Samer in Love

Yes -- it has happened. Samer is in love. Check out the back seat ...

Well, he has a new new car. It isn't red, which means he is broadening his horizons.

Join the lovefest at Samer's GTI Flickr photoset.

Nicole Heads East

Settle down guys -- it's only for a brief visit over the New Year's weekend.

Among other things (we sincerely hope) Nicole will be helping out with hosting duties for a holiday party.

Girl -- do you not do enough on your own?

Mike is Freelancing

Word on the street is that Mike is looking for some freelance gigs.

"High on a hill, it calls to me"

Fin, by Samer Farha

Regular readers of peepsNet know we're not good enough to come up with a headline like that.

It's the subject line of an email from Samer announcing -- all kidding aside -- an extraordinary portfolio of work from his recent trip to San Francisco, a "wonderful week hanging out with friends, eating great food, enjoying the sights and taking tons of photos. I think I've pulled the best of the best out and I have them up on my Flickr page.

The set is here. Don't miss it.

Today, H&G -- Tomorrow ... ?

This is where she'll be

Yeah, Iraq is disintegrating, the White House is leaking memos like there is no tomorrow (see: Iraq is disintegrating), people that outwardly seem to have no mental defects are already running for president and there was this story on the TV tonight about rats figuring out how to eat their way into FEMA trailers parked in Jefferson Parish.

We're not interested in small stuff like that on peepsNet.

Nicole has been offered a monthly column by the Home and Garden editor at the San Francisco Chronicle. Her beat will be the trials and tribulations of the renter in San Francisco.

Regular readers of peepsNet know that Nicole has already been published in the Chron. She has also pitched two other pieces that were accepted but haven't yet run and has generally been making a nuisance of herself -- you know what I'm talking about -- that the folks there must have thought well, she isn't going away so we better give her what she wants.

Smart move, Chronicle. Where do I subscribe?

Nicole, Blog Star

Nicole has been invited to join the Blogburst network, which syndicates bloggers to MSM. So cucinanicola will be available to thousands of Internet news sites, including -- and here's a neat twist -- her old workplace, Reuters.

Reuters has invested $7 million in Blogspot's company, Pluck, as part of it's strategy to expand its presence in social media

peepsNet Summit Report

dear lord -- what is wrong with this picture?!

Well, the first West Coast peepsNet summit went off with no surprises: Samer arrived cranky and the women spent a lot of time texting friends during the meal.

Some tidbits: Apparently Samer has taken to referring to himself in the third person or as "the doctor."

peepsNet has no idea what the menu was, but in the course of the evening we suggested from afar, based on reports from the venue, that perhaps Samer's sugar was low and that the cupcake course should be expedited.

Samer Kicks Back

Samer's trip to SF in Nov. '04

Samer is heading out to San Francisco for a few days, where he will meet up with two other peeps -- Nicole and Miss Katy.

Samer intends to visit at least a dozen pals (including the two peeps). We hear a lovely dinner at the tres chic Slanted Door is in the offing, and that Miette cupcakes (whatever the hell they are) will be suggested apres diner. This might present a logistical problem since the bakery closes at 6 p.m., when the three will still just be working on getting drunk.

A Tale of Two Cities

One runner limped across the finish line. The other sprinted.

One runner said through the pain that this was not a good day to ask about running again. The other has many races planned, and hoped for.

One runner had three world-class elite runners as pacers. The other had to hitch to the event.

So, which of the above statements refer to Lance Armstrong, who competed in the NYC Marathon on Sunday, and which to Nicole, who blazed the trail in San Francisco's US Half on the very same day?

Only one of these athletes responded to a request for an email interview, so we'll decide what's news based on courtesy.

Intrepid Nicole had a Plan A and a Plan B, but a Plan C was required. "Waited for the first bus I'd have to take down the start line, which (of course) never came," Nicole writes." I freaked, and ran a 1/2-mile down to a more main street where I'd have to catch the next bus. It was very foggy and still darkish, and there were no buses, no cabs, no hope ...

"Then suddenly out of the mist, my savior: a woman at the red light called to me from her car and asked if I was going to the race, and offered me a ride. It was so great, and I was even able to tune out the bickering between she and her husband because I was so happy to get there on time."

I'm guessing Lance had a motorcade and triple redundant ways of being taken to his venue.

Three miles into her race Nic hits stride and shakes off the aches and angst. "Once on the [Golden Gate] bridge ... I looked out over San Francisco Bay, and that alleviated the tiredness in my legs a bit. To my right: Alcatraz, and a high-flying flock of pelicans. The sun burned through the clouds and miraculously it was not too windy.

