Hot, with astonishing levels of humidity this weekend. Last night the air was thicker than a taxi driver’s accent. On cue, we developed an A/C problem today. Help is on the way first thing in the morning.

Speaking of technologies on which I’ve become utterly dependent . . .

Last Friday morning my MacBook refused to boot up. Drove the catatonic laptop to a local Apple store and bellied up to the “Genius Bar.” Diagnosis: Bad logic board. Prescription: 5-7 days at the Mac hospital.

That means borrowing Mrs. Blather’s laptop this week and doing without most of my email addresses and contact information. Inconvenient, to be sure. But to put my travails in perspective . . .

A friend of a friend took his family out for a big birthday celebration a few nights ago as big thunderstorms were rolling through the area. They returned home to find a smoldering ruin where there house used to sit. Lightning had taken all they owned with no opportunity to salvage even a family photo album or treasured keepsake.

Not all inconveniences are created equal. I think I’ll stop bellyaching now.