Important update! - Nothing interesting has happened!

Meh. That about sums it up, really. Some of the larger producers down here sponsored a shale gas expo last weekend. I've been to a few expos like this one before in other parts, but this one was by far the most enjoyable. Probably the main reason was that the people attending were genuinely interested in what we (and other companies down here) do rather than just looking for a scapegoat. It's nice to talk to people who don't automatically assume that because you work in the oil patch you're some kind of moustache-twirling villain.

That said, yesterday put me in a nearly psychotic state. I think that I've mentioned one of our customers before, who never shuts up. I was in the field for about 10 hours yesterday, most of that sitting next to him, and all of that time had him talking. Not about anything relevant. 90% of what he says is just to hear his own voice and he seems to assume that since I'm also an engineer I must actually care about his ramblings. By the end of the day I was torn between wanting to gag him and wanting to cut off my ears. Now I know how the protagonist in Sounds Like felt. Still, at least the guy's not an asshole. He's just really, really, really annoying.

Also, since I haven't mentioned the wildlife recently, a story: I was driving home the other day and saw something crawling across the road, so I swerved to avoid it. It was a spider.

Let me repeat that: It was a spider. Large enough for me to notice while driving, and kick in the "avoid hitting that thing" reflex. Specifically, I think it was a tarantula of some type.