BTW, Liese, my parents were telling me about a book that might interest you

I READ IT! They had it at the little casita where we stayed, and we totally went to see the Haagen Dazs where spies plotted assassinations and shit. So awesome! I mean, it wasn't a Haagen Dazs then.

You know me so well. I would totally love to hear him speak, though.

When my nephews get like that, he takes them out for a run.

Yeah, I used to run Emmett around the track when he got nutso. Sadly he is a high school athlete trained up to a peak right now. He's been practicing six days a week for the last six weeks, and his coach works them hard. So anything less than catching for three hours isn't going to tire him. His thighs are Eric Heiden-like right now, just slabs of granite.

I read the hotel information book. What? That's what it's there for!

By "read the hotel information book", you mean "look at what room service offers", right?

I can't believe Emmett is old enough for SATs.

I can't believe Emmett is old enough for SATs.

One year from now he will be (I hope!) opening up college acceptance letters.

I am totally right, but we are doing it the more complicated Jason way, because if we didn't he was going to have a nervous breakdown. Sometimes it sucks being the less anal one in a relationship.

You know what's even worse? Being the more anal and organized one when the other one is a bit OCD. Because then the more complicated way is also less organized and less efficient and yet still must be followed to avoid same nervous breakdown.

sigh.

I just found a fascinating series on You Tube: BBC Wartime Farm, a several-part series about a year running a farm in the same way they did during WWII. The bits about the recommended practices--the government advising farmers to switch to gas or electric stoves because coal was needed for the war and how that was hard because most farms weren't on the electric grid so they needed generators--and coping with equipment shortages so that the blacksmiths suddenly became very important again is fascinating.

There's also series for Victorian Farm and Edwardian Farm. The historical stuff available on You Tube is wonderful.

I think I'll check out the Coursera and iTunesU stuff -- I'm unemployed, so I might as well do a bit of self-improvement, right?

That was my reasoning, Theo.

This temp agency I signed up with has a bunch of instructional courses available online, too, I'll be exploring those next.

I've clearly been spending too much time unemployed and short on disposable income -- I can't remember the last time I stayed at a hotel. Based on vague memory, though, the first thing I'd do is kick off my shoes, and either collapse on the bed or go look out the window.