NATs and frozen veggies [Editor's Note]

Dear readers, welcome to the September 2008 issue of IEEE Network. The sound of trucks, the heavy duty disposal bins on the curb, and the thud and bang of construction are all elements of a "quiet" summer, full of renovations, in my neighborhood. Resisting this Siren's call is difficult even if I swore off any renovations for the rest of my life, given past experience. I naively thought that this time it wouldn't be that bad. After all, this time it looks like a much smaller job than last time. Of course, I neglected a key conservation law: if a job is small, the additional delays for various reasons will expand it to be roughly equal the total time of a "big" job (more professionally managed one might argue, and hence with much less slack). What I was not prepared to experience is the shift in attitudes caused by the widespread adoption of many "information" appliances in today's household.