Sandra's parents rode with us to the going-away party for niece Lori. On the way there, we made a stop in Wrentham for shoes and coffee cups. It was my first visit to John and Suanne's, a fine house from the early 20th century. Their lot extends into a quiet wooded grove in back.

Everyone had a chance to ask Lori pretty much the same questions - When are you leaving? What airline are you flying? What kind of car will you buy? What's your apartment like? What are your job prospects. She answered each person with grace, as though it was the first time she'd heard the question.

After I took my turn asking the questions, she and I talked a bit about job searches and wireless networking. She is also maintaining a blog to track the activities related to her move.

As blogging continues to gain in popularity, bloggers are increasingly at risk when they write about their work or when their writings online appear to conflict with their day jobs. Some companies do encourage their employees to maintain blogs on their own web sites, but the focus of those blogs tends to be narrowly technical.

Sometimes, when my thoughts lack stamina (I have a new coffee cup this morning, by the way.), I take a look at the Astronomy Picture of the Day web site. Yesterday's was particularly spectacular.