Day 1299

Today evaporated in a sea of small chores. I didn't do anything important, but whatever I did seemed to occupy the entire day. As proof that all tasks get completed eventually, I hooked up a mechanical timer to the sprinkler in the front yard. I bought the timer over a year ago and promptly forgot about it. I like the idea of a clockwork mechanical water timer, because water and batteries don't seem to go together well. The first of these timers I bought broke immediately, but this one appears to be working. I bought some clear nail polish for my Chigger bites and some Visine for my eyes while I was at the pharmacy. I picked up a sack of Tangerines at the grocery store while I was stocking up on vitamins. Tangerines are so much easier to peel than large Oranges that I thought they would be a quick and easy way to make juice.

When I was putting away the groceries at home, I turned on the television and heard that a plane had crashed in San Francisco. I've flown into that airport a number of times and it always seemed strange to be over open water until the last possible second. Now I'll be even more nervous if I fly there again. I need to remind myself to actually listen to those safety instructions the flight attendants give right before you take off. It's weird. I'm very conscious of the dangers of driving on Dallas freeways, but I tend to just take flying for granted. It's kind of like riding in elevators. They're very safe, but every once in a while they break.

There's something dead in the back yard, but we can't find it. The smell leads us directly to a patch of ground cover, but after inspecting things with a fine tooth comb, there was not a mouse, or rat, or even a bird to be found. Even the dogs couldn't find the source of the offending smell, and they're the experts about rotten things. I suspect one of the feral cats in the neighborhood has the answer to this mystery, but they're not talking.

I had the best of intentions to start on the Sheetrock repairs today, but too many trivial things got in the way. One of these days I'll get the damaged ceiling fixed, just like I finally got the mechanical water timer working. It's a good thing I bought the clear nail polish today. I got a host of new Chigger bites looking for the illusive dead thing in our yard. All is not lost however. I noticed that Red Dwarf has returned to TV this evening. Lister, Rimmer, and Kryten were some of my favorite oddball TV characters from the 1980's. Re-watching an old episode of Red Dwarf seems like a good way to end the day.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day