I was going to write about several more domestic topics two weeks ago. But a funny thing happened on Feb. 24. Before I get into that, let me just say that I will write more about my kids and cats, I hope, next week. In passing, let me say that I just finished a wonderful 10-minute cat-petting break. There is not problem, assignment, situation or task in the world that doesn't seem more fun, and easier to do, after a cat-petting break. I may even take another one before I finish.

So, how many times have you seen this in a movie. It's the fourth quarter. The team is riddled with penalties and injuries, or a flu epidemic, or zombies have eaten everyone's brain. The coach looks down the bench. There's only one guy sitting there. The coach grimaces and plays the kid. The team wins the game!

Or its opening night on Broadway and the star breaks his leg. The kid steps up, says he knows the lines and can fit in the costume. He goes on! The critics love him!

The problem is, real life is never exactly like that. Well seldom. But maybe this time.

Dave Sims, the executive editor of Byte.com, the website that was once Byte Magazine, decided to leave CMP for O'Reilly and Associates and an incredibly shorter commute (90 minutes down to 10 minutes). Bob Evans, the group editorial director, called and asked me if I would take the post. We talked on Feb. 24; the job became official March 1. That was also the day we had promised to relaunch Byte.com.

I have already told you in this column that CMP Media is "in play," with Lazard Freres looking for a buyer. We don't know if we'll be sold or not. But in February, Michael Leeds, our company president (he's two weeks younger than I am), sent out a memo telling us we'll share in the sale proceeds if there is a sale: $2,000 a year for every year we've been here. I've been here almost 20 years. That's real money. And no one is forcing the Leeds to do this. The offer caused me to re-examine my commitment to the company. I have always given my best and worked hard, but after Michael's offer, I felt I owed the Leeds family something… well, more Herculean. Thus, when Bob called, I not only said yes, I said YES!

Dave had done the hard work, signing famous Byte columnist Jerry Pournelle to a contract, but we didn't have Jerry's first column yet. I had four days to receive and edit Jerry's 6,000-word column, to commission, edit and produce a feature, and to clean up the Byte home page the best I could.

It took 18-hour days on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the help of my temporarily assigned producer, Tom LaSusa. But we did it! We went live March 1, and traffic at the site ticked up immediately. It really was deja vu all over again–just like when I started up the Windows Magazine CD-ROM back in the fall of 1994 (That's another story. Remind me to tell it some time).

We have a small budget but big hopes for Byte.com. It is the successor to a venerable tradition that I will do my best to live up to. It is a lot of work, and it may cause this column to lose some of its clockwork regularity.

Finally, since several of you have asked, let me make it clear; almost nothing I do here can be transplanted to Byte.com. PSACOT is here to stay, and I don't plan on making a big deal of it over at Byte. In fact, I don't plan to mention it at all. It will be our little secret.