Update: Boy, do I feel stupid -- when you tell Movable Type to use the publishing queue, you can sit there and click "Publish" all day long, and it won't happen until the job runs.

Yep, he did. The similarities between the score for "Hell is for Heroes" (1962) and "The Lord of the Rings" (1978) is scary. Seriously, if I took the soundtracks for both movies and shuffled them together, it'd be tough to tell which track came from which movie.

And, in a rare show of Disney humor, he did the score for "Fantastic Voyage" and the "Body Wars" ride.

Why, yes, I am bored. (Warning: by default, the results of these quizzes include spammy
links.):

25

37%

41%How Addicted to Apple Are You?

91% Geek

Family

Even when I'm doing something stupid, they're supporting me. They don't hold back their advice, but respect that I have to make my own decisions. It helps that they're a weird, fun group.

Friends

I'm still amazed at the friends I have. I just hope I've been as good for them as they've been for me.

The Return of an Old Friend

An old friend I've missed dearly got back in touch recently. Knowing that I haven't been forgotten is great; anything beyond that will be incredible.

My Career

It's been years of hard work, of sacrifice, and loads of stress, but I'm at a place -- or at least closing in on the place -- where I've wanted to be. I have a job where I get lots of respect, lots of responsibility, and lots of opportunities. That so many of my co-workers are also friends is even better.

That Guy From the Subway Next to Bradley, Summer of '93

Another cryptic one, but here's the explanation: one day, Novak, Shrijay, and I decided to hit Subway for lunch. While we were eating, this guy came up to us and asked us if we were engineers (we were talking about the kinds of things electrical engineering student talk about). "Yes..." He continued:

I just want to thank you guys. I make my living playing electronic music, and I just wouldn't be able to support my family if it weren't for people like you.

That's a moment that's stuck with me through all these years. It's been one of those little nuggets that, when I'm exhausted, frustrated, sick of it all, I think back to this fellow. No matter how insignificant what we do may seem, we're creating opportunities for other people. We're touching lives, leaving our mark, even if we can't see it.

The Little Stuff

Not nearly important, but still things I'm thankful for:

• Technology; the new opportunities, the new abilities, we're developing for ourselves is amazing. We can communicate so easily; there are people I've never met in person who I count as good acquaintances, and friends I haven't seen in years who are just as close as when we lived in the same dorm.
• Music; it can cut through to my emotions in ways I can hardly understand. Some music helps me dig into my work, get into Flow. Other music (like Blues Traveler's "She Isn't Mine") can express what I'm feeling better than I ever could.
• Walt Disney; here's a guy who died before I was born, but what he created has given me so much fun. One of my nieces said she had never seen me smile before we were at Disney World; I certainly had, but not nearly as often or for as long. And as far as I'm concerned, the Carousel of Progress is one of the clearest expressions of the American spirit I've ever seen -- not just the concept of progress, but of tomorrow being better, of being able to make our future, rather than having it happen to us.

They nailed it!

Ah, well. I'm caught up in a drama I've seen played out before. I'm pretty sure I know how it will end (poorly, painfully), but I'm just not able to say screw it and walk away. I don't know if it's boundless optimism, foolishness, or what.

(Apropos: Roy Orbison's "She's a Mystery to Me" just came on the iPod.)

I've been amazed at the support I've gotten from friends. I knew they were all incredible people, but I don't quite understand why I deserve the help they've given me. Maybe I'm just being hard on myself, but they've been more help to me than I've ever been to them.

So thanks, Mel, Kent, and Kate. No matter how all this turns out, I've realized how lucky I am to have friends like all of you.