Today I said goodbye to the X-Squared On Demand cactus. He was taken from us (I mean really taken) by a gentleman from the California Agricultural Border Protection Station. He said we are not allowed to bring cacti, even those purchased in Illinois, into California... but the law seems to state that indoor cacti may be brought in. (See http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/PHPPS/factsheets/TransportingPlantsCA.pdf) Oh well; he was doing his job the best that he could, and I will never fault someone for taking pride in his job and doing it the best he can (with an exception for complete lack of common sense).

I'll miss Cactus the cactus, but just as the British say, "The King is dead. Long live the King," I shall say, "Cactus is dead. We gotta get another cactus because I'm sure I'll kill anything that requires regular watering, so long live whatever-plant-I-get-from-IKEA-to-replace-Cactus."

So long, Cactus. We hardly knew ya.

PS. Thank you to everyone on Twitter who has expressed sympathy. I've decided to treat this as an opportunity to make a clean start to this new chapter in my life.

Inspiration: