fuck, spent all day on the road, 460 miles & even stopped @ a Wal-Mart for some shopping. got home & my smoke detector has gone bad, tried new batteries but still get the same chirp every 30 seconds which indicates an 'alarm malfunction'; low battery level is a chirp every 60 seconds followed by a recorded voice saying "low batteries".
so it's back in the car for a 90 mile round trip to the nearest Wal-Mart to buy a new one (I'll buy two this time) or I won't get a minutes sleep in my log home from the paranoia.......