I'm sorry to hear that. My thoughts are with you.

I also highly recommend Flylady. http://www.flylady.net

Your columns are always such a breath of fresh air. Rational, pragmatic -- I really appreciate it. From my perspective as a total layperson, the Northwest story is more amusing than alarming. I'd bet they were looking at Internet porn.

My condolences on your mother's death. She sounds like a great lady.

Thank you, Laurel, for this essay. I can relate so well to your internal struggle to find balance. I'm currently in the middle of a self-enforced, month-long vacation from blogging, twittering and facebooking. Yes, I am an admitted Internet junkie. I'm sure there's a dopamine component to my addiction -- every time I get an email or a comment or an @ reply, I get a little surge of pleasure. It's sick, I know.

But while I see the sickness, I also see the value. Yesterday, for example, I broke my self-imposed Twitter moratorium to find out what was happening at President Obama's town hall meeting in my state that I was unable to attend. If you can overlook all the "I'm going to take a shower now" tweets, Twitter can be a fantastic, immediate source of information.

Reflection about using (or not using) these new technologies is an entirely legitimate discourse. Those of you who have nothing better to do than post rude, critical comments on the Internet seriously need to get a life.

Vicki, I just wanted to lend my verbal support. You sound like a very balanced, practical and compassionate person. Kudos to you.

And for the record, I think informed mothers should have the final decision about whether to continue the lives of babies with severe disabilities.

Cars have bigger seats.

Buses have bigger seats.

Trains have bigger seats.

Planes have smaller seats for one reason and one reason only: Economics.

Why should fat people (and the thin people that sit next to them) have to suffer because of economics?

Fat people are NOT to blame here. They're just a convenient scapegoat.

I have been dreaming of a program like this. Off to download it now.

Thank you!

Salon has recently run articles about Michelle Obama's butt, dress, baby bump and now hair.

PLEASE. Can we move on to some more serious subjects?

I love this man.

Disturbing.

We're smitten. That's all.

I appreciate style but could not care less about fashion. That said, I thought Michelle Obama's red and black dress managed to be classy, powerful and unique all at the same time. I liked it.

Thanks for this great wrap-up of Michelle Obama's speech. I missed it because I don't have cable TV. This really conveyed what it was like.

Funny, I just blogged about this a week or so ago. I strongly self-identify as a HSP, or Highly Sensitive Person (google it if you're interested), and am easily stressed by things like car alarms, barking dogs, shrieking children, loud talkers, leaf blowers, etc. I live in the boonies and pack ear plugs and an iPod everywhere I go to try to cope.

Regulations would help. So would lessons in basic consideration of our neighbors and fellow citizens.

I'd say that Fox's use of "Baby Mama" to ghettoize Michelle Obama was hardly subliminal. It was downright blatant.

Interesting story (and comments). Thank you.

I've long thought the notion of paying for something that is usually available for free is ridiculous. How do people afford their bottled water habits?!

It's also incredibly wasteful to be producing and tossing all those plastic bottles.

I resort to purchasing bottled water only as a desperate measure; otherwise, I carry a Nalgene bottle with me, look for a drinking fountain or wait till my next meal.

I AM concerned about chemicals leaching from my Nalgene and am planning to buy a Sigg metal bottle.

They really say souls? Holy cow.

I've been flying a lot lately, after kicking my 15-year terror of it, and it's great to read your columns and get some insight to what it's like for you guys.

Speaking of square-jawed pilots, what IS it about pilots? They're all so damn good-looking. Do the airlines have hiring standards for their pilots as well as their flight attendants? Or is it just the uniform (and perception of power)?

Thank you.

I know that if I've offended you, I've done my job.

Ha ha.

I'm not even going to bother to address your criticisms of my previous comment, because you're so out in right field it would just be a waste of time.

This is Broadsheet?

Why is a man writing a rant against evil women on Broadsheet?

(You know -- women who idly stand by while their husband imprisons and rapes their daughters, and women who smoke pot while pregnant.)

What is going on here? Have I entered the Twilight Zone, where misogynist commenters are suddenly posting articles?

Now that you mention it, yes, just like the Broadsheet logo. Except many book covers are even worse.

The ones that really irk me are the chick-lit covers with highly unrealistic illustrations of pencil-thin women.

I missed the original post, but I love your wrap-up, especially the search requests.

I'm guessing that the last one, and the third from the last, are from people who only think that making fun of others is funny.

But it reminds me of an ex-boyfriend who insisted that a woman being raped is no different than a man being beaten up.

He was an abuser, too.

I'm just delighted to see pussies getting the credit they deserve.

It's so pussylicious!

I love my two kitties. And they love me.

Of COURSE that's good for the heart.

I wish I'd read your messages before I opened the box half an hour ago. I haven't turned it on yet, but it's charging.

My new MacBook is waiting for me at the post office.

And it's already obsolete.

Very interesting, correlating the celebration of Valentine's Day with increasing women's rights. Thanks.