Morning! Yesterday was something of a lost cause, though I got an awful lot of knitting done (and my hands and wrists are complaining about it now) and caught up on a lot of TV. Today I Get Stuff Done, truly.

I paid my last movers something over $700 (some of that was tip), but they earned every penny spending an entire day hefting heavy wooden furniture down one flight of stairs and then back up two in the next state over. Also, that happened during the week I was weak as a kitten during 2004, so if I'd done it myself my apartment would now contain nothing more than my laptop and some couch pillows.

Very odd dream last night, in which I was me as a sitcom character going to college with Dan Schneider and a Ten Things I Hate about You-era Heath Ledger in Edmonton. But Ellen Degeneres was the actual star of the sitcom, we were just incidental characters. Her apartment had the neatest futuristic glass-doored refrigerator ever, and I realized something weird was going on when I couldn't turn around and see the Fourth Wall.

Morning, hivemind! Anyone out there know a good way to get ballpoint ink out of clothes? There was an unfortunate ink/dryer/load of laundry incident at our house. I'm going to try hairspray but I've never found that to be a good solution.

There are glass-doored refrigerators, Sub-Zero makes them. I fell in love with one at a kitchen place, but as they cost over $6K (and are reputed to need repairs often), not going to buy one anytime soon.

Also, I'd have to forego keeping skeezy-looking leftovers sitting in the back of the fridge....

Stephanie -- I tried googling and turned up this info on the BIC homepage (they have a homepage?) -- unfortunately it's set up in frames and is unlinkable by me, so here's the info:

What tips do you have for removing ballpoint pen ink? Roller or Brite Liner ink?

Writing instrument ink is designed to write on paper or other writing surfaces. It contains certain ingredients that could stain certain types of materials and fabrics. Although we cannot guarantee or be responsible for any stain removal method, we would suggest you try the following methods:

For ballpoint ink we recommend an alcohol-based hair spray. The alcohol content in the hair spray will break up the ink. If the ink is on clothing, saturate the item with hair spray. Be sure to place an absorbent paper towel or rag under the stain to catch the excess ink. You then need to blot the stain with a rag. Repeat this process until the stain is removed, then launder as usual.

If the ink is on anything other than clothing, spray the hair spray directly on the stain and then wipe off with a clean paper towel or rag. You might need to do this a few times depending on the size of the stain.

Important: A word of caution before trying any of the methods suggested: some surfaces and fabrics may be damaged by the hair spray solution. If in doubt, test on a "hidden" area first.

Our Roller and Brite Liner inks are water-based and we recommend trying an all-purpose cleaner instead of hair spray. If the ink is on clothing, saturate the item with the all-purpose cleaner. Be sure to place an absorbent paper towel or rag under the stain to catch the excess ink. You then need to blot the stain with a rag. Repeat this process until the stain is removed, then launder as usual.

If the ink is on anything other than clothing, spray the all-purpose cleaner directly on the stain and then wipe off with a clean paper towel or rag. You might need to do this a few times depending on the size of the stain.

Important: A word of caution before trying any of the methods suggested: some surfaces and fabrics may be damaged by the all-purpose cleaners. If in doubt, test on a "hidden" area first and follow the manufacturer's directions.

If this does not remove the stain completely, we would suggest contacting a professional cleaning company or the manufacturer of the stained item. They may have other suggestions or be able to professionally remove it for you.

Hope that helps....

Thanks, Theo. I've got a few suggestions including hairspray, nail polish remover and Oxyclean.

Poor Joe has some kind of bad mojo right now. In the last 24 hours he has a) fed baby something bad that made a huge mess, b) got soaked to the skin on the way into a really nice restaurant, c) ruined a load of clothes with an ink pen, and d) left here with the wrong uniform (because he's colorblind and can't tell the difference). It's like he pissed off the god of looking good or something.

Poor Joe has some kind of bad mojo right now.

All my weekend was like that. Everything I cooked for shabbat had some problem or other, everything that the friends who were staying with me brought for shabbat had also had some problems, things kept falling off places, even when they were completely still and for no reason at all, spilling some of this already not-so-great food in the process. It just seemed like nothing we did was working properly for the whole day. So far, however, today seems to behave itself, so maybe the curse of the weekend just moved across the ocean, where it's still the weekend.

Hi, Nilly. When things go bad, it sometimes seems that "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all...." Hope today continues to go better for you.

ION, Scott Adams is soliciting stories about annoying cow-orkers to use as the basis for a future Dilbert comic: [link]

If you work in an office, think about the most annoying co-worker, subordinant, or boss you have at the moment. Then tell me the one thing that he/she did most recently to set you off. (No long background stories please, just the behavior that got you.)

I will be selecting one example from the comments today to make my Sunday comic that will run on 8/13. This is your chance for revenge. (I might use more ideas for other comics, but I'll guarantee that one date.)

I will be ignoring all stories involving food, beverages, bathroom humor and speaker phones. Those are overdone.

The best sorts of stories are the ones where someone caused more work or more trouble than necessary. Any form of frustration is comic gold. So is misinterpretation and miscommunication. I also like all forms of lying: tall tales, omissions, misdirection, and nuance. Those make the best comics.

maybe the curse of the weekend just moved across the ocean, where it's still the weekend.

That sounds about right. Bummer.

Thanks, dcp. How are you doing? It's been quite a while since I posted with you.

Bummer.

Ouch.