Well, this sucks

( My printer died. )

Does anyone have practical advice on under-$1000 laser printers? In particular, I first need to decide if I'm going to spring for a color printer. What is the image quality of photos printed on plain paper on available low-cost color laser models? How quickly do they go through color ink, and how much do the cartridges cost? In particular, does anyone know anything about the Xerox Phaser solid-ink printer? And whether I go with color or good old black, what's a good, sturdy model that will be well supported by current and future software? It's been a very long time since I've bought a printer, and the old advice of "don't look at anything from any company other than HP" seems dated.

Irishfest is coming

I find myself going through one of those periods in my life when other things keep me so busy I get out of the habit of playing guitar and singing.

I just sang three songs. I felt very rusty and sloppy, and my fingers hurt more than they should. I never develop really heavy calluses, but I've hardly touched the guitar in weeks and what calluses I had I seem to have lost. But the songs feel good.

When I get into these stretches of life, I need a good musical kick in the pants to remind me of how much I love music in general, and playing and singing specifically. A con with strong filk is the best, but this weekend I'm off to Milwaukee for Irishfest, which hopefully will do the job. If I don't get back in the habit of practicing daily, I am *so* going to suck at the cons coming up in October, or worse I will have so little confidence that I won't be willing to play at all.