• There's an old saying among meteorologists and weather fanatics: "Garbage in, garbage out." This is in reference to computer models, which run current observations through a series of formulas to predict future conditions. The problem is, the dewpoint sensor at Provincetown Airport (KPVC) has been broken, so computerized predictions of temperature and dewpoint for Eastern New England have been off. Just one of the reasons you still need people to oversee even the most advanced forecasting technologies.

• I had to return a cordless phone to Target.com, and when I printed the postage-paid, barcoded return label by following the site's instructions, the label was split between two pages. Brilliant. I simply covered the box with a blank sheet of white paper and paid for the postage myself, and the nice people at Target can figure out manually which order this was and so on.

• I seemed to be the only person at Gym (the sports bar) last night who noticed that Pedro Martinez was pitching a no-hitter through four innings. But I'm not surprised. Based on extensive anecdotal evidence, most patrons there do not actually watch the games, despite exquisite high-definition large-screen TVs. They simply go with hopes of seeing other guys who are watching the games. But this isn't particular to Gym; there are many venues in Manhattan whose business thrives on this lemming effect; customers are not going as an affirmative expression of interest in the venue per se, but rather because they want to be around people who are expected to be there. That's why when you find a spot with truly intrinsic worth, it's so cool.

• Just in time to wind down for a vacation next week, business has resumed its pre-summer clip. Of course, some of this was due to preparing for the week away. I am beginning to think that there is an optimal amount of vacation days for maximizing total output, because it takes so much time to prepare for scenarios a week away. When I'm here, we deal with each fork in the road as it presents itself, but anticipating multiple iterations of forks requires considering and covering all the bases. I probably do this more compulsively than most, but hey, clients like compulsively attentive consultants. And the benefit to me: a nice getaway with a high degree of certainty that everything will be fine.