Dog days: a period of stagnation or inactivity

This is a good way to spend a period of inactivity.

The brightest of the stars in Canis Major (the big dog) is Sirius, which also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. In fact, it is so bright that the ancient Romans thought that the earth received heat from it.

according to http://wilstar.com/dogdays.htm

And now we have one theory on why the hot, humid summer days are called the dog days of summer.