So, not only did it come with the correct OS already installed, it had Office 2007 as well- I had to enter my own product key and upgrade to professional, but the amount of time was rather small, so score another for the hubby.

The Windows updates are taking f.o.r.e.v.e.r. and I hope to get Visual Studio and then the bulk of the little annoying programs that you only realize you need when you discover they aren't there.

The touchpad is nice, have not yet tried the pencil eraser.  Hmmm, will it void my warranty if I pry it off?

My Dell has been going flaky on me.  I have been a Dell fan for a while.  I have a desktop and a laptop that  I use everyday as my own and it was time to replace the laptop.  I think there needs to be some hardware repair (graphics card, space bar, touchpad and motherboard is my guess) and the whole she-bang rebuilt.  I have been abusing this particular laptop for over a year now so it was just time.

The Lenovo arrived while I was out of town.  I have never had a Think Pad before, never been a fan of the dang pencil eraser.  This one has the touchpad I need.  My wonderful husband ordered it for me with some cool bells and whistles, but also with the version of Windows I will use already installed (I always just blow away and rebuild a new laptop, don't you?). 

Why day 1/2?  Because all of the other install discs are on my desk at the office, not home.  So Office, Visual Studio, etc will have to be installed tomorrow, so all I can do now is some basic browsing and playing to see if I like it.

The graphics are amazing, very pretty, and crisp.

So, not sure I can really count day 1 just yet.  So, look for day 1 officially around Tuesday or so.  :-)

I am assuming you ALL know what Tech Ed is (clicky)...and also assuming many have attended.  There has been a spilt to have developer week and ITpro week (totally bad idea for those of us that are hybrids of both and have a life outside of work).  I plan to go to dev week.

Birds of a Feather.  Great chance for attendees to define content.  Link here to review the sessions and vote (go VOTE silly).  I signed up to help host/run a few, so I hope to see you there!

Ok, totally non-tech related, but still valuable nonetheless, I promise.  Public service announcement follows.

I am taking kid #2 to physical therapy this afternoon.  I am pulling into a parking spot directly in front of the PT clinic.  I am not in any way driving recklessly or unsafe in any way shape or form.

As I enter the space, the parked minivan in the space next to my intended space has its rear door fly open and a 5 yr old (ish) kid flies right out, not looking at all.  I came THIS close to hitting him.  Still not quite sure why I didn't.

Phew, didn't hit him.  We park and get out of our car.  Then I see what looks like Grandpa exit van on other side.  I felt I needed to tell him kid needed a refresher in "don't run in front of moving cars" lesson.  (not even thinking about the "grandpa needs to pay attention lesson).

Julie:  Excuse me, sir?

Grandpa:  Uh, yea?

J:  That young man that just got out of your van, he ran out in front of me when I was pulling into my parking space.  I wanted to let you know so you could talk with him again about the dangers of running around moving cars.

G:  Wow, that was a while ago.   (um, like 40 seconds maybe)

J:  No, it happened just now.

G:  Were you sitting in your car for a while then?

J:  Well, not really.  But, he ran out in front of my car and I am worried he could get hurt next time.

G:  How long did you wait to come talk to me?

J:  I'm not sure, but it just happened and I wanted to make sure someone knew it was time for a refresher in parking lot safety.

Then I walked on to our appointment.

So, moral of the story is two-fold....

1.  Make sure kids of all ages/sizes know to not run in parking lots, look for cars, etc.

2.  Make sure if your kids are left in the care of anyone, make sure they pay attention!

PSA over, thank you for listening.

So, yes, I fell for it.  After he announced his email address at Mix last week, I emailed Steve Ballmer.  He said he personally answers his own emails.

He answered mine (a light-hearted invitation to our little launch event in COS clicky here).  And he answered it in just a few hours- which is faster than my own husband typically replies to my emails. 

(in case you were wondering the answer was a very polite no thank you, not that I expected any different, he's a busy guy)

Silverlight.  Silverlight.  Silverlight.

It was EVERYWHERE.  Not saying that's a bad thing.  I am totally nerd-ed out over the NBC Olympics site coming in August.  I have already planned in my head several uses for Silverlight with Virtual Earth.  My team has been working on more business value oriented applications with it- think less wiz-bang visual, but more wiz-bang time saver in day-to-day business.

It was great to see many friends/colleagues from around the Microsoft family.  Tech-ed is in June and I hope to see them again there. 

Ballmer's interview by Guy Kawasaki was fun, and informative.  I love the approachability he has, shows you can enjoy your work, have fun with it and still build and maintain a successful brand.  How cool is that?

So, now the big question is...... will everyone think Silverlight is as cool as we all do?  I think the answer is yes, but to Joe Consumer, they shouldn't care if it's Silverlight, for him, it's right or not.  So, if we do it right, Joe Consumer is pleased.