Think I might buy a few more shares of Home Depot. Here's my thinking - first of all the place was a total zoo yesterday. Parking lot was approaching capacity. Sure, it's the first really hot weekend of the year, so it may be an anomoly, but the stock is down because the analysts think that people are avoiding home improvements right now. But my second reason is that I'm pretty certain we're going to see home prices plummet pretty soon. They were bid up too high, just like Internet stocks were two years ago. Particularly the south bay, but across the country the prices have been going up faster than is sane due to the perceived wealth effect, which is history now. For those facing losses going forward, what's the best way to maintain your asking price in a buyer's market? That's right, paint the walls, new carpet.

This Robert Blake thing is pretty strange. I think we've only begun to see the dirty laundry in this case. What a sordid, pathetic life they were living. Thought mine was pretty bizzare, but forgetting one's gun inside a public restaurant in the middle of LA is a sign that they were already on a collision course with the dark side.

Bounced a check for the first time in my life. Very humiliating to break a perfect record. And it isn't that I couldn't cover it - I've got three checking accounts and picked up the wrong book by mistake as two of them have the same dark blue plastic default cover. You know the one. What they send for free when you get a check refill. Probably need to get one orange cover so this never happens again.

The education continues. Tonight is learning all I can cram in about pouring concrete steps. Calculating steps and risers, construction tips, common mistakes, that kind of thing.

Whilst filling the tank this devilish creature buzzed me and proceeded to dance around the light at the filling station. Turned out to be a dragonfly with a body no less than eight inches long and probably 3/4 in diameter. Granted there are much larger creatures in the world, but dragonflies have a motion which is jerky and erratic and ten feet away is too close. They can cover that distance quicker than you can react.

Yet another documentary on large storm systems. I find it incredible that people exist who will buy a mobile home in Oklahoma - and then be astonished when a tornado hits and sends it and all the belongings a few blocks away. Same goes for folks who buy beachfront property in South Carolina.