We’re driving to St. Louis, and then flying back to Florida. Have a happy new year, all, if I don’t check in sooner.

I’m working here with almost-new stuff. We have a Linksys BEFW11S2 V.2 wireless router about six months old, and an HP-Compaq Presario SR1563CL computer, about the same vintage. The wireless seemed to work all right before the computer, when I and others used it for our laptops. But now, with the computer, the connection occasionally (and by occasionally I mean within an hour of non-use) dies. The wireless software widget on the computer claims to see a strong signal, but it cannot connect using the software. The only way to get it working again is to both reset the router, and to hit a hardware “Connect” button on the computer keyboard, that does I have no idea what, except that when we go through these rituals, the connection comes back up (though the wireless widget may continue to say that it can’t make a connection).

Is anyone familiar with either or both of these de-vices, and able to divine what the heck is going on? It’s obviously majorly irritating.

I’m here, but don’t have much time to blog, between getting truculent wireless connections working, family visiting, and working on a proposal with deadlines next week and telecons every day. I do want to note that there’s been a lot of discussion in this post on NSA “spying,” and while I don’t agree with commenter Jane Bernstein, I’m gratified to see that the level of discussion is informed, rational, and civil. May all my comments sections be that way.

We’re heading off to Missouri to visit Patricia’s family for a few days. I’ll probably check in from there, but not until tomorrow, if then. We’ll be back on Saturday, so I’ll save my New Years’ wishes for my return.

I’m getting spammed by poker sites from Blogspot, so I’m going to shut down all blogspot URLs in comments until further notice.

Get a real URL, folks. They don’t cost that much.

Posting will likely be light this week, and next, due to deadlines and holiday activities.

Is it just me, or is everyone getting redirected to the Institute for Space Law and Policy?

I like the new version 1.5 overall (particularly the feature that opens a new window when I click on a URL in Eudora, instead of changing the last window viewed, which was what it did before, and the ability to move tabs), but one thing drives me crazy about it (as it did in previous versions).

When I download a file from a site, it automatically puts it on my desktop. It doesn’t offer any other options. I think I can go in and change the default to some other location, but I don’t want a single default location–I want to specify at the time of download where I want it to go. Does anyone know if this is possible, and that there’s something I’m missing?

…for now. I’m under attack again today, though it was quiet over the weekend.

We spent the night down in Coconut Grove to go to her office Christmas party, then had a late breakfast on Key Biscayne, and took a leisurely drive back up to Boca Raton on A1A, all the way from South Beach, and just got back. Work things are heating up as well, so blogging might be light.