A GUN JUST WENT OFF IN MY APARTMENT! Holy crap! I'll set the scene... I've been out and about all day. Of course, in an effort to limit fossil fuel emissions and to help end our dependance on foreign oil or making it necessary to drill in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, I was riding my bike all day. As you can imagine, my various errands, classes, teaching, eating lunch, etc all required me to lock up my bike in various locations throughout Somerville, Medford and Cambridge. The temperature today was approximately 20F. This is not really as cold as it has been on several days recently, but you can get a nip on the knuckles if you don't wear gloves. Pretty cool. The bike was warm this morning, having spent the night in our living room. The tires were inflated to 30psi (f) and 45 psi (r). These values are outdoor values (eg. cold weather values). I rode the bike all day. It was a cold bike after 12 hours outside. When I arrived home I brought the bike inside and placed it back in the warm living room. All was well as I prepared my dinner of spaghetti and chik patties and prepared to settle in for an evening of reading technical manuals. I anxiously awaited the 9pm arrival of my bride. As I sat at the computer and checked on my virus scanner's ability to detect the MyDoom worm I was distressed to hear a strange rustling sound from behind me. Thinking that the sound was caused by a rodent (not surprising considering that Kate and I live in a slum), I ignored it an continued on my computing. When I heard the sound a few seconds later I became nervous that the rodent had begun to acheive social dominance within our household and that the time was fast approaching for me to assume my husbandly role of rodent and all-around varmint killer. I turned around in my chair to see what the hell was going on when the rear tire of my bike, which by this time had warmed and increased in pressure above 50 psi, decided to catastrophically release it's extra pressure. A satisfying (if you are a high-pressure vessel such as a tire) or surprising (if you are a human) BLAMMA-JAMMA-SLAMMA-style pop caused me to jump slightly and then to decide to write in my blog. Is this a normal reaction to loud noises within your home?