Marnie, please postpone all comments about any TV show until at least 48 hours after US showtime. I had to skip half your blog:) I will watch that new episode tonight.

I truly believe all-Mac is a wise decision. The whole apple thing is much more suited to 95% of computer users in America. Now with the 360 and high definition, there is little reason to keep a PC around, even for games. Unless your me:) Seriously, there are no high end simulations that work well on a mac, and me love some good simulations. But there is not one of you that needs a PC. Macs sure are not cheap though.

2 weeks until I get to go home for a while. Of course I am very excited. I am trying to stay very busy to keep my mind off it.

As for my latest recommendations:

1. Battlestar Galactica. Yes, I am mentioning this again, but it is that good. Rivals Star Wars for sci-fi excellence. Again, not for kids. You can't catch this one mid-way though, you should start with the first season DVDs, starting with the mini-series (the first DVD in the Season 1 pack). They are currently on the 13th episode of the second season.

2. Horatio Hornblower. An A&E DVD series I found at the library. Unbelieveably good old British navy stuff. It caught my eye because one of the actors is the new Apollo in Battlestar. Better than Master and Commander. There are 8 episodes, first one is called "The Duel"

3. The Lincon Lawyer. By Michael Connelly. Great Grisham style legal suspense. Many of his books are good, and receive great reviews from all sources.

4. The March. By E.L. Doctorow. We gave Mom this for Christmas. I just started it and it is very good so far, and I picked it up based on many trustworthy suggestions.

5. The Killers. I am sure I am late to the party on this one, but I really like this band. Yes, I know the dude is Mormon now. He even looks like a good Mormon kid in the concert show I saw on tv here. His lyrics contradict that at times however.

6. The Jim Rome Show. www.jimrome.com You are missing out if you haven't given this guy a chance to enlighten your life. He takes some time to get used to, but he is hands down the best radio show on the dial. And, he is on Portland sports radio. Otherwise, his podcasts are available (for a monthly fee), which is the way I listen here. He also has an ESPN show called "Rome is Burning" but I do not like it as much because he restrains himself too much on TV. He might be going to Sirius radio next year.

7. Ricky Gervais Show. Podcast here. Free. This is the boss in the British version of The Office and the producer of the American version. Pretty funny stuff, if you get past the fairly thick accents.

8. Garmin Forerunner GPS. I got one for Brooke for Christmas. I have one myself. I am sure Dave has something like it. It gets me out the door and on the road every day. I guess it is the gadget hound in me. It truly makes me work as hard as any training partner.

Nothing new on this front. I finally got in contact with the brigade I am going to. They are still at Fort Lewis; they don't move to Germany until the summer. It seems like a very good unit, and I am very excited to go up and meet some people while I am there next month. And it looks like Brooke will have a sponsor to contact very soon. That will be very nice.

We have no water this morning. Not the way to start the day, especially after a sweaty run. Gross. But I better get changed and off to the "penalty box", as we so fondly call the Ops pit.

Mike