Yes, I know it's a day early, but I've got some Halloween photos posted (in the friends&family area). And the birthday parties last week, and the visit to the pumpkin patch and all kinds of stuff.

By the way, I'm not as absent-minded as you might think. Yeah, I realize that some volume numbers have been skipped in the photo album. Most of you know by now that I do take pictures of things and people besides my daughter (though you could hardly tell from looking). Some of these of course have subject matter that may be innapropriate for the website, or I might have made promises not to post the pictures in return for getting the possibly compromising shots in the first place.

Today I'm sick. This shouldn't be a surprise for anybody who has spent time around a young child. But it poses a bit of a dilemna. Anthrax is reported to have flu-like symptoms. Another of those evil brilliant coincidences which probably wasn't planned is to have all this anthrax stuff hit at the same time as flu season. For now I'll avoid seeking a nose swab - but it's difficult to take that tact. What if? And at what point should one get alarmed, knowing that early treatment would be crucial? There's a post office a hundred yards from where I'm typing this.

I've spent a lot of time the last few days researching ideas to start a small business. The more I've learned, the more I've found that I need to research before making any clear decisions. I'm in this by myself at this point and no matter that I've got pretty high self-confidence in my abilities; making a leap like this is testing it. Should I stumble or overlook some crucial aspect there's nobody to blame but me. There's nothing to offer anybody to assist me except uncertainty. And to top it off I'm a complex person with a gazillion interests. I know I can stay focused for the short term, but over the long term many things are competing for my attention; and trying to incorporate all of them into a business venture would spread me too thin and be a recipe for failure. Oh well, I'll figure it out. Luckily I still have the gift of time to think it through and get it right before making any irreversible actions.