Bless me Father for I have sinned

In the Apple Store in Virginia's Tyson's Corner I was, inevitably and all too easily, seduced into buying the top-of-the-range 40GB iPod, price inc. 4.5% sales tax: £283. Apple Store UK's price (even after their £27 e-voucher discount): £371.

After I shelled out the cash, the salesman and I also got into the inevitable discussion about how good the current dollar exchange rate is for Europeans visiting the US, and he took some jaundiced pleasure in pointing out how the artificially weakened dollar is all part of the Bush administration's evil punishment of Europe (specifically France and Germany) for not getting in line behind the US invasion of Iraq: a weak dollar makes it harder for European manufacturer's to export to the US but easy for cheapskates like me to import US goods to Europe. As I am aware there is at least a grain of truth to this conspiracy theory, feel free to advise me on a suitable penance.

There's nothing like war and politics to dampen a little retail therapy now, is there.