Tonight was family game night. We played Caneopoly, a takeoff on Monopoly that uses properties specific to the University of Miami and the surrounding community.

I lost first, then it went quickly downhill from there.

At least we were all together, and my sister got to do a victory dance to the sounds of the UM fight song played on a musical bottle opener.

Good times!

Today was my last workday in August, and I now have three days off.

First up. a "cousin reunion" tomorrow. Sunday will be the usual trip to the mall with dad, followed by laundry. And, on Monday, I just might take IKEA up on its offer of free breakfast.

Tonight, in a stadium in Denver, Barack Obama will accept the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States.

Is this a great country, or what?

I'm sure I've said this before, but I feel I can never say it enough: Why does it always seem that, the closer we are to being done at the end of the day Tuesday, the longer it takes to finish everything up on Wednesday?

Invariably, it seems, stuff just comes up, delaying the steady flow of our work. Maybe one of these days I'll finally get used to it.

But, I probably won't.

Another long day today, but I feel I accomplished a lot -- including my grocery shopping.

And, as a surprise bonus, a huge box of swag with my name on it arrived, too. But, I didn't keep it all. I quickly put aside a couple of things for myself, plus a few more things for people I know -- and gave away the rest. Especially the pineapple-scented day-to-night cologne with Daisy Fuentes' picture on it. (By the time I finally left the office, that had not yet been snatched up.)

So now, it's time to relax and unwind -- before it's time to go to bed, get up and do it all again.

Today was the first day of what I believe will be five days of intense work. In fact, today was so jam-packed that I didn't even realize it was time to home until it was five minutes later!

I actually prefer full days to those those during which I have nothing to do.

So, if today was any indication of how the next four are going to be, I say: Bring it on!

The Olympics are over.

Well, technically, they were over 12 hours ago, but thanks to the joys of tape delay, they're not over in the U.S. until NBC says so.

And so, the countdown to the 2012 Olympics in London has officially begun. I know this because Michael Phelps was being interviewed in front of a crowd of 40,000 gathered at Buckingham Palace. The Red Arrow did a fly-over, leaving streaks of red, white and blue in the sky, exemplifying the "faster, higher, stronger" of the Olympic motto.

See you in London!

It's the last Saturday of the Olympics, so I decided to make the most of it.

The highlight of the day would have to be watching the women's basketball team win its fourth consecutive gold medal. Lisa Leslie led each of these teams, and this is likely her last Olympic appearance. She even brought her previous medals to Beijing, so her newest one was in good company.

Also on today's agenda: boxing, flat canoeing, women's volleyball (we won the silver medal against top-ranked Brazil), individual rhythmic gymnastics and the men's marathon.

The one thing I don't love is the fact that the men's basketball final is at the East Coast equivalent of 2:30 a.m. But, since it is such a high-profile game, it will be shown live. The same can't be said about the men's water polo final or the Closing Ceremony.

But, it'll all be over by the time I have to go to bed tomorrow night, so I'll quit the complaining for now and just enjoy it while I still can.

I read this week that Jerry Seinfeld has been tapped by Microsoft to be its pitchman for its upcoming ad campaign, "Windows, Not Walls." The campaign aims to go up against Apple's "PC vs. Mac" spots with John Hodgman and Justin Long.

Seinfeld will be getting $10 million for his work. This seems like a lot at first, but he is Jerry Seinfeld, and I did read that the budget for the entire campaign is something like $300 million. So, 30 percent of the whole campaign budget goes to him. Good for Jerry!

Of course, the biggest question on my mind is: How in the world is anyone going to believe that Jerry believes in PCs? After all, he subtly told the world for nine years that he was a Mac guy. I'm all for stars shilling for products. And I think Seinfeld's American Express spots were excellent. But this is just slopping. Of course, maybe I should've seen it coming, after his recent Hewlett-Packard campaign. I've heard of people leaving PCs for Macs, but vice versa? Never. Of course, stranger things have happened, so nothing should surprise me anymore.

I thought I'd seen the worst in driving habits earlier this week. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

This morning, I was stuck in traffic for about 20 minutes. In that time, I went about 3 miles, all the while remaining in the right lane.

At one point while I was at a standstill, I looked in my rear-view mirror and noticed a car coming up behind me -- in the shoulder to my right. Soon after, two more cars did the same.

I chalked those up to stupidity, but I was not prepared for what would come next: a school bus speeding by, using the shoulder as an express lane.

You see, it's one thing to be stupid when you're the only person in a car. But when you're driving a bus full of kids? Uh-uh. Not good. At all.

I can only hope that the driver had already dropped off his passengers, although I fear he was trying to get them to school as quickly as he could, laws of driving be damned. I didn't notice that the bus got into any accident or was pulled over by a state trooper (who snagged some of the later shoulder users).

Would it have killed the kids to be late? Probably not. But it definitely could have killed them to be on time. I'm sure they made it to school today. Tomorrow, they might not be so lucky.

My goal for today is to stay up until my bedtime. That may sound unusual -- especially considering all those years I stayed up way past my bedtime. I've been so tired lately -- must be the weather -- that I've pooped out on the early side of 9 p.m. a couple of times this week.

