I really enjoyed this book. It's DaVinci Code with a Shakespeare twist. I enjoyed it much more than DaVinci. Looks like there will be a sequel coming out this year - can't wait. Valk

Well, we were all set to get a 20" through my bil (he works for apple). He knows I do a lot of digital photography, desktop publishing, etc... and said he would only put in an order for a 24". He was only joking (kinda), but said the price difference was minimal between the higher priced 20" and lower 24", so I told the dh & got the 24". I LOVE IT!!! Cannot imagine going back to a 20" now. My friend has a 20" and loves it. If you're afraid of the size, go with the 20". They're great computers. Val

That's awesome. I've always been pleased with their customer service. Enjoy your new computer! Val

You will love it. That's the one I have. It's amazing. Not sure if you're into digital photography or not, but Apple just announced a new version of iLife (iphoto, imovie, idvd & garage band) that will be release at the end of the month. The new version of iphoto includes facial recognition software so if you tag a person in a couple pics, the computer will go through your photo library and grab other pics with them in it. Looks pretty amazing. Also supports geo-tagging in photos. Enjoy your new computer! Val

What about "The Eyre Affair"? The review from the Wall Street Journal that's printed on the cover states: "Filled with Clever wordplay, Literary allusion and Bibliowit, The Eyre AFfair combines elements of Monty Python, Harry Potter, Stephen Hawking and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But its quirky charm is all its own." Val

I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club and World Without End this week. Both great books. Valk

Queen Elizabeth I or Eleanore of Aquitaine. Both fascinating women. good luck with the project!! Val

My best experience was with Apple. I always do photo books for the grandparents for Christmas. Never have had an issue. This year, one of the books didn't get glued properly. I emailed late on the Saturday night after Christmas explaining the issue. By Sunday, I had a response that they would reprint and ship. I expected to receive the replacement for just the one book. They redid all four - at no cost (that was an over $200 total order) and I had them in hand by January 2nd. Valk

Start now.... Send out a lovely email saying something along the lines that you love them all. Everyone has what they need and can get what they want. Tell them that instead of buying gifts for adults next year, you propose that everyone make a donation to their favorite charity and help someone else have a wonderful Christmas. My mother does this with her friends. She'll bake a loaf of bread or something and put a card that says that she's made a donation to the local Food Pantry in their name. Hope this helps. Val

I don't know of a stylus option, but you can check out the following to help with your typing speed.... Two 3-star apps: Typing Genius from the App store.... it's $1.99 - iType - free These two don't fare as well in the ratings, but are free: Speed Type - free Idle Hands - free If you're new to the touch, give yourself some time. When I first got my iPhone, I had a lot of trouble with the keyboard. Just takes some getting used to. Playing games on it helps, the typing programs above will help and just using it more will help. Good luck!! Val

grocery iq todo WhitePages YPmobile The Weather Channel (actually like this much better than WeatherBug and the weather app that comes with the phone) Big Tipper Showtimes & Now Playing Sportacular iTV iPedia converter iPeriod - nice to be able to know when Aunt Flo is coming & chart my moods World Wiki+ Air Sharing - I think this is free right now - awesome app - turns your iphone into a wireless drive so you can place files on it. Cubes - I can play this for hours and have seriously considered taking it OFF my phone Hanoi - great logical game. My dh said it's also a traditional comp sci problem. tanzen iBird Yard is nice Margins for book notes Shakespeare - free Classics iSort - a nice mini databse app USA Manual Speeches Documents iQuote Finger piano - very, very cool - especially if someone else has an iPhone and has the app Amazon.com app is great facebook Carpenter - just used Friday when I was trying to put some vinyl lettering up straight. Speed Brain Trace Wurdle Christmas Shopping List - huge help for this holiday. iFlipr - great flash card app. I have a lot more (hard to believe). I purchased a lot of the Beam It Down Software's book collections. I love their format - the text scrolls and you can control scroll speed, font, size and background color. I got the Jane Austen Collection and several others. Enjoy. There's so much out there. Just when you think you don't need another app, a friend will email you with a suggestion of some kind.

