One of my little qualms is that I hate it when there's hair in my food. Hate it. With a vengeance.

Which kind of put a damper on my joy of eating this risotto I made last night. I made it with squash. And panchetta. And chestnuts. And fresh sage, and chili. And coreander seeds. And a lot of other stuff.

But it was the butternut squash that made it look as if there were hairs in my risotto. Which was a turn-off.

My wife liked it, though. Actually, she really liked it.

Said it was the best thing she has had. Ever.

She did!

Not that it matters. Any more. Maybe it never did. But it felt strangely good to hear Don Imus cut his broadcasting of George W. Bush's speech this morning short, halfway through, noting that he wasn't really saying anything.

Mr. Imus maintained that the speech was only a litany of excuses for "this stupid war".

Can't say I disagree.

My daughter has got her first computer program (sorry, Mac only). And she loves it! When she taps the trackpad, a random, brightly colored shape appears on the screen, accompanied by a random sound. If she taps a key on the keyboard, that letter appears, in jumbo size, on the screen. You can even have the computer read out the letters as she types. And the name of each of the shapes! This is so cool!

Writing computer games for small children. That's what I want to do when I grow up.

I can't believe how easy this is. Now I understand how 13 year olds can be dangerous hackers. This stuff is mindnumbingly simple. Or deceptively simple. Maybe it's just me that's 'deceptively shallow'.

Packet sniffers are scary.

Mommy, I'm scared. Please make the Net secure and safe and good again.

We just slept for twelve hours. More or less straight. The little one woke up only once, barely, for a drink and a diaper change, and then went right back to sleep.

I've been awake now for all of five minutes.

Think I'll go back to bed and sleep some more.

Bliss!

I finished!

My very own tiny shell!

I did not believe that I could do it. But there it is. In just one week!

WOW, this feels good. What a rush!!!

My very own tsh. Now I have two small children...

Just came back from listening to a speech. Given by Howard Dean.

He is an assertive, if not an overly warm, speaker. He has a little bit of that classic aura of an angry, young man. Talks a lot about taking back America. About how Ashcroft does not own the US flag, the people do. Etc. Still, he's not young. And not really 'angry'. 'Driven' is maybe a better word. 'Determined' is also a good description. I am sure this tenacity proved useful while he was a practicing physician, given how over-worked they are. What was interesting about him, was that he did not seem that hollow. Especially for a politician. Like so many Democrats, I find, he was more on the facts than on the message. Which may have made for less of a show. For better or worse. No 'axes of evil' visions. More 'percentage-of-income-paid-on-student-loan-payments' facts.

Afterwards, I got to meet him. Briefly. Small hands, but a firm handshake. He said that he thought a science education was an excellent preparation for a career in politics. The reason? Well, those who are not scientifically trained are not necessarily disciplined in throwing out theories, when it turns out that the facts do not support them. Good answer. A med student asked what kind of an environment she would be working in when she graduated. Dean said it was tough, since the health-care system was not functioning as it should. Why? Because it has been 'de-personalized'. For example, it used to be – and still is the case, especially if you lived in a rural area – that you would know 'the' doctor, know where to turn to. This has changed in most other areas, Dean said, partly because of "the increasing role of Corporate America" in health care. Bad answer.

So what is this poor little libertarian to do? I should be leaning Republican. But their guy is anti-choice, pro-tariffs (e.g. steel), anti-separation of church and state, pro-military, anti-balanced budget, pro-capital punishment, anti-privacy. And he invaded Iraq! Along comes this guy, from Vermont, of all places, who is pro-choice, pro-separation of church and state, pro-fiscal responsibility, etc. And he said he would not have attacked and occupied Iraq. And I believe him.

What to do, what to do?