bad ideas

Today I learned that the room at the library where they were holding the science fiction writer panel discussion is all full of chemicals. I think the problem was carpet cleaning chemicals, but it was hard to tell over the general awfulness. I stayed for maybe 97 seconds.

Since I had nothing better to do then, I sat in the car while my husband went into the hardware store, and a cigar-smoking guy in an enormous pickup backed into our small, aged BMW and gave it a small, upsetting dent. I almost got to the horn before he did it, but I thought he was going to miss.

So as much as I intended to learn a lot about writing science fiction, all I know today that I didn't know yesterday, besides some insurance information, is that that room at the library reeks, and that you aren't supposed to use a nail set to get the pin out of a door hinge. It says so on the package, so it must be a really terrible idea.