ah, tired. The good tired that comes with visitors and much talking and staying up past your bedtime to catch up on stories that are much more reluctantly told over the impersonalizing medium of the 'net.

Andy toddled off to bed just after midnight; good and tired, I would think. He's had more of an interesting day than any of us bargained on. Accidents are, by their nature, unscheduled. As I was driving Kat's car back from the airport, the transmission gave out.

This, of course, is a bad thing to have happen when you're barreling down a highway at 75mph. To look down as the car starts shuddering just in time to see the tachometer spike to nearly 60,000rpm and feel the accelerator fall to the floor is a frightening experience, especially if you've been rear-ended less than three months before.

Looking up into the rearview mirror and seeing cars advancing on you quickly, quickly, too quickly—I've had that happen to me once this year already and it would be nice if it did not happen again. To make it worse, the car I was driving was one I was unfamiliar with. As the accelerator all but dropped like a stone, I realized we had nothing left but first gear. All I could think of was, "Hazard lights. Hazard lights. Where are the hazard lights on this Audi?"

Andy, bless him, calmly reached over and flipped the lever to turn on the hazard lights.

Obviously, though, by the fact that this entry is being written, you can tell that we were rescued. Kat called AAA and had her car towed; Heather came to rescue us in the big green oval Taurus; we made arrangements to get dinner [barbecue].

Andy was, I think, a bit overwhelmed by the wondergeeks. It's difficult not to be a bit overwhelmed by them the first time you meet them. Jeff said the very same thing when he first faced all three of them.

After Jeff went to bed and the wondergeeks went home, Andy stayed in the kitchen while I tidied a bit. We later stretched out on the couch and love seat and talked for a couple of hours—one of those "life, universe, and everything" talks that comes around once or twice a year.

Andy's comment: "I haven't been outgeeked like that in a long time."