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I have a couple of pieces of news regarding Benjamin:

1. Scout – Ben has achieved the rank of Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 615 in Melrose. He’s been camping with the troop a few times and he reminded me recently he’s been a total of five times now. When he and his friends joined the troop they effectively doubled the size of it! I think they have fifteen boys under the age of 12! They’ve been working on meeting the requirements for their Scout badge. Ben was awarded his last week and he was quite proud. Big gold star to Ben for that.

2. Ben was also elected Patrol Leader! I was shocked and impressed! His patrol, which is called “Exploding Penguins” is made up of five boys and they elected him to be their leader! How COOL is that?! I was very pleased. But a little confused. When I was in scouts the patrol leader was always an older kid – someone who already knew how everything worked. Someone who could guide, or “lead” the rest of the patrol. See? You get a 14 year old to lead a small group of 12 year olds and impart his wisdom to them. I’ve done some asking around and confirmed that this is how they want to run it. I don’t agree with it, but if they’re going to set it up this way I’m pleased as punch to have Ben make Patrol Leader. Isn’t that great? Another gold star for Ben.

3. Ben is at e-Camp this week. The WHOLE week. He’s spending four nights and five days at an environmental awareness camp for kids in Rhode Island. No calls home. No emails. Nothing. Ben has been really excited about it and I’m sure he will have a good time. They’re in fifth grade and its really most kids’ first time away from home.

4. Did I mention that in Ben’s report card he went up in almost everything? Everything except music. No worries there. So he’s getting good grades! Awesome! Another gold star for Ben!

He’s a busy little guy.

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Firm’s future hinges on new hepatitis drug - The Boston Globe

Good news for Hepatitis C sufferers… less good news for companies competing with Vertex.

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Envision G22LWk 22-inch LCD Multimedia Monitor, Black Reviews at CompUSA

The CompUSA’s near me are closing. Its very sad. After May the closest one will be in Nashua, NH!

I’ve decided to console m yself by letting them offer me a ROCKING deal on a monitor. I got a new (get this!) TWENTY-TWO inch flat panel LCD monitor for $100 off retail!!

No, I’m not kidding!

No, I’m not making this up!

Its a great monitor. I’m very very happy with it.

On the downside I’m having some issues setting up my computer again.

1. network. Since we got Voice Over IP Liz didn’t want to give up the answering machine. So I had to move the router close to the main-floor-phone. So now that I’m setting the computer back up I added a wireless network card. But the computer is now stored in, what is essentially, an oak box. The antenna is also behind the large AT-sized case. The result is that I can only get a 1Mbps or 2Mbps connection. Its awful. Without getting in to the details of why its there, there’s a spare ethernet cable running most of the way between these sites. I got one end connected to the router last night and I’m about 6′ short of getting the other end connected to the PC. That will be this evening’s project.

2. There’s something wrong with my USB connections and I needed a new USB hub. It had to be a powered hub because my 2.0 peripherials require a powered hub and not one of those cheap mini-hubs. The devices include a printer, scanner, iPod etc. So I had to spend $30 on a powered USB 2.0 hub. Oi.

3. The CPU sits inside this oak box and I’m concerned that its going to overheat in there. I may add a couple of fans at the back of the desk. I’d have to figure out the questions of power for that. How do I install it, power it and control it?

4. Print server. So I have a hard-wired printserver attached to my Epson Stylus 950. In the past, since the router was nearby this wasn’t a problem. It was always connected and worked out nicely. Now that the router is on another floor I have find a cheap wireless printserver. And I’m not going to drop $100 on this. The basic requirement is that all the computers should be able to print even if the desktop is not on. This excludes sharing the printer through the OS and it means I have to rely on a print server.

I had no idea my computer configuration was so delicate!

Did I tell you that Verizon’s FiOS has come to town and I’m tickled pink about it? Its going to be outrageous. I think I’ll be able to get 20Mbps! WooHoo!

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Verizon FiOS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So for years I’ve been really excited by the possibility of getting a fiber optic line run straight to my house.

In order to compete with cable, Verizon has been rolling this out across the country. It means VERY high internet speeds for relatively low cost.

I got a letter yesterday from Verizon saying that FiOS had arrived at my town and they wanted to make me an offer.

For $20 per month more than I’m paying for DSL I could get 20mbps! This is phenomenal. Right now I’m only getting about .75mbps

But I hate the idea of spending another $20 per month so in order to alleviate my guilt I am trying to figure out what I can give up to make up for it. That is, could I trade part of my lunch budget for it? Could I stop getting the Boston Sunday Globe? Maybe I could cut the kids’ allowances?

Any ideas?

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Taken straight from Salon.com:

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