I have no grand overarching topic or question this week. Instead, I have a grab bag of things that may or may not be of interest, and an invitation to make this thread about whatever (within the rules, of course - in particular, this time of this year in the US, no politics, please). Away we go!

1. I'm digging my new smart phone. Like every smart phone newbie, I want to know what some of your favorite Android apps are. I don't use Facebook or Twitter, so I don't care about stuff like that, and I'm not really into games that much although if something's really cool I'll check it out. I'm currently having a complete geekgasm over Tasker - this is the most awesome app in the history of mankind. What apps can't you live without?

2. Baseball! These have been some of the best playoffs I can remember - every Division Series went to a fifth game, and while my heart wants Ichiro to win a World Series, my muscle memory made me punch the air and jump up and down when Phil Coke finally put away the Yankees to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead last night.

3. Fall! It's finally here in Portland. After an astoundingly gorgeous summer and early fall (it was 80 degrees a week ago today!), this week has been showery and cold and much more what I would expect fall to be like.

4. Any good news in your world? After what could charitably be called a challenging couple years for my family financially (being a contractor in a down economy isn't the best strategy, kids!), we got our house refinanced this week, which will save us a nice little chunk of change every month.


So that's my pile of stuff. What about you?