I upgraded to the new Messenger last night and wasn't too sure how I felt about it.  No longer being a 'Softie, I feel much more empowered to be critical of the products.  In truth, I think I'm even more protective of the Microsoft brand then I was before...granted, Drew does still work there, so my health insurance needs to stay secure, but I'm still no longer a true insider.

Anyway, I went home last night not really sure what I thought of the new Messenger - the layout is a little confusing and there's way too much crammed into a small space, considering most people that I know keep their messenger wiindows fairly small, but I like the features - including a quick link to "my space" as part of my messenger login and the contacts piece, really clever thinking.  I wonder if it's too complex for many of the non-technical population - there are so many new features that I wonder how many people will truly take advantage of them.  I think that's the 90/10 philosophy about which I've heard.  90% of the people only use 10% of the features or something to that effect.  Or is it that 90% of features developed are only developed for 10% of the people :-).Anyway, hats off man for trying.  I still love Messenger much more than AIM, which I only use because everyone I work with now uses it.

Spent the weekend with my Uncle Pat and his new girlfriend Jennifer.  We did a ton of touristy stuff - ate at Betelnut in the city (my favorite), toured Alcatraz, did the Waterfront stuff, Half Moon Bay, went to Napa, saw Stanford, etc.  It was fun having some company but tiring.  By Monday, I was looking forward to my weekend!!

The most exciting event of the weekend was when I decided to try and show off my exceptional cooking skills.  Actually, I wasn't attempting to show off anything.  I worked from home on Friday to get through a lot of administrative stuff I needed to get done and while making my lunch set the microwave on fire.  Yet again proving to myself that cooking is really beyond me.  Seems the "potato" feature on the microwave is having some issues.  Normally, I put the poked potato wrapped in a paper towel in the microwave and hit "potato" and it comes out great.  On Friday, I did the same routine, went back into the living room to do some work, and when I returned 20 minutes later, the kitchen was filled with black smoke & the microwave had flames in it.  The potato was burnt to a crisp and yet the microwave still seemed to think it had another 7 minutes to go :-). 

Drew & I head to Charlotte tomorrow for our buddy Chris' wedding in Tennessee this weekend.  Woo-hoo!!