Thomas has a baby!

Thomas's school requires him to take 5 "enrichment" courses outside of his regular class hours. Last year he was so worried about being behind everyone else in French (and worried he would forget all the Spanish he learned so far in his short life), that he took one enrichment course in French and another in Spanish--and reported that he was bored senseless in both because they were too easy for him. (He took French last year and again this year--and will take both French and Spanish next year and the year after. He wants to keep up with his French because he intends to move to Paris and wants to keep up with the Spanish because "it sounds cool.") He also took another enrichment course, "Flash", which is some sort of web page design something or other. This year, he picked three enrichments (ever worried that the bare minimum isn't good enough, Thomas does more than he needs to): (a) "Java", which sounds like it is about roasting and brewing coffee but is actually a computer programming course, (b) "Flash II" (which is going to start in a few weeks and I hope gets cancelled because I am sick of trekking back and forth to the various schools at all hours of the day and night) and (c) "Build Your Own Computer!". This last class is pretty much what it sounds like: kids build their own computer out of miscellaneous bits. On the first day of class the kids watched a film on the invention and evolution of the personal computer and then were given a "shopping list" with a specific web site at the top. Then, once home, they emptied their parents' bank accounts. During week 2, they watched the teacher gut and rebuild a computer. FINALLY, on the third week (today) they all raced to class, tottering under the weight of giant, heavy boxes stuffed with computer bits. I normally drop Thomas off at the curb and peel away, but today I had to help him carry one of the boxes in to the library, where his classmates (all boys except for one girl) sat at a huge conference table piled high with boxes and boxes and BOXES of computer guts. Two hours later I picked him up and he was carrying out his newly assembled computer--and it works! (Or so he and the teacher claim.) He is supposed to test it out extensively in the next two weeks and then go back for a short meeting to either troubleshoot problems or report that everything is A-Ok. Thomas has already drawn up a long list of things he "needs" to upgrade his machine: another fan, more RAM, a giant HD screen, virtual keyboard....