You wrote the letter I was going to. I only have one child, and my wife and I flexed our schedules when she was done with maternity leave so that I work mornings, she works more of a late-morning shift, and he doesn't spend hours and hours in daycare. I love and cherish the afternoons I spend with my son, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I also look forward to the time after he goes to sleep. You've got to have time to yourself and LW, between academic and parental responsibilities, probably has precious little of it.

As to the fan fiction--indulge, up to a point. If you're neglecting your children, or spouse, then you've got a problem. Write some. Hell, I started writing fan fic for Jean Auel's Earth's Children series (you think Rowling's down time between HP books was bad? Auel writes like a frikkin' tortoise!). At the time it was a safety valve for me; I was tired of writing screenplays that too-few people read and I enjoyed the praise I received for the EC fan fic I wrote. I set my own limits--other writers were writing entire alternative novels that ran well over 100,000 words and I didn't want to go that deep.

Eventually, I found Eric Flint's 1632 (alternate history being another favorite of mine) and his spin off e-magazine, The Grantville Gazette. Flint's decided this particular story universe had plenty of room for fan fic, so he and his editor started buying the best stories, including a few of mine. My weakness for fan fic, and the desire to see characters I liked continue on, has led to me being a published writer. So, LW, maybe you should take a stab at writing some HP fanfic of your own? If you write a story that turns out really well, you can always edit it so as not to raise the ire of Ms. Rowling's lawyers and try to get it published as a an original.

And just remember--we all need to escape, even if for a little while. This strikes me as a particularly harmless form of it.

With the re-release of some classic Atari 2600 games, it's as if it's never left us. The main difference is that now you buy a joystick that plugs right into your t.v.'s AV inputs and the games are on a chip inside the controller.

I got one for Christmas about three years ago and we soon had a whole group of "adults" in their 30s and 40s playing Missile Command, Dungeon, and Yar's Revenge. Leaving our children wondering what the big deal was about!

In the days when nominations were largely decided at the conventions, a candidate like Dodd or Biden would have been in their element. Dodd's the kind of candidate whose ideal election strategy would have been a lot like Abraham Lincoln's--don't piss anyone off, be everyone's second choice. When the first few ballots passed without a winner, Dodd would be the candidate everyone turned to.

He's my second choice, him and Kucinich, not that it really does either of them any good. I still like Edwards' message about poverty too much to switch my vote. But both Dodd and Kucinich have been showing real leadership in the House and Senate while Clinton and Obama, and even Biden, have just been talking a good game. If Edwards is out by the time Texas votes, I'll cast my primary vote for Dodd or Kucinich--whichever one's still in the race.

I think both stories work together to advance the narrative that Giuliani is a "do as I say, not as I do" guy who looks out for number one and to hell with everyone else. He'll do whatever it takes to get away with whatever shady deal he's working on, and if he has to hide expense reports for security or withhold a client list so voters can't find out who he's in bed with.

I've never been to Qatar, though by reputation it's trying to become more progressive. However, if you have a government that is still basically an absolute monarchy--as most of the states on the Arabian Peninsula have--then it's a huge problem if a member of the ruling family and member of the cabinet is in bed with Al-Qaida. And it's an even bigger problem if a serious candidate for president is doing business with that person.

She was the talk of South by Southwest last year, managing to upstage Pete Townsend.

It seems to me that whenever the debate arises over a piece of art (be it song, book, movies, whatever) "glorifying" drug use, it usually picks the wrong target, and that is certainly the case with Amy Winehouse. To me, Amy Winehouse's music is as tragic as it is beautiful. The lyrics to "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good" are full of self-loathing from someone who seems to know she's sabotaging her life (not to mention career), yet can't seem to stop. If anything, "Rehab" reminds me of The Velvet Underground's "Heroin," in spirit at least--it's not about saying how great this is. Unlike, say, Eric Clapton's "Cocaine."

It's my devout hope that Winehouse will pull it together because pop music certainly doesn't need another martyr to a life of excess.

Be polite, but firm. Interruptions of this type wouldn't be allowed in an office, and if you are serious about making writing your career, you should mark out boundaries. If you aren't an early bird or night owl to work when everyone else is asleep, then mark out your hours and tell your wife and children that this is your work time and they must respect it.