"The course was absolutely beautiful with gorgeous views of the city, bay and Pacific Ocean; when we came off the bridge into Marin County, we ran down a dirt path that overlooked the water (so quiet, that early) and I thought "the uphill was worth it for this!"

Lance was probably wondering just how bad his sponsors would take it if he a) tanked or b) didn't finish with a better time than Diddy did three years before.

Post-race meals were probably similiar, though peepsNet only knows for sure that Nicole celebrated with Miss Katy -- take that, Mr. Armstrong! -- and feted on "cheese, hummus, chocolate, olives, and the all-important champagne."

We heard a lot about the champagne, so we are assuming there was a lot of champagne.

Follow the Money

Here at peepsNet we love writing and writers and people who love writing. Add in politics, green and greed and we are yours.

We are also thrilled when a peep finds her voice after moving cheese for so many years.

So for a good read on California prop 87, the initiative that would impose a new tax on oil production in the state to fund a range of alternative energy programs, look no further than Katy Hunt's MarketWatch thumbsucker.

This is far from Miss Katy's first MW byline -- she get them pretty regular. Subscribe to her stories here. We hope she is not peturbed that peepsNet has covered a certain other San Francisco writer more thoroughly. Let's just say that other person has a better press agent.

Hannah Gross

I've already broken the rule on birthdays, but even if I hadn't -- I mean, who can resist this!

Proof of Life

Jon obliges a peepsNet reporter with irrefutable evidence of his real-time existence

I didn't notice him at first.

It wasn't that the give-or-take year since I last saw him had been unkind, but even so, he seemed like the gray man as I scrutinized the field to find the guy I was meeting for coffee.

Neither of us should be allowed to dress ourselves but I wasn't expecting quite the witness protection look -- as he would say, we kid because we love. Still, I should have zeroed in far quicker on the man who would choose to sit outside Starbucks on a cool, windy day.

The man with his head buried in a baseball cap and face buried in a newspaper is a definite prospect. And then I spy the nearly empty pack of Merits teetering on the edge of the small cafe table. Only the need to stay friends with a cigarette would coax someone away from plush seating and warmth into the arms of a flimsy, uncomfortable steel chair, and to subject oneself to an autumn sun so low and intense in the sky that even in the early afternoon an eye-level gaze is borderline painful and removing your sunglasses is out of the question.

So, the first thing we know about Jon is that he hasn't given up cigarettes. In context, that's a good sign.

"It's good to see you," I say.

"It's good to be seen," Jon replies. Yeah -- no mistaking that mixture of shtick and schlamozel.

Jon and I have had a similar year, looking for the next great thing, and we have tried from time to time to meet for coffee since we live in neighboring towns. But it has taken this long.

We compare notes and intel about places we've been and are trying to crack. We discuss strategy and tactics and how blogging has almost become a way for job-seeking journalists to extend and revise how the world sees them beyond the narrow confines of the cover letter and resume. We divulge disappointments and near misses and times we felt just plain used. We rag on Reuters for a respectfully brief but obligatory few minutes.

We talk shop: the solitude inherent in multimedia production; the craving for a creative environment; not whether, but how soon the embrace of citizen journalism by MSM will create a crisis in journalism, long after nobody noticed that the lines had irretrievably blurred.

We joke about working together again, with another former cohort or two, and it is a longing, instantly wistful remark that hangs there in the air for both of us to ponder while we try to conceal from each other -- as best as men can -- how nice we each think that would be.

We begin to figuratively rustle our papers after a little while, not long after the dregs of my grande coffee, black, have cooled -- we are, after all, outside. Time to move on since there are letters to write, bushes to beat, trails to follow.

I hope we'll have another meeting with much less time elapsed. And this time I think I'll recognize him right away.

This just in ...

Careful readers of peepsNet have no doubt noticed that we do not cover birthdays. We're happy to concede that kind of fluff to Entertainment Tonight. And hey, if you reach 100, you have a date with Willard Scott.

But we don't like to make girls cry and we also crumble like fresh feta under accusations of favoritism, so either peepsNet writes less about Samer or ...

