y old PC has now been replaced with a brand new HP desktop box, sporting plenty of RAM, two Lightscribe DVD burners, two terabytes of drive space (have I mentioned that I worked for a major hard drive manufacturer?), and Windows Vista Ultimate.

While I would have loved to sink some money into a new Macintosh machine, I somehow couldn't justify spending at least three times as much as this new box costs just to get the hardware. Since I've been on the disabled roles now for almost a full year, I have to be very careful about how I spend my limited income, so I will surely be just as happy with this as I would have been with anything else.

My application for Social Security disability was approved on the first submission. The law firm that handled the application for me (well, really for my disability insurance company) tells me that it is highly unusual to get approval on the first attempt, so I must really be as messed up as everyone tells me I am. It's pretty hard to stay in denial with objective evidence like that!

Consequent to my disability, I have not been out of the house further than the end of my driveway, except for doctor's appointments, for eleven months now. I really do miss having a life and all, but at least Carol is out there representing me! She spent some time this weekend observing the launch of leg 6 of the "Clipper Round The World" sailing race as it left Santa Cruz, California for the next stop in Panama!

This race is especially interesting because it is a circumnavigation of the globe on 68-foot boats with as many as 17 people on board, both amateur and professional! People have paid as much as $30,000 just to be a part of the crew for a single leg of this voyage. Imagine stuffing 17 strangers into an apartment the size of a shoebox for three or four weeks at a time. Now imagine that the shoebox is being shaken by a giant who regularly dumps salt water down the hatch every few minutes while you race with nine other apartments in the same dire straits. No thanks....I'm feeling a little seasick just writing about it!

Carol got some amazing photos, and since she has too much of a life to be able to maintain her own dA account, she has graciously given me permission to share them with you by posting them in my gallery. I will begin uploading some of the best over the next few weeks as I am able to manage. Meanwhile, if you are interested in seeing the boats and learning more, you can visit the race's home web site at www.clipperroundtheworld.com, or browse her raw images online at Picasaweb.

-=b=-