Things I'm loving

• Garmin nüvi 350. We're an early adopter on most technology. Heck, I have a Kindle 1.0. But I've never seen a need for a navigation system. It's been four years since we bought a new car, so we haven't had it come up as an option. And we take few enough car trips that the thought really just never occurs to us. But when this Garmin model was recommended in my beloved Cool Tools, it clicked for me. I got it for Noel for Christmas, and we've just been playing with it in advance of his trip to the Ozark Foothills Film Fest this weekend. It couldn't be more intuitive -- just select your state and street address (you don't even need to tell it the city in advance, and it auto-completes the street name after you've typed a few letters), and a voice suddenly begins telling you where to turn. I couldn't resist using it for a few trips around town today, and even learned a back way home.


• Duplicity. After several weekends apart, Noel and I finally got to go out for a movie tonight. Our choice was this quirky corporate espionage comedy/thriller, which has been getting raves. And what a delight! Clive Owen is adorable, the screenplay is brilliant, and Tony Gilroy lends a smart energy to the whole affair. And I laughed every time Paul Giamatti came on screen. "Stocks are down, porn is up, and there's plenty of free parking!"


• Wii. The good news about our tax refund, combined with a windfall from Noel's aggressive CD and DVD purging, allowed us to treat ourselves to our first video game system ever. Yes, prior to the Wii that entered our household today, the kids had made do with Noel's Super Nintendo. Much like the nüvi, a video game system is something I'd long resisted because we don't strictly, well, need it. But when the Wii came out, my barely repressed love of cute things and foreshortened plumbers came to the fore. And now, Wiiiiiiiiii!