What I learned from my friend Cameron, the electrician. "Check stupid first."

The pendant light he installed in my dining room this summer quit working about two weeks ago. I finally got around to calling him yesterday. While I was talking to him, I pushed the light switch again...and turned up the dimmer. Lo and behold, my light magically worked again.

I should have learned this a few weeks ago when the package scale in my office seemed to be weighing everything incorrectly. That feels like 3 lbs. to me, I would think, but it's only registering about 1.4. Hmmm. Several days went by before I realized the switch had been bumped to kilograms.

Check stupid first, indeed. Oh, and trust yourself every now and then.