At long last, R2D2 has taken his rightful place next to HAL 9000 and Mars Pathfinder in the Robot Hall of Fame.

The jury cited R2’s “ambling, lackadaisical manner,” his “spontaneity, affability, and loyalty,” and observed “R2-D2 is crucial is [sic] assisting Luke Skywalker in a rescue mission to free the Princess from the Death Star. The little droid navigates the complex computer system to provide the rescuers with timely assistance and status updates.”

Anne and I spent a wonderful couple of days away, and enjoyed simply being Mr. and Mrs. Wheaton.
Thank you to everyone who shared such kind comments with us. I showed them to Anne, and we were both very touched your kindness.
Some highlights from our getaway:

• Playing Putt Putt golf together, like we do every year. Winner got a foot massage (that was me, for those of you keeping score at home. First time in four years I’ve won!)
• Walking down the pier, marveling at the beautiful clouds the whole way, then running back to the street when they opened up on us as soon as we got to the very end.
• Sleeping with the window open so we could hear the rain.
• Breakfast in bed two days in a row.
• Guinness and darts at the pub yesterday afternoon.
• Driving down PCH to Malibu to meet my family for brunch today.
• Loving each other’s company

Before we left, I did an interview with Something Awful for a Teen Magazine parody that Frolixo put up on Saturday. I can’t figure out how to link directly to SA stories, so you’ll have to scroll down to Saturday the 8th to read more of this:Thanks to Max, who gave up the link in the comments.
additional note: I guess there’s a Matrix spoiler around that interview, and more than a few people have seen the spoiler and freaked out. Sorry for not mentioning that when I originally posted this link. If you haven’t seen Matrix III yet, you prolly shouldn’t follow that link.

Exclusive Interview with Teen Heartthrob Wil Wheaton!
We were lucky enough to nab one of the hottest young stars of today for a one on one interview. Wil Wheaton has starred in a variety of movies like “Stand By Me”, and TV shows like “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Recently has was involved in a scandal involving the accidental death of three prostitutes at his posh LA condo, but thankfully has been cleared of all charges. As we sat down for the interview, Wil seemed ill at ease, yet sipping on his rum and coke, and downing a few horse tranquilizers calmed him down. His towering bodyguards removed my belt and took my pencils away, a normal precaution against an assassination attempt against Wil.
SA: So Wil, let’s get started. First off, what’s your favorite color?
Wil:The color of money! Wait. That’s “what movie did Tom Cruise most recently ruin.” Sorry about that. My favorite color is something like the color of drying blood on the face of the ignorant in the moonlight, the silver rays reflecting off the crimson puddles. Oh, and before you look at it, it helps to huff a bunch of ether.
SA: Interesting. What’s your favorite food?
Wil: Until you’ve eaten tapioca off the firm flat belly of a whore in Thailand, you haven’t lived.

I told Frolixo that I was going to be a real profane bastard in the interview, and he totally got on board with that idea. It’s not for the faint of heart (or my mom), but I think it’s pretty goddamn funny.

When I was younger, I saw this movie. I think it was “Singles,” but I could be mistaken. In that movie, these people are trying so hard to find each other and fall in love, and someone says, “You’re the first thing I think of in the morning, and the last thing I think of before I go to sleep.”
Anne and I had been dating for about three weeks when she became that person to me.
Eight years later, she’s still the first person I think of in the morning, and the last person I think of before I fall asleep at night. I can’t imagine my life without her.
Anne, the only thing better than falling in love with you is being in love with you.
Happy Anniversary, Mrs. Wheaton. I love you to the moon and back 59 times.

When I did uploaded all my road trip photos recently, I felt like there were several missing images, particularly from Cuervo and Tucumcari, New Mexico.
Last night, I found them! They were conveniently hidden on my iBook in the ~/roadtip/images directory. Clever, tricksey, wicked, filthy, stinking little jpegs! We hates them!
Anyway, I just added a them to the Eastbound — New Mexico album, precious.

I just finished adding captions to all the Eastbound – Texas pictures in the Road Trip gallery.
I love working on those pictures, because it reminds me how happy Anne and I were on that trip.