Deep End

Well, yes, I can go off the deep end. Just in case you were wondering. And, yes, I usually come back to the air for surface. For example, here I am on a Saturday morning, sipping a cup of strong black coffee, looking out the window into the backyard, and thinking to myself, "This isn't half-bad. Today's a good day."

The sunlight, greenery, natural stone, and flowering crepe-myrtle trees I see beforfe me contribute to my mood. But I couldn't have achieved my mood without me. So I offer myself congratulations. And I humbly accept them.

As much as the idea does not cause me to jump up and down with glee, I do have to go to my office later today to take care of some mundane things like hanging photos and plaques, attaching mail "pouches" to the wall, putting boxes full of papers into file cabinets, and the like. My office move continues in slow-motion.

Let's see, before I go, let me record for posterity some of the things I learned while wandering aimlessly around the internet this morning:

• Jorge Vizcarra Mayorga, the fugitive deposed mayor of Tonalá (a "suburb" of Guadalajara), was detained in Los Angeles last Tuesday and was returned to Mexico.
  
• Nicaragua and Russia are the only two countries to have recognized South Osetia and Abkhazia and independent states.
  
• Some Canadians have an interesting perspective on the presidential race in the U.S.
  
• Heavy rainfall is forecast for Halifax on Sunday, thanks to Tropical Storm Hanna.
  
• The Science of Happiness is covered in an article in the LA Times.

OK, time for a late breakfast. Or maybe not.