I’m updating from a new/refurbished laptop that has come my way thanks to the amazing . My wife. *sighs happily* I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to deal with the moon-eyes. They’re going to be around for a while.

I hesitate to call the machine reliable, lest it suddenly become not. Yes, it’s running Vista (Home Premium), but I’m not complaining too much. It is after the SP1 threshhold, after all. Also, it’s a Dell, who happens to also sell machines with Linux pre-installed. So, both wallet and conscience were served.

For Yule, got me a Philips GoGear mp3 player. It’s a spiffy little 2GB player that doesn’t try to be what it’s not. It’s simply a spiffy little 2GB mp3 player (along with other formats). And then, um, I lost it. Dropped it in the snow while moving Aidan’s car seat from one car to another at the crack of dawn. Well, yesterday, the snow began to melt. Hardcore. I looked a few times, but didn’t see it. I’d made myself pretty bummed about the whole deal, since it was a gift. Then, yesterday, lo and behold, Hunter to the rescue…

“Skippy! Your mp3 player! I found it!” We were on our way to Howell to pick up ‘s hopefully-fixed car. I ran over to him, raised my arms to the sky, and yelled “YES!” at the top of my lungs. I picked him up and spun him around, which made him giggle madly. Later, he kept asking why I’d spun him around, not quite grokking the response of “I was -that- happy, man.” I’m just thrilled that he saw that squareish black rubber holster on the side of our driveway.

After waiting a few hours for it to dry, I gave it a shot. My Philips GoGear survived being lost in the snow, shoveled into a snowbank, being melted on, and then being dried out. It works flawlessly. It’s one hardy piece of tech.

Good gift. :)