There are more expensive smoke detectors that can be easily turned off by pushing a large "panic button" with the end of a broom handle. I'd rather a couple false alarms than a real fire that goes unattended.

(Four smoke alarms for a four-room place is not overkill. Smoke travels along the ceiling, so if you've got door frames between the alarms and the fire -- let alone closed doors -- it may take a while for an alarm to sound -- precious minutes where a small fire could be beaten down or the fire department could be called, et cetera.)

Ah, my first post on fire alarm safety of the year! My roommate's mother died in a house fire, and if she'd only had working safety alarms it might not have been that way.

::reminds self to go around and test all the alarms when the roommate isn't sleeping::

timelies.

I have packed my lunch for tomorrow and gotten a week's worth of vitamins ready to take to work.

Sue, this is weird because I put all my vitamins in one of those day of the week/time of day pill cases last night and I'm going to try to start taking them again every day so I can maybe get some energy. I'm also going to try to exercise a bit every day and see if that energizes me.

Ah, my first post on fire alarm safety of the year! My roommate's mother died in a house fire, and if she'd only had working safety alarms it might not have been that way.

Yeah, after what happened to my friend Ben's family this year, I really ought to check out my own detectors. I know I haven't replaced the batteries since I moved in.

Speaking of fires, they just reported the following here, with a lead-in on how karma can be a bitch: A guy was burning leaves in his yard, and somehow caught a mouse. Being a complete and utter jackass, he threw the mouse into the fire (WTF!?!).

Mouse escapes from the fire, all wrapped up in burning leaves, runs into the house, and burns the damn thing to the ground.

Sue, this is weird because I put all my vitamins in one of those day of the week/time of day pill cases last night and I'm going to try to start taking them again every day so I can maybe get some energy.

I've been doing this since October. Except I take too many for one of those pill of the week things.

Mouse escapes from the fire, all wrapped up in burning leaves, runs into the house, and burns the damn thing to the ground.

I love that story so much! Go Mickey!

I need to take all my nutritional supplements. I really do. I'm so slack about it. Anything that can't be taken just once before I leave in the morning...and even then.

I'm eating like crap again, so I need all the help I can get. I am so damned bad at taking care of myself.

But I will have to check into the smoke alarm thing. My house still smells of bacon, after opening all the windows and doors and running the fan (the fan's been running all night). It's totally in character for me to space like that (I really shouldn't leave the kitchen when cooking), but usually I get warned sooner!

That mouse story is hysterical. Serves the dumbfuck right.

Okay, let me go make some tea so I can wash down the million pills.

Throwing a live mouse on a fire is terribly cruel and really pretty sick, but it probably still ended with roasted mouse, and firefighters endangering themselves to battle the fire, and at the end, people were out a home.

Mouse House Fire: [link]

It looks like it happened in New Mexico (although the Chicago Trib is covering it). The guy is 81. He lost everything.

Anything that can't be taken just once before I leave in the morning...and even then.

That is exactly why I have to bring mine to work, otherwise they never get taken. I've noticed a difference since I've started taking them, which helps with the continued taking of them. Also since I've spent $200+ on supplements, I have the added incentive of not wanting to waste my money.