I am happy (thrilled, actually) to report that I am once again a member of cyberspace. I have a new LARGE satellite dish attached to the back of my house and a new service provider. I’ve concluded that the Internet is like so many of the things we take for granted these days. We never think about all that electricity does for us until a power outage hits. Same with the Internet. So here is a list of some of the things I missed while my connection was down: Television Listings. I no longer subscribe to TV Guide. While I may be addicted to the Internet, I have yet to succumb to cable or satellite television. I mean, I’m distracted from my writing enough already. I don’t need 200 more channels to lure me into a zombie state. But I do have my antenna and network and local TV. TV Guide just doesn’t provide listings for local programming any more. So I get my listings online. But not for the last two weeks. (OK, eleven days, but who’s counting?) Goodness only knows what stupid shows I’ve mis...

I’m on vacation. Or to be more specific, my husband is on vacation. Back in January, when the weather was bitter, we had to try to determine what dates we wanted to list on his vacation request form. If only we had a crystal ball. But without any help to predict the future, it was more like close your eyes and throw a dart at the calendar. We chose yesterday and today as two of the days he’s allotted annually. And in what’s become a tradition known as the vacation curse, I’ve been sick. At least I’m on the upswing, so it could be worse. Yesterday, we went to the movies. I had seen Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End back on May 25, the day it was released. I know there have been mixed reviews and not everyone is as enthralled with it as I am, but I loved it. Okay, I admit it. As long as Johnny Depp is up there mugging, I’d be happy. And as a writer who struggles to achieve accuracy, I confess there are many moments when the viewer must suspend their grasp on reality. Or even lik...