my favourite punctuation mark

Inspired by isiscolo's post , alerting us to National Punctuation Day, I am going to ask everyone:

What is your favourite punctuation mark?

Mine is the lowly and lovely semi-colon. (As if you didn't know!) I like it because it combines two punctuation marks in one (the fullstop so manfully topping that moaning and bending comma). I also feel a need to stick up for it as it is a mark much maligned by the How-To-Write mavens for whom the semi-colon is almost as bad as the adverb. And for some reason, in my head, the semi-colon is the punctuational equivalent of that loveliest and maligniest of parts of speech, the adverb. Also, my students tend to pepper their tapewormesque sentences with commas when they should be using semi-colons. The semi-colon can often be replaced by a fullstop (or, as the Americans like to say, a period which reminds me more of my monthly menses than anything grammarian), especially when used carelessly because love of the semi-colon can get out-of-hand.


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So, what is your favourite punctuation mark?

techie question: new laptop

I have a question and would be grateful for any comments, suggestions, words of wisdom, sharings of experience, techtalk.

T'h is moving his office into t'home. So he needs a new computer, a laptop. At work, he has a Mac with OSX on it, except he's disabled X because he hates it (I sympathise) and has had someone upload OS9. At home, we need a compatible laptop of some sort (an ibook?) that will understand OS9. Also, how can you hook the thing up to the internet without using a cable? Isn't there some whizz gizmo for this, and where do you buy it and what should one look out for?

Finally, where can one get a computer cheaper than in the high street store? This question is particularly directed at peeps in the UK!

Thanks so much, everyone! Main aim is: to prevent t'h from poaching on my computer because his won't work or was too expensive to buy and is therefore non-existent!