Two Blogging Notes

First, it turns out that my new $200 laptop, while it is wonderful in many respects (it's clean, it's stable, and does both Internet and word processing without any drama), it's a little light in RAM and uses Windows 2000. The surprising result of this is that I can't download iTunes (so I'll be listening to This American Life in the stream from their website), and--more importantly--I can't load the scanning element of my printer. So I can print, but I can't scan, which means no more Bar Napkin Cartoons (except for the photographed kind, perhaps) until I upgrade in a few months.

Second, and more importantly, since I have a book to write, I've noticed that the Internet is killing me with its thousand shiny-object-like distractions. So I'm about to try a new policy: I'll be removing the wi-fi card at night, and I won't be allowed to put it in until I write 2,000 words. This should only take me a day, but it might take two or three sometimes. If I'm strict with myself about this, then there may be a lapse in posting on the site--and a lag in my response to people's emails as well. So take it as a warning. If you don't see an update for a day or so, this may actually be good news. For the book, at least, if not the blog.