Overall, I enjoyed the book. Patterson's third installment of the Women's Murder Club series (1st to Die; Second Chance) is at least as good as the previous two books.

The quality of the version I downloaded from Audible.com was excellent.

While I was not disappointed with the story, I was disappointed with both McCormick's performance and the production. McCormick's attempts at accents and character differentiation missed the mark, and the inclusion of sound effects and musical interludes were distracting at best, and outright annoying at worst.

If you have read / enjoyed the first two in the series, you should find this a worthwhile 3rd installment. If you already know you like the series, I would suggest avoiding ALL reviews, as this book in particular has some great twists that are almost sure to be spoiled by just about any review you would encounter.

The installation appeared to go smoothly, but when I hotsynced, my content didn't update on my Palm. In doing a little digging, I realized that the AvantGo conduit was not appearing on the hotsync custom settings dialog.

I checked the help section on AvantGo, and it was worse than useless. The solution they gave led me to believe that because I store my data files in a non-standard location, I had to install the AvantGo software into the same location. So, I uninstalled the AvantoGo software, reinstalled it, and still had no luck. I tried exiting and restarting HotSync - no luck. I rebooted... no luck.

I then started poking around in the Palm and AvantGo installation directories. In C:\Program Files\AvantGo, I noticed an install.log file. In checking it, I saw that everything appeared fine except for one entry in the log near the bottom: Failed to Add AvantGo Connect Conduit. Aha! Unfortunately, my opinion of the AvantGo software is a bit diminished considering the final entry in the log: Installation successfully completed. Um, I don't think so!

Anyway, Google once again came to the rescue, leading me to the following page: http://www.emuboards.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi?;act=ST;f=30;t=8033

What I realized after reading the entry was that the registry entry for the conduit didn't get created in my registry.

For ease of reference, I am reproducing the pertinent section of the above referenced page here:

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Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\U.S. Robotics\Pilot Desktop\Application4]
"Creator"=dword:4d426c61
"Conduit"="C:\\Program Files\\AvantGo\\aghsc.dll"
"Name"="AvantGo Connect"
"File0"="mobilelink.db"
"Module"="PlaceHolder"
"Integrate"=dword:00000000
"Remote0"="MobileLinkDB"

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Here's the regedit entry for the AvantGo conduit. Note that "Application4" needs to be changed to the next chronological order under Pilot Desktop. Also change the path to aghsc.dll to match your system path. You should be set.

Save the above with the appropriate changes to a file called avantgo.reg and load it in regedit. Be sure to save your registries before doing it. Quit hotsync and restart it after making the changes.

Use info at your own risk.

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Since I have AvantGo working on my home computer, I figured I'd check the registry there just to see if it was consistent with the above advice - it was. Since I already had a good entry, I simply exported the branch from my home computer registry and imported it into the notebook's registry. All I then had to do was rename the branch to "Application2" (the next logical number in my registry) in the case of my notebook.

As soon as I started the HotSync application, the conduit appeared, and when I hotsynced, it worked like a charm.

Yes, I am still flying.

It took a while after we moved to get checked out at the local FBO. The main issue were challenges getting a CFI lined up for the check ride. The first CFI I contacted never returned any of my phone messages, so I had to find an alternative. By the time I got things scheduled with him, more time than I would have liked had passed since the last time I flew. Also, even though I had been flying a Cherokee for my last few flights, it turned out that the Piper Archer II in which I was getting checked out had a number of operational differences from the Cherokee. These two factors combined to create a very stressful check ride for me, but after an hour and a half, Hank was satisfied that I could operate the plane safely enough to be allowed out unsupervised.

Getting flying time has been somewhat of a challenge after getting checked out. The FBO, McGill Aviation, has only one plane to rent, so scheduling can be a challenge. They are really nice, but because they are in the middle of litigation with the City of Fernandina Beach, which doesn't appear to have one iota of fairness nor care for the concerns of the local aviation community, they are unwilling to invest in additional rental aircraft, even though there appears to be demand for it. There is also a local flying club, but they have only one plane, and they are not currently accepting new members. There is a waiting list, and I am number 16, so I'm afraid it might be a while before I can get in. I guess the only way to get ready access to an airplane would be to buy one, but even if I could afford it, there is a five year waiting list to rent hanger space - if you could ever get the airport manager to return your phone call to get you on this list!

On the plus side, the flying club and the FBO host a coffee every Sunday morning and I have been attending about every other week, so at least I am getting to know the FBO and some of the local pilots and club members.

So, in the mean time, I try to fly about every other week for an hour or so, shooting touch-and-goes, and practicing my dutch rolls and steep turns. One of these days, maybe I'll get up the nerve to fly a short cross country, or maybe I'll schedule some time with the instructor and get night-current or do a practice flight into controlled airspace.