In honor of USA Independence, I bought a laptop on ebay. What better way to say I love my country than indulging in the electronic shopping cart shuffle? Boosting the economy is the absolute least I can do.

It's an IBM Thinkpad T23: 1.13ghz Intel Pentium III, 512mb ram, 20gb, dvd-cdrw, includes wireless network card and AC Adapter. It isn't the newest or the shiniest model, but it's got everything I need for a satellite writing station. And the best part? It was 1/5 the cost of my first laptop that I bought new in 1996 with 16mb ram, a 1.4gb hard drive, 333mhz... Practically the dark ages.

It'll be here next Monday. Until then I'll just have to make do with my trusty pen and paper. Just like *they* want me to do.

The greeting card submissions didn't pan out. I came home to a handwritten rejection Post-It on Friday, so I think I'll take a break from pithy punchlines and start something new. I'm thinking speed reading.

We don't have any plans for the 4th. I might go outside with my tripod and try to take pictures of fireworks. Or maybe I'll do some speed reading drills. You never know with me; I'm the ultimate loose cannon.