I feel the same way I did when Jim Henson died — robbed. The world lost another creative genius to a stupid disease.

Steve, I didn’t technically name my kid after your computers, but today, consider it an homage nonetheless.

My most recent interview was Patty Young; she creates patterns for her company ModKid Boutique, and she also designs fabrics for Michael Miller. Patty herself is like a little iced-mocha-fueled whirlwind.

I have a few more people on the docket for interviews. Are you a fabric enthusiast? Have any contemporary designers (or other fabric type people) you think I should talk to? Let me know.

I also wrote a preview of Timber, and put a wee spotlight on Sew Bettie, the people behind my moustache fabric. Moustache fabric, people. I can’t bear to cut into it.

There’s still a chance we might finish the work and move in before (American) Thanksgiving.

And the price of gas is spiking again, just when I’m close enough to visit my family on a semi-regular basis. But that’s all right, at least my dollar goes farther when I only have to travel three hours, rather than nine, to get to Ohio.

And, lucky me, I drained my 401(k) before the giant market fumble. I’m a winner all around!

p.s. VOTE OBAMA. McCain broke America once already (and that’s just this week! “Free market” my heinie!).

Apparently the government is offering up to two $40 coupons toward a digital signal converter box for our perfectly adequate television, with which we use a set of rabbit ears to catch PBS Kids, Martha Stewart’s TV show, and the local news. I did not know that.

Also news to me: that the digital-signal switch, which happens less than a year from now (February 2009), does not force us non-cable-havin’ people to buy a whole new compatible television set (darn!) — just a converter box. Still, Himowitz makes a good point:

Never before has the government, by fiat, declared obsolete a perfectly good, working technology that’s almost universally available and so critical to public safety. And with so little real-world testing of its replacement.

Damn government.

Anyway. I am applying for the coupon today, intent on taking his advice and seeing whether I can get, say, NOVA to come in in high-def. If so: Sweet! If not — well, I’ll take the other part of his advice and let my congressmen know that this idea of theirs was crap. Only time will tell!

As it was presented on Thursday afternoon, the package calls for workers who paid income taxes to receive $300 to $600, and couples to receive up to $1,200 — plus $300 more for each child. The stipend, which some lawmakers were calling a “tax rebate,” would be subject to income limits so that the wealthiest taxpayers would not receive it. Payments would go to individuals with adjusted gross incomes under $75,000 and couples with adjusted gross incomes under $150,000.

I do not think tax rebates are any kind of solution to the general problem of the faltering middle class, and I suppose it isn’t meant to be, anyway. When you’re bleeding from an artery, even a band-aid is better than nothing.

Here’s the problem: the smart thing would be to hang on to that windfall and try to earn a few percent’s worth on it. But that defeats the economic purpose of a rebate, and unfortunately we always have something that $1800 could be put toward, like the $800 in repairs my car is waiting on.

So what do you think: spend it or save it?

The Bunny Vs the Blue Box (Salon):

Annie’s Homegrown Macaroni & Cheese has pretty much achieved world domination — at least if your world is populated by the chronologically challenged. Refueling Gabriel, Rebekka, Isaac and Yazmin after a grueling toddler networking session? The well-stocked mom breaks out the Annie’s. Three-course dinner with (mucho) wine for the grown-ups? A batch of Annie’s keeps the little dears quiet. Rustling up some grub after a round of African drumming and lacrosse practices? Boil water. Grab Annie’s. But while there’s nothing wrong with food that appeals to kids and is easy to prepare, do we parents really have the right to feel so damn smug every time we open the little purple box?

No, no, no, a thousand times no.

Also of interest:
• Bootylicious (Salon): “My kids’ favorite snack smells funkier than poop, has questionable nutritional value and leaves a trail of bright green powder in its wake. Still, I can’t imagine life without it.”

• A Guy’s Guide to Breastfeeding Etiquette (MSNBC): “If we pause for longer than an instant, we risk being accused of voyeurism, even if the sight of mother-baby bonding is simply making us feel warm and fuzzy inside. But if we make a show of NOT looking, we risk being accused of being disapproving. What’s a guy to do?”

Unfortunately for mothers everywhere, the piece was quite biased. And the piece said, NO. From the intro footage of Encino moms drinking (zoom in on the wine!) to Meredith’s loaded questions (“but, how would you feel if it was the baby-sitter?”), the general tone was one of incredulous disapproval.

Melissa did a nice job of speaking out for the rational person, but I fear she was slightly overshadowed by every other aspect of the segment. More’s the pity, because this is the kind of thing that gets blown out of proportion and subsequently used to further pressure moms into some sort of Stepford model of behavior.

Look. Moms are people too. They eat. They drink. Sometimes their drinks have alcohol in them. Nobody’s talking about intoxicated parenting, all right? I think we can all agree that that would be dangerous.

But the simple consumption of an adult beverage in the presence of children, including your own — well, hell. Dads have been drinking beers on the couch for … for as long as beer has been invented, and that’s never been criticized.

I don’t drink often, but I’ve never shied away from having a drink in front of Owen. He knows that some drinks are for grownups (anything that comes in an aluminum can, including National Bohemian). And I know that more than a drink and a half is too much, so I imbibe accordingly.

I don’t see the problem. And I think demonizing moms who demonstrate any sort of human behavior (working, drinking, being exasperated) further dehumanizes them and gives the American public fewer reasons to respect and value what they do. And this in turn is why so many mothers today feel suffocated, anxious, on edge — why perhaps they might need a beer, I would venture to say. Because America has been all up their butt all day long.

I’m due May 30. I’m 14 weeks along and am no longer in the shit. We’re pretty excited about Numero Dos here.

Is Owen going to be a kick-ass older brother or what? We did such a good job with him that the second one’s bound to be awesome as well.

Cleaner homes and smaller families, they say, are throwing off our immune systems. In fact, researchers now say we need exposure to healthy doses of bacteria and infectious agents early in life to develop properly.

— Baltimoresun.com story

In fact, he might become too healthy, from the looks of my kitchen.

43 Folders: Inbox Zero: Delete, Delete, Delete. “Do you have a sloppy relationship with the messages in your life? Be honest. Do you tend to see every new email as a virtual hug that must be reciprocated?” (um, yes.)

In the Sun: Neutral Season. “This season, however, comfort may trump sexy. In fact, even sexiness this season is much classier and more comfortable than in seasons past. Belly baring is out, higher waists are in. Mini skirts are a rarity; skimmers - shorts that hit right at the knee - are all the rage.” So you’re saying my spring uniform — an oxford shirt, cargo shorts and Birks — is not only fashionable, but sexy too? I heart haute couture.

MacWorld: Yes, the iMac does Windows.[Hackers get Windows XP to boot on one a them new Intel Macs]. Dude. “Let me be the first to say how creepy a phenomenon this is.” You said it, brother.

Last is the New York Times: A David Pogue blurb. Yay. Even better, though, is the video he points to: What if Microsoft redesigned the iPod box? And pointed hilarity ensues.

Daaaaaang. That’s some video snark, y’all. OH SNAP.