My carpet was re-laid today. Got some new carpet in the hallway, it doesn't quite match, but I like the way it looks with the old. A nice contrast. My apartment also smells like glue now - I have the windows open, and it's a lot better than it was a few hours ago. And yes, I turned the a/c off.

Last night I had to go over to a friend's apartment and save her from a bat. Which turned out to be two bats. A little guy, and a momma bat. I've never seen a bat up close like that, I got right up to the little guy and was checking him out like a kid in a candy store. They're pretty amazing. I watched him follow my head around with his ears, and all I could really think about was how silly it seemed for him to have to blink his eyes so often when they weren't really doing anything.

Also, you know those pull-strings on window blinds? The kind that kids apparently choke themselves on? Yeah, those. I get really annoyed by the ones that "solve" that problem by separating the two strings and making me pull two plastic pieces at the same time and speed. Are there any that keep the convenience of having only one pull string yet are "child safe"? I was thinking something along the lines of having the plastic pull still be two pieces, but one half has a magnet in it, and the other a piece of metal. Or velcro between them. That way you only have to search for the end of one string, they're both automatically pulled at the same speed.. and if a kid decides that putting his head between two strings is a good idea - the pulls would easily separate. Two obvious? Where are these things?

The goal that I set for myself when I moved in to my new apartment was to try to live as simply as possible. This meant, mostly, trying to use as little energy as possible. I did a pretty good job during July - my total energy bill ended up being just over $30. I knew I could do better though, since I hadn't even replaced all the bulbs in my house with more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

And up until Monday night I was on track for an even better month. Being more conscious of turning out unneeded lights, taking shorter showers, still not running the air conditioning at all. And then.. the flood.

It's amazing how one broken appliance can completely screw things up so immensely. And it's hitting on so many different fronts.

• First, all the hot water that the dishwasher decided was best used to attempt to create a swimming pool in my kitchen and living room
• keeping the lights on all night and all morning as I cleaned up the water
• the blower that's been running nonstop to dry out the carpet
• the extra loads of laundry that i'm doing to wash the towels that i used to try to soak the water out of the carpet
• and, the last thing that comes to mind right now - having to turn on the air conditioning to dehumidify the house, since drying the carpet doesn't do any good if it's still humid enough that mold starts to grow

Maybe it won't be as bad as I think. I hope not, because I'm not sure how I'll afford the extra expense. But all I can do is wait and see how things turn out, and hope for the best. The washing machine just started filling, and I have to admit, the sound of running water on the other side of this wall just freaked me out for a second.

Anyway, this is where I'll put the updates, so if you care, keep reading.

thum-pi-ty [thuhm-pi-tee]
adjective

1. of or relating to an abundance of thump
2. something with a heavy bass or a strong beat ('My techno is more thumpity than yours')
3. an exciting object or event ('That was one thumpity party!')

Use at your own risk

and this just feels right:

Click it for the full-size comic.

I ended up getting maybe 2 hours of sleep this morning, so if this post lacks the ridiculous tone of my previous posts, it's because I'm not just tired - I'm dead.

I ran out of silverware yesterday,  so I decided to run the dishwasher and then go off and do some computery stuff and then read a bit. After maybe 40 minutes, I put the book down, and went to the bathroom. I was a bit shocked, because usually when I walk down the hallway, the carpet isn't soaking wet. I heard water running, so I turned on the light, and sure enough - the dishwasher was gushing water all over my floor. It must have been doing this for at least 20 minutes.

Shock. Panic. I turned the knob on the dishwasher to "off" hoping that that would help alleviate my flooding situation. No good. I opened the door, surely that would stop the water? Nope. I looked under the sink and turned off the first water valve I saw, and since it was the cold water, that didn't do much good either. I finally got the water turned off, and was able to relax slightly. I picked up my phone and dialed the "emergency after-hours maintenance" number, and learned that I can't rely on that if I ever have an emergency. I still haven't heard back from anyone.

So I spent the rest of the night, and most of this morning sweeping water out my door, laying towels on the carpet, ringing out towels, slipping around on my kitchen floor.. it's been a lot of fun. At one point I decided to take a break and lay down on my bed. About two and a half hours later I woke up on my living room floor. I'm not sure.. don't ask.

And I'm still working on drying this place out. At least it's windy. With all the doors and windows open, that should help quite a bit.

Since I'm venting, I might as well get out some other stuff.

1) I'm going to have to pick up a second job. I don't know where, I don't know what. If you know any place that's looking for a decent programmer that they want to pay way too much - hook me up.

2) I might have to rent out my second room. I don't know who I'd be willing to put in here though. I don't know anyone that's looking for a place, and I don't want to bring in some random person. A random female would be awkward, and I don't think I'd like it.. and a random not-female, well, I think I'd have nightmares and wonder if he was a not-quite-reformed serial killer or something.

3) I'm worried about the girl.  She's got a lot on her plate right now, and I wish I could make things easier for her, but I'm afraid that I'm doing the opposite. All I can do is be supportive and try not to fall-back on my habit of saying stupid things at the worst possible time. I know she's strong enough to handle things, but I think sometimes she forgets that. It's hard. I love her, and it hurts knowing that she's going through this. lyg.

4) I ended up eating over 4000 calories yesterday. Guess how much weight I gained? None.

Anyway.. #3 is my big concern. The other stuff can fall apart around me as much as it needs to, I can't really worry about money or anything anymore. I just have to enjoy what I've got, and try to take care of what matters most to me. The important stuff.

I was on the phone with a certain someone, trying to talk about everything and nothing.. because it feels good. And one of the 'nothings' that I started talking about (before the phone lost signal) was this candle in my kitchen. One of many purchases from the evil-empire of Wal-Mart. So, for the sake of continuing that conversation, I'll blog about it tonight. And I'll keep it in the "why are you talking like that?" format.
Now, this candle isn't just an ordinary candle. No. I would even go as far as saying that it was a "magical" candle. Please note that "magical" is in quotes, inferring that it's not actually magical. But it is a lovely large jar candle.. 3 layers. It's name? "Baker's Dozen." Its layers? "Cookie Crunch" "Maple Spice" and "Cranberry Oatmeal."

I'm still about halfway through the cookie crunch, and at first, I thought that it was the ultimate candle scent. It makes the entire house smell like there are a bunch of cookies ready to come out of the oven. After letting it burn for quite some time, the jar heated up enough to get a bit of the maple spice going. It was like a symphony of cookies and pancakes suddenly began playing. If only you could experience it.

I'm not entirely looking forward to the cranberry oatmeal layer though. I'm sure that it smells good, but getting to it means that I'll be entirely out of the cookie crunch and low on the maple spice. I'm not sure how I'll cope.

An interesting video from 1994. Dick Cheney defends the decision to not remove Saddam from power in Iraq.

Do any of the problematic results that he lists sound familiar? It seems intelligence was.. more intelligent back then.