1. The service doesn’t work. Says "Yahoo! Live is an experimental release. We’ve experienced heavy traffic and are taking a breather to tune things up a bit."
if I had to choose, I would go for better java integration with Ruby using JRuby rather than focusing on Groovy. Why? Is Ruby really that much better than Groovy? You'd think they'd support Groovy more since there's a JSR behind it and no JSR behind JRuby.
I grew up in Montana - no electricity or running water for 16 years. It's a beautiful place and I love returning to our cabin (in the NW) whenever possible. My family and I will be road-tripping through around the same time you're there.
I don't think they have huckleberries on the "east side", but if they do - you should definitely make an effort to get out and pick some.