Today's birthdays include:

• Noah Webster / wordsmith (1758)
• Oscar Wilde / author (1854)
• David Ben-Gurion / statesman (1886)
• Eugene O'Neill / playwright (1888)
• Michael Collins / revolutionary leader (1890)
• Paul Strand / photographer (1890)
• William O. Douglas / jurist (1898)
• Angela Lansbury / actor (1925)
• Suzanne Somers / actor (1946)
• Tim Robbins / actor (1958)
• John Mayer / songer, songwriter (1977)
• Nicole Spiridakis / writer (1978)

Let's see ...

1. Jessica Simpson's new fella
2. A guy I went to high school with
3. Oh! The hottest young writer in San Francisco!

peepsNet knows there has been some cocktails already -- at lunch, so naughty! -- but the main event is tonight. We doubt our friend will feast on Surf & Turf -- though that would give us a decent lead, love -- can you throw us a bone? (Are vegetarians even allowed to throw bones?).

peepsNet has been promised pictures, but peepsNet has been made many, many promises (sigh).

Heeeeeeeeeeee's Baaaaaaaaaaack!

Samer's precious iBook is back in his loving hands as of yesterday (get a room, you two, why don't you) and the happy couple promises "there's a ton of pics coming up" on Flickr.

At this writing a ton = eight (8).

On a Mac ... (or: Technology Fails Samer)

A satisfied customer awaits the opening of the Apple Store in Santa Monica

Samer refuses to blog anymore (me thinks he doth protest too much) but since he has found a new love his fan(s) is getting used to experiencing the world through Samer's eyes not from petty rants but pretty much through his actual eyes.

So why is Samer's last Flickr photo from Sept. 19?

An exclusive peepsNet investigation has uncovered the unspeakable truth: Samer's iBook -- a Mac! -- just stopped working.

Did a PC.
Had a Windows Moment.
Took a ride on the Gates-ville Local.

To make matters worse, Samer had a heck of a time getting the thing serviced since only people with Pro accounts can reserve Genius Bar time other than today, and today always seems to be booked, even mere seconds after reservations for today are accepted. Stupid Pro Account yuppies strutting their stuff, no doubt.

Samer managed to get some pity care when he showed up at the Apple store at the open and even then there was not a slot to be had. A sympathetic clerk let him cut the virtual line. This may be a tribute to Apple's commitment to customer care or it might just be this: what would you do if a guy that looked like Samer showed up with a "laptop" that couldn't be turned on and he started to get a little irate? Check the TSA handbook if you have any doubts.

Samer reports that "with any luck, I'll have it back in the middle of the week" and that he has a backlog of more than 250 pictures, of which very few will likely meet his exacting standards and be uploaded to Flickr.

But he already has some favorites. "The ones of a hawk in a cemetery are very cool," he assures.

Cemetery pictures. Lets see -- what does the TSA manual say about that ...

Mike Lives!

A raging fire

There was a pretty serious fire in Mike's neck of the woods, which a folksy way of describing where something is when you don't really know where it is, especially when writing about something that takes place in the South. In this case it also gives peepsNet sufficient journalistic cover to write about something even though there is no story here whatsoever.

The news is Mike is fine. But the backstory is that Mike was never in any danger, even though upwards of 17,000 (again: folksy) people were urged to evacuate their homes in the Raleigh suburb of Apex when a hazardous materials plant caught fire and spewed funky smoke into the air.

Mike, contacted late on Saturday via IM , said he was fine and was far enough away from the mess so that it didn't affect him at all. He said he was as far away from the blaze as Silver Spring, MD is to Alexandria, VA.

peepsNet wouldn't want it said it was coaching you to stretch the truth for a few easy bucks, but you might want to reconsider your story, or reconsider your story, or reconsider your story, my friend.

The Running Man

We used to have a couple of nicknames for Mike, and he patiently indulged us. "Quiet Mike" was the favorite not only because it was an obvious reference to his low-key nature but also his ability to maintain his composure at the center of the daily mayhem that surrounded him, sitting as he did amid John, Jon and Samer.

Samer also used to call him "Bus Stop," because Mike was once hit by a bus as he rode his bike. That one didn't sit too well with Mike or anyone else. Samer thought it was hysterical. Probably still does (sigh).

But now we can call Mike by his new Indian name: "Running Man."

To save us all a lot of embarrassement we're not doing to delve too deeply into what drove Mike into oncoming traffic ... oh why bother with the pretense: Meka said she was going to start running and "when she told me about it MALE EGO kicked in and I was like 'I CAN'T HAVE MY WIFE OUT THERE RUNNING AND ME SITTING ON THE COUCH WITH A TUB OF ICE CREAM.'"

Personally, I'd examine that flawed imperative.

