Owen's got mail

Owen now has an email address. If anyone wants to email him it's owendtroy at gmail dot com. His first act was to write an email to the president asking him to stop the war. He was delighted to get an auto-reply instantly that basically said, "Thanks for writing, and we are not going to write back to you."

I went to Chicago on Fri-Sat to present a poster at a conference. It was freeeeezing there. On Fri night I had dinner with friends in Hyde Park and in the 50 feet between their apartment and the car my teeth started chattering, despite having my winter coat on. Liz drove me around their neighborhood, including past Steven Leavitt's house and the Obama's house. We looked in as we drove past and saw Michelle Obama standing in the entryway of her house. That was kind of neat. I also had the thrill (not) of having Ward Connerly on the flight back with me.

The budget crunch in the district has really hit. 91 teachers got pink slips on Friday. That doesn't necessarily mean they will all be laid off but there is a chance that they will be. Owen's teacher, who is fantastic, was one of the ones who was noticed. She is also a single mom and has a son in kindergarten at Birch Lane. It will be a devastating loss if she is laid off so I am getting our class to write a letter to the Board on her behalf.

It was beautiful in Davis this weekend. We went to the park yesterday and enjoyed the sunshine. The trees are all blooming as are our daffodils, lavender, and the euphorbia is going crazy.