Greetings programs! I have been away from the blogsphere for a few weeks as I have been on vacation, and boy did I need one. Of course, I am now back at work, so I am dealing with the sadness of no longer being on the sunny beaches of the Caribbean. I do feel quite fortunate that I completely missed Hurricane Katrina. My travels kept me about a day ahead of the storm.

I will have more in depth blogs in the near future, but here are some random thoughts of the moment:

Revenge of the Sith is already playing in hotel room pay-per-view. And here we though we had to wait a couple more months to see Sith at home, but when I settled into my hotel room in New York, the TV info channel played on a loop and I noticed it was playing. Now, I'm going to sound like a bad Star Wars fan here, but I opted not to watch it. I have my reasons. I was only in New York for one day, and I had a limited amount of time to enjoy the city and connect with a few friends. Plus, I wasn't too keen on watching the movie in pan and scan on a crappy little hotel TV. The curiosity factor was just enough if I was in the room for a while and/or I would have to add to my hotel room bill for it.

It took me a while, but I just recently discovered this whole podcast phenomenon that's been going around, and I gotta tell you, it's pretty cool. The best thing about it is it gives me something new to listen to at work besides music. I just load up my iPod every day, and I can pass the time getting some actual intellectual stimulation (at times). A future blog may cover some of my favorites, as my interests are pretty far reaching.

Another topic I will be covering in a future blog (which many people have touched upon) is my personal theories on Palpatine's origins including his parentage, his relationship with Darth Plagueis, and some thoughts on whether the guy actually has a first name. (Somehow Joe Palpatine just doesn't strike fear into my heart.)

And speaking of Palpatine, I don't know if this has ever been covered before, but has anyone else noticed the similarity of names of Senator Palpatine of Star Wars and Senator Palentine the Presidential candidate from Taxi Driver? Coincidence or sly movie buff connection?

More to come. Stay tuned.