Sacramento California Greetings

I've enjoyed eating French baguettes for a long time but never attempted them.  Now I have a Peter Reinhart book that says I can make a good bread even with a bad French accent.  After 7 batches, the results are getting steadily better. 

Alas, the accent still sucks.

Looking forward to reading through the forum topics.  Oh, I might have a couple of questions or ten that are vexing me, too.