that's nice

We got another bill from DirecTV. This one differs from the first; rather than owing the full amount for services we were never able to access, we have a $7.98 credit. I don't expect to see a check from them, but at least we don't owe them anything.

The house sounds like a doctor's office from 20 years ago. Quiet except for classical music playing in the background. Everybody else is sleeping in.

Jack stayed outside all night. He came in just before bedtime last night, nibbled at his food for a couple of minutes, then turned around and asked to be let back out. "OK," I said, "but we're going to bed now. You'll be out all night."

"That's OK," he replied, "I'm a cat, and I've got this new undercoat to keep me warm."

When I took Rocko out for his morning constitutional Jack came in. Now he is sleeping comfortably in bed with Lisa.

I've installed Linux Mint on my laptop and am loving it. There are quirks, of course, when switching operating systems; finding a media player that will play .mp3 files is one of them, but I found that alsaplayer (while very basic in appearance) plays them and therefore my radio stations are available. Still, I like having a standalone radio.

We get 4 different NPR stations, depending on the weather: Asheville, Spindale, Johnson City TN and Greenville SC. WNCW in Spindale plays a wide variety of music, from bluegrass to classic rock. Most of the others have a lot of NPR programming but play classical music from 9 AM to 3 PM.