I assembled an outdoor dining table on Sunday, and belatedly realized that I had used only half the washers. The unclear directions had said to place one washer next to the bolt head and the other washer at the far end, just inside the nut. I had overlooked the latter. I don't feel like undoing twelve bolts and starting over, so it will stay that way.

It occurred to me to wonder what purpose the washer serves. I had a notion that, since it increases the apparent area of the bolt head or the nut, it must reduce the pressure on whatever is being tightened by the bolt in the …continue.

The Ides of March rolls around again, and it's my birthday. I am now the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Emma gave me the messenger bag shown here. I picked it up from R.E.Load Baggage. The 17" MacBook Pro is too large for my previous shoulder bag.

The video clip below shows the Bugatti Veyron, the world's fastest and most expensive street-legal car attempting to hit its top speed of 253-mph. I guess I'm not getting one of these for my birthday.