Yesterday evening as I stood outside at Greg and Stacey’s house, I heard a bagpiper in the far distance playing Atholl Highlanders (warning: iffily-timed midi file autoloads).

Today, I went to a neighbor’s house to peruse an estate sale, and obtained a number of things, including a decent Sony tape deck, a silent 8mm Bell and Howell projector for Spence if he wants it, a 40″ glass-bead projector screen with stand, and most importantly, a set of four of the weirdest 1970s speakers I have ever seen.

Grooved blue cases and bright red grille covers carry the promising JBL insignia. The grooves are designed to allow the cases to stack and interlock – the effect is tremendously Moonbase Alpha, if the bright blues and reds might not work so well in that monochromatic interior.

A bit of research reveals that the speakers are JBL L25 Primas. The foam components in the speakers are pretty trashed, dried out and crumbly to the touch. I have stacked them up in the basement awaiting testing and possible deployment in the basement room we hope to devote primarily to music.

As I loaded these items from the dead man’s house into my car, I heard another piper, this time performing Amazing Grace. I looked up, and at the end of the street, noticed a flotilla of cars parked in the nearby cemetery, presumably gathered in consolation and ceremony as the pipes wailed.

Yesterday evening I stapled 25 feet of chickenwire to the outside rails of our deck, to create an outdoor area for our cats. I inadvertently left a basement door open as I put away the ladder and tools, a fact i discovered as I prepared for bed a few hours later. One of our cats, an eleven-year old male who survived the transition from outdoor alpha male to indoor pillow critter after a full year of hiding in a closet, made his escape.

I slept in the living room on the couch last night so I could hear noises by the doors more clearly, and at 2 am, I was awakened by our other cat, Chloe, puking by the door. Suspecting that this was some sort of cat communication, I rose and looked out the door to the deck, where Simon sat patiently.

This afternoon, as I vacuumed the basement, Viv came downstairs to tell me she’d found the porch gate knocked askew and no sign of Simon. I’m considering a leash for the beast.

1-800-Hanso.org

I called it, and got Hanson Sweepstakes. I wonder if i misdialed.