added oil..
 

took my boxster to vegas to see my parents. After it sat in their driveway over night, there were some quarter size spots that i assumed was motor oil. Turns out it was gear oil leaking at the shaft seal. I recently had the motor oil changed and assume my mechanic filled it to the proper level. I added half a quart of oil before i left to come home..the guage meter now fills all bars at cold morning measurement, should i drain some oil? or is half a quart not enough to worry about?

You should not be overfilling the engine; easiest way to lower the oil level (you want it between the min and max bars on the display) is to change the filter and dump out the filter cannister, that will remove about 1/2 quart or so.

how much is too much overfill? can i drive my car til i can get an accurate measurement of whats in there? i doubt its overfilled to the point to cause any damage or smoke

Don't bet on it, these engines do not like being overfilled. Anything over the "max" line is too much, we target to fill the cars to one or two lines below the max line.

Let the car sit for at least an hour or so on a level surface, then check the display; if it is still at or above the max line, the car is over filled.

According to the manual, you check the oil with the car fully at operating temperature. Turn car off and check after a "few" minutes, to me that means about 5 minutes. Using this method, when it is at the max, mine will show one bar overfilled when left overnight.

Not all years did it that way, some are tested warm, others after sitting for a longer period, some are even tested running. In any case, the oil level should still still not exceed the "max" line when cold and on a level surface.