It's a good thing I went to bed early last night, because my smoke alarm started screaming just after midnight, having given it a rest for more than a day. And this time, I couldn't fan it into silence.

I pushed and held the big button, but it only gave me an hour's respite. So I flipped the breaker after gracefully shutting down my work computer.

I discovered this morning that the circuit for the loft, where the offending smoke detector is, is the same circuit where the router is plugged in on the far side of the living room.

The good news is that pulling hard enough on the smoke detector unplugged it from its wired-in power connector, which doesn't look damaged. I have no intention of replacing the smoke detector until I get back from vacation. Good thing my son doesn't like using my gas stove.

I had a lovely dinner at the Gainesbourg with ack_yeahright, one of my very first Burner buddies. I didn't even realize she was still living in the area until a few weeks ago; I thought she'd moved to Oregon as planned.

Nope. And what's more, she's on better terms with her ex. He's... not a great guy in several ways, but as long as ack_yeahright keeps him at arm's length as she seems to be doing, it's not cause for alarm.

We talked about the playa, natch, and plans to return. Her mobility is reduced enough these days that that would be a major logistical undertaking for her. Even more major, that is, than Burning Man is for everyone else. If it happens, it happens, but if it doesn't, I won't be too surprised.

The one dark spot to all this was talking about a certain vile, transphobic ex. She couldn't quite believe that he's as vile as he is, but I've seen the receipts and I told her about them.

OK, there was another dark spot: I lost my ORCA, the Seattle area-transit pass. I shut it down online right after I said my goodbyes and installed the Transit Go app. The trouble with the latter, though, is that you can't use it for inter-system transfers. I do those all the time from (King County Metro) bus to (Sound Transit) light rail or occasional long-haul bus. This means I need to schlep to another neighborhood to buy another ORCA. Le sigh.

For the second time in as many weeks, I skipped bleepy goodness because my body told me not to. It may be just as well: I'm going on vacation next week and I don't want to get sick before then.

But I managed to stay awake long enough for the Tickler to debrief me about Dragoncon. I think maybe I might like to go someday? It sounds like the kind of thing I might enjoy, but there are so many other events I'd like to travel to first.

I also managed to stay awake for my latest circumflatulation project: I used some of my inheritance to buy a Roland Juno-X synthesizer. (Yeah, I love raver music and I'm a trans woman. It was inevitable.) I've got Apple Logic Pro as my digital audio workstation, and in the last few days I've figured out how to record MIDI, edit sounds, etc. If I ever put something on Bandcamp, you'll be the first to know.

My smoke alarm went off twice last night, but I miraculously got enough sleep anyway. I think it's time to get a HEPA filter. Come to think of it, even when there isn't smoke in the air there's tire dust because I live fairly close to a big arterial.

[I meant to post this yesterday. Sheesh.]

I slept from 2120 to 0510 last night — with interruptions from two on-call pages and my smoke alarm, which faraway wildfires set off. Hey, at least I don't feel zombic.

Speaking of on-call, I had plans to go to a munch or maybe circumflatulate, but I spent the evening at my desk. It's as if I'm paying for a couple of months of relatively easy on-call shifts. So I wish I had something to write about dating or (ahem) unusual tastes, but I don't.