Bartleby peed on a neighbors boxwood that is 4 steps above the street. It was my fault. I stopped to pet the neighbor's rottie as they were coming out for their own walk. The fellow bellowed (former Marine general, no less) "I should pee in YOUR yard!" I allowed as how he should, he really should. He seemed mollified. I was mortified. It was 'fied.

So, um, sorry guy. Really, really sorry.

Dogs pee. Sometimes dogs pee on things. That's life.

Years ago I drove my parents' 10 year old Grand Marquis to San Francisco. I was staying at some friends' house in El Cerito. The next morning I noticed some fluid on the front tire. My first thought was that something was leaking, so (before I could realize that wasn't really possible for car fluids to leak on the outside sidewall of the tire) I put my finger on the fluid and smelled it to see what it was....

Sometimes, the amount of whines collected from all the very-little whines that are accumulated from all the everyday stuff that can whine a person - well, it just reaches critical mass, and is has to whine its way out. There's nothing specific that may cause it, because it's all a collection of tiny things, and yet, there you go. And then, you can't even have a specific out-loud whine to express, because it's nothing in particular, which makes everything even whiney-er, in a way.

Yes, this EXACTLY.

In happier news, researchers are working on a way to zap away migraines: [link]

Edit: I'd try to talk Deadwood with -t, but I gotta go to bed so I can get up at the crack of HOLY CRAP IT'S EARLY to catch my flight. See y'all on the other side!

Is that earlier or later than Stupid O'Clock in the morning?

Also, I've started watching DEADWOOD. I'd seen a few random episodes from the first and second seasons, and decided just to take the plunge and play catch up with 3 (and also have season 1 due to arrive any day). Somewhat confusing sorting out some of who's who, but I'm definitely enjoying it so far.

Happy anniversary to them that's celebrating them.

Any of you morbid weirdos who wan'ted to see a picture of my ankle, here. The bruising is fading from yesterday, and the massive swelling is finally going down, but we're still twitchy enough about it that I have a call into the doctor to get his opinion.

U.S. losing its middle-class neighborhoods

Metro areas show widening gap between rich and poor sections

INDIANAPOLIS - Middle-class neighborhoods, long regarded as incubators for the American dream, are losing ground in cities across the country, shrinking at more than twice the rate of the middle class itself.

In their place, poor and rich neighborhoods are both on the rise, as cities and suburbs have become increasingly segregated by income, according to a Brookings Institution study released today. It found that as a share of all urban and suburban neighborhoods, middle-income neighborhoods in the nation's 100 largest metro areas have declined from 58 percent in 1970 to 41 percent in 2000.

Good thing we gave all those tax cuts to the middle class instead of the rich, seeing as the rich are already doing so well....

Any of you morbid weirdos who wan'ted to see a picture of my ankle, here. The bruising is fading from yesterday, and the massive swelling is finally going down, but we're still twitchy enough about it that I have a call into the doctor to get his opinion.

Huh. Every time I break bones or suffer some other serious injury, there's no swelling.

WESTMINSTER, Colorado - A motorcyclist died after apparently being struck by lightning while riding in rush hour traffic on a highway between Denver and Boulder, police said.

Witnesses reported seeing a flash of light shortly before the motorcyclist struck the highway's center concrete divider, Westminster police spokesman Tim Read said in a statement.

The man, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at the scene Wednesday. His motorcycle came to rest about 150 meters from where lightning blasted an 18-by-8-inch crater 4 inches deep that blew chunks of asphalt across the highway and slightly damaged other vehicles.

Wow. I woulda' thought that a motorcycle would be safe, seeing as it rides on tires which would insulate it from the ground... unless it was the motorcycle hitting the crater that caused the accident.

[link]

Happy anniversaries, Fred & Hubs and amych & DH!!!