The Songbird flits back to the States for a couple weeks

Today I will be reunited with my wandering Songbird, living in Nairobi, Kenya since this past May. She's coming back to attend a week-long training seminar at one of her employer's local campuses, and arranged to come in a couple days early so we could have some time together before and after. She'll be flying to Johannesburg, South Africa a week from Wednesday for a meeting, then back home to Kenya. (You better believe she's racking up the frequent-flyer miles!)

We will likely be attending at least one Movie Night @ Chez Wynne while she's here (I hope), but otherwise most of next week she'll be mondo busy between training and taking care of unfinished business left over from the move that can only be done by her, here. I will of course prompt her to say howdy to any and all of our mutual friends while she's here, and she will have access to the Net at my home or her hotel room.

I look forward to a joyful reunion, free of drama and allowing us to renew our mutual love; may all the gods grant that it should be so. I pick her up at the airport threeish, after she escapes customs inspections.

For all you techie types who never remember to flush...

...here's a Lego® robot that flushes your toilet for you. (No indication of whether it also puts the seat down—sorry, ladies.) Courtesy of Engadget.com via iGoogle.

Someone's finally going after Big Pharma...and about damn time

BusinessWeek Online reports here that New Jersey's Attorney General Anne Milgram is making her state the first in the nation to investigate all the $$$ that giant pharmaceutical companies lavish on doctors in hopes of influencing their prescription choices. You go, girl! It's past time someone hauled back on the leash against the Pfizers and GlaxoSmithKlines of the world trying to make brand loyalty more important than effectiveness, safety and reasonable cost in medical treatment. Now if only someone would pass a law making them cut back on all those TV and radio ads aimed at patients...