Is it just me or are they making it increasingly difficult for you to cash in your airmiles? Three years ago, I booked well in advance - in August actually - for a trip in November and was able to secure to first class tickets to Tokyo no problem. Last year, I booked in July and encountered a few minor headaches in attempting to book a similar trip to Tokyo and Hong Kong. This year, I tried to book in May for a trip to Asia. I left my itinerary pretty open ("Anytime between mid-November and late December,"I said) and am still trying to find a series of connecting flights that will eventually take me there and, hopefully, back home. Ah, good old dependably disinterested Air Canada.

Speaking of customer service, I finished getting the home theater installed downstairs and was awaiting some minor touch-ups (ie. sound calibration) when I learned that the owner of Accurate Sound and Video had decided to close up shop. I suppose I should consider myself fortunate since work on my system was almost complete, but there are other less fortunate customers who are understandably fuming. I suspect the owner will attempt to open up a similar business under another name. I can't wait...

I picked up the Pimsleur Level One: Cantonese 30 CD set. I completed the Pimsleur Japanese CD's, levels 1-3 and now am proudly possess the conversational skills of a three year old Japanese schoolboy. This may not seem impressive until you fully appreciate how difficult a language Japanese really is. Honto ni muzukashi desu yo! Tricky grammar and different levels of politeness make it a confusing language to learn. Cantonese, meanwhile, is difficult for a whole other reason. The grammar is fairly straightforward, but the differing tones of similar words make for frustrating/embarrassing moments. My awkard pronounciation is a constant source of amusement for my wife who is constantly correcting me.

Well, we closed the deal on the F-16's for Collateral Damage (if things don't work out with Air Canada, I may ask to borrow one for my trip to Hong Kong in November) and started prep on Ripple Effect (now this one is a confusing script. The concept meeting clocked in at a little over 3 hours!). Peter DeLuise is the perfect director for this particular episode.

Between cutting Fourth Horsemen I and finishing prep on Collateral Damage/starting prep on Ripple Effect, we found time to spin some stories and send everyone off with something to do. Paul's story has been renamed "The Tower" and we took a couple of hours on Friday to kick around a few ideas: the Ancient gene, the Medicis, scoring drones. Carl is off to write the soon to be re-titled "Charlie" story. We spun it out just before we left and I'm very excited about this one. Carl has done some terrific work on Atlantis this year and this script will be crowning cherry on his freshman year. Speaking of having a good year on Atlantis - Martin Gero wrote my fave script of season 2 "Duet". Then there's Siege III, Lost Boys, Grace Under Pressure and, of course, The Powers That Be which is, without a doubt, the best SG-1 script he has written to date. Cough.

I'm off to make ice cream for a dinner party. I'm so inspired that I've decided to invest in a dedicated mini-freezer for my various flavors. I'll let you know how the dark chocolate marzipan turns out.

Well, two weeks to go until hiatus and the pace has definitely quickened. Robert is headed into production on Prototype, the first script by Alan, our new writer. Guest Robert Picardo dropped by my office today and we talked food. Bob apparently makes a wicked spinach pizza. Brad, meanwhile, headed into prep on Epiphany and, no doubt, spent most of the concept meeting explaining the "time dilation effect" to half the department heads. Paul and I started prep on Collaterol Damage. Given the production demands of the past couple of years, Paul and I have taken to writing scripts separately. In the case of Collaterol Damage, I wrote the outline and he went on to write a terrific script in which, besides the cool SF premise, we are treated to a glimpse into Mitchell's childhood. While Damian works on Ethon (Quick! Grab your handy mythology enclopedias!), Carl works on Critical Mass (I love whodunits) and Martin works on Grace Under Pressure (Sound familiar? Its intentional). I, meanwhile, am putting the finishing touches on Ripple Effect (formerly Merge, formerly Echoes, formerly Convergence which apparently sounded too much like the Atlantis episode Conversion we shot this year). I haven't felt this good about a script since I completed The Ties That Bind and, maybe, that's cause for concern. There's a lot in this episode for the diehard Stargate fan to enjoy including a couple of interesting guest stars.

With less than two weeks and counting, we have to break some stories to ensure that none of us enjoy a restful 3 weeks. Robert and Brad will be working on rewrites. Alan will probably be working on Off the Grid once he completes his rewrite of Stronghold. I'll be writing the "off-world ambassadors" story provided I get the outline done which I can certainly do provided I finish my rewrite of Ripple Effect in time. Paul will be working on the "sister city" script. Martin has the "Genii story" lined up and Carl will probably tackle "Charlie". Provided Damian completes Ethon in the next week, and provided things fall into place, he'll be writing the episode in which "that character" returns.

By the way - the ice creams were a resounding success. So much so that I picked up a commercial ice cream maker this past weekend and made a batch of Peanut Butter Cookies and Cream with Peanut Butter Chips and Reese Pieces Bits, and the more low-key Cinnamon and Brown Sugar. The Asparagus/Wild Mushroom/Barbecued Duck risotto also went off without a hitch. By the way, I am seriously envious of everyone on the east coast who has access to the Ben and Jerry's Oatmeal Chunk. Seriously.

Watched some unmemorable movies, t.v. shows and anime over the past week or so. Nothing really stood out with the exception of Kung Fu Hustle. I'm a big Steven Chow fan and have loved most of his stuff (Shaolin Soccer and Love on Delivery are two of my favorites). On the anime front, it's Samurai 7, Chobits, and Those Who Hunt Elves. Just started them, so I'll let you know how they pan out.

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