September 10: One Piston, Diet Mountain Dew, "Carol" Dip Monday

I'm firing on about one piston this morning.  It has not been an easy transition from weekend brain to work brain.  I'm sitting here, typing about one word every twenty seconds, which means I'll be done with this post about 2 p.m., just in time for me to get to the university to teach.  Fits and starts, that's the way my mind is functioning.  I do have what's left of a two liter bottle of Diet Mountain Dew, and I'm nursing it, trying to make it last.  It doesn't seem to be helping out very much.

The other thing that's distracting me this morning, besides my slumbering grey matter, is an alarm.  When I walked into my office this morning, there was a high-pitched alarm sounding.  Imagine a dentist's drill raised about five octaves.  That's what it sounds like.  Yes, it is still alarming, and I am starting to develop a headache.  It's driving me crazy.  At times, I can almost block it out, but then it gets louder or changes pitch.  I've got the TV on, trying to drown it out, but that's not working either.  I'm about ready to find a hammer and smash the entire electrical panel that it's coming from.  I'm controlling my impulses at the moment.

Thus, my question on this Carol dip Monday is fairly straightforward:

Will this stupid alarm be silenced soon?

And the answer from Charles Dickens is:

...It made him shudder, and feel very cold.

Great.  I'm looking for relief from this aural torture, and I get the Ghost of Christmas Future making Scrooge frightened and clammy.  Looks like no relief is in sight.

Saint Marty's week is not off to a good start.

Even this isn't going to help...