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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Monday Morning Open Thread

Monday Morning Open Thread

by John Cole|  February 15, 20219:53 am| 264 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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We’re getting mollywolloped with a snow storm today, and I am loving it. This has been, from my perspective, a fantastic winter. We have had a ton of snow (by our standards), it’s been nice and cold and my sinuses have no really blown up since December, and it has been pretty and quiet because of all the snow. Not to mention, it means fewer people galavanting around without fucking masks on. It means that it might have been cold long enough that it killed off some bugs, and all the stone fruit trees can do a proper reset. I am down with it.

What is going down your way?

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Reader Interactions

264Comments

  1. 1.

    Jeffery

    February 15, 2021 at 9:56 am

    The plus side of this weather is the plants of Philadelphia’s hardiness zone will be much happier come spring and summer.

  2. 2.

    rikyrah

    February 15, 2021 at 9:56 am

    Good Morning, Everyone ???

    Hey Cole ?

     

    Wind-chill is negative double digits this morning ?

  3. 3.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 15, 2021 at 9:57 am

    What is going down your way?

    Just gloomy and overcast and dank here (NE ATL suburbs). Currently at the day’s high (43°F), rain forecast throughout the afternoon and evening. A good day not to go out.

  4. 4.

    skerry

    February 15, 2021 at 9:58 am

    I’m enjoying the winter weather this year too. It’s been a while since we had a proper snow.

  5. 5.

    khead

    February 15, 2021 at 9:59 am

    Probably ice.  Again.  With another week of clouds.  Ice sucks.

  6. 6.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 15, 2021 at 9:59 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning, Rikyrah! I always value your daily cheerfulness!

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 15, 2021 at 10:02 am

    Snow, still below zero F.

  8. 8.

    AM in NC

    February 15, 2021 at 10:04 am

    A week of rain. Again.  We have had only a sprinkling of snow here all winter, and no seriously cold temps. No fun at all.

  9. 9.

    The Moar You Know

    February 15, 2021 at 10:05 am

    We are experiencing brutal winter temperatures of 50 degrees this morning here in San Diego. The dog and I are huddled together in the living room. Please send food, preferably some of that chicken curry pie I had in London that one time. Also dog treats

    ETA:  growing up here is weird.  I never saw a snowflake until I was in my thirties, and that was in Korea.  With a climate like ours, if you go up into the mountains it snows, but it’s like wet concrete.  Just doesn’t get cold enough.  You gotta drive a few hours northeast for that.  But locally, it has snowed in the city once here.  It’s gotten below freezing where I live over a dozen times.

    I’ve been to ice country (Ohio).  You’re welcome to it.  You can’t even walk on that shit.

  10. 10.

    geg6

    February 15, 2021 at 10:06 am

    It was misting icy fog for quite a while late last evening and it’s been snowing like crazy ever since I got up this morning. This work at home stuff is great during a winter like this. I love the snow as long as I don’t have to be on the roads with all the assholes in giant pickups and SUVs or clean it off my car. We have a friend who has a lawn/plowing business and he takes care of our long u-shaped driveway, so we just have to shovel the walks, which is not much. John painted the roofs of all of our bird feeders red, so they really stand out. It looks so pretty.

  11. 11.

    BC in Illinois

    February 15, 2021 at 10:07 am

    My morning began as I went out to scrape one inch of snow off the van, so that Mrs. BC could go to physical therapy. Two degrees in St Louis County. Went down to zero overnight.

    It turns out that the snow was totally powder, I could clear all of the windshields with my gloved hands. No ice at all.

    So I got credit for a helpful gesture, without any effort on my part. She drives away and I get a cup of coffee.

    + + +

    My time-waster for later this morning is Radio Garden. You can check out radio stations from all over the world. Scotland seems to be into country [yes, American Country] and rap and oldies.

    ETA: WInd chill . . .  – 16.

  12. 12.

    MattF

    February 15, 2021 at 10:09 am

    Some ice in the DC area. Haven’t gone out since… Wednesday.

  13. 13.

