To get caught now would be the death of us all.

 Man, I let the day slip on me. It's 10:20 p.m. and I'm just now putting stuff down. Unfortunately, I have nothing I feel needs to be said, so there you go.

 I can't seem to shake the blues. I was chalking it up to pulling an all-nighter writing last week - not just the time awake but the mental energy of putting down 3,200 words of Actual Paying Work - but I don't know. Grumpy and gloomy, and I don't know what's bothering me so I don't know how to do anything about it. Nothing major, just edgy and tired. There's no taste in anything. Staying in bed all day not because of needing the rest but because I don't feel like being alive.

 It's not a matter of suicidal ideation, mind. Just boredom and ennui that will work itself out eventually, I know. It doesn't make it any more fun to go through while it's going on, though. These are the times I desperately want something to get my head out of the rut and get stoned.

 So I don't know. I finished the third book of E.M. Powell's "Barling & Stanton" books. I don't know if it is indeed the last book in the series but it did have a sense of finality to it. In any event, it was enjoyable even if the reveal sort of threw me. I was quite surprised when the guilty party was revealed.

 I've read a lot of mystery and detective fiction over the years, from Auguste Dupin to Harry Dresden and all points in between. In well-written whodunits, I'm pretty good at finding the murdered. I'd say at least four out of five times. Again, that's if it's well-written and not just a cliche-filled story hung on a detective novel frame. I'm looking at you, Dresden.

 That being said, I don't put as much effort into it these days. One of the reasons I appreciate mysteries is that if it's done well, it brings a good story with good writing without a lot of plot and bullshit to get in the way of the tale. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely room for art in literature - I'm a Faulkner man, after all - but sometimes you just want to enjoy a good yarn to pass the time.

 I've gotten into the groove with Hand of Fate 2, far as that goes. Since we got the fiber optic, I've been giving some of the big-file games I've gotten from Humble Bundle a shot. Last night was Conan Exiles. Okay enough for what it is and what it is, far as I can tell, is another World of Warcraft wannabe. Nothing wrong with that, of course, if that's your jam. I don't feel I get the whole experience because I don't really care for the co-op aspect of it. If I wanted to be social, I'd live my life entirely different than how I do now.

 Alien Isolation was also given a shot. Again, first-person horror games really aren't my thing and I don't care for crafting mechanics in every-goddamn-thing, but it looks well done. Unfortunately, it kept crashing on me. Whether it was because it just does that or my machine couldn't cope, I don't know, but it wasn't enough to make me put much more effort into it than I already had.

 You know what? I'm tired and it's been a day. If something interesting comes up, yadda yadda yadda.

Took a lot of courage to let the telephone ring.

  I let the day slip past me again. You know, I used to stay up all night all the time and be able to function just fine. Now if I do, it takes me a couple of days to shake the cobwebs loose and a couple more to get into some semblance of a normal diurnal routine. Ah, middle age, you are a rat bastard.

 I had some Actual Paying Work to do this week. It's why Thursday's offering is, shall we say, light. I sort of bit off more than I could chew, promising myself to 3,200 words rather than the 1,600 I thought I had. I think that gives me due to skipping a day's Gibberish. The News this week was pretty good, though.

 I did a lot on the sour weather the Deep South had this week because, well, there was a mess of sour weather this week. That was pretty much all of Monday. Wednesday started in on the weird civil war going on within the GOP, namely most of the party being pissed off that Lynn Cheney called out Trump and refuses to bend a knee. We followed that thought Friday with a little more on Alabama, Brett Farve continuing to be a sleaze, and the weird gathering of Dominionists Mississippi hosted this Thursday. Good week, check it out.

 Okay, then. I've been finishing E.M. Powell's "Stanton & Barling" series this week, or what there is of it. There might be more coming, I don't know. Long story short. he's a lusty but sensitive messenger who's good with horses, his fists, and the ladies. He's a rigid, straight-laced clerk for His Highness with a brilliant analytical mind and a dark secret that torments him. Together they solve crimes. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for a good time to use that.

 In any event, it's good stuff. I'm a sucker for historical mysteries and these are pretty good. It takes place during the reign of King Henry II after the martyrdom of Thomas Beckett and, as far as I can tell, it's a pretty accurate portrayal of the time. I don't know it's as quite as good as Ellis Powell's "Cadfael" series but it's pretty high tier. Check it out.

 I got yet another harmonica this week, this one a Suzuki Manji in B-flat. That pretty much completes me with the major keys I'd need if I were to consider playing in front of folks on a regular basis, which I am not. I probably could use an F-sharp but I doubt I'll fool with it. I got this because the Manji got good marks from several folks. I don't know, though. I don't like it as much as the Fender or Easttop harps and it's definitely more expensive than necessary. Sixty bucks to a forty-dollar Hohner.

 I'm still waiting on the PowerBend from China. It was ordered the March 9, and it's still not here. Monday's the last day, though, so maybe the second time will be the charm. I know there's no real point in me buying all these different keys, but it's given me a chance to check out some harps I never got to otherwise. You rarely see anything besides Hohners in music stories. Why that is, I don't know, but I imagine it's because they've got the name recognition.

 If I had to pick, I still favor Blues Harps and Marine Bands, but if I were to recommend a first-time harp, got with either an Easttop or a Fender Blues DeVille. A little under 30 bucks but a solid instrument, and you can't go wrong with that. The Fender Blues Deluxe is a pretty good buy for less than twenty, too, so keep that in mind. I do like the Lucky 13 and may think about getting another in a different key. After headache getting that one, though, I'm going to wait a while.

 Learning - or re-learning, possibly - has been fun. I'm trying to rebuild myself from the bottom because a lot of what I learned, I learned the wrong way or perhaps a way that could be easier done some other way. I find myself drifting away from practicing to having a good time with what I already know. I am picking up stuff that sticks, and that's a good thing.

 I don't know if there's anything else. I'm not really playing anything new. And I guess that's it. If you can, call your Mommas tomorrow.