It's that time of year again, where I post my picks for the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament. Being an annual tradition, it's also a good time to reflect on the past year.

The big event for me was the June, 2008, release of Taco HTML Edit 2, which is the first version of Taco HTML Edit distributed as shareware instead of freeware. Taco HTML Edit 2 had been in the works since about March of 2007. It was a big challenge completing Taco while still working my day job at Cardinal Solutions as an IT consultant. With the success of Taco HTML Edit, I was able to leave my consulting job in January to focus full-time on Taco Software, and I'm now working furiously on the next Taco HTML Edit release, as well as planning future titles that may emerge from Taco Software. I'd like to thank everyone who has supported me through this endeavor, including my family, friends, former co-workers, and Taco Software's customers.

Anyway, here are the picks.

• My MacBook Pro has been working great. I downloaded Boot Camp, and then installed Windows XP on it. I decided to buy a game, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, which is an awesome game and runs very well on my hardware. So basically, I reboot into Windows whenever I want to play games and use Mac OS X when productivity is desired.
• I visited my parents in West Virginia over Spring Break.
• In the weeks following Spring Break, I worked frantically on writing my thesis. I defended it a couple weeks ago, and I'll probably be posting the thesis in this journal sometime so that people can find it on Google.
• I had one final exam, which was on Wednesday. I'm hoping to never have to take another exam (not that the one on Wednesday was bad or anything; I'm just tired of exams).
• On Friday, I go apartment hunting in Cincinnati, where my job will be.
• On Saturday, I leave for a trip to Hawaii with my parents.
• I bought a 200 GB hard disk for backing up my files and general storage. I just purchased SuperDuper, a utility for automatic backups.
• I bought an inexpensive wireless router to use in my new apartment and a new mouse. The Apple mouse I bought from JK several years ago was not working so well any more.
• I've been doing some reading; maybe, I'll post a list of books I've read sometime.
• I judged at Miami's high school programming contest.
• I've been watching the Reds some. Another strong start, but I'm trying to constrain my optimism after previous disappointments.

• 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo Processor
• 2GB DDR2 memory
• 100GB hard drive @ 7200 RPM
• ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card with 256MB memory
• Built-in iSight camera
• Backlit keyboard
• Apple Remote w/ Front Row software

When my computer arrived, I took the obligatory photos of taking it out of the box. Here we go...

So, what can I do with all of this advanced technology? Well, here's one thing:

So that sums up my trip. I'm sorry that I didn't try to be a story teller this time, but I can only be creative 3 times per year, and I didn't want to waste 2 instances on this New York trip.

I thought it might be fun to lie on the bed and take a picture of myself in the mirror. This is the only picture I took of myself during the trip.

It was late, and I was hungry, so I headed South down MacDougal Street and stumbled upon a small Mexican restaurant. I ordered myself a burrito plate and tried to get some mango juice, but they had run out. The burrito plate turned out to be quite large, but I ate it all, which I may have started to regret as the night wore on.

After my meal, I decided to go North. I passed through Washington Square Park, encountering a large Christmas tree under an arch and a man who wanted me to buy him a hot dog. I only have a picture of the former.

I continued northward up to Union Square, where they have a farmers' market three days each week. The picture below (which, unfortunately, is a bit blurry) was taken from the middle of the lot where the farmers' market is held. It depicts a Barnes and Noble bookstore, my next stop on my journey.

The Barnes and Noble store was quite large, spanning four stories, and I made the obligatory stop at the computer book section, spotting a book that makes mention (with a screenshot) of Taco HTML Edit. Considering that it was getting late, I decided to return to my hotel, the Washington Square Hotel, and watch the conclusion of the Penn State game. During the return trip, I strolled into a nearby Starbucks coffee shop, hoping to warm up by drinking one of their cold hot chocolates. I arrived at the hotel and crashed into bed after a long day, uneasy about sleeping under the gaze of three strange women. I knew that tomorrow would bring its own curiosities.

To Be Continued...