down for the count

my hard drive is revolting against me, and so my computer is somewhere between here and that mysterious and magical place the purported geniuses ship these things off to before they come back to me in working order (hope hope). so my hands are somewhat tied on the whole posting thing. i'll do my best to fit it in, but the fates are making me take it slow for a few days. there are pressing things to talk about -- this kind of hurts.