Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

I don't suppose I get anti-Murphy credit towards next week when I've had more than my share of Murphy's law this week, do I?

I'm behind on Pennsic prep. I've got a logistical challenge akin to the old rowboat-and-stream word problems but not as cute or direct. I'm seriously screwed up sleep-wise. I have more things that have to be done during business hours today than I can get done today. And a beareaucratic SNAFU in the offing for when I get back that could be a major headache unless a particular official decides to act human ... So far, well, okay, yeah I can riff a whine on that, but it's nothing amusing enough to bore y'all with unless I stress out so badly I need the vent space, right?

After a lot of frustration and confusion around trying to get an estimate for roof repair -- some of it due to my own inefficiency, some due to my being hard to reach by phone lately, some of it just strange -- I had finally worked out an arrangement with a roofer and gotten my mother (who owns the house) to okay it and write a check. They were supposed to fix my roof this morning, before I go to Pennsic. I figured they'd start as early as possible, to avoid the heat of the middle of the day, and they were going to ring my doorbell (probably waking me up) when they finished.

I woke up. No noises. No ladders. No sign of work.

I unplugged the modem and called them up, wondering what the delay was. Feeling non-confrontational, I adopted a friendly tone and said I "just wanted to make sure y'all hadn't gone to East Lombard instead of West Lombard or something." ...

Guess what?

Oh my, the panic in that fellow's voice as he checked and discovered that, "Oh my God, I did send him to the wrong house. Let me go get him. We'll be there shortly." Similar panic in my own voice, because I'm worried about my schedule, but in his case he's probably also out some quantity of roofing materials (and wages, if his guy is hourly), not just the time, so I'll concede to him the right to be even more stressed about this than I am. I wonder what time work started on whoever's house that is on the other side of town.

This is just crazy. Things aren't supposed to be this hard.

While I'm sitting down a moment, I'll ask about something I'd been meaning to write about for a week or so and keep forgetting: In a few places around SoWeBo there are boxes atop light poles bearing a Baltimore Police logo and flashing blue lights that look like the lights from the top of a police car. They seem to be flashing continuously, meters above the street, and a few intersections. What the heck are these things? What's their purpose? Are evildoers supposed to see the flashes of blue light and think, "Maybe I'd better not do evil right here; there's a police car above me and they might be watching"? Or are the rest of us just supposed to feel reassured: "I don't see any police cars but there's a flashing blue light; if they took the time to stick a mysterious box up there then they must be Doing Something to protect me"?

I hope there's more to the boxes than that, but I've no idea what they actualy are. Anyone here know?

[EDIT: Maybe Murphy isn't quite as all-powerful after all. The fellow I spoke to drove out and said that his guys had come to the right place after all; the reason I hadn't seen ladders is that they went up the fire escape of the vacant house on the corner and just walked down the roofs to mine; they should be done in about an hour. *WHEW* But we both got a scare there.]