The Weather Overhead: It didn't start raining heavily in Houston until last night, when I apparently slept through a lot of it, though I don't remember sleeping much. It was raining briskly at work when I arrived this morning, and the sidewalks at my office were already flooded.

I have phone duty from noon-1:40pm. If it's still raining like this then, I might clock out at 2pm today. We'll see.

Independence Day: We had a very nice 4th of July celebration, just Mark, me, and our friends Tom and Donna. Mark made sandwiches from pulled pork, along with vinegar-based barbecue sauce. Donna brought tabouli and potato salad, I made kachumber, and Tom made cheese-broccoli soup. It was all very tasty and was probably the healthiest 4th of July meal I've ever eaten. (g) I am not ashamed to say that I pigged out. I don't get tabouli nearly often enough.

We spent the day watching the day-long marathon of Revolutionary War episodes on The History Channel, and Tom and I finished the day out by watching a documentary about Benjamin Franklin that came on afterward. Franklin was a truly fascinating and innovative man. That was a lovely end to the day.