Light posting ahead

Yeah, posting's been light already for the last few days, but it will become even lighter over the next few days. The Wife starts a week of much-needed vacation tomorrow (her last period away from work was precipitated by Little Quinn's passing), and we have a dear friend from college -- and the maid of honor at our wedding -- coming in for a visit this weekend. It's time to recharge the batteries a little bit. I'm not going on a full-fledged hiatus, but a slow-down for a short while. Before that, a few notes:

:: Little Quinn's autopsy report came in the mail yesterday. Without going into specifics, the cause of death was ruled as a natural consequence of his cerebral palsy and his long-standing respiratory issues. We already knew in our hearts that nothing we did brought about his death, but now we have the Iron Rule of Science saying so as well. So that's something. (But reading about the actual autopsy procedure itself was beyond creepy -- especially when I got to the part about the brain examination. That's all I'll say about that.)

:: I put up some new photos on Flickr -- some random stuff I had sitting around, plus some newer items involving the two new cats and a couple of shots of Little Quinn's grave. Link in the sidebar.

:: Watching the high weirdness surrounding the Dick Cheney shooting incident, in which the whole damn thing would have been over almost immediately if Cheney had made a public statement as soon as possible after it happened, I'm reminded of something Teresa Nielsen Hayden once said: "I deeply resent the way this Administration makes me feel like a nutbar conspiracy theorist."

:: The Indestrusctible Mr. Jones reports that Frank Miller will do a comic wherein Batman takes on Al-Qaeda. On the one hand, I think that idea is staggeringly goofy. On the other hand, I am supremely jealous of people like Miller and Stephen King and Orson Scott Card who get to the point where they can just write any damn thing they want to.

:: Last month when I attended a Buffalo Blogger meet-up, I got to hear Kevin and Val deliver the "short version" of their wedding story. Now, Kevin posts the tale in full. Go read; it's cool.

:: Do you have a website whose content you enjoy, but which annoys you because it is updated too infrequently? So it is with me and Lard Biscuit, whose site I found a few years back by Googling the phrase "I love The Phantom Menace". He does love TPM (and well he should!), and he's got some newer stuff. Of course, what I'm waiting for is his gigantic summation of Revenge of the Sith, but I'll make do with his "Year's Best" for 2005, the "Lardies", in which he makes a statement of brief criticism of RotS that I've actually come to share since I watched the film on DVD. I need to think about it some more.

:: This may be the earliest year I've picked my "horse" on American Idol: I'm pulling for Taylor Hicks, the gray-haired blues singer. In all honesty, I don't think he's got a chance, but you never know.

:: I meant to link this in Sentential Links a few weeks ago and forgot, so here it is now: I now present my Tripartite List of Abuses of PowerPoint That Drive Me to Homicidal Fury.. Nifty post; check it out (and make sure to check out the links he gives to some awful Web "design".

:: I am now prepared to declare Mankind's eternal search for the perfect snack food concluded, beyond all shadow of possible doubt. Behold.

OK, that's all for now, unless something really weird or amazing happens between now and Sunday.