November changes everything

Fall back (one hour tonight).

Today begins an exciting month around here. During a busy Halloween last night, East Lansing High School won its first football playoff game at home (against Haslett), 13-7. It was obviously an exciting game, since I could hear regular cheering (from a couple blocks away) for the duration. This afternoon we all watched as the Michigan State Spartans football team took its first lead of the game with 7 seconds left, and then one play (and 4 Wisconsin laterals) later MSU won the game by a single point, 25-24. The atmosphere around here is electric.

Contributing to the enthusiasm, beyond costumes and athletics, is the fact that we are in the middle of a beautiful Indian Summer right at the peak of the fall color season. The scenery is just gorgeous around here, and the warm sunshine during the day is much appreciated. As always, this translates into an active party weekend in this college town. Fortunately, everybody gets an extra hour to sleep. Don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour tonight!

Tomorrow, the Formula 1 World Championship will be determined in the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos Circuit. As a bonus, this track is located in Sao Paulo, which is (rather, will be) only three hours different than from my time zone, so I do not need to either get up really early or stay up late to watch the race live. Lewis Hamilton (UK) leads Felipe Massa (Brazil) by 7 points, with 10 points available for a victory. Hamilton needs to finish 5th or better to guarantee himself the championship he lost last year (in his rookie season) by a single point. Massa is the local favorite, starting from pole position, and very good here at his home circuit. Given that I have a picture and signature from the British driver right in front of me, my bias is clear (although either driver would be deserving).

That is just the first two days of the month!

This week, Goodsol Development will be releasing our latest solitaire game for Windows. This particular product involves significant technical innovation and will be the first release using a new engine, under the covers, while maintaining (and improving) the gameplay experience that untold thousands of players enjoy. Another product we have been developing will follow shortly, and more games will be forthcoming thereafter.

November is also the last fully productive month in my tenure as Chairman of the Board of the Association of Shareware Professionals, a position I have held (this second time) since October 2007. My term on the Board of Directors runs only until the end of 2008, and I have declined a nomination to stand for (yet) another term. While I have been happy to volunteer my time for the ASP for many years, I have committed to other projects that will require that time in the future.

Obviously, here in the United States, Tuesday is Election Day and will, necessarily, produce a new President-elect for our country. After eight years of the current administration, the results will be yet another major change (only four days into the month) and have the potential to dramatically affect issues far beyond the scope of this blog. However, I feel that it is important that voters get informed on the candidates and on the issues (hint: from multiple news sources). If you are in the US… Get out and vote on Tuesday, November 4!

The forecast here calls for absolutely beautiful weather (sunny and approaching 70 degrees) for the next several days, so I plan to get out to enjoy it as much as possible before the winter settles in here. Once that happens, though, there will be no lack of exciting development here, not to mention indoor soccer (I scored a goal last Thursday!), ice racing, and the inevitable snow shoveling.

We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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