I Forgot to Put on a Title!

Current Reading: Forty Signs of Rain, by Kim Stanley Robinson

Inspirational Quote: "Honey, time marches on and eventually you realize it is marchin' across your face." -- Robert Harling, Steel Magnolias

Things that have occupied my alpha-waves:

1) Netbooks. Alright, I confess. After stating quite clearly that one should never seek an external solution to an internal problem, I bought one anyway. It's an Asus Eee 1201hab. Reviews have indicated that it is somewhat underpowered (a single-core Intel Atom Z520 processor) and the graphics capabilities are not up to HD video standards. I don't care. One reason I bought it is so that I would have a workspace without temptations (GET THEE BEHIND ME, FOUL INTERNETS!), so although netbooks are designed for e-mail, surfing, chatting, video conferencing etc., I'm leaving mine unconnected. For Freemind and OpenOffice.org Writer, I don't need much processing muscle nor much pixel-swapping power. What I do need is a good keyboard and a large display, and the 1201hab has me covered there.

It has a 12" screen and a keyboard so close to full size that my stumbling fingers are able to find almost everything they need in fairly short order (the key layout is different from my desktop keyboard, of course, especially in the placement of navigation keys). The keyboard tactile response is good, the battery life quite good, and the display clear and readable.

Also, I'm turning 44 this week, so I decided I deserved an indulgence. Go me.

2) I took Thursday and Friday off last week. I was starting to snap both at work and at home, so it was time for me to unplug. I was hoping to get a lot of alone time, but Wednesday night, Aeneas came down with an eye infection that kept him home from school. So instead of truly relaxing, I had to ride herd on a teenager. And it rained. And the temperature dropped to about 5 degrees Celcius (40 F).

Still, I managed to squeeze some extra sleep in, and a few bicycle rides around the kingdom, and the aforementioned high-tech shopping spree. So I'm a little more relaxed. I'll go back in Monday and probably be ready to snap again within an hour.

Does anyone out there need a slightly used computer programmer/technical trainer/telecom engineer/legendary greek warrior and leader of men? I think I may be in need of a career change.

3) I don't know what the big deal is around Krispy Kreme donuts. Sorry. My sister-in-law was selling them as a fund raiser and everyone had told me they were terrific. They're okay, I guess, but a long way from ambrosia. When it comes to pastry, give me an apple turnover. Better yet: give me half-a-dozen apple turnovers. And one of those strudels. And that baguette... no, the other one. Right. And is that lemon-meringue pie fresh? No, don't bother bagging it up. I'll eat it here.

4) It was a beautiful day today, and Cassandra and I walked down to one of the parks in the Kingdom. We had fun climbing and sliding and swinging, although I'm about twice the optimal size and five times the optimal age for that sort of thing. She is such a delight, chattering away and skipping and discovering just how much she can do, learning to trust herself to climb higher and reach further. I'm privileged to be with her. With any of them, really.

5)

...and that's all I have to say about that.