The Great Blizzard of 2009, aka, tsnownami 2009.
In NW DC, not far from Bethesda, we got about two feet of snow, lesser amounts as you moved toward the National Mall and National Airport which received 16-17 inches. Farther out in Maryland there were reports of 28 and 30 inches. A good time was had by most, though not the subconsciously suicidal who went for a drive—so many went out, only five succeeded: another sign of the grace of the Lord.
My fellow Fellows, most of whom live closer to the Capitol Hill than me, gathered into a couple of groups for snow angeling, creating a snobama, or skiing down Capitol Hill. Other than a trek walking down the middle of Connecticut Av to the local bookstore (Politics & Prose) to pick up a book (on politics, of course), I stayed in and enjoyed the quiet and read all the things I missed during the final ten days of the 2009 report-writing season—putting the H1N1 virus to bed until January.
This morning dawned brilliant, cloudless, and 28 degrees. I thought I had taken my time to check out the news sites, eat breakfast, etc., but when I got out to look for my car I saw that no one had done any shoveling, nine o’clock. Now 3 hours later they are out there, but no noise—just like the old days before snow blowers. I can’t recall so much snow with such quiet the next day; it makes me think of the ‘60s. I found the car under two feet of snow, except the hood was under 4 feet of snow. It was impossibly light snow for the 30 degrees maintained all day, and it was a fast shovel. An hour or so later I got a knock on my door, a woman, neighbor she claimed, who said, “Only a Minnesotan would have the car and driveway completely shoveled out so quickly. Could I borrow your shovel?”
When I figure out how to insert some photos I incorporate a few.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Ghost of Christmas Past
You know it's a lie, but it still gets to you.
The blatant spewing of lies from the Great Right-Wing Conspiracy (yes, Hillary nailed it correctly from the start) brings back the deep depression they brought upon the nation at Christmas 1998 when they rammed impeachment through the House during the Christmas season. I recall nothing else from that Christmas except that which has some link to the impeachment hearings on NPR, picking up cookies from the Grand Bakery (now no longer with us) and listening to the hate fulminating from Henry Hyde (now no longer with us); circling the parking lot at Southdale (still with us) and listening to any number of hypocritical GOPs self-righteously fomenting from the floor who, we later learned, went back to there apartments with their mistress, their congressional page, their interns, or their high-priced bed-warmer.
So today Mitch and his nattering nabobs of negativism just sit back and object to everything. Maybe I shouldn't assume they have a conscience or a memory or an ounce of human decency--it's the only way they could continue in their role. And what do the voters in their states think? Can the unemployed coal miners in Kentucky really support Mitch McConnell, or could any of the 10.7% unemployed fellow Kentuckians support him? And then we have the seemingly good Senators from Maine--how can they align themselves so? How can they not at least go Independent? It does remind me of the old saying I grew up hearing, "The last good Republican was Lincoln."
Check out this posting on Media Matters (subscribe if you want to see some balance--you're not going to get it from NPR, they are only slight less nattering and nabobing that Faux TV and all the cable cacophony). Remember all the screaming about the Franken-Lieberman encounter. Read this piece. Check out the video (the first link in the text).
http://mediamatters.org/blog/200912180032
Merry Christmas!
The blatant spewing of lies from the Great Right-Wing Conspiracy (yes, Hillary nailed it correctly from the start) brings back the deep depression they brought upon the nation at Christmas 1998 when they rammed impeachment through the House during the Christmas season. I recall nothing else from that Christmas except that which has some link to the impeachment hearings on NPR, picking up cookies from the Grand Bakery (now no longer with us) and listening to the hate fulminating from Henry Hyde (now no longer with us); circling the parking lot at Southdale (still with us) and listening to any number of hypocritical GOPs self-righteously fomenting from the floor who, we later learned, went back to there apartments with their mistress, their congressional page, their interns, or their high-priced bed-warmer.
So today Mitch and his nattering nabobs of negativism just sit back and object to everything. Maybe I shouldn't assume they have a conscience or a memory or an ounce of human decency--it's the only way they could continue in their role. And what do the voters in their states think? Can the unemployed coal miners in Kentucky really support Mitch McConnell, or could any of the 10.7% unemployed fellow Kentuckians support him? And then we have the seemingly good Senators from Maine--how can they align themselves so? How can they not at least go Independent? It does remind me of the old saying I grew up hearing, "The last good Republican was Lincoln."
Check out this posting on Media Matters (subscribe if you want to see some balance--you're not going to get it from NPR, they are only slight less nattering and nabobing that Faux TV and all the cable cacophony). Remember all the screaming about the Franken-Lieberman encounter. Read this piece. Check out the video (the first link in the text).
http://mediamatters.org/blog/200912180032
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Finally!
DC Weather
I have been fighting a losing battle with the local temperature and humidity since I arrived here in August-- over-heated for four months now. Two months ago the locals started wearing coats over their business attire, then scarfs and hats, and recently parkas (what will January bring?).
Today was the big breakthrough for me--no sweat walking outside, not to the next building, not to the Metro stop. No sweat! I did not feel cold; just no sweat. So I can put a datum in my personal lab notebook: 33 deg F, slight breeze, brilliant sunshine, wearing just "proper business attire yields no sweat."
It looks like my fellow prairie dogs in the cube farm will have to wait until January to see if I have a jacket. So now the office is the only place I still sweat. I don't have a thermometer here (I do miss the lab for all sorts of paraphanelia useful in non-lab applications, such as thermometers, balances, vacuum lines, ice, even cold-boxes to winterize your hosta), but it must be 80 degrees. Mind you, I have no gripe with the internal temp in the warm months, it's usually very pleasant, maybe in the high 60s/low 70s, and the rest of the inmates wear sweaters and scarves.
I have been fighting a losing battle with the local temperature and humidity since I arrived here in August-- over-heated for four months now. Two months ago the locals started wearing coats over their business attire, then scarfs and hats, and recently parkas (what will January bring?).
Today was the big breakthrough for me--no sweat walking outside, not to the next building, not to the Metro stop. No sweat! I did not feel cold; just no sweat. So I can put a datum in my personal lab notebook: 33 deg F, slight breeze, brilliant sunshine, wearing just "proper business attire yields no sweat."
It looks like my fellow prairie dogs in the cube farm will have to wait until January to see if I have a jacket. So now the office is the only place I still sweat. I don't have a thermometer here (I do miss the lab for all sorts of paraphanelia useful in non-lab applications, such as thermometers, balances, vacuum lines, ice, even cold-boxes to winterize your hosta), but it must be 80 degrees. Mind you, I have no gripe with the internal temp in the warm months, it's usually very pleasant, maybe in the high 60s/low 70s, and the rest of the inmates wear sweaters and scarves.
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