Ask your doctor if medical advice from a television commercial is right for you.

I didn't go to my H.S. prom. If I had I'm pretty sure it would have been like this,

except with a crew cut (me).

My body woke up at 2:30 and by 3:00 I knew my brain wasn't going stop whirling long enough to go back to sleep, so I got up and worked. Only punch list items left on the bedroom remodel. Change outlets, paint doors, change out door hardware and the like. But the ceiling, walls, floor and trim are all done.

Whoever thought up plastic shoe molding should be fired and sent to their room without dinner.

Gerta's auction on eBay is being followed by 96 people and there are 15 hours left. I'm hopeful that the number of people following it indicates a flurry of activity as the close draws near.

Pam gets home tomorrow morning. Just in time, too. I ate the last of the tuna casserole for dinner tonight.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this short clip is the composure and dedication to the drill.

Headshot

Dumped Firefox because v. 4 kept hanging up.

Google Chrome worked reliably, but I didn't like the layout. Didn't seem intuitive, with buttons in strange places.

So today I moved to Safari 5.0. More intuitive and doesn't hang up. I don't understand the purpose or value of that panoramic "top sites" screen but it sure looks cool. What's with the blue stars in the upper right corner of some sites? I wish the tabs and URL bar were colorized. Gray is boring and different colors would make the tabs stand out more.

LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE VALUE OF SADNESS.

I know people who are perpetually cheerful, always in a good mood. I'm pretty sure they also believe in unicorns and, at some point in life, dotted their i's with little hearts. If nothing else they can be counted on to be perky.

I am not one of those people. I'm capable of a serious funk that can last for a full day, sometimes two. I don't enjoy feeling blue; I'd much rather feel bright and energized. But I've come to accept it ain't gonna happen like that, especially on Mondays. I don't know if it looks like it on the outside but I'm working very hard when I preach & teach, and the resulting fatigue lasts for a good 24 hours.

Years ago I decided to quit fighting the funk, even if it hits on a Thursday. Without sadness we'd be without Elgar, Charlie Brown and country music.

OK, we could do without the country music part but not B.B. King.

I was feeling seriously sad when I decided more sleep wasn't going to happen and I might as well work on my long to-do list. Firing up the air compressor didn't seem like the neighborly thing to do at that hour so I did some cleaning of the mess this project has created throughout the house. What music should I listen to as I work?

I thought briefly about some rock 'n roll via Pandora. Maybe my Joan Jett station, or Motown to lift my spirits.

I decided on famous opera arias instead. Most of them are big, heavy and troubled.

Cathartic.

All of that to say I believe in the value of sadness. Years and years ago Pam asked, "What's wrong?" She could tell I was out of sorts. I told her I felt sad. "Why?" A: no particular reason, I'm just sad today.

"I don't want you to be sad." (Spoken like a true mother who wants to fix everything.)

I told her I was OK being sad for a bit. I'd get over it soon enough, but in the meantime I was going to let myself be blue.

Being sad is different from being pitiful or whiny. It's not a complaining, "Woe is me." It's just feeling blue.

And listening to arias, or Elgar, or reading mindless fiction and being quiet.

Not to worry. I'll sleep better tonight and feel better tomorrow. Besides, Pam gets home tomorrow morning. By noon I'll be back to putting little smiley faces on my notepad.

What do you listen to when you're blue?