It's alive! It's alive!
Like Frankenstein's monster, the Mousemobile lives. The problem was in not one component, but two, working in combination. Meine vater unexpectedly took the day off today and we tried his one last theory before having the car towed to a shop. He replaced the ignition control module and the Mousemobile roared to life. After this, we worked our way backward, first replacing the stock ignition coil with the aftermarket ignition coil that had been in the car since the initial ignition augmentation many years ago (1995? '96? somewhere around there). Curiously, the car would once again not start. So, we replaced the ignition coil with a new aftermarket coil and once again we had liftoff. So, it was not enough that we had replaced the ignition control module, nor enough that we'd replaced the ignition coil, the two systems were malfunctioning in conjunction; Dad suspects the bad coil may have blown out the ICM. We reconnected the rest of the augmented ignition system, reinstalled the aftermarket cental computer chip, put the dashboard back together, checked the oil (as the Mousemobile leaks oil like a sieve), and my beloved automobile is presently parked back where it belongs in the street in front of the house. As always, Mom's been agitating to get rid of it, but nuts to that kind of talk. The Mousemobile lives!

Figaro tomorrow. In nothing else, it will be nice to see the Mountain of Love and the object of his affection, the Bassoonatic. Culture, woo! Also, there is a chance I'll see Guy Zach Nie! and Sarah tomorrow for a film matinee. (Whenever I think about Zach and Sarah, the song in my head is, of course, Ben Folds's "Zak and Sara.")

Tomorrow, should I beware the Ides of November?

And now, just to strike fear into the hearts of you, my dear readers...
Retroactively Making Star Trek: Voyager Good, Part XV
Coming soon to a Secret Base of the Rebel Black Dot Society near you.