"Only the mediocre are always at their best." - Jean Giraudoux

"I made a cake for you. It's on the counter. Cut yourself a piece but please leave some 

for me. See you tonight."

Yesterday I put a new stereo head unit in Pam's car. This morning I was out at 5 a.m. to program it with the preset stations, display color, and various other options, and then I started cleaning up the car in anticipation of our vacation trip. I had the tuner on our local NPR station to catch the news while I did that work and couldn't figure out...."Why did the radio just shut off??" After trying the power switch - nothing - I started the car. Or I tried to start the car. Also nothing.

My first thought: I screwed something up with the installation and there's a short somewhere that drained the battery down to almost nothing overnight, and my 15 minutes of listening took it the rest of the way. Aaargh!!

I put it on my battery charger, switched it to Quick Charge (see below), and 30 minutes later it fired up. Pam could venture out for her appointments (see below) with only moderate concern for getting stranded somewhere. After lunch I took it over to O'Reilly's, they put their mongo-tester on it and...bad battery! Happy dance. OK, a 2-year battery for the Kia costs $100 and I'm not thrilled about that, but a) it wasn't my screwup, and b) we discovered the problem now, not when I'm driving across the AZ desert where there isn't a spec of civilization for a hundred miles at a time. Or the central CA valley which looks the same minus the cacti.
It was the original battery, so I also can't complain about that.

Getting the car running (see above) was critical because Pam had an interview at the hospice facility that's three miles from our house. She came home very optimistic about what comes next. At the end of the interview the supervisor said, "You'll be hearing from Mary at HR."
WOOT!!
She'd have to learn Excel (there are still people using that??) and getting called off is a possibility in this position, too, though much less likely. Also, the pay scale goes well above what she now earns, and she's maxed out for her current position. Pam told her about our 2-week vacation next month and the gal didn't blink.
This isn't a done deal and we're not counting it as such, but it sure sounds encouraging.

"But it's a dry heat."
Power company workers here opened up a manhole to check the electrical equipment down below because of power fluctuations. The surprise awaiting them? The mummified remains of a 51-year old man they figure had been down there 12-24 months. He electrocuted himself when he tried to cut into and steal copper wires with the bolt cutters still in his hands. His mummified hands.

I need a word for my sermon. I thought it was homologation but after looking it up I realize that's not what I'm trying to say. Assimilation (being assimilated) suggests a somewhat passive being drawn in, instead of the more active decision to move in.
If I can't come up with a word that fits I'll just make one up. Preachers do that sometimes. One of the perks of the job.