1) Not long after I had this fruitcake, which was excellent by the way, a flu dropped on me full force. I crashed until yesterday 2) when we hit the road for the two-part trip from Ohio to Maryland. 5) We stayed overnight again at the Holiday Inn in Uniontown, PA. This morning, the fever broke and I felt much better. 6) Cianna experimented with ketchup and fruitloops at breakfast, and then we were on the road again. 7) Our dog was especially happy to get home. 8) The fridge at home was empty, so we stocked up on groceries and bubbly too for tomorrow night. It's great to have three days of holiday left even after a long trip.

- mike lee - wheaton, md

I got out this morning in our rented minivan for a solo drive to catch some after holiday sales. I only got as far as Radio Shack where I saw (but resisted) a DigiGr8 digital camera (#160-3850) for $14.99 (!) and an Axion 3.6" screen Personal DVD player (#160-3912) for $69.99 after mail-in rebate which ends 12/31/05. The DVD player is so inexpensive and simple to use that I'm tempted to buy one for my elderly mom just to display baby grandaughter videos.

What I couldn't resist was a floor demo model of the new Robosapien V2 remote-control robot, which I snagged for 10% off and a double extended warranty at no extra charge.

Links mainly for myself: 2.6mb PDF Robosapien V2 user manual, Robosapien V2 Blog, Robosapien V2 Secrets, active hacker discussion board.

I fired up the 'bot just as my brother-in-law, his wife, and four kids arrived. Of course their boys loved it, but couldn't stop poking at the infrared and color sensors embedded in to 'bot's forehead. My daughter Cianna gave it a hug, but ran away when the 'bot went into it's "animal roar" routine. I jokingly told her this was her new baby brother.

Santa made a post-world tour appearance (pic 8) at dinnertime to greet the kids and sit for a photo op. He drives a nice Cadillac!

The evening wound down with videos, LEGO kits, and a basement slumber party.

- mike lee - greenville, oh

I did manage to get outside for a few minutes despite laying low with my cold. It was a grey, drizzly wet, chilly day, and no businesses were open. Not much reason to go out. I walked into Greenville Park (flickr pic), which is right in front of my in-laws' new house. I ran into a weatherworn raccoon wandering about and snapped some photos of it. I'm hoping it was just really hungry or friendly and not rabid. My wife's cousins, Aunt, her husband, arrived to visit the house for the first time and have dinner. Now, after the rest of the fam has gone to bed, I'm spinning up the new DVD of Serenity.

- mike lee - greenville, oh

1-3) We completed the five hour drive from Uniontown, PA to Greenville, OH without incident. However, my daughter and I have the same low grade cold and cough settling in. 4) Cianna, pictured here with snowman doll and dog Cody, enjoys the view from inside her grandparent's new house (where are staying). 5) I went with Cianna's grandpa to make a last minute Kroger's food run. In the big load that returned was cold medicine, the premier issue of Robot magazine, and my first Sparks. Ingesting all these things should make for some strange dreams tonight. 6) The living room where, starting tonight, and through next week, several batches of family will come visit.

- mike lee - greenville, oh - merry christmas and beyond!

Wake-up and breakfast at the Holiday Inn in Uniontown, PA, then on the road again heading west.

- mike lee -

We visited the day care center that Cianna will start attending on some weekdays next month. I had imagined that day care for a two-year-old would be simply about playing, eating, and sleeping all day, but there's a pretty structured learning environment in place. She'll practice naming colors, shapes, numbers, animals, and everyday household objects in english and spanish. She's made a a lot of progress already, but the addition of spanish will be fun to mix in with the chinese she gets from my mom.

- mike lee - washington, dc

We're starting the ten hour ride from Maryland to Ohio in a rented minivan to visit Cianna's grand'rents. We'll stop half way tonight to sleep at a motel.

- mike lee - wheaton, md

A few pix of Lobsterboy, Trixie & Monkey, and John Waters (link to a review of John's show) on stage at the 9:30 Club last night.

- mike lee - washington, dc

Since her mom had to work (and I took the day off), Cianna and I went to the nearby National Building Museum. The museum has a giant climate controlled atrium with nicely carpeted floors that are perfect for active children. We explored all around the ground and second floors. Cianna was especially fixated on the large fountain and asked me for coins to toss in. After the museum, Cianna heard a siren and said "firetruck!" So I decided to stop into the firehouse by our office to show her a real firetruck. A fireman turned on one of the engines lights to full flashing, but without the siren. Then Cianna sat in the driver's seat and steered. The firehouse pix will be up on Flickr later.

- mike lee - washington, dc

Since her mom had to work (and I took the day off), Cianna and I went to the nearby National Building Museum. The museum has a giant climate controlled atrium with nicely carpeted floors that are perfect for active children. We explored all around the ground and second floors. Cianna was especially fixated on the large fountain and asked me for coins to toss in. After the museum, Cianna heard a siren and said "firetruck!" So I decided to stop into the firehouse by our office to show her a real firetruck. A fireman turned on one of the engines lights to full flashing, but without the siren. Then Cianna sat in the driver's seat and steered. The firehouse pix will be up on Flickr later.

- mike lee - washington, dc