Whut in tarnation?
The Cattle Drive is where you come to learn Java, and just like the cattle drivers of the old west, you're expected to pull your weight along the way.

The Cattle Drive forum is where the drivers get together to complain, uh rather, discuss their assignments and encourage each other. Thanks to the enthusiastic initiative of Johannes de Jong, you can keep track of your progress on the drive with the Assignment Log. If you're tough enough to get through the nitpicking, you'll start collecting moose heads at the Cattle Drive Hall of Fame.

Straight shootin'...
Well it's sure been a long dry spell since I've done any reporting on the doings of those intrepid souls on the Cattle Drive. 2005 has been a butt-kicker for a lot of folks it seems, but there are still a few who find the time to put in a few hours of roping and coding.

Fresh riders on the Drive...
There are only 4 active drivers as we go to press, and 3 of them are brand-spanking new. Please give a hearty welcome to Tom Henner, Tommy Leak, and Barb Rudnick. These cow punchers have been making fast progress on the first part of the drive, but the badlands of Say have proven to be the same old stumbling block it has always been. Anyone who has been there might want to stop by and give a little encouragement and moral support during this difficult time.

Another moose on the wall for...
Speaking of someone who has been there, Kate Head bagged her fourth and currently final moose head on March 29, when she completed JDBC 4. Congratulations, Kate!

Get along, little dogies...
David McCartney is still driving away out in Oop somewheres, and Adam Vinueza and Jean-Marc Bottin have been popping their heads up now and again. Hope they didn't fall down a prairie dog hole or something!

Juliane Gross has reappeared from where ever she has been holed up. Sure am glad to see folks back on the trail!

Behind the scenes...
Marilyn deQueiroz and Pauline McNamara, our 2 hard-working nit-pickers, have been unflagging in their work, which deserves special thanks since the assignments on the drive have been updated and reworked. I haven't had a chance to check out the changes yet, but apparently the assignments are so different that even those of us who have completed the drive would find it worth checking out.

Me, I'm wondering how the heck it has got to be August already. Seems like summer just began! Well, here's hoping to see more of you out on the trail, or just finding the time to hang out more at the ranch.