, I photographed all of my equipment and posted pictures in the photo album. Try not to drool on anything.