Post-Holiday Update: Taking a Ribbing

Hello all. I'm trying to post a bit more regularly, mostly to write about something other than software (my day job). Work is crazy right now, so this will be relatively short, and basically just an update.

My nephew, I'm happy to report, is out of the hospital and feeling a bit better every day. He has a long way to go - he's lost a great deal of weight, and needs to focus on regaining his strength - but hopefully he's past the worst of it. Fingers crossed.

I was finally able to give him his Christmas present - an authentic Mookie Betts Red Sox jersey - which he absolutely loved. It was great to see him smiling, as you can imagine. I also gave Mr. C, my sister's dog, his Christmas present as well - a blanket. As you can see, he immediately put it to good use:

He also takes his responsibility to my nephew C as well. Here he is testing the turkey sub that my nephew was eating to verify it was sufficiently nutritious:

To the untrained eye it looks suspiciously like begging, but I am assured that's not the case. ;c)

Joking aside, it's touching to see how protective he is of my nephew. He follows him *everywhere* - when C is tired and wants to go upstairs to rest, he goes right up with him. And he stays right next to him wherever he sits as well. The only exception is 5:30 PM - otherwise known as dinner time. Even C doesn't come between Mr C and his kibble. :D

As for me, my ribs are slowly healing, but it still hurts to... well, move. Sleeping is difficult, as I sleep on my left side, but I've done this before (to the sam three ribs, amazingly enough), so I know the drill. Needless to say I'm not running, and won't be for at least another 3-4 weeks, I suspect. Oh well.

My friends Alice and her husband were in town last week. Work was super-busy, so I didn't get to spend as much time as I'd hoped. However, we did manage to get to watch Boston's NHL (hockey) team play their arch rival, the Montreal Canadiens, on Monday. Alas, evil prevailed and Montreal won in overtime, 3-2, but it was still an exciting game. Hockey is fun to watch on TV, but it's so much better in person. And it was a pleasure to get to attend the game with my Canadian compadres. :c)

That will do it for now on the update front. Hoping to write a bit more about other topics soon, but I'll  need my work schedule to quiet down first. Hope it's soon.

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The band Guster formed at Tufts University just outside Boston in the early Nineties. They've put out a number of fine albums, the most recent of which, Look Alive, came out yesterday. They have a unique sound; if you like Crowded House, Fountains of Wayne, Real Estate, or similar bands, I guarantee you'll enjoy Guster. :c)

While only one of the band members still lives in the Boston area, they obviously have a strong attachment to the area, so it's no surprise that they played a mini-set for WGBH-TV's Front Row concert series, at their studio, on album release day. You can check it out here. They sound as good as ever.

I also thought I'd share some older favorites as well. First up is "What You Wish For," the opening track from their 1999 album Lost and Gone Forever (probably my favorite Guster album):

Here they are performing "Barrel of a Gun," also from Lost and Gone Forever, on Conan O'Brien's show (another Boston boy, coincidentally), just before Christmas 1999:

And here are two songs they performed with Daryl Hall, of Hall & Oates fame, on his terrific Web series Live from Daryl's House, which is literally what it is: artists performing with Daryl and his superb band in a recording studio/performance space at his home in Connecticut. It's a terrific series, and well worth checking out. See what I mean below, starting with this performance of "Do You Love Me," from their 2010 album Easy Wonderful:

And last but not least, this is "Satellite," from 2006's Ganging Up On The Sun:

Pretty great, aren't they? Lots more where those came from; have fun checking them out, and definitely see them if they come to your town - they're a lot of fun live. :c)