I've started watching the show "Leftovers", whose premise is that 2% of the population goes missing across the board.

2% is a really small percentage, although a pretty big number. Aside from the freakout caused by any mass disappearance, I can't help wonder what that would do to the infrastructure. Pretty little, huh? It would be about the personal losses sustained and the coping reaction and lacks thereof.

I am missing multiple art books. Perhaps that's why I can't draw anymore.

I think I saw a snippet of an interview with Lindelof or someone talking about the 2% number, though I didn't watch the whole interview so I don't know what he said exactly. One of those HBO interstitials I think.

Protip: leaving the successfully frozen popsicles out on the kitchen counter for a few hours renders them a lot less successful. Sigh. At least it's not super hot today so I am not lamenting my lack of popsicles as much as I might.

I don't know for sure, Jesse, but I think your plan is probably okay.

Ita, I've been watching it, and that was my thought, as well. Assuming a relatively random distribution, I don't think it would have a significant impact on the infrastructure, this far out, apart from the psycho-social fallout. It would be a mess in the short term, but, at this point?

And I suddenly realized I should take further discussion to Premium.

So I had forgotten how little time appraisers take. 15 minutes and done. But I'm glad I made an effort to pick up the house a bit, since he did take photos inside...

It's been overcast and a little bit rainy here (YAY!) and the fig tree is going bonkers so I made 9 more pints of balsamic fig jam. This round is much jellier and really amazingly good. Way more balsamic, but not in taste (boiling vingear for 45 minutes produces some odor). Unlike the original Thomas Keller recipe, I added pectin and processed it a little less. Still delicious.

Over a gallon of balsamic fig jam. My mind reels.

The smoke alarm won't stop beeping. I've changed the battery, pressed the test button, removed and replaced the battery, tested the battery, turned the circuit breaker off and on again, and done it all again. It's still beeping. The last time I had this problem, I had to replace the smoke alarm itself, but this one is less than five years old; they're supposed to last ten years. Anyone have any ideas?

Timelies all!

Went to Fort McHenry with my folks. Neither I nor my parents had been there, and Gary had been there a long time ago. My mom wasn't up to much walking, so we found a bench in a shaded area where she could sit while the rest of us walked around the fort.

Later we're meeting Gary's dad and stepmom for dinner.

I slept in basically til 1 today (thanks, headache!) and then went for Indian takeout. I can now cross goat off the list of things I have eaten.

Also, off the list of things I want to eat again.

Zenkitty, I had a smoke alarm do that - at one in the morning the night before I had to leave early on a trip. I ended up just taking the battery out and letting the dratted thing sit for the length of the trip. When I finally replaced the battery, it worked correctly.