I've made it back to the Philippines, and to my own PC, but it's not the triumphant return I was hoping for. Nevertheless, I'm just about ready to rock.

The Flight

The flight was long and uneventful, but it's the last time I'll fly using Continental Airlines. I had to fly from Phoenix to Houston before proceeding to Tokyo and then Guam and finally to Manila. The first leg was 3 and a half hours in the wrong direction, adding another 3 and half hours to the flight time to Tokyo. Then there was the 10-hour layover in Guam.

I'm a little confused. Box cutters were used to hijack the planes in 2001. Continental Airlines serves the meals with stainless steel spoons, forks and knives. Isn't there something wrong with that picture?

Health Issues

Although my wife's surgery went well and she should be a hundred percent recovered within a week or so (her throat looks healed to me), my 74-year old (soon to be 75) mother is not doing so well. According to my sister (Tammie via IM), she was moved from her hospital room to the intensive care unit in order to get better care. My mother's health seems to be improving, but you can never tell what's going to happen next. As far as we know, the only surgery she'll need is getting her gall bladder removed.

More of My Stupidity

Okay, so my website blunder wasn't completely due to my stupidity, but a couple of things I'm getting ready to mention are clearly my fault.

Just before I left Phoenix, when I was I was checking a few things before I packed away my USB thumb drive, I discovered that the first feed entered in the options for the DualFeeds plugin was pointing to the wrong URL. It appears that "untwistedvortex/" was repeated in the string. Unless there really are such things as gremlins, I did it, although I don't have a clue as to why I did it.

When I returned to the Philippines after my older son's wedding in 2006, I accidentally left my USB thumb drive behind. Well, I did it again. This time, however, my wife found it and sent it to me via FedEx the day I left and it should be arriving here today. If it wasn't for the valuable data on the drive, I would have told her to just bring it with her when she returns. Unfortunately, there are some things on that drive that I need yesterday.

Thank You!

To everyone who helped me financially, spiritually and otherwise: I can't thank you enough. Everything I accomplished since January is a direct result of your assistance. As I get back into the mix of things, I'll be sure to remember each and every one of you in some form or another. I know that sounds vague, but it's the best way I can express it.

I may not have responded to all the comments that I should have in the last month, but my time was limited. Feel free to repeat any unanswered questions. I'll be sure to answer them this time around.