I like Michigan. I love my in-laws, I like the rural setting, I like the fact that EVERYONE hunts, I like the polite country folks and I like Junkyard Wars, the only decent show available on my father-in-law's satellite TV package. I say all that as precursor to this...

I am in cyber purgatory right now! I just drove 20 miles on semi-icy roads for the honor of paying a high school kid $2/hour to use WiFi at the only internet cafe/coffee shop within 3 counties. Granted, this is a great coffee shop and minus the fact that they charge for internet (that's like charging for air these days!), it's a cool place to hang out.... or it would be if it wasn't a half-day outing to get here.
I'll probably swing by here every few days to catch up on e-mail, download podcasts and try to connect with people back in the real world. If the posts come slow and it seems like I'm never online, take heart.... in the new year we'll back in eastern Europe and have our standard high-speed internet again.