So. Winter has decided to come back.

We're currently at 0^o F. And getting colder. Wind chill about -18^o. Four inches of white on the ground (about 10cm), with another 4" to 10" forecast for tomorrow. And even colder temperatures.

A good day to stay inside and work on PowerPoint.

Just tried the vehicles. Wife's started. Mine didn't. So I have my early morning planned already.

The worrisome part is this winter is doing a good job of mimicking this one , and that would be bad.

I knew I should have used the warm days to fix the roofing that blew off the garage.

In other news, you probably didn't notice, but I managed to get back and fill in an entry from last weekend. (The bad news? I filled in a couple others for November and December earlier this month, made no mention of it, and now no longer remember which ones. C'est la vie...)

And since I've been horribly negligent in replying to emails and comments, a few quick responses:

To Bonnie and Brian on this entry, I'll have to let the government off the hook on this one. It's the company (actually just one man, who shall remain nameless, but he owns Quest) who absolutely refuses to let their project be delayed for even a few months. And in their defense, they're doing their best to follow a designated "national energy corridor", and also avoid other important wildlife areas. But you have to wonder about whoever designated a national corridor over homes and a historical site.

An interesting fact that I learned from that meeting is that they strongly avoid building powerlines atop natural gas pipelines. Seems the electrical field from the lines penetrates past the six feet of earth protecting the pipelines and accelerates the cathodic erosion of the steel pipelines. Which isn't such a surprise if you know what Richard Box of Bristol University was able to demonstrate with unplugged fluorescent tubes:

And to Hil and Melissa on this one on President Obama, thank you, and yes, I'd seen some of those photos in Time magazine. Especially remember the one of the worn shoes.

And again to Melissa, on the owls... fun, but do you talk to them? And on your Phoenix comment... I hadn't even noticed, until you said something. I can only assume my imagination has gotten dull by not being around youngsters for many years...