    Emma from FL

    February 15, 2021 at 10:09 am

    South Florida has been swinging between cold and normal for a while — with one or two rainstorms thrown in. Today it’s lovely; tomorrow ?. My sinuses are being mollywolloped (what a lovely word!) regularly.

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2021 at 10:12 am

    I am starting to get cranky about the weather as we are well into our second week of zero degree weather here.

  15. 15.

    zhena gogolia

    February 15, 2021 at 10:17 am

    Eloquent piece by Tom Nichols. Love the ending.
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/02/14/republicans-acquitted-trump-betrayed-america-history-column/6743905002/

  16. 16.

    Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)

    February 15, 2021 at 10:17 am

    No hard freeze in Birmingham just yet, but it’s on the way. Got my second shot Saturday; feeling kinda blech but I’m not working today so that’s fine. Everybody stay safe out there.

  17. 17.

    Mary G

    February 15, 2021 at 10:19 am

    @The Moar You Know: The high is only going to be 59 degrees! The humanity. My cats are both in the same bed, mushed together for warmth. Usually they each have to be in one.

  18. 18.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 15, 2021 at 10:19 am

    Mollywalloped?

    It is currently -8 in Madison, and no snow is expected today or tonight.  We are expected to hit +13 tomorrow and even warmer after that.  Chance of snow on Sunday finally.

  19. 19.

    pat

    February 15, 2021 at 10:20 am

    Cold but no wind here in western Wisconsin.
    Sunny.  Warming up a bit later in the week.

    Seeing the 100-car pileups on Texas roads in the news every day makes me so glad to live here, where we have good tires and know how to drive in that crap.  Or most of us do.

  20. 20.

    eddie blake

    February 15, 2021 at 10:20 am

    34 degrees in NYC. we’re between snowfalls, and the city gets really ugly when coated with exhaust-stained snow.

  21. 21.

    pat

    February 15, 2021 at 10:21 am

    Have to add that we rarely get the total ice conditions. No one can drive safely then, until the trucks get out with the sand and salt.

  22. 22.

    Cheryl Rofer

    February 15, 2021 at 10:21 am

    Five degrees here this morning, but it is supposed to warm up to 29 later today, although more snow is promised at higher temperatures later in the week.

    I’m worried about friends in Texas who are checking in on Twitter to say they have no power, and water pipes are freezing.

  23. 23.

    Betty Cracker

    February 15, 2021 at 10:22 am

    Mild with screechy birds here. (The warmish weather has put romance on their minds, I guess.)

  24. 24.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 10:22 am

    Rather warm here just North of Boston —
    30° and it’s going to sit right there for a day or so. Wintery mix coming. I prefer snow to freezing rain! Actually very normal wintery day.

  25. 25.

    jeffreyw

    February 15, 2021 at 10:24 am

    I snapped this during a brief break in the snow.  It’s coming down again.  Cold, looking for 6-10″ today through tonight.

  26. 26.

    Amir Khalid

    February 15, 2021 at 10:26 am

    The Blog Lord taught me a new word today: mollywollop.​ I find it cromulent.

  27. 27.

    different-church-lady

    February 15, 2021 at 10:28 am

    @Immanentize: In the Boston area, 20 and snowing is preferable to 40 and raining, in my view.

    Most prototypical Boston winter storm pattern: snow, followed by rain, followed by freeze. Any of that waterlogged stuff you didn’t put in a good place will be concrete the next day.

    So glad this last accumulation is hanging around — less chance of summer drought now.

  28. 28.

    R-Jud

    February 15, 2021 at 10:28 am

    Over on this side we’ve also had a colder-than-usual winter, with actual snow cover on the ground for several weeks.

    It’s 53 F and sunny right now, though. Can’t complain.

  29. 29.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    February 15, 2021 at 10:28 am

    Here’s a non-wintry article. An obit for Jones Beach’s longest-serving lifeguard. He was 93 when he died, but he had to give up lifeguarding when he was 80. That was the first time since 1944 that he didn’t pass the lifeguard test.​

  30. 30.

