Nearly two weeks ago I blogged about a bird that is pecking at our windows . Well, it's two weeks later and he's still at it!! He is either sitting on the tree at the front of the house and flying up to the front window and pecking at it (tap, tap, tap on the window) or he's sitting on the fence and flying up to the windows at the side of the house.

I'm amazed he's still doing it. How long will this go on?

With autumn leaves falling outside, you should have leaves on your desktop. One of the coolest programs around is AutumnLeaves which causes leaves to tumble down and collected on the tops of your windows. The occasional falling nut and growing mushroom adds to the wet and cool feeling of a chilly autumn morning. It's shareware and worth paying for.

And, to add to the autumn effect, use one of these images ( 2048x1536 , 1600x1200 , 1024x768 ) to complete your leafy desktop.

By the way, the AutumnLeaves author also has Snow for Windows and Hanami (falling cherry blossoms) so you can enjoy all of the seasons.

I made it back. Now I have to catch up with my work and my household chores. Time away would be even more relaxing if it didn't mean even more work when you got back.

The conference I am at is SOSP2003 that was held at the Sagamore Hotel that is situated on an island in beautiful Lake George . The Sagamore is an resort for people from New York who come north to lie by the lake or otherwise enjoy the countryside. A definite tourist resort area.

I spent a day driving around upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. This year was not an award winning year for autumn colors -- rather than a "snap" the brought all of the trees to color at the same time, the change was more gradual. Some areas had beautiful, bright trees while others would have winter ready bare trees. I, of course, took pictures .

Vermont seemed to have more farms and less small businesses. It could have been the route I took, but things changed as I drove from New York into Vermont. The NY side had stores and shops while in Vermont, there were farmer's markets. The towns in Vermont seemed more upscale, less rundown and more relating to the colonial past. NY seemed to be more aligned with the industrial growth of the early 1900s. I have no clue what was different in the two states -- taxes? land use planning? It would be an interesting study.

Driving through the little towns of New England is a very quaint experience for this west coast guy. Peterstown, Hoosick Falls, Bremmington, Hollinsburg -- all towns laid out before the car had taken over the land. On the west coast, we were mostly laid out after the automobile and that has changed the scale and number of towns.

Driving through the little towns of New England is a very quaint experience for this west coast guy. Peterstown, Hoosick Falls, Bremmington, Hollinsburg -- all towns laid out before the car had taken over the land. On the west coast, we were mostly laid out after the automobile and that has changed the scale and number of towns.

State route number change as you drive across state lines. Route 7 in NY turns into 9 in Vermont and then you take a different 7 south into New Hampshire. All a local naming scheme.

Vermont has a lot of stone fences.

The old houses are either immaculately kept up or they are falling apart with paint peeling off and overgrown plants around.