quote of the day

"Consider what has happened so far: The U.S. economy is still grappling with the consequences of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression; trillions of dollars of potential income have been lost; the lives of millions have been damaged, in some cases irreparably, by mass unemployment; millions more have seen their savings wiped out; hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, will lose essential health care because of the combination of job losses and draconian cutbacks by cash-strapped state governments.

And this disaster was entirely self-inflicted. This isn't like the stagflation of the 1970s, which had a lot to do with soaring oil prices, which were, in turn, the result of political instability in the Middle East. This time we're in trouble entirely thanks to the dysfunctional nature of our own financial system. Everyone understands this — everyone, it seems, except the financiers themselves."

--Paul Krugman

extreme winter

I was up at 5:30 this morning and found the mercury flirting with zero. I had a slight headache, dizziness, and nausea. I suspected carbon monoxide poisoning from the kerosene space heater we've been using to augment our central heat. Yet, the carbon monoxide detector didn't sound off. We have an electric heat pump and until now it's done a great job, but it's never been this cold for this long. I spent all day Wednesday applying caulk and foam insulation to every crack I could find in the house, but the cold wind keeps pulling heat from the house. I turned off the kerosene heater and now we're using an electric oil radiator.

It's bone chilling cold; life threatening cold; pipe bursting cold. It's a cold that makes me want to hibernate. In the fetal position. It's so cold in Florida the iguanas are dropping out of trees. In North Carolina, sea turtles are washing up on shore, paralyzed by the frigid waters. Here in Oklahoma the squirrels are insulating their nuts.

I'm looking out the window and snow flakes are falling. It's 18 degrees. The high today is expected to be 20. Tomorrow it will go above freezing for the first time since Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it.

what i'm reading now

Traditionally, most accounts of exploration were sanitized and related in the most positive terms, glossing over the hardships and mishaps that occurred during the expedition. That is until Robert Dunn published The Shameless Diary of an Explorer. In 1903 Dunn joined an expedition led by Frederick Cook (who later faked the discovery of the North Pole) attempting the first ascent of Mt. Mckinley. They failed to make the summit but achieved the first circumnvigation of the mountain.

This book describes the bitter cold and extreme hardship of crossing the tundra, mountain ranges, canyons, and rivers. They used pack horses that had to be broken before the trip began. The horses stampeded, fell into crevasses, became trapped in mud, were swept down rivers, and had to be retrieved. These things happened every day. Their food supply was frequently soaked by rain or submersion in the rivers and had to be scraped of mold and dried by the fire.

There was conflict amongst the team and it became evident the the leader was incompetent. What a story!

Today's mountain climbers fly to the base of the mountain and then begin their ascent. These rugged men spent weeks getting to Mt. Mckinley and then almost killed themselves attempting to climb it. While I was reading the book I couldn't help asking myself "Why did these men punish themselves so?"

mercury dips lower

This morning the temperature fell to 4 degrees with a wind chill in the teens. We're keeping a kerosene heater going to augment our central heat. I had to go to town for more kerosene and the truck's heater didn't warm up for the first 6 miles or so. This is too cold. It won't go above freezing until Sunday afternoon, so we'll continue to let the faucets drip and burn the kerosene until then.

arctic blast

We had freezing drizzle and snow last night and it is now 15 degrees with a wind chill of below zero. When Dorothy and I got up we checked how traffic was going by on the highway. Cars were going slower than normal but not just creeping along. That's usually a sign that Dorothy can make it to work without too much slipping and sliding. I started her car, turned on the heater and defroster and just before she left I scraped the windshield. This is too cold. The forecast is for even colder weather this weekend.

"There is no distance on this earth as far away as yesterday."

--Robert Nathan

quote of the day

There are three kinds of people. The ones who learn by reading. The ones who learn by observation. And the rest, who have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.
--unknown

Our Christmas

Everyone one made it to our house through the snow and the slippery roads. It snowed all Christmas eve and stopped somtime during the night
We woke up to this sight.

Jenna

Who's that peeking around the corner?

It's Hunter

Marley

Pulling the sled behind the car

Playing the new Rockband. Marly on the mike, Hunter drums, while Jenna wails on the guitar

Every year we all get new pajamas. Here's this year's picture

bracing for the blizzard

The latest forecast for our area is 6-9" of snow. That's a lot for us. We're hoping all the kids can make it in for Christmas before the roads become slick. Once all are present and accounted for we'll be cozy and comfy and who cares if we get snowed in. Dorothy's made enough pies and cookies and candy to last us for days

what i'm reading now

I'm a fan of John Irving. Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany were excellent reads. I really haven't been able to get into some of his novels published in the interim between Owen Meany and this one, but with Last Night in Twisted River I found the great story telling and plot twists that I so enjoy with his books. It's a tale about a father and son who become fugitives after the 12 year old boy accidentally kills someone. The novel spans five decades and introduces some of the most interesting characters that can be found in a work of fiction. Here's a quote from the book: "We don't always have a choice how we get to know one another. Sometimes, people fall into our lives cleanly--as if out of the sky, or as if there were a direct flight from Heaven to Earth--the same sudden way we lose people, who once seemed they would always be part of our lives."

White Christmas

It rained this morning and I was able to catch this patch of blue in the west before the snow storm arrives tomorrow. It looks like we will have a white Christmas this year. That's uncommon in these parts.

daring do

Dorothy called me from work and told me our local department store had Zhou Zhou pets. Only one to a customer.

"OK, I'll go and buy one. Are you going to get one on your lunch break? And maybe Rachel can get one on her lunch break," I told her. (Then we will have one for each of our youngest grand children)
"No, you go buy them all," she replied.
"Isn't that against the rules?"

So, I went to the store. There they were with a sign indicating only one per customer per day. I bought one and took it to my truck. Then, I went back and got another one, went to a different check out line and took that to the truck. Then back into the store for the third Zhou Zhou. I felt like that guy in the movie Midnight Express who was caught trying to smuggle cocaine out of Istanbul, except, I didn't get caught. That was the most daring thing I've done since that time I returned a video to a rental store without rewinding it.

Marley's Birthday Party

Marley's tenth birth day party had the Amazing Race as its theme. Here she is (center) with her pink team, including her dad. On the left of the picture you can see the Travelocity Gnome cake Dorothy made for the occasion.

quote of the day

Banks know a fatter hog when they see it. And that hog is the consumer credit business (nobody has figured out yet that consumers need paychecks before they can consume anything, on credit or otherwise ). To that end the Federal Reserve has logically set a low interest rate policy. And in true accordance with banking logic, the banks took the Fed's money, then raised the annual percentage rate (APR) on credit card purchases and cash advances and on balances that have a penalty rate because of late payment. Next they raised the late fee. What the hell? If Americans are on the ropes, struggling to make their payments on time, then the logical thing to do is to stick it to them. Bleed 'em for all they're worth. It's an American free market tradition. We the people do not complain. We expect no mercy. America is a business and the American concept of business is pure ruthlessness.

--Joe Bageant

what i'm reading now

If you liked Freakonomics then you will probably like the latest book by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Superfreakonomics. Steven Levitt is an economist who can sift through mountains of statistics and come up with plausible reasons for the cultural trends in our society. He asks (and answers) such questions as:

• How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
• Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
• Did TV cause a rise in crime?
• Are people hardwired for altruism or selfishness?
• Can eating Kangaroo save the planet?

If you like books that spur you into out-of-the-box thinking then you are in for an entertaining read.