And so, tonight, I hereby vow to force myself to stay awake -- eyes open and all -- until 10 p.m. Since I'm done with the Olympics, I guess this means I'll be reading a book.

Tropical Storm Fay made landfall on Florida's West Coast at about 5 a.m. this morning.

Despite the continuing rain and howling wind, I set off for work this morning, only to find the roads were basically empty because the schools and government offices were closed. Of course, this apparently gave those on the road a false sense of security.

Even though it was pouring, about half the drivers insisted on driving without the aid of headlights, and several more decided that directionals were unnecessary.

Needless to say, I got to work just fine, and was quite thankful for the fact that I've got an underground parking garage to keep me dry.

Since I just got home after a long day at work and Tropical Storm Fay is scheduled to hit the mainland in the wee hours of the morning, I'd like to take this opportunity to rant a little about something that really gets on my nerves: hazard lights.

During my afternoon commute, it was raining. It wasn't a drizzle, but I wouldn't consider it a monsoon, either. And, yet, there was a car in a lane to my left that insisted on driving with its hazard lights on. Never mind that it was actually going faster than I was -- and I was going at a nice brisk pace -- but it also seemed to be giving off a vibe that said "follow me!" As another car approached it, it also turned on its hazard lights, and the two disappeared together.

On second thought, maybe they were just dating, and the blinking hazard lights helped them find one another.

Nah, I doubt it.

There's also the case of the car that was following close enough behind me that all I saw was its bright headlights. (I know they were the brights because after awhile, they became regular headlights.) I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but in this instance, I would have preferred a tailgater so close I wouldn't have been able to see the lights at all.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm in desperate need of dinner. And maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll find something on television that has nothing to do with the weather forecast or the gymnastics events that were decided this morning, but are just now being broadcast. (Thanks, NBC!)

A combination of Olympic Fever and extra-long work hours last week made me decide to take the last 48 hours off ... from blogging. (I did all my other usual weekend chores: food shopping, laundry, cleaning, random errands.)

Yes, I watched Michael Phelps make history last night -- or this morning, in China -- but I also have been keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Fay, which is projected to hit Florida's West Coast early Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane. The southeastern coast is no longer forecast as part of the "cone of influence," which means we could feel tropical storm-force winds here. And, high-speed winds mean things will fly and -- possibly -- knock down power lines. That's the worst part of the storm, I think, because it will mean that I won't be able to fall asleep in front of the television as NBC airs three days of individual gymnastics medal rounds past my bedtime.

So, here's hoping for a quick and painless upcoming 48 hours. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, I'm hoping to be back as soon as possible.

Two days ago, I purchased a plane ticket to Atlanta for a weekend getaway. I got a decent price, but if I hadn't known what I was doing, I could've paid $100 more for the same flights.

As I researched before my purchase, I noticed that the same flights were available, but the price changed throughout the day. And it didn't change at the same times each day, either. It didn't seem as if there was any rhyme or reason for the fluctuations.

So, on the day I wanted to lock in my reservation, I woke early, hoping to get the lowest fare. But, the tickets were a little higher than that. So, I waited. And I checked the Web site every hour (at least). And then, finally at about 3:30 in the afternoon, I found what I was looking for. Within minutes, I had secured a roundtrip ticket on the flights I wanted at the price I wanted.

But, I couldn't leave it there. Just for fun, I checked to see what tickets are going for now. And, wouldn't you know, they're $100 more than I paid.

Today was one of those days that should have just zipped by, but instead dragged on. And I'm not talking figuratively. I mean, I did not think that I would be spending nearly 12 hours in the office today. And yet, here I am, finally at home again, 13 hours after I left.

I think this calls for some quality time in front of the television.

I am still loving the Olympics. Even though I told myself I wouldn't, I turned on the TV last night just in time to watch Michael Phelps get his third gold of these games, and see Aaron Peirsol and Matt Grevers finish 1-2 in another race. (I could look it up, but I'm feeling lazy.)

Tonight, when I was all ready to watch at least two hours of Olympics, things started off well, with a recap of last night's bronze-winning performance by the men's gymnastics team.

And then, things took a turn to synchronized diving.

What, pray tell, is the point of that?

I get diving, but this is just asking for it. (Why risk just one head hitting the platform, when you can have the possibility of two heads hitting the platform at the same time?)

Regardless, I must say that I did glimpse the Aussies and as they dove, I only saw one diver. So, that apparently makes them good. The Americans were not quite as good, which is fine. It also means there's one less sport I will feel compelled to watch.

Anyway, I'm going to wrap things up now because Michael Phelps in on the schedule again tonight, and I wouldn't want to miss out on a potentially record-breaking swim.

Today, instead of going home to my usual routine of syndicated sitcom reruns, game shows and (for a limited time only) the Olympics, I stopped for a screening of Tropic Thunder.

Since it's nearly my bedtime and I haven't been able to fully digest it all, I'm going to leave it at that. I will say, however, that Robert Downey Jr. is as amazing as Tom Cruise is surprising.

I'm still all caught up in the Olympics, and today I've watched more beach volleyball, gymnastics, basketball (while at Best Buy) and swimming.

