�Welcome, welcome. Welcome to�.your dungeon.� So begins my computer odyssey each time I log onto my home computer, courtesy of Day. Day loves to play with sounds and wallpaper. Lucky Mr. Philately�s opening screen shows a lovely bunch of pigeons that Day photographed in Brooklyn just for this purpose. But this time she has outdone herself. This time, she was hoping Mr. Philately would have a cow. This time it�s about a MOO.

Mr. Philately has just begun to IM. Until his older daughter was away all summer, he saw no reason to learn anything about IM. Day sits on the computer typing away with �lol,� �brb,� and other initials that he was happy to have remain a mystery. But the other night, he realized that IM was a viable way to chat with Kat. He even discovered that we could set up a chat room and have a whole family conversation with Day on his laptop (lovingly nicknamed the �labtop�), me on the dining room computer that has to be coaxed into working, and Mr. Philately on this computer. What fun!

But last night his computer merely gave a genteel �ding� when IM messages arrived and went out. Tonight, the sound was different. But he couldn�t quite identify it.

You would think that any man raised on a farm where they actually had cattle would recognize a moo. You would think that any man raised on a farm where they actually had cats would recognize a meow. You would think that any man raised on a farm where they had cattle and cattle would know the difference between a �meow� and a �moo.� But you would think wrong.

�Why does this computer keep saying, �Meow?�� he typed to Kat. Kat, who for some reason was feeling diplomatic and had learned of the situation from IMing with me a few minutes before, gently set him straight. She told him she thought it was a moo. He quickly grasped the situation.

I would warn Day to watch out for her wallpaper or sound effects but she needs no warning. She knows the score. I could retaliate but probably would not bother. Mr. Philately? He doesn�t have the drive to learn to get her back nor the time to look for just the right response---at least not right now.

But she is going off to camp and she better watch out.

Moo, indeed!

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