Last Wednesday, I took the Microsoft 70-536: .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation exam. I was a bit nervous. The testing center is located at the Lorain County Community College. I had driven by the LCCC numerous times but had never ventured on campus. Since Rachel is more familiar with the area (and because I wanted some moral support) she came with me.

I just finished putting up a new photo gallery. I still have a bit of tweaking to do. But, it is done for the most part. The new gallery can handle more pictures and has a better slideshow feature. In addition, people can create user accounts. Registered users will be able to view larger, higher quality pictures, rate the pictures, and add comments. Registered users will also be able to have their pictures printed by a printing company.

I thought I would be done with my laptop, but I was wrong. When I ordered the parts for my laptop, I also ordered some upgrades: The original battery is dying, so I got another. Rachel wanted to get a portable DVD player to watch movies on vacation. However, I figured that it would be cheaper to buy a DVD drive for the laptop to replace the CD drive. That way, we get the benefit of a larger screen. Lastly, I bought some additional memory.

When I go on vacation, I usually take a laptop so I can check my e-mail and provide support to my co-workers in case of an emergency. Last week I noticed that the laptop has problems opening and closing. As the laptop normally sets open on my desk, this is not an issue. However, it could be a big issue on the road. In addition, if there is any damage, I do not want to exacerbate the problem.

I think that I am nearly caught up with my "to do" list. At least, I am as caught up as I was last month. Now, it is time to catch up with my writing. At the last count, I had about fifty different items that I wanted to discuss:

Nearly a month ago, my step mom sent me a scrapbook containing old photos of my relatives on my dad's side of the family. I am very overdue in sending heart-felt thanks. It is nice to view some glimpses of my history.

I have been on vacation this past week. Rachel and I went up to Casino Windsor to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. The trip there took about four hours. The major delay was the route we took. Instead of taking the Ohio Turnpike most of the way there, we took Route 2. Route 2 follows Lake Erie's shoreline for the most part. The scenery was nice, but had I known that the speed limit would drop from 65 to 35, I wouldn't have taken Route 2.

(This is a long entry so please bear with me). This week has been extremely busy. But, as it is nearly midnight, the week is fortunately almost over. On Sunday, Rachel and I handed out candy for Halloween. One of the things that I like about our neighborhood is that there are set times for trick-or-treating. This year, the kids were allowed to go out between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM. We got our first kid shortly after 6:00 PM. Forty-five minutes and thirty pounds of candy later, we were all out of candy. Unfortunately, we had to turn some people away.

Since it's summer again, Rachel decided to plant some strawberry popcorn again. Out of four seeds only one plant survived. That is until very recently. Kara had decided that it must have been food so she jumped into the flowerpot and ate most of the plant. I suppose we can try again next year.

I had one of my hard drives crash on me. Since I had some information that I couldn't reproduce by any other means, I sent my drive into a data recovery place called DTI Data. I chose them because they only charged if they were able to recover any information. I sent my drive in on May 17th. Last week, they said that they were still waiting on parts. Parts? What parts? They said that they needed the exact same hard drive so that they could provide a head swap. That sounded understandable, I suppose.

Well, my day had been going good. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case. The hard drive on my home computer died on me. Most of what I lost isn't a big deal. However, I did lose all my digital pictures. I have some of my wedding pictures backed up to CD, so I didn't lose everything. If I had an extra thousand dollars to spend, I could send it to a drive recover place. Ah well. Now, if only I could afford a backup device.... At least the drive is under warranty. So, I should get a new drive in a few days.