Nicole will always be able to leave us in a swirl of her dust but peepsNet knows that when you run for the first time -- no matter what else you do, no matter how fit you are -- you feel like you are going to die. Period.

So congratulations, "RM," for getting past that hurdle.

Cooking with Samer

With apologies to our vegetarians readers -- but not to the culinary-inclined! -- we report that Samer has documented yet another meal prepared by his hand.

This time our friend has prepared "Rabbit Stewed with Dried Cherries," and, in an introduction to the illustrated recipe on Flickr, he warns:" (I)t is long and complicated, it'll use half the pots and pans in your kitchen, and if you are queasy, stay away."

peepsNet can second that last part.

Nicole, on a Roll

The Chronicle's Home & Garden section has greenlighted another story by Nicole, on rooftop gardens in San Francisco.

No word yet on her deadline or when it will appear in print.

Nicole Spiridakis, Special to The Chronicle

Nicole has an article in the San Francisco Chronicle! (We in the business call it The Cron. Oh yeah.)

She's been pitching them story ideas like a utility daily reliever and hit with a piece on upsizing from a studio to a one-bedroom, and negotiating the straits of decorating for two.

The Chron sent a photographer and the piece is adorned by four pictures. She is in two of them and looks happy in both. Michael is in the same two and looks happy in only one. Of course, in the one where he looks a little distressed she is lighting some very unmanly lavender candles. (Hang tough there, Michael: next thing you know there will be purple towels in the bathroom and "no room" for your New Guinea art.)

This is the second article about Nicole in a major metropolitan newspaper. Shortly before she left DC the Washington Times profiled Nicole's legendary hostess talents in an article headlined "Elbowroom," about entertaining in small spaces. She didn't write that one, and it shows.

We expect the new expanses at Nicole's disposal will only enhance her ability to make guests feel warm and welcome and sorry to leave.

On a housekeeping note: unless the rest of you guys start getting a lot more interesting this space is going to turn into the Nicole Spiridakis News Service.

A New Home for cuciananicolina

cuciana nicolina is dead! Long live cuciananicolina!

Nicole's culinary-related blog died over the weekend, no doubt from a sudden burst of use, as has already been noted by peepsNet. Sadly, there was collateral damage: the most recent post was lost in the tragedy and Nicole writes that while she probably will restore it on her new space "... at the moment I'm totally annoyed by the whole thing and need a little break."

She has migrated to Blogger, and peepsNet welcomes her to the fold. Don't forget to update your bookmarks and to Blogroll the new location.

New Blood

The peepsNet hidden blog-cam captures Professor Katie King making a point to her "Introduction to Online Journalism" class at George Washington University.

peepsNet welcomes, without fear or favor, all new entrants into the citizen journalism space .

Bring it on.

Martin-izing

peepsNet has received two reader requests in recent days for news about a certain Mr. Martin R. Understandably, neither Samer nor Rich would want it known it was they who were curious so peepsNet intends to keep their identities a secret.

Nevertheless, we intend to give this investigation all the attention it deserves.

~ 30 ~

peepsNet Considers Calling Off dragNet

We are still awaiting results from the lab but it looks like that email we got from a man purporting to be Jon Resnick just might be legitimate.

The potential hoaxer or long lost friend has captured the proper Resnickian mix of levity and pessimism but since the communiqué ends on a positive note our experts say they will not be convinced of its authenticity unless the forensics supports that conclusion. Lab analysis may take weeks.

"We'd be happy to rush this -- we've offered to -- but nobody seems to really give a crap," said one lab employee, granted anonymity because we think it's cool to have unnamed sources. "We could have the results back to you in a couple of hours.

"By the way, feel free to use my real name," he said.

Anyway, please take part in this very scientific poll.

Is that email really from Jon Resnick?

Yes No

Make Free Polls

A "Remote" for a "Camera"

black is wake/focus, red is single shutter, toggle is bulb.
if it goes 'boom', that's a problem.

With the end of the weekend we resume covering hard news, as it were.

Samer reports that he is making a remote control for his new camera. Sure, he can get one for $25 0r $30 but they aren't nearly as functional as the one he is making (three buttons vs. one) for $10 in parts.

So, what did you do this summer?

Girls night In

artist's rendition of nicole and katy's dinner.
no, as a matter of fact this looks nothing like the peepsNet masthead picture

We've started to scrape the barrel already, so I'm documenting Nicole and Katy's Sunday evening dinner only to show off my superb Photoshop skills, since they didn't even take one stinking picture.

