Yesterday I spent nearly the entire day trying to make the equipment allocated (by type, location) to us by the central office match the equipment allocated on our sheets for the supervisors.

I added, checked, re-checked. I took off my shoes and socks and added on my fingers and toes. I used colored markers and ticked them off as they were accounted for (the equipment, not my toes).

At 4:50 in the afternoon, I found it. Somebody (not in my office, thank goodness) had added 18 + 1 to a total of 18.

When you look back on it, such a simple error. But effectively hidden in the welter of numbers on the spreadsheet and corrected by somebody eliminating the formula at the bottom and typing in the "correct" answer.

Must have been done by a closet Lysenkoist. 'I KNOW the right answer and I will by golly make the data fit.'

The plus side to all this is that I came home with a feeling of real satisfaction. I went mano-a-mano with a recalcitrant report and I beat it into submission.

Well, it's nearly 5 a.m. Once more into the breach, dear friends.