Do I look different?

I'm blogging at you from Panera on my brand-new Dell Inspiron 1520 laptop! Fred needed a computer of his own to take to the War College and I needed a new laptop because the old one is one step away from certain death, so last week we took the plunge and ordered his-and-hers 'puters. Economic stimulus indeed!

This morning I set them up side by side in my office and got them up and running. This afternoon I'm test-driving my newly rediscovered mobility by bringing it with me while I wait for Annabelle to be done with her play rehearsal.

So far my review is mostly favorable. With its 15-inch screen, it's bigger than my old laptop, but I think that will be a benefit in the long run as I use it for working away from home (like next week in Alabama). The biggest drawback is that new-car feeling--you know, the one where you love your new wheels but you're just waiting for some idiot to slam a grocery cart into it or for a bird to take a dump on it? I just carefully brushed a cat hair (how did a cat hair follow me to Panera?!) from its keyboard, which is kind of funny when you consider that the screen on my old computer looks like a Jackson Pollock painting--if Pollock chose dust and household grime as his medium.