The new netbook arrived in a pristine box, with a battery waiting to be installed, with not a sign of previous use anywhere. The only trauma involved in getting it going was having to watch a screen (for what must have been 15 minutes) that said, "Please wait . . . initailizing."

It reminded me of the Apple "startpage" that opens up in my MacBook browser. In the upper left corner is a panel/link with the heading "The MacBook Pro Family." When I point the cursor at it, a text box opens up that reads, "High preformance comes in three sizes. . . ." No kidding. It's true even now, a month after I submitted a comment to Apple.

Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!

I ordered the netbook, of course, because we needed another computer--not (please believe me) to bring another Bingham into family online games of Settlers of Catan. When the package arrived, I opened it with the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. Right away, I started trying not to be bothered at . . .
* signs that the box had been opened before and resealed with tape
* the empty plastic bag that seemed intended to hold the power cord
* the fingerprints all too obvious both on the top cover and the area around the keyboard

Evidence of some kind of final inspection, perhaps?

Having plugged in the power cord (though the battery seemed to have charge remaining), I plunged into the process of asserting ownership. Curiously . . .
* during the online warranty/registration process, I was told that the serial number was already registered
* the machine seemed to think we were somewhere besides the Eastern United States: a time zone in India? a language setting that said “English (India)”?
* I did not find on the desktop the icon my manual said to click to start a trial version of Microsoft Office; I did find the icon in the “recycle bin,” along with quite a few other icons
* when I started downloading antivirus software, the download went into a folder in a user account I hadn’t set up
* when I started to set up an account for Windows Live Messenger, an email address I didn’t recognize magically appeared where I thought mine should go
* when Emma started to log in to Facebook, the same strange email address appeared

Curiouser and curiouser.

I decided I should get better acquainted with the stranger hiding in my new netbook, so I searched for him online and found, among other things, an online explanation he had posted about the basis on which some naturalization or immigration appeal was denied and his profile on a YouTube-like site (I was even introduced to some of his friends).

I decided to explore the netbook browser's history; it took me to PayPal pages for sending money to loved ones and to pages for fans of some pop star in India.

Melanie suggested that perhaps I should contact the online retailer from which I had ordered my new netbook and ask for an explanation. I did. The customer service representative assured me politely that I had indeed ordered and had indeed received a new machine. I asked him if I might explain my curiosity, and I launched into the list above. He stopped me before I was nearly finished, apologized, and told me that he was sending me a new new machine with free two-day express shipping. That was yesterday. Also yesterday I received email notification that my order had been shipped.

I'm eager to find out what new friends I may meet on Monday.

the whole group (minus John T)

the inner circle

M & M's

Thanks Brian H for the shirt design and Lauren B for the camera work.

You might call these signs of the times. . . .

problem solving: "The world use duct tape to fix all of there problems but Jesus use nails"

solving the deacon/deaconess problem

sovling teh houisng probelm


solving the pasture over-population problem

Still in Florida, at the Orlando airport


Welcome to Maine!


On the Olad, in the Penobscot Bay


On Mt Battie, overlooking Camden Harbor