Day by day, sanity seems to be returning. I really shouldn't let myself get as stressed out as I have been. I think I've managed to repair all of the leaks in the hot tub finally... I'm not sure why it is that I wasn't the kid who "took stuff apart just to see how it works" because I sure as hell do that a lot nowadays. Maybe the computer just gave me enough to do that I never paid much attention to the mechanical stuff?

In any case, I certainly didn't do any miracles. My experience with said computers has taught me that before you do anything much more serious, try taking it all apart and putting it back together. Apparently this also works in the case of some plumbing... I took the pump component off of its motor and moved it around a bit, reseated it squarely and reassembled it. Voila, no more leaks even on the high speed setting.

I used to worry that if there was ever any serious internal trouble with the hot tub, I'd be stuck with a big heap of junk. After this last round, I'm pretty sure that I could fix any individual fault except maybe a crack in the actual structure.

I've almost run out of my supply of modafinil. I read this article a couple of weeks ago about 20% of surveyed scientists admitted to using cognitive performance-enhancing drugs. I know I'm not the only geek who takes the stuff... hell, I only found out about it at last year's OSCON. A woman giving a talk asked the audience how many were taking it right now and multiple hands shot up.

Its effects seem fairly subtle since it's not really a stimulant. Its impact on sleep is a problem, if anything; it wasn't until modafinil that my occasional absentminded-professor-style antics could very easily result in "oops, it's 7am already?" But it definitely helps me concentrate for longer periods of time without my eyes starting to unfocus from neocortical rebellion.

(Which seems like a good thing at first blush, but it's another variable in a complex scenario which resulted in work completely commandeering the first four months of 2008... so maybe a little inefficiency and soft focus is just I need.)

Either way, I'm down to 9 of them and haven't ordered a refill. I'm a little nervous about it because it takes a few weeks to get more once I order them. Yoinks.

If anybody has emailed me and I've been a black hole, watch for something this week. Even Sandy is in on it and will be sending me daily reminders to get caught up on correspondence.