    Gravenstone

    February 15, 2021 at 10:30 am

    @The Moar You Know: I’ve been to ice country (Ohio)

    Hey, it’s not Spring in NW Ohio until you’ve had your second ice storm of April…

     

    Next to last day of the bitter cold, and the water line to my toilet decided to freeze up overnight Saturday. It made it over ten days of single digit highs and negative double digit lows before giving up the ghost. *sigh* If this is the new normal, I’m probably going to have to have the insulation in the crawlspace bulked up this summer to be ready for next year.

  31. 31.

    Betty Cracker

    February 15, 2021 at 10:31 am

    @zhena gogolia: I’m not generally a fan of Mr. Nichols for a variety of reasons, but this portion of the column rings true:

    For all their populist bravado about how the “elites” hate the Real Americans, no one is more elitist and hates Real America — including their own constituents — as much as the Republicans who will do anything rather than risk being sent home to live among them.

    I wish there were an easy way to expose these elitist shitbirds who impersonate bumpkins for power and profit. But the fact is, the bumpkins who elect them and return them to office repeatedly are too goddamn dumb to recognize the insult.

  32. 32.

    Ruckus

    February 15, 2021 at 10:32 am

    @Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant):

    Which vaccine did you get?

    My second Pfizer shot is Friday. I’m a bit apprehensive but not going to let that stop me. First shot the arm was a bit sore for a few hrs starting 12 hrs in.

  33. 33.

    debbie

    February 15, 2021 at 10:33 am

    Nope, not enjoying in the least. I’m scouring FB for photos of snowdrops as proof this will be over soon.

  34. 34.

    gvg

    February 15, 2021 at 10:33 am

    Never heard that word before. Wonder if I can remember it.

    Mild with rain here in Florida. The rain brought down pollen so the puddles are all ringed in pale yellow. That means pollen month is almost here. I haven’t had problems yet but rising blood pressure presumably cause by getting older means this year I can’t use decongestants….kind of afraid to find out how this goes. Gainesville prides itself on being a tree city which means we have lots of shade and it doesn’t get so hot as elsewhere I have lived in Florida. It also means amazing amounts of pollen in the spring. Pine and Oak together will drop large visible amounts of yellow stuff on top of everything for a month.

  35. 35.

    geg6

    February 15, 2021 at 10:33 am

    We seem to have reached a short break in the snow for a couple of hours (according to my phone weather app). Then the real shit hits the fan.

  36. 36.

    Victor Matheson

    February 15, 2021 at 10:35 am

    I spent the weekend refereeing D1 college soccer for the first time in 15 months. And all I have to say is that if I can chase D1 athletes 30 years younger than me up and down the field for 2 hours while wearing a mask, anyone who says that it’s too hard to wear the mask into 7-11 while buying Cheetos can STFU.

  37. 37.

    jackmac

    February 15, 2021 at 10:37 am

    @Ruckus: ​
      Had the same symptom after my first shot in late January. But there were no effects after my second shot last Friday. My spouse, however, had flu-like symptoms on Saturday and Sunday. She’s feeling fine today and we’re both relieved to have received the vaccine.

  38. 38.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    February 15, 2021 at 10:37 am

    I gave myself a ridiculously-cold-day and am working on a puzzle. There is a list of work on my desk but it can wait until this afternoon.

  39. 39.

    debbie

    February 15, 2021 at 10:40 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Find the tape of Trump denigrating his supporters for not dressing better.

  40. 40.

    PsiFighter37

    February 15, 2021 at 10:41 am

    Dodged the bullet here in NYC – was supposed to be another 10 inches in the forecast at start of last week, but now it seems like it will just be rain, or nothing at all (there was no precipitation yesterday despite there supposed to being some rain).

  41. 41.

    CCL

    February 15, 2021 at 10:42 am

    So I decided the senators who voted to acquit should be named often (instead of being part of a nameless 43).

