I bought a new laptop this week - one of the new 13" MacBooks. It's very pretty and I'm enjoying it very much. My HP laptop died a month or two ago, so I'd been waiting on tenterhooks for the announcement of these new Mac laptops. I tried to go get one the day after the announcement, but the Briarwood store was useless and didn't have any. But my dear friends wouldn't let me be deterred and we went out to Novi on Wednesday afternoon. They had them there - yay - and now I have one. It was an interesting sight at the store - one after another after another new laptops walking out the door. I made an apple ...

We have a big ancient apple tree in our front yard. Mostly, it's the source of consternation: apples have to be picked up before they rot and before the grass can be cut. We don't spray or otherwise tend to the fruit, so we haven't ever really tried to eat them. But as you can see, they're pretty decent looking, albeit with some insect blemishes. So this year we tried to collect some for eating. Now, from this picture, you might suppose we could just reach up and grab them. But the apples in the picture are really high up - about level with the second story dormer. We ...

Team FJM (Special Ops) needs 11 electrical outlets to maintain full-powered functionality. (4 phones, 2 PSPs, 2 Nintendo DSs, 2 cameras, 1 computer) Our current bivouac only has 10 available. Adverse conditions today dictate covert operations. We will be infiltrating several buildings, including one designed personally by the chief architect of the enemy forces, Gehry. His monstrous eyesores have struck fear and loathing into the hearts of thousands, and for an unlucky few, even caused blindness with their egregious ugliness. Pray that we return safely.

Two little stories, make of them what you will: Jack is in seventh grade and is taking the required Health class. It includes the dreaded Subject One Does Not Speak About With One's Mother, but apparently covers other stuff like exercise and nutrition and so forth as well. He was feeling chatty after school yesterday and was telling me that they were covering why people eat the foods they do. For example, your religion may ban certain foods, your culture may have its own foods, certain foods may be convenient, etc. I asked him if they talked about economics - why you might make food choices based on how much some foods cost. Nope. Never mentioned. As I watch the economy imploding ...

The boys have just arrived after spending the weekend at Norm's. They're here all this week - all day, every day - because it's spring break. AAPS didn't used to have this week off, they just did an Easter break, but somewhere along the line, the School Board decided that in a college town where the U has this week off, the schools need to be off, too. I'll note that the U doesn't have a long Easter break, but the AAPS didn't cancel theirs, so that kind of shoots the 'we need to match their schedule' argument, no? So now the kids get two weeks off school, spaced about 3 weeks apart. Can you feel my enthusiasm? Luckily, Keith ...

As of yesterday, I've been married to Keith for 4 years. We celebrated last night with big martinis at the bar at Cafe Felix (him Picasso, me Martini Felix) and then over to Miki for sushi. We told the cute little server that it was our anniversary and told her the amount we wanted to spend and just had the chefs make up something for us. It was wonderful - she brought out this huge boat (it really was shaped like a boat!) full of sashimi and an auxiliary tray of nigiri. It was out of this ...

I have some vague memories of a childhood visit to Michigan and Granny Fisher insisting on a trip to Greenfield Village. Very sketchy. But I think that was the last time I was there until today. Keith has a friend who works there and the place is completely rife with stock footage (and photography) possibilities. Since the boys are with us all week, we decided to take a trip out there today - both for family fun and for work. We didn't have to spend money to get in, but did buy lunch and a ride on the train. What a strange place, oddly interesting and mind-numbingly dull at the same time. Keith filmed his friend scything and I strolled around with ...

I'm still sick. Sinus congestion now, still with a cough. It's gone on long enough that I suppose I ought to go back to the doctor. Running the humidifier (in August! in Michigan!) last night helped, though. Camping was a disaster. It really does deserve a post of its own, but suffice it to say: we came, we were eaten by bugs, we went home. School starts in two weeks. The boys seem unfazed; I, on the other hand, am starting to get excited. We won't find out teachers til next week. I have a ton of fun projects to work on and I'm really kind of excited about them. Also looking at doing a design for a contest (which I have mixed ...

Would someone please explain to me why they combine an expectorant, designed to make your coughs more 'productive' and get all that goo out of there, with a cough suppressant, designed to make you not cough? Seems dumb to me. Still not doing great. In fact, marginal at best. Keith made me get up and out of the house yesterday, and I think that helped some. I also suspect I threw my electrolytes out of balance - I have been drinking copious amounts of water (see above expectorant issue) but I haven't been eating much at all. The nice, yummy salty movie popcorn saved me, getting some sodium back into me. At least that's what I'm choosing to believe at ...