I admit to playing a video game or two when the time is right. My favorite type, for better or for worse, are those where I kill nasty goblins and amass magical items in a quest to save the world with a band of hearty adventurers. Hey — we’ve all got our vices.

I was enjoying one such game recently when I stumbled upon a bug trying to sell those magical items. I hovered over a set of lightning arrows to check their selling price (970 gold), and I noticed a little oddity: there was a small tick mark where there shouldn’t be. Hoping for a rendering error, I eagerly pressed “sell” and awaited my bounty. To my surprise, instead of money I received a message saying, “You cannot sell items worth less than one gold piece.” And when I looked closer at that tick mark, it turned out to be what I feared. A negative.

My good friend Kevin Erickson sent a snapshot of his recent Google Maps session, complete with helpful highlights about where a bug lies. I hardly remember the positions of states aside from the biggies on the West coast, so I might’ve missed it. But upon further inspection it appears as if Google’s data even disagrees with itself.

Take a look.

But we don’t know where it is! Good thing we don’t manage your money.

This appears to be a catchall for multiple problems.

I’m sitting at the PDX airport sucking up free wifi and sucking down cheap coffee (because that’s what you do in Portland, the town of micro brewers and caffeine aficionados). And I realized I’ve just had an amazing week.

My original trek here was to support my family through a rough time. Though I didn’t come on happy news — and what happened happened, as expected — I left feeling absolutely refreshed, all due to the great people that made Portland amazing. I’d like to thank a few of them here.

• Chris Blaine, Douglas Hoffman, and all of the members at PNSQC who allowed me to participate on such short notice.
• Karen Johnson, Scott Barber, Dawn Haynes, and others who continue to give me professional advice when I have questions.
• Grandma and Grandpa, for the room and board.
• Jaqui and Charlie Graham for the good time, free food, and moral support.
• Nick McWilliams for his house, his stuff, and his food, and allowing me to use either at a moments notice.
• Jesse Espinoza, my brother, for allowing me to sing in the car without prejudice.
• Pamela Butler and Brittany Smith. For Halloween. (Brittany, it was nice to meet you.)
• And everyone else I haven’t mentioned.

Believe me, this week was just what I needed. Thank you, all.