Autumn doesn't officially arrive in these parts until this weekend, but all the signs are there. School has started, and so has NFL football. The weather is still hot, but it's always hot in early fall in Northern California. The leaves are starting to turn, though, and some are even being blown to the ground whenever there's a breeze that's a little more than just a breeze.

And Survivor is back. We even had a bit of a Survivor party for tonight's premiere, although none of us dressed up like pirates (any more than we normally do, that is). Eric, Mom and I were at Tammy and David's to eat Hungarian food and watch the show. That might become a new tradition, Tammy's chicken paprikash.

The little boys were in a particularly good mood tonight, although mellow would probably not be the word to describe them. They got a little mellower as bedtime approached, though. It's funny how bedtime just happened to coincide with the start time of Survivor. We did get to enjoy their company for a couple of hours before they vanished to their room, and that was nice.

Then we had fun, goofing on the castaways as always. I usually watch the show alone at home, but it was cool to see it with people whose attitude I can understand and appreciate. We knew within ten minutes which of the contestants we liked, and which ones we though wouldn't last long. There might not be a lot of "reality" in a reality show, but the people are real. They might not be people you'd want to be stuck on an island with, but they're real people.

Anyway, we don't watch it because we believe it's all for real. We watch because it's entertaining to get to see a bunch of strangers forced to interact in strange situations. Personality clashes are highly amusing, as long as they're between other people, inside the box. And it doesn't hurt if there's a Rupert or a Sandra along to spice things up.

There's one more thing. These days I'll jump on the shoulders of any excuse to get out of the house, because Tim and the Boss are still trying to nail down this web of froth that we've been working on for over a year now. The company is starting to feel like the marathon runner who keeps going, panting along in the dark long after everyone else has finished the race. They just want to be able say we took it as far as we could.

I, on the other hand, just want to say it's over, and I can get back to my life. The phone calls, faxes and emails only stop when I'm not here to receive them. Spinning our wheels in the sand is all we're doing now, and you don't win any challenges that way.