And so what to do? Start the laundry, for one, we have to get serious here, might as well get serious straight across the board. Booted into safe mode. It would come up when I went into safe mode without a network connection, but it gave me the same blue screen when I tried booting into safe mode with the network connection. OK, I know, most people don't pay attention at this level (I was a techie, after all), but what's going on?

Last night in bed I'd tried dialing into Facebook on the tablet and got a “no network connection”. Booted the laptop this morning to test. It came up, but couldn't attach to the network through its wireless interface, so it must be the DSL unit or perhaps the 8-port switch attached to the DSL unit and through which everything is routed. It was the switch. Dead. Something like a year or two old, but dead. Ordered another. It's coming tomorrow.

So that's it. Tired, no Internet until I connected the DSL directly to the main computer, but then didn't have access to the journal files that are sitting on an external mirrored hard drive. All the photographs are sitting on external mirrored drives just in case the comet comes and the apartment is destroyed, a safe copy carried off site now and again (when I get around to it).

People aren't interested in this stuff.

Well, a walk to the morning restaurant for lunch (I was hungry), a walk back to the apartment to then head downtown on the bus with both the guitar and the camera. I decided if we carry a camera everywhere, we carry it when we're packing the guitar. Decision made, nothing more worth fretting about it.

Back now listening to the news. Not sure what to have for dinner as there's nothing but frozen vegetables in the kitchen. Which can serve as dinner (as they did last night), but something more seems needed right now, perhaps something dangerous from the ocular maigraine “to be avoided” list.

Slow down.

Evening. Yes, slow down, but not quickly enough to avoid walking over to the local pizza place to bring home a single serving (really, not very large) pepperoni and mushroom pie. Me, oh, my. I managed to eat three of the four pieces before sanity reappeared. We'll leave that fourth piece in the refrigerator, let both it and I cool down for the while.

I am listening to the State of the Union speech in the background. Could be the pizza, could be the speech, but I'm not encouraged.