The Ice Classic and strange days

The Ice Classic is a tradition where a tripod is put up on the Tanana river near Nenana and you bet on exactly when breakup will occur.

Seriously, it's been a weird start of the week. Yesterday morning, I turned on my computer, and it sounded like a jet engine waiting to take off. At the same time, the smoke detector decided it could not wait for a new battery and started beeping every five minutes while I was on call for support. At the same time, the dog had to go outside in the snow, then roll in the only available patch of dirt, which required me to pick him up, throw him into a bathtub, and wash his feet while the smoke detector was beeping. Things are getting better, but I just wonder what's next :)