Consulting and speaking engagements have gone insane. Trying to catch up now.

I've been too busy to check in on Steve Poling's blog lately. Steve, you need to find a publisher for this piece on a private flight. Of all your stuff I've ever read, this is the best. I heard your voice in every word, and you really put me in the plane with you. Kudos!

I write about a lot of stuff on this blog. Mostly, I write about whatever interests me; but clearly, I'm also writing about stuff that's related to my work: UML, Tablet PCs, .NET, and so on. I've had plenty of posts on each of those topics. I've also written on comic books, Persian food, travel, and lots of other topics. And I've written a post or two about Hurrican Katrina relief.

But looking over my referral logs, I find that I could've gotten almost the same traffic with just one post. Depending on the day, anywhere from 13% to up to 20% of recent visitors have come via search engines or Web sites that lead to this post on Borders Rewards vs. the Barnes & Noble Member Program.

I never would've guessed that this would be such a hot topic. I wrote that post just because I was frustrated; and now it's my ninth most-requested page. Too weird...

Well, when the fridge failed me, at least I didn't lose any of this: Bolthouse Farms Perfectly Protein Vanilla Chai Tea. Why didn't I lose any? Because the stuff is so good and goes down so smoothly and I like it so much, it doesn't stay in the fridge very long. It's my new drink pleasure.

Start with the texture. Imagine a drink with a texture like milk, but not as thick. And yet unlike thin, watery nonfat milk, the lack of thickness suits Perfectly Protein well. This stuff is light.

Now the flavor. There's supposed to be chai tea and green tea in there somewhere. I think I can almost taste it; but that's just a base. To that, they add soy milk. Now I know, a lot of people just went "Eeewww!!!" They hate having soy shoved down their throats by the vegetarians and the health nuts who try to presuade them that soy substitutes taste "just like [fill in the blank]", when their taste buds tell them that's a lie. I agree, actually: I've never tasted a soy substitute that tasted as promised. But I do enjoy soy products in their own right, as long as you don't try to sell them as what they aren't. Soy milk, to me, always tastes a little on the bland side. The chai and green tea bolster the soy milk in Perfectly Protein, making it very pleasant. And then they add a touch of vanilla and spices. The result is just about perfect: not too sweet, not too spicy, not too thick. This lets it go down way too fast.

And then there's the nutrition:

Total Fat 3g (5%)
Saturated Fat 1g (3%)
Cholesterol 0mg (0%)
Sodium 60mg (3%)
Potassium 530mg (15%)
Total Carbohydrate 25g (9%)
Dietary Fiber 0g (0%)
Sugars 21g
Protein 10g % Daily Value*

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 180%
Calcium 30% • Iron 15%
Vitamin B6 200% • Vitamin B12 195%
Magnesium 20% • Zinc 20%

Now that's an 8 ounce serving. A bottle is 33.8 ounces, and I can't imagine drinking less than a bottle (or only a bottle, sometimes).

Actually, I like all of the other Bolthouse Farms juices that I've tried: Passion, Green Goodness, Strawberry Banana, Berry Boost, and Mango Lemonade. But those are just juices. Really, really good juices. Perfectly Protein is something else. It's in a class by itself.

And apparently I'm not alone in my taste for Perfectly Protein. It seems to compel people to write about it. If you can't understand why, all I can say is: try it, and you'll see.

The lesson: never assume the refrigerator in your hotel room has been turned on.

The cost: one gallon of milk, curdled beyond hope; one bowl of cereal, covered in curdled milk; various leftovers I probably wasn't going to finish anyway; one tub of chicken salad; and one tub of rice pudding. Overall, a cheap lesson.

The refrigerator wasn't completely off, just at minimum cooling; and the last two items were completely sealed, so they might have been OK. But they had been in there over a week, so I wasn't taking any chances.

My students always laugh. They think it's a joke.

They ask, "How many dogs do you have?" And I answer, "I don't know. I haven't been home this week." And they think I'm kidding.

Thursday night, I called home and talked to Sandy. Among a lot of other news, she informed me that she and Lucy had been walking the dogs, and a stray dog appeared from the darkness and pretty much begged to be taken in.

They've put a "found dog" ad in the paper, but I'm under no illusions: there'll be another member of the menagerie when I get home.

Actually, the new dog doesn't get along with one of our dogs, so he'll go over to my sister-in-law's house; but one of their dogs will then come to our house to make room.

How many dogs do we have? I don't know. I haven't been home this week.