So something is coming up in the next couple of weeks ... that glorious event that marks the start of summer as well as the passing of another season for me. Anyone wishing to commemorate this storied occasion would do well to look here. Note the imageless entry midway through the list, a perfect option for those wishing to enable my unfettered enjoyment of the impending season.

After participating in Sandip's molecular imaging session on Tuesday morning at the ASCO meeting, we got in one final Atlanta touristy activity ... we walked over to the CNN Center and went on the studio tour. Not the wildest afternoon for two science guys let loose on the town, but it was interesting nonetheless. At the very least we got to ride on the world's biggest freestanding escalator, an eight story behemoth in the CNN Center atrium. Seeing just how a broadcast is synthesized from live and archived video and computer-generated graphics was pretty cool, especially for an amateur graphic designer such as myself. We then taxied over to the airport and went on our respective flights ... Sandip direct to San Jose, and me to San Francisco via Denver. Four great relaxing days to recharge my batteries.

I've tried using my frequent flier miles to upgrade to first class on my last three flights, and have failed in each attempt. On the last, the United person at the gate checked my position on the waitlist, looked at me, and said "don't even think about it". There must be some trick to this, like checking in online at the earliest possible moment (i believe for United this is 24 hours before the flight). I wouldn't care that much if i hadn't been exposed to the glory of first class travel in my recent flight home from Palm Springs.

The PSP provided a welcome distraction on my flights yesterday. I spent the trip to Denver finishing another few missions in SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo, and then switched to Lumines for the SF leg. It's amazing how fast time flies when you fire that thing up. I was pretty peeved when i had to cut my high score bid on Lumines short because we were on final approach to SFO.

World Cup is two short days away ... bring it on! I am incredibly excited about it ... perhaps because i have no real vested interest in what team does well. I seem to be over my long-standing anglophilia, not really giving a crap how they do. I mean, i still want my Chelsea boys Terry, Lamps, and Cole to shine, but part of me now understands that it's silly to go overboard pulling for England because ... i ... am ... not ... English. Go USA!