    •  John Barrasso R-Wyo.
    •  Marsha Blackburn R-Tenn.
    •  Roy Blunt R-Mo.
    •  John Boozman R-Ark.
    •  Mike Braun R-Ind.
    •  Shelley Capito R-W.Va.
    •  John Cornyn R-Texas
    •  Tom Cotton R-Ark.
    •  Kevin Cramer R-N.D.
    •  Mike Crapo R-Idaho
    •  Ted Cruz R-Texas
    •  Steve Daines R-Mont.
    •  Joni Ernst R-Iowa
    •  Deb Fischer R-Neb.
    •  Lindsey Graham R-S.C.
    •  Chuck Grassley R-Iowa
    •  Bill Hagerty R-Tenn.
    •  Josh Hawley R-Mo.
    •  John Hoeven R-N.D.
    •  Cindy Hyde-Smith R-Miss.
    •  Jim Inhofe R-Okla.
    •  Ron Johnson R-Wis.
    •  John Kennedy R-La.
    •  James Lankford R-Okla.
    •  Mike Lee R-Utah
    •  Cynthia Lummis R-Wyo.
    •  Roger Marshall R-Kan.
    •  Mitch McConnell R-Ky.
    •  Jerry Moran R-Kan.
    •  Rand Paul R-Ky.
    •  Rob Portman R-Ohio
    •  James Risch R-Idaho
    •  Mike Rounds R-S.D.
    •  Marco Rubio R-Fla.
    •  Tim Scott R-S.C.
    •  Rick Scott R-Fla.
    •  Richard Shelby R-Ala.
    •  Dan Sullivan R-Alaska
    •  John Thune R-S.D.
    •  Thom Tillis R-N.C.
    •  Tommy Tuberville R-Ala.
    •  Roger Wicker R-Miss.
    •  Todd Young R-Ind.
  42. 42.

    danielx

    February 15, 2021 at 10:42 am

    Snowblower fired right up, but….the bracket holding the chute adjustment thingy is broken (didn’t have a clue). So, stopping to adjust the goddamn chute every five minutes and it was STILL blowing back in my face. Ski goggles over my glasses help, but….snarl bitch gripe.

    Still beats hell out of shoveling.

  43. 43.

    WereBear

    February 15, 2021 at 10:42 am

    Got out at 7 AM at 10 degrees for the BIG STOCK, especially cat food, and the place was deserted, just the way I like it.

    Everything hauled in, Eco-Sport parked out of the way of all snow plows, wipers UP.

    As ready as we can be.

  44. 44.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    February 15, 2021 at 10:44 am

    @debbie:  My first Snowdrop bloomed yesterday!

  45. 45.

    TaMara (HFG)

    February 15, 2021 at 10:44 am

    Looks like the ducks will be able to move back outside today…we will all be happier, though everyone quickly adjusted to bathroom life. Except Bixby…that dog needed to know hourly that his ducks were okay.

  46. 46.

    zhena gogolia

    February 15, 2021 at 10:44 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Yes, I have an extremely love-hate relationship with him. I heard him speak once, and he’s as smug and self-satisfied as you might imagine. But I thought that part of the article was so good I read it out loud to my husband.

  47. 47.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2021 at 10:44 am

    Snowing then cloudy then late afternoon/evening snowing in Chicago.

    7 feels like -5 outside.

  48. 48.

    geg6

    February 15, 2021 at 10:45 am

    @Victor Matheson:

    I imagine they have a lot of pent up energy to expend, too.  That must have been exhausting.  I know our student athletes are chomping at the bit to compete.  We’re not D1 or even in the NCAA (we’re USCAA), but it’s pretty much killing them.  You can see it even in their communications with me.  I’m really happy that they are competing again starting this week.  For the athletes, it’s a mental health effect of the pandemic we didn’t consider fully.

  49. 49.

    narya

    February 15, 2021 at 10:45 am

    More snow here in Chicago. And cold. I have not been able to run in . . . forever. More concerning (to me) is that a Friend is driving up to Madison today; his mom is getting the second shot today, and he wanted to be w/ her in case she felt crappy. I sent a care package along (carrot cake muffins, frosting, focaccia, burrata, cookies . . .), but I wish he didn’t have to drive in this terrible weather.

    On one hand, we need the snow and cold, but OTOH, I am heartily sick of it.

  50. 50.

