I am not sure, at this late age, that I want Charlie Sheen defending my borders.

He can be the leader of the first wave of the counterattack. It would be called Operation Confuse the Enemy by Charging Him at Night Armed with Sparklers.

CONGRATS, mombelle! Very exciting. May ever day be better than the last.

Childrens, I am not the Office Depot!

Hee. This should be every teacher's tagline.

Gronklies, all. Why is it that Monday mornings start so much earlier than other mornings? I mean, seriously, I'm quite certain that 6AM cam much sooner than it normally does today.

ION, I recently bought the KT Tunstall album "Eye to the Telescope" on iTunes. I know I'm probably the last person to discover it, but I'm completely in love. Has anyone heard any of her other work? What's worth buying?

I'm a fan of the big black horse and cherry tree song, but it's the "radio hit", and I don't know how it compares with her other work.

Also, am I a complete dinosaur in expecting that, when you hand in homework, you make sure that it's neat and readable, you remove the little spiral notebook edges, and you staple the pages together? I recall learning all of this sometime around third grade. (I'm a bit grumpy today. I've already gotten two "When are those homeworks going to be graded?" emails for an assignment that was handed in less than a week ago.)

I find some students are meticulous about it, Hil, and others need "homework ettiquette" lessons. Which I provide. And then enforce. Because I am mean.

ION, my school was on the front page of the LA Times for a really good reason! We're being highlighted because of the school's committment to ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic diversity. Yay!

Let me tell you, dinosaurs get surprising bad traction in the snow.

Dinosaur snow shoes, baby.

Eric Rudolph hates jail [link] As a resident of the city where he bombed Centennial Olympic Park, a lesbian night club and a women's clinic, I say jail doesn't sound unpleasant enough to me.

I've tried the "homework etiquette" thing, with lots of reminders about it, including sometimes marking something wrong if I have to search too long through the scribbles to find the answer (I've only resorted to this one a few times), but it seems like the only thing I've been able to enforce has been stapling.

Kristin, if you're around, I have a Lyme disease question. A child in the family has been on a medical run around, and appears to have developed arthritis. She has a rash (but it's not a Lyme-typical rash), and she spikes a fever one day, and is fine the next. She loses any strength she has in the late afternoon. She has no appetite. She's lost weight. She's tested negative for Lyme (I believe twice).

Isn't it possible to test negative for it, even when infected?

Aww, sarameg. I give you permission to whine. No one should have to be sick without a little whine.

TAR: I laughed that it came down to the EZpass and some random stranger who knew where the destination was. That seemed classic TAR to me. Anyway, given the options, I guess I was happy with the result.

About the All-Stars, I dunno. I guess I'd have to see how it shakes down but I don't mind seeing some of those teams back.

Isn't it possible to test negative for it, even when infected?

Yes it is. However, there are other tick-borne illnesses as well. Either way, a high dose of antibiotics would be a smart move.