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Grownup stuff
Yes, it certainly is, one helluva new day. That's what my wife said to me this morning on the phone from Dubuque when I called up to apologize for losing it last night. See, she found the perfect place to rent, a nice little brick house with wood floors and a back porch, just the kind of refuge she's been looking for, only the landlord (Mr. "No Exceptions!") says she can't have her cat there. Well, I exploded. I feel guilty enough that she has to live in another state just to make a living, and the thought of her having to sacrifice even more by doing without the comfort of good ol' Hobbes the Wonder Cat made me want to blow up the whole deal.

"Why the hell are we doing this?!?"

"You know the reason why." Etc. etc.

Just the sort of thing you don't want to do to someone carrying a heavy load, drop another brick on 'em, right? So overnight I calmed down, and when I got back to her this a.m. she was her usual awesomely sensible self. The house is just right for her and I hope she gets it. Furthermore, the little bastard is draped across my forearms now as I slouch down on the sofa with the iBook in my lap, and I informed the Iowa girl that he was staying in the family, no matter what. If not for the recent emotional binge, I probably wouldn't be typing now with a damn cat on my belly. To tell the truth though, I kinda like it. Now if I can only reach my coffee without disturbing him ...

Macs, MUGs, etc.
New day, new day ... It looks like I'll be getting a semi-new TiBook very shortly. The "how" isn't as important as the "why," which has to do with my promise to let the wife take the iBook to northeast Iowa. (Can't have an Internet editor without a backup machine, now can we?) And since it looks like the pickup truck and I will be driving back and forth from New Mexico to Iowa fairly often, I'll definitely need a portable. The TiBook is an early model but still clocks in faster than any of my other Macs, and I'll be glad to get my hands on the titanium pizza box.

It's (almost) a new day at Apple, too, but there isn't much I can say about that. Everybody and his uncle knows there's new hardware in the wings and boy we need it, but when, what, and how much is out of my control and nobody tells me anything, anyway. I wonder why. The funny thing is, people email me all the time asking for dirt on when Apple is going to do such-and-such. I'm flattered, but geez, you know what Apple's relationship to Mac sites is like: can you spell "ten-foot pole"? Actually, there are from time to time various friendly cooperative undertakings, and the mothership does have people paid to read every word we publish -- though that isn't for the purpose of handing out rewards, hoo boy. Interesting, though.

I know I'm going to run into this "he's a Mac guy, ask him!" business later on this summer, too. In the first week of either August or September, I'll be the featured guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Santa Fe Mac Users Group, which ought to be a hoot and a half. They may beat me with a wet tortilla when they find out I don't know any more than they do, less even, but at least I can regale them with tales of what it's like to toil in the vineyards of the Great Mac Web. (Don't worry, amigos, I won't reveal all your secrets and bust their balloons! Empires built on two guys in bathrobes and fuzzy slippers have just as much right to exist as anything funded by Satans in suits.)

Did I mention it was a new day? The little bastard, for some reason taking comfort in my mere presence, has just migrated to the empty cushion next to me and freed my arms to grab a cup of coffee and even polish off a bowl of granola with raisins and stale walnuts. [belch] Life doesn't get much better than this, though another million or two might help.

Note: despite what he thinks (?), Dubuque has some interesting attractions. Just visit this page and scroll down for details on when to see "BLAZE, the World's Best Balloon Blowing Goat."

Blow that whistle loud & long
Finally, it's a new day in New Mexico and in America, too. Over in Chama, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad is once again hauling passengers via steam locomotive to Antonito, Colorado. They've only got one engine running at the moment, so the return trip is by bus, but I've driven that road and it's a stunner no matter how you travel it.

On the national scene, more and more editorial columnists are using the "i" word, which lifts my spirits immeasurably. Sooner or later the comparison between lying about oral sex and lying about the reasons for killing thousands of people and destroying an entire nation is going to to sink in, and when it does, this admnistration is going down, brothers and sisters. The only problem I can see is that having the entire executive branch walk the plank is going to leave things a bit unbalanced for a while, but think of all the parking spaces that will free up in D.C.

You think I'm kidding? Looky here, my wife said of the stolen election way back when that there'd be "hell to pay" someday. She's a double Pisces and she's never wrong, got that? N-e-v-e-r! So if she says "it's a new day," you can take that to the bank. New house, new TiBook, new Macs, new gig, new train, new country, wow.

That's a lot to digest in one gulp, but I think we're up for it.

Senior Applelinks editor and columnist John H. Farr invites your emails.

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(Beautiful land for sale here: "What It Is About El Rito,")

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