For the record, Sunday night's fare included:

1. homemade hummus
2. salmon
3. roasted tomato and red pepper soup
4. spinach fettucine pasta
5. salad
6. chocolate cake

There were equal parts wine and urbane chatter about work, Ireland, Greece, and San Francisco. I doubt this even makes the cut at cucinanicolina.

And they took no pictures, like I said, so you will just have to imagine the wild scene, which I have tried to conjure to the best of my humble abilities.

When Spam isn't Exactly Spam

how this man gets work we'll never know

peepsNet's editor-of-all-he-surveys (we took a pay cut for that bitchin' title) used to work at another major global news organization and his boss there, Bob, was a man of few words, and sometimes none.

Some of the words he used were:

• Habbagoowah!
• I'm a complicated man, and nobody understands me but my woman.
• Yo!

Bob's words are carefully carefully chosen. He has to be careful because he has the delicate responsilibility of blogging about the truly weird stories Reuters runs every day -- no, no -- not earnings corrections, but about the next most popular category, Oddly Enough.

You can't be too careful when you rep a 153-year-old company rooted in British tradition, no sir. So blog entries like "Inflated Dolls for Deflated Dreams," Pirate Wannabes Getting Lots of Mileage to the Galleon" and "Auditioning for a Laxative Commercial" are crafted with the care that would make Bob's fellow Reuters alumni Iam Fleming and Frederick Forsythe proud.

But ever since Bob figured out how to send email attachments, and because he knows the two or three things that push our "Niagra Falls" button, every once in a while all peepsNet gets from Bob is a picture, like the one adorning this story.

Glad you are enjoying your holiday, Bob. We're renting Ordinary People tonight -- wanna make something of it?

Maybe You Can't, but the Cover Does Help

Well, some people know how the game is played ...

Yes, the SWAG is starting to pour in but make no mistake, dear readers -- peepsNet cannot be bought unless the price is right.

Our friend Bob Crooke has shared with us what might have been called in a gentler time the "galley" of his soon-to-be-completed novel, Sunrise. But these days the "shop around" version actually looks like a book, the better perhaps to penetrate the thick skulls of some bigshots who probably can't decide whether the writing is any good unless-- hint! hint! -- it is already printed and bound. Possibly by another publisher. Perhaps the one the author went to when you passed.

Works here too. See, now I can publish a picture like this and say ... "I was reading the New York Times and saw this new book Sunrise ... ". Not that peepsNet would stoop to such subterfuge. Not for a lousy pre-publication copy with not even a dead-president "bookmark."

On the other hand, peepsNet is truly touched that Bob has shared his new baby with us, and we are honored that we most possess what may be the only copy not in the hands of a someone who can actually do him some good. Need proof? Here is the peepsNet technorati ranking.

Weekend Edition

No news is not good news. Watch any of the 24/7 cable news channels and see what you get served up on Saturday and Sunday. Ick. The only time Headline News is must-see TV.

But, a bottomless news hole has to be filled, as peepsNet is discovering. And branding -- yeah, that's important, too.

So on our first weekend we are proud to introduce "Weekend Edition" -- catchy, eh? I don't think I've seen it used before. Plus -- and I believe this is also a first in publishing -- we guarantee it will not be newsworthy, but filling.

Featured this weekend: Samer, whose new toy helps us illustrate this entry and who is the object of a vigorous Internet campaign (rolling thunder, really) aimed at getting him back into blogging. The big mo started when our friend was interviewed on the subject not long ago.

Out of the Courtroom and into the Pit

anonymous source texting story to peepsNet

peepsNet is pleased (and our lawyers are relieved) to report that we were correct to go out on a limb and disclose, on the word of a single source, that Nicole was changing jobs. Her new gig is copy-editing for a cool-sounding financial reporting outfit that serves a list of private clients. Given her 5+ years at Reuters (another cool-sounding financial reporting outfit that serves a lisst of private clients) I guess this proves the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Nicole is halfway there: has accepted the new job, hasn't given notice. Awkward. Preparing to give notice at the old place has proved to be a bit anxiety provoking. But we are sure it will be accomplished with grace and aplomb. peepsNet had other ideas and offered up a number of below-the-belt parting shots and "yo mamma" jokes. You're welcome, anyway.

Not only is the new job better in every way but one (it, like, starts at a normal part of the business day instead of siesta time) but Nicole had the audacity to ask for more money than they were offering. Our tough-as-nails pal would have made The Donald quiver as she got them to pony up 14% than their original offer. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall ...

