[One possible explanation for the whining was revealed the next day when I discovered three separate piles of dog feces on the carpet down in the primary basement guest room. Though he'd only shit in one room and despite the fifty degree chill there, the whole downstairs reeked. I guess Carlos didn't have the doggy door completely figured out, even though he's stayed here before. Perhaps the snow had him confused. There's been an inch-deep accumulation since Sunday night.]

[The next day the hard drive started making the classic tick of death, which means it will definitely have to be replaced. A Google search informed me that the replacement of an iBook hard drive is a complex operation that takes a good two hours of work. I'm glad I know this before a client asks me to do the job. Of course I'll do it for myself if it means I can have an iBook, which would be an even better travel computer than my ultra-thin Vaio. It is nearly as small but includes an integral Airport card, a DVD player/CD burner, and 380 Megs of RAM. Best of all, it has a battery life nearly as long as a coast-to-coast airplane flight.]

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