Very weird night. The Phillies won the World Series...after a two-day rain delay. I'd have hated to see a World Series won via a rain-shortened game, but watching three innings two days later wasn't that great, either. I wanted a game, and only got a little piece of one. A pretty good piece, but still not very satisfying.
I was rooting for the Rays, not least because I wanted more baseball. Alas, it was not to be. I wonder if the Rays will be an AL East power for years to come, or if it will be a long wait before they climb over the Yanks and the Sox again. I'm guessing they won't have trouble climbing over the Yanks next year, unless Cashman makes some amazing deals over the winter.
Adding to the fun tonight was a sudden failure of my fish tank filter. No, it didn't result in water all over the floor...though I was wondering for awhile. The filter suddenly got really, really loud. I made some adjustments, cleaned the intake, rocked it back and forth to get the air out...still loud. It felt hot to the touch, which isn't normal. So I disconnected it and took it apart. It was dry on top. Water wasn't getting through it. That explained the heat and the noise. I cleaned the filter, put it back together, and hooked it up again. Just the way I wanted to spend the last baseball game of the year. It took some time and effort to "prime" the pump, because all the hoses were dry. I'd noticed the filter wasn't moving as much water as before, but I just thought it was getting old. I guess it needed a cleaning. The cleaning indicator had gotten stuck somehow.
Still, I cleaned it not that long ago; I'm really surprised it got clogged that fast. It's never happened to me before. I suspect the reason is a recent change in water chemistry. They're adding a chemical they didn't used to - chloramine, which can make your filter dirty faster if you don't add chemicals to neutralize it. Guess I'll have to buy some.
Better living through chemistry. :-P
