Shame on Ben Franklin. The man who exhibited his brilliance when he said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” left a glaring omission on his short list of life's inevitabilities (death and taxes). Barring the former, Friday the 13th is unavoidable, and it's back again today in all its ominous glory. Here's the real bad news: This is one of three in the first seven months of 2012. That's as many as one year can have. We skated through 2011 with the minimum of one, in May - the same day the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Yaak River. Coincidence?/Kim Briggeman, Missoulian. More here.

Question: Are you superstitious, believing that bad luck haunts Friday the 13th, broken mirrors, black cats, etc.?

I have a friend who believes that when things break and then get fixed it's all related to the phases of the moon. She also admits she smoked a lot of pot when she was younger, but has since gone on to become a respected scientist, so I don't think you can totally attribute this wacky idea to a loss of brain cells. Anyway, Linda says when things go wrong - like your car breaking down, getting overdrawn at the bank or whatever - it has something to do with the shadow the Earth is casting on the moon at the moment. She says if you just wait it out the moon phase will change and then everything will be all right. Personally this philosophy has never quite worked out for me. When things go wrong in my life, I am pretty sure it's because there's an evil demon living at my house and he is trying to tip me over the edge. Even so, it does seem that when problems arise, they happen at once/Kathy Hedberg, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Do you believe that bad luck happens at once?