However, I'd like to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to United Airlines for its visually stunning commercial, set to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." I really do love that commercial. Actually, there are two commercials, with similar soundtracks. It's unfortunate that I can't remember what the commercials are for until the voice over at the end, but, hey, what do I care? United is pulling out of my home airport. (In other words, it's a good thing I went to Denver in April.)

In sadder news, this weekend saw the loss of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes. I can't say I was a huge fan of either, but since these types of things usually happen in threes, I'm just waiting for the last shoe to drop (so to speak).

In weirder news, on Friday, at exactly 8:08 a.m., Eastern Time, Clay Aiken became a father. I won't go into the details of what made this all possible, but one can only hope he has his father's voice and his mother's ... well, I can't say. I don't know anything about her. And, I get where they got his names from, but this poor kid has been saddled with three last names, if you will. I don't really have anything left to say but this: Welcome to the world, Parker Foster Aiken!

I've spent the majority of my day watching Olympics coverage -- and I'm loving it!

I've watched men's and women's swimming, men's beach volleyball, women's volleyball, men's road race and women's fencing.

For the latter event, the U.S. swept the medals, and it was nice to see the final bout. (Of course, due to the 12-hour delay, I had already read about the outcome of that and the men's beach volleyball, but it was still thrilling to see it all play out.)

Last night's opening ceremony was so grand and fantastic. The most impressive parts of it were not the pyrotechnics, but the fact that there were thousands of performers working in such precision to create something so magical.

The parade of nations is always a joy to watch. This year, there were 204 countries represented, although I will admit that I gave up after the U.S. delegation arrived. It was a little hard to follow because the nations weren't marching in any alphabetical order that made sense to me. (Apparently, they were in order according to the number of strokes it took to create the Chinese character that represented each country's name.)

NBC's announcers -- Bob Costas, Matt Lauer and Joshua Cooper Ramo -- were dispensing random facts throughout the event, and I found all the trivial tidbits fascinating. (I don't remember any of them perfectly, but I can tell you that there was one flag that had the distinction of being the only one with different designs on the front and back.)

I missed the lighting of the Olympic flame, but I heard that was quite fantastic, involving eight Olympians and culminating with the last one airborne to send the flame flying into the cauldron.

Tonight, I'm looking forward to swimming and men's gymnastics. Well, at least a couple of hours' worth. Darn that tape delay.

I just one hour, I will be parked in front of the television to see something I have been waiting four years (and 12 hours) for: the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

This year's event takes place in Beijing, China, and -- politics aside -- I couldn't be more excited.

I love all the spectacle of the opening ceremonies, from the procession of the athletes to the lighting of the flame from the torch that's made its way around the world.

Although NBC has chosen to run the ceremony in prime time, it began at 8:08 this morning -- 08-08-08 -- in Beijing. The number eight is lucky in Chinese, but I thinks it's just plain cool.

You may wonder why I chose to blog about this before I have seen the opening ceremonies. The truth is that, with 4.5 hours of coverage scheduled, I'm not 100 percent sure I'll make it to the end without falling asleep. So, post-event blogging is out of the question. Tune in tomorrow for all of my thoughts on the opening ceremonies.

That is, unless I fall asleep.

My post from yesterday must've been so important and exciting that I forgot to mention that it was my 200th post of the year.

So, I am rectifying the situation and noting the milestone today. Better late than never, right?

Is there a rule that says I can't leave work before 6 p.m. on deadline day, even if all my work is done? Because if so, I want to put some serious effort into getting it repealed. Thank you.

It was a jam-packed day that was 12 hours and 30 minutes long by the time it was over. (For timing purposes, "the day" lasts from the moment I depart my home for work in the morning to the moment I return in the evening.) I spent 11 of those hours actually in the office, and I feel it was a productive day. There will be work waiting for me in the morning, but I'm OK with that.

Today was fabulous (for a Monday). Work was busy, but not overwhelming. It only rained when I was indoors. The roads were crowded, but traffic kept moving. All in all, a great day.

Today, my parents and I went down to visit my sister, who treated us to some delicious Chinese food unlike any I have ever tasted before.

We also got a tour of her workplace, within a cluster of three plain buildings off a narrow road in south Miami-Dade County. Whatever money was saved on the outside of the buildings was definitely spent on the inside. There were rooms and rooms of high-tech lab equipment that each probably cost more than I've spent in my life thus far. I can't wait to see what the place looks like when they move into their permanent digs early next year.

If there really is a light at the end of the tunnel, I'm not so sure I want to know how many miles long that tunnel is.

It was 92 degrees out today, warm enough that, when I accidentally locked myself out of my apartment this afternoon and went next door to make a phone call, my ear was sweating. Now that's hot!

There is a light, I am told, at the end of the tunnel.

The tunnel, in this instance, is summer. The light is some cooler weather.

I can't believe it's already August. But, considering how quickly July went, I'm guessing that September -- and autumn -- will be here before I know it.

Alas, the rainy season has finally gotten into full swing, with thunder and lightning and warnings of penny-size hail and 60 mph winds.

I know: It could be worse.

It could be June.