So it's a rainy, quiet Saturday afternoon (the kind that makes you want to spend your day indoors, reading or coding) and I've brought my latest little project (hello, boredelf!) up as far as I can without getting Gareth to change some file privs for me.

I eventually wandered out to the mailbox, to see if anything interesting had arrived with today's fresh infusion of junk mail. That's one thing that can be said about Netflix: I check the mail more regularly now than I did a month or so ago. Sure enough, there was a DVD from them, waiting patiently for me to claim it.It was Insomnia, a movie that's been on my 'see-it' list for quite some time now.

Summer came and went, and autumn glided in, soft and quiet like sunset. The leaves on the oaks turned neon yellow and cherry red, and then began to float down and away. Given the timing this year, it was almost as though the trees were made of American flags instead of bare twigs and branches; the more leaves fell, the more I noticed the flags.

Everywhere. I had come to take it for granted that I only saw the flags of my country by the courthouse and the nearby middle school. Every time I ventured out this fall, there were more of them, the previously-ignored symbol suddenly a commodity.

It was the bumper sticker to have. Flag ties, tie pins, earrings, shirts. What was it about eagles and the phrase "United We Stand" that made me feel alienated instead of united?

Perhaps I loaned it to Kat? Perhaps I've placed it in some not-so-obvious place? Perhaps I'm overlooking it in my desperate attempt to find it?

Where is my copy of Excession?It's all Andy's fault, you see. He pointed me to Iain Banks' Culture series well over a year ago, saying, "Find these books and read them. You'll have difficulty getting them in the States, and the British trade paperback versions are much better, but do what you must."

The phone rang, and a very familiar number flashed up.

"Hi, dear."

"Well, I got questioned and released again, so I'm sitting around. Is there anything downtown you want me to take care of while I'm here?"

"Can't think of anything. You could call Sean at work and drop by to see him, though."

"I might just do that."Poor Jeff; he's been called for jury duty this week and can't seem to get seated on a jury, no matter how hard or honestly he tries. He's part of a jury pool of about a hundred people that have been borrowed from their workplaces for the duration of this week. Their purpose: to sit (bored) in a room, waiting for the winds of fate to force a case to trial so that a group of them can file in to a courtroom, be solemnly oathed and sworn, and then questioned momentarily before being summarily punted back to the jury pool for another go at the next available trial.

The past two days have been an interesting experience for me. Normally, I am very much a loner when it comes to the creation of websites; my modus operandi is to hole up in on overly-warm computer room with part of a bottle of wine, some music to yowl with, photoshop, and a text editor. Many hours later, either plunging blood sugar or an overwhelming need for sleep will drive me from my computer chair for sleep or sustenance.Once succor is obtained, I take a short brain break, then return for more.

Tenzing was the first to throw caution to the wind and creep in.

I followed behind him a moment or two later, flashlight clenched firmly in hand, and then I started howling with laughter. "Jeff! Come see! Tenzing's scoping out the computer room, and you should see the bottle-brush tail he's got!"It took Jeff a few moments to make his way to the computer room, where I shone the flashlight on Tenzing's still-puffy tail. He was crouched down, still wary, still suspicious, but his curiosity had once again gotten the better of him.