The brain is a grab-bag...

...and tonight I'm just pulling stuff out at random.

There was an earthquake 10 miles or so away from here tonight. Not a big one; it was a benign 3.0. I think I felt it, but am not sure.

What was strange about the 'quake is that we're having what many people -- including me -- consider "earthquake weather." It's warm, and the air has an odd soft quality to it. The wind is coming from the East (180 degrees from normal) and bears a mild taste of desert. If weather can seem calming and unsettling all at once, this is it.

Therefore, the shaker didn't surprise me. Nor did it surprise a caller into George Noory's radio show tonight.

* * *

The radio has been full of ads for some new internet-based get-rich scheme. The usual testimonials from people who have "tried this amazing, no-selling program" and are now cashing in big-time. The voice-over -- which I presume is the guy shown on the web page lying in a hammock at the beach tapping away on a laptop -- is annoying as hell, and sounds as if it was recorded in a large, reverberant room. Of course the details of the scheme aren't apparent; you have to sign up to get the secret. Me, I'll stick to Nigerians who email me with money to place in my account, thank you. I'm sure they are just as honest.

* * *

I'm feeling particularly alone tonight. Everyone has times in their lives when the right words -- in the right voice -- would wash away a multitude of frustrations and mental discomforts. I'm in one of those times, and the magic words are not forthcoming. I can't really complain, under the circumstances; I'm just sayin'.

* * *

So I've buried myself in work and trivia. Wrote one article this morning, started another tonight. That doesn't help all that much, and I seem about to face a night of insomnia. Not good, as I have an early, early doctor's appointment tomorrow for a blood test.

* * *

I've been avoiding writing about politics in here lately, as the whole subject leaves a most sour taste in my mouth. I don't remember a time when there was more rancor, more divisiveness, more spreading of outright lies in a presidential campaign. And don't start me on local ballot issues, all designed, like tomorrow's blood test, to drain me dry.

But a friend sent me a photo of the new Wall Street Bail-Out Dollar, and it's too good not to share...



I'd laugh if it wasn't so damn accurate.

* * *

And now, off to bed, in search of the sleep I'm afraid will elude me.

UPDATE, 6:18 A.M.: No sleep....