Things are looking up. Slowly and gradually, but definitely. First off, I'm back from my vacation. Second, I am gradually recovering from the cold which I presumably caught in airplane on my trip to a far-away land. While I was away, I got a year older. I received a new camera, which I now love with an almost carnal fervor. The picture above was taken the day I first unwrapped it.
If you want use the image for your desktop, I have prepared wallpapers for fullscreen and widescreen computer monitors: