About seven years ago when we had to replace computers and electronics after a burglary I replaced a track ball (I'd just bought the new one and when they hauled the computer out of the house with everything still wired, the ball popped out of it.) My new computer had a laser mouse, and the kids had been using the old roller mouse. I think their new computer came with one of those still, and my son was complaining. I got the unused HP laser mouse box out of the closet and handed it over - you had to be there to see the pleased expression on this kid's face. "Cool!" and he was off, computing with the smooth eye of the laser making his work easier. I just don't like having to wag the damned things all over a desk. With track balls the laser is inside and the pattern on the ball does the trick. They aren't very good for drawing with though.

Gluon and the girls are going to have to move over in the garage to make room for Zeke. His human mom was critically injured when she was a pedestrian hit by a car in a parking lot at work this morning. Her daughter called to ask me to retrieve him from the house. She's in ICU with a head injury, a broken hip, and recent eye surgery that may fail because of all of the rest of this. I suspect he'll be here for months.