BerthaBlog

Alpha Geek posted this to a mailing list recently; so far no one’s been able to answer it.

I’ve never read the stories he’s describing, but now I want to. Maybe someone who follows my blog knows the answer.

I’ve been trying to remember the author or character name of a golden age SF short story series. The main character is an inventor, but can only invent while drunk, and then does not remember what he’s done after he sobers up. He winds up with a mystery, like what the machine does or who the dead body is, and events proceed as a detective story–only the main character is both the detective (when sober) and usually the prime suspect (when drunk).

In one of the stories, he escapes from the bad guys by using his reputation as an inventor to convince them he’s produced a ray gun from tin foil and bits of string. In another, one of his machines excavates a huge hole in his yard, for reasons I can’t remember.

Any idea what I’m talking about?

There has been a lot of rain here lately, but that wasn’t the cause of the flooding. The rising waters came from our washing machine.

The source was a bit of a mystery. Last week I went to put the clothes in the dryer, and found a puddle creeping out from under the washer. I visually inspected all the hoses and connections, but couldn’t find anything.

I filled the tub with water. No leak.

I drained the tub. Nada.

I did another load of laundry, checking frequently for puddles. Nothing.

Another load of laundry—and a puddle. No idea where it came from. Dammit.

I was reluctant to call an appliance repairman without knowing the source of the leak, especially when the leak couldn’t be counted on to show itself. I put off doing laundry over the weekend (like I needed an excuse).

This morning I did laundry. Went downstairs frequently to check for puddles. And lo and behold, on my second reconnoiter I heard water trickling down behind the machine. It wasn’t coming from any of the hoses; it was pouring back out of the big pipe the washing machine drains into.

Pipe must be clogged. Plumber coming tomorrow. Good thing I didn’t call an appliance repairman.