My personal rule is never to trust any inanimate object of any description. Unfortunately, that makes for an atmosphere where daily I find myself viewing clocks, washers, dryers, garbage disposers and thermostats with grave suspicion. (I should add that my applicances do not trust me, either! That may or may not explain Larry's missing socks, my missing spare car keys and a number of other phenomena.)

As someone who works graveyard shift and is therefore NEVER awake when the rest of the world is open, I have long since pondered the "24 Hour Village".

It would be a town where every business, of every type, was open for 24 hours a day. Banks. Car repair shops. Retail establishments. Restaurants. Insurance agencies. Everything.

I See A Great Need (tm).