Have you ever noticed when one of your possessions malfunctions, everything else you own suffers empathetic failure too? Strawberry daiquiri splashed all over my new shoes, signaling blender bottom breakdown. Within a week, synchronized displays of mechanical hypochondria commenced. First the music stopped. Then the toilet backed up, the computer files didn’t, the dryer burned up, the pool pump broke down, and the car started coughing, gasping and choking. The toaster caught a chill; which was just fine, because dry toast is hard to swallow, and the coffee pot, spluttering, blew the last fuse on its way to piece-of-crap purgatory.