NicSpiriting Away?

Off the record, peepsNet hears that Nicole is on the verge of changing jobs. Something more suited to her career goals and a position which doesn't require pandering to a dim-witted, mercurial boss who is her intellectual inferior. She had enough of that at Reuters, for heaven's sake.

Details are sketchy, and we are loathe to name the prospective employer -- but believe us, peepsNet knows! Apparently all terms have not yet been agreed to, but peepsNet would be surprised if the bottom were to fall out of this move, especially after a 90-minute (carumba) interview.

One of the bennies, we hear, is that this new job is a mere five minute walk from Miss Katy, which just goes to show what a small world blah blah blah! Since Nicole is a marathoner what we're saying is that they can hook up before Katy hangs up the phone.

For the record, that picture is not of Nicole running to meet with Katy, but well on the way towards finishing the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon.

Second City Mike

No. This isn't Mike, even on a bad day. This is Mike.

Well, it looks like Mike has been doing some traveling, and the paparazzi of peepsNet were there to chronicle what we are sure he would have preferred to be an under-the-radar trip to the Windy City -- so difficult for today's celebrity authors.

OK, ok. He posted some pictures on Flickr and I am ignoring the copyright. So sue me. Actually, please sue me. peepsNeet could use the publicity.

Anyway, as soon as our sources determine the exact nature of Mike's trip and how many clubs he hopped with Paris, peepsNet will publish these facts without fear or favor.

And since Chicago is also known as "Beirut on Lake" peepsNet can't help but wonder when Samer will be going.

Miss Katy

Mike (L) and Katy (R). No relevance here (imagine the odds) -- I just love this shot. And the picture on "Second City Mike" isn't really Mike, so I felt he was being kinda cheated, you know?

peepsNet is going to have to find out what's happnin' with the first of the "Just Say No to Toronto" alum to re-enter decent society, who found work in San Francisco so fast it made us all wonder if she really was just a mole for MarketWatch the whole time, stealing our trade secrets.

That's right, that's right -- we had trade secrets.

peepsNet has been extremely remiss about keeping up with Miss Katy, and although our staff has heard many details of the single girl's life in the big city our code of conduct forbids us from printing hearsay, rumor or innuendo unless it is really, really cool stuff.

Where For Art Thou, Res-Man?

I know he's still alive because I keep getting calls from people asking me just how fantastic he is.

Borderline indescribable.
A prince among men.
A man so in love with his wife he likens 20 years of marriage to 20 minutes -- under water.

But if anyone hears from him let him know that peepsNet will not be ignored. peepsNet will resort to making up bad things if necessary, or worse -- start telling the truth.

Outsource Me, Will You!

Mike, a victim -- or is that beneficiary? -- of outsourcing, is a very quick study.

peepsNet hears that the author/illustrator and force behind TYPE ILLY PRESS has found such success in publishing that he has to hire other artists to finish his work, the better to concentrate on marketing and creating and not sweat the details.

Of course regular peepsNet readers already know about his fantastic write up in the Raleigh News & Observer.

Monday? Again!?

Rich answers the burning question, "Why do I like where I live?", by sending us this link.

For the record, peepsNet didn't ask. But still, very cool move taking the initiative, Mr. Clement. You have made a powerful friend in peepsNet. Next time, though, some dish on somebody else would be nice.

In the meantime, take a bow.

Author! Author!

Author, friend and former colleague (not necessarily in that order) Bob Crooke has a new web site to promote the brand.

Crooke, author of American Family, is in the advanced stages of completing his second novel, Sunrise.

Speak, Rissoto

The pace is quickening at Nicole's culinary blog. Sources also tell peepsNet that lots of writing is going on there in the City by the Bay.

cucina nicolina has three new entries this month, and four this summer.

The latest recounts a weekend camping trip where the challenge was to make a gourmet meal. peepsNet is now about to make the same joke for the third time, which is far short of our goal of beating it to death:

"She eats better in the wild than I do at home."

Thank you, and don't forget your waitresses.

Because of technical difficulties (ahem) there are no pictures accompanying Nicole's prose, which makes peepsNet's dime-store blog light-years advanced. But her collecton can be seen here.

Samer Trades Up

Samer has pulled the trigger on a new camera equal to his photographic talents -- a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT.

Samer knows a lot about pixels and compression and what JPEG stands for, and you would think that a person with such geek credentials wouldn't know or care about the artistic.

You would be wrong.