Hurry up and wait

Flash! This just in! The new word from the gods of ModBlog:

"Update (11/22/05 @ 12:17AM CT): We are very, very sorry for the extended delay. Unfortunately, the person that is capable of repairing the problem was traveling over the weekend, and was unable to tend to the problem. We are now working as fast as possible to put ModBlog back online, and that should happen very soon. Frequent updates will follow this post until ModBlog is fully back online."

Please note: That's "very, very sorry," not just "very sorry" or just plain garden variety "sorry." So that means that they really, really mean it (not just "really mean it" or just plain garden variety "mean it"). Why do people think that by adding multiple layers of a word ("I'm really, really, really, really pissed.") that it gives more intensity than simply stating ("I'm pissed.").
*****
I've leaving for Detroit on Wednesday morning for the high school football finals--our team plays in the 9 a.m. game. As we all know, it's 520 miles from here to there. And my wife and son have invited themselves along, so they can visit my older son and see his new apartment. That's all right. It's a long drive. Nice to have someone to talk to.

So this morning I asked my wife: "When do you think we'll be able to go tomorrow." "Oh, I don't know. I think we can get ready by 9 o'clock."

Something died inside me. "You know," I said, trying to keep my voice even, " the drive is going to take about 12 hours, whether we leave at 5 a.m. or at 10." "Oh! Well, maybe we can get going earlier."

But that's her nature. She's just ... slow. As in poky. Needs a lot of sleep. Slow to get going in the morning. Slow to get herself organized. Push her, and she gets slower. And I'm acutely aware of it because I'm the opposite. I don't need a lot of sleep and get off to a fast start. I think I'm fairly well organized for the trip already, a day before we hit the road.

Of course, I'm the one who does all the driving, and the weather forecast for our trip isn't the greatest. Snow and wind. Not a lot of snow, fortunately, but hardly ideal driving conditions. I'd like to get to our destination before it gets too late. (Just took a break to reserve a room online, so there will be a room waiting for us, whenever we get there.)

How different this trip is going to be from my next big trip, two weeks from now! The other trip will be even longer (660 miles or so), but I will be by myself, on my own time, and the destination is one of the heart.

Fed up with ModBlog ... again

Well, tell me if this surprises you: I went to my blog on ModBlog today, and I read the following:

"Update (11/17/05 @ 4:30AM CT): ModBlog will return online later today. We greatly apologize for ModBlog's downtime, and we are taking steps to ensure that this cause will not be an issue in the future. Complete details regarding ModBlog's downtime will be posted once it re-opens. We truly appreciate your patience, and we look forward to seeing you back at ModBlog!"

The thing is, it's late on Nov. 20, not the 17th, so the promised return is three days late. ModBlog has been off the tracks (again) since Tuesday, and my patience with its many outages is rapidly running out. As I may have written before, I love the way MB is set up and its many features, but all those features--the feedback from others, the friends whose lives you find yourself caught up in, the running jokes, the links and chat features--don't mean much when the site is down. Lately, it seems down much more often than it's up.

The thing is, at Blogger (and at many others), it seems like you're just talking to yourself. No feedback, no attaboys, no wisecracks or pieces of advice.

So despite the fact that I'm here, I'll probably keep an eye open for more promising surroundings. Maybe Blogger has some features I don't really know about. We'll have to see later.