Silver linings (Black iPods)

On the downside, the hard drive on the old iPod went belly up. (This, a tragedy that was compounded by the subsequent discovery that our son had destroyed the cones in our stereo speakers.) This is not a family that does well without its music.

In the positive column: new iPod! Just got the sleek, new black 30GB iPod today. And boy is it sleek. And new! I ordered it in the early hours last Wednesday. Within a few hours the iPod had been engraved (free) and shipped (also free) from Shanghai. From there to Anchorage, Alaska by Thanksgiving morning. On Black Friday, henceforth known as Black iPod Friday, the Fed Ex delivery truck was at our door.

I never cease to be amazed by this sort of thing. Mein Frau loves to tease my total admiration for the US Postal Service. For less than forty cents, I can have somebody pick up an envelope at my front door and have it delivered to any other front door in the United States. You can't even get a waiter to spit in your food for thirty-seven cents.