For us... they're a nightmare (they're assigned at the same time as science fair and with all the other work - it's major stress). I think that if we were homeschooling, they could be a lot of fun. Each year there is a different theme to follow. You don't have to dress up. Two years ago, my middle son did a display board. There are LOTS of very specific rules for the boards. Last year my middle and younger sons used iMovie and made documentaries. We liked that format better. Even if you do a board or a documentary, you still have to do the process paper. One thing to remember with History Day is that it truly is a history investigation - not just a history project/ report. Unfortunately, because of the curriculum guide and pacing guide that our social studies teachers have to follow, there is not a lot of classroom time available for History Day. It becomes something dumped off on the parents to do at home with the kids. I do think that it could be a lot of fun and valuable learning opportunity given the appropriate amount of time. Val

If you can't buy until spring, you might be lucky. MacWorld is in January and there's always the possibility that Steve will release new versions of the touch there and you might be able to get one with more storage for either the same amount as now or possibly less. So, if Santa doesn't come through... there's always a bright side. :-) Val

That's what I was thinking. He might be using a blackberry or some other sort of smart phone and does not type well because the keys are small. Val

I just had to put the dreaded cone collar on my beagle because he has scratched one ear so much that it looks awful. I plan on letting him have a couple days without the possibility of scratching and then go in for a good clean and put the collar back on for a while. Would've done the deep clean immediately, but he had just messed with it too much & it was too sensitive. The other ear looks great. Not sure what happened to the bad one. :confused: My little guy is not very happy with me right now. He's very good at looking pathetic.

It sounds like the program our county began using a couple years ago. All I can say is that I'm glad my boys were too old. If you google Investigations in Math, you'll find a lot of information (including one titled, Bad Fuzzy Math). My friend has a 1st grader and she became so frustrated with it that she is doing Abeka math with him at home in the evening. One night her friend's daughter had a math assignment that was adding two numbers (1+2 or something like that) and part of the assignment was to draw a picture to "show how you know." The little girl drew a picture of herself and drew the equation in the brain area - she knew because she knew it in her head. The teacher made her change it. I believe the program also uses combine (or group) instead of add/adding. They don't seem to ever have to just know a math fact. Val

The Time Life Treasury of Christmas - just a wonderful collection of songs Elvis Christmas Ella Fitzgerald Frank Sinatra Christmas Bing Crosby Johnny Mathis Bare Naked Ladies - Bare Naked for the Holidays - great cd - Elfs Lament is my Christmas ringtone. Michael Buble (sp?) and.... They have a new Elvis cd out this Christmas. It's a cd of Christmas duets with people like Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood, Wynonna, etc... GREAT cd.... think Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole singing Unforgetable. Val

We have 4 nanos, an ipod classic, and 2 iPhones in this house. We love them all. Val

:iagree: My iPhone automatically hooks up to the house's wireless router. I don't have any problems when I am using that. Before my town got 3G (which just happened within the last 10 days), I did have some issues with the Edge network when I was driving around. Things would download, but it would take some time. If it took too long, the process would time out. That might be what's happening to you. Also, if a page you are downloading uses Flash, I don't believe the Flash is available for the iPhone yet. Good luck with the problem and your class. I am absolutely LOVING my iPhone and not sure how I survived without it. :lol: Val

My middle son just went through an outer ear infection. You could actually see that the ear and the tissue below the ear was swollen. He could not hear out of the ear. The doctor prescribed antibiotic ear drops, but when they did not provide relief after a couple of days, he put my son on an oral antibiotic (cefdinir). Worked great. After two doses, my son started feeling relief. I would ask if it's possible that you have an infection and see about getting an antibiotic. Sounds like it's been more than long enough after putting in the tubes and you should be feeling relief, not worse pain. I hope you get the problem solved quickly. I know that having ear pain can be awful. Val

now called the Taurus X. I LOVE my car. I have been thrilled with the performance, comfort, etc... It's just a great car. Val

That was great!! Thank you! Val

The seem to have a lot of jerseys and prints at the following site: the Heisman Winners Great gift idea! Valk

I'm in Maryland. I had to show my voter registration. Then they asked me to verify my birthday (I guess as an added verification). Voting was smooth. People working were friendly, professional and helpful. This is the third election I've been able to vote in person (we were stationed out of our home state previously) and I've never had a problem. :) Val

I love Barenaked for the Holidays! It's so much fun. Elf's Lament is one of my all-time favorites. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is also great & Do They Know It's Christmas. Val