WOW, it has been a busy two weeks.

First off: Beth's birthday. I stood in line to get her an iPhone for six hours.



Which you'd think would be the biggest thing to report, right? A 'phone which is an iPod which browses the web and connects with our wi-fi network. And it is a lovely thing too.

But so is this...



Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jackpot. His name is Jackpot because we got him on 7-7-'07. His full name is Corgard Lucky Sevens (three sevens, lucky sevens, jackpot) but we call him Jack for short. Oh, I think I mentioned all that in the last post. His mother's name is Roxy (Ch. Corgard Tribute To A Legacy) and his dad is Dundee (Ch. Anwyl Winds O Change). His mum's from a line of champions ... in a 2005 show another one of the family, Batteries Not Included, was the Best Adult In Match (the "Ch." in their names stands for "champion of breed").

His dad is owned by Annika Falk of Finland (Corcin kennel) and was bred by Robin and Bruce Robertson (Anwyl kennel) in New South Wales, Australia. Jack's dad's pedigree can be seen here, and you can see that Jack's great-great-great-great-grandparents are mainly from England. But he's from all over the place.

And he is one sweet puppy. Although he does like to pull at the bottom of my jeans. And my socks. And anything I'm wearing that moves...

Listen : Rag And Bone - White Stripes ... Bones - The Editors ... Let Go - The Pigeon Detectives.

Get ready for a cute 30 second puppy video.



We're getting a puppy on 7-7-07, so don't be surprised if we name him Jackpot (Beth's idea) if it's a boy. These are corgi puppies, by the way, from the Corgard kennel (winners of awards at the PWCCGS Specialty Dog Show).

Gardening has taken a lot of my free time. I played two hours of Enemy Territory all week, and built a compost bin (whooo, exciting times). Last night we went with Kate and Jay to see a AAA baseball game, and tonight's Lenny's 40th shindig. So maybe it is kind of exciting.

Listen : Take Me Out To The Ballgame - traditional 7th inning stretch tune ... Yer Old - Reef ... This Garden - The Levellers.

Welcome from sunny Chincoteague, on the Eastern Shore.



Chincoteague is at the south end of Assateague Island, which stretches long and thin from Maryland to Virginia. It was famous for a kid's book called 'Misty', and there's a statue in the middle of town of Misty the pony. The book deals with the Pony Swim, but that's in the height of summer. We were there the week before high season, so we had all the good weather with none of the crowds.



There are plenty of wild ponies around the place too. Here's one with its tongue sticking out.



The visitor's center (below) is worth noting because its toilets use no fresh water at all. See the reeds at the front of the building?



Waste water is filtered and runs in there, the reeds get nutrients from our waste, and the cleaner water is re-used to flush the loo. Oh, this is where we stayed, a place called The Refuge Inn.



Highly recommended place. Just follow the link above for their website.

You might have noticed the lighthouse in the background of the first picture. We climbed it, and here's the view from the top...



The area is a National Wildlife Reserve, and their current mission is to protect the Piping Plover (a seabird, we didn't catch a sight of any) and the Delmarva Fox Squirrel. Conservation there has been more of a success, because we saw the little buggers all over the place.



Bigger than a regular squirrel, and very silvery in appearance.

As well as long walks on the beaches, both occupied and deserted...





...(OK, almost deserted, that's Beth in the background) there are plenty of cruises to take. The only thing I wish I had a good picture of was the dolphin that played coy around the boat. But here are more shots from the cruise.



This is a fishing boat, on its way out to the Atlantic.



Captain Tom and First Mate Bailey keep Beth happy with tales of crab-catching on the high seas.



The lighthouse looks best from the water, as do the loblolly pine trees at the water's edge...



...and the sun slowly sinks into the west as the cruise comes to an end.



We spent time by the sea too. Here's me at Tom's Cove...



...some laughing gulls look casual as a ring-bill gull looks on at our snacks...



...a crab gets a little too close for comfort...



...and the sun sets slowly into the west again, this time the same shade of red as the places I have mosquito bites.



So that's it. A week of relaxation and fun all over too soon. It's time to pack up and head back home. Thanks for looking at this little impromptu slide show. Now all that remains is for me to pick three suitably summery songs...



Listen : Club Tropicana - Wham! ... Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard ... Vacation - The Go Go's.

Valentine's Day! If a picture is worth a thousand words, here's a video and a few pictures for you!

Listen : Run - Snow Patrol ... Snow - JJ72 ... Patient Hope In New Snow - Bright Eyes.

Idol. Pop Idol, American Idol, Insert Your Country Here Idol.

I was going to talk about life, but what the Hell? Let's get stupid for a few minutes and talk about Simon Cowell. Specifically, what you're letting yourself in for if you apply to take part in a show like this.

First of all: your looks. I've created a chart, and if you're thinking of auditioning, I want you to compare how you look right now with this line-up. It ranges from red hot to brown crap.

Be honest with yourself. You don't look like Orland Bloom or Kiera Knightly. Do you, now.

OK, so let's say you DO look like Jack Davenport, at least. Wasn't he good in "Coupling", by the way? Reminded me of a younger Simon Jones in his Arthur Dent days. Anyhoo, you've got the look. Or at least you have a look, and that look isn't either 'beached whale' or 'The Crypt Keeper'. Now all you need is the voice and the shy attitude, all mashed together with a lack of unearned attitude and zero self-importance. And just a dash of coherence.

Not like this Snaggletooth, then.

Can you spot how many incredibly stupid mistakes this Hillbilly made in showing up for auditions? Don't you people think? Don't you wonder why they're putting you in front of the judges when so many thousands were turned away without seeing the producers of the show, never mind the judges?

No. I guessed not.

Listen : Starz In Their Eyes - Just Jack ... Fame - Irene Cara ... Bohemian Rhapsody - not the man in the video above. Queen.