    Wapiti

    February 15, 2021 at 10:45 am

    In Seattle, waiting for warm temps (34-36+) and light rain to start clearing the snow from the weekend. My spouse started heading out for a morning workout, but got the car stuck (briefly) in the alley and decided that parking at the workout wouldn’t be cleared. I knew that last night, but have been married long enough….

  51. 51.

    SteveinSC

    February 15, 2021 at 10:45 am

    We have not seen the sun for four days.  I have converted my landscape lights to all solar, about 300 Watts, peak power.  I scaled the batteries to tolerate 3-4 days, but this is fucking ridiculous.

  52. 52.

    artem1s

    February 15, 2021 at 10:45 am

    we are getting light snow this morning in NE OH.  the temp is about normal for this time of year – pre-2000 climate change. I guess we are in for 5/6 inches starting on Thursday though.

    winters have been weird the past few years. Thanksgiving and Xmas in shirt sleeves.  Not much snow even when it’s cold.  a lot of false spring 50/60 degree weather in Feb/Mar. Cross county skiing has been largely a no go for the past few winters.  This year feels a little more like the winters we had in the 90s. I’ve been out CC once and expect to get out again this weekend. But after that, it’s supposed to get above freezing with wet sloppy snow and ice mixed so not great for CC skiing. I’m hoping it stays under freezing so the conditions are good while we have snow.

  53. 53.

    zhena gogolia

    February 15, 2021 at 10:46 am

    @CCL:

    Thanks.

  54. 54.

    Frank Wilhoit

    February 15, 2021 at 10:47 am

    We (the euphemistically-so-called Central Ohio) only got a dusting of snow overnight but the second storm, which is pounding…Mississippi…?…?? right now, looks undodgeable, no matter what the wind does.  We’re supposed to get eight inches, and only about half of the six inches from week-before-last have melted.

    Anyone our age understands climate change, because when we were small, this kind of thing happened several times every year.  These days, it is exceptional.

  55. 55.

    The Thin Black Duke

    February 15, 2021 at 10:48 am

    Good morning, my fellow jackals. I just published an essay in Medium today, and although I’m not entirely happen with it, I’ll apply the lessons I learned from this and apply it to the next one. As always, thanks for the support and inspiration.

  56. 56.

    Johnnybuck

    February 15, 2021 at 10:49 am

    Bad weather shutting down 2/3 of the country? Maybe God is smiling on old Handsome Joe.

  57. 57.

    zhena gogolia

    February 15, 2021 at 10:51 am

    I guess this is a weather thread. I have no idea what’s happening, since the forecasts have all been wrong for the past two weeks or so. Supposedly freezing drizzle today and rain tomorrow, and big snow/ice coming on Thursday. But for all their computers, it seems we still have to just look out the window to see what’s happening.

  58. 58.

    Betty Cracker

    February 15, 2021 at 10:51 am

    @zhena gogolia: It also irks me to my soul to agree with David “Axis of Evil” Frum, but he has an excellent column in The Atlantic today about how the founders’ fear of tyranny by unpropertied urban populations led them to create a rigged republic that is being smothered by unaccountable minority rule.

  59. 59.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    February 15, 2021 at 10:52 am

    Hey, juicers! Instead of complaining about the snow, wake up your inner Norwegian and embrace it. Go hiking in it. Camp for a few days on the fjord. Celebrate Frilustsliv!

    Speaker is a French woman who has fallen in love with Norway and the “free-air” lifestyle. My favorite part is when she contrasts her old French dating profile pic (nicely-dressed and groomed young lady on a sunny day somewhere) with her Norwegian dating profile (unidentifiable figure bundled up on a snowy day, setting up a fishing net). “You don’t want to know how a person is going to react when they’re on a date in a restaurant, you want to know how they’ll react when you’ve been together for five days in a tent with no access to a bathroom.”

  60. 60.

    Burnspbesq

    February 15, 2021 at 10:53 am

    Currently ten degrees here in suburban Austin. We got about four inches overnight. Our state-of-the-art, solar-powered snow removal system is expected to be offline until Friday, and there is a chance of sleet/freezing rain before this is done.

    Rolling blackouts in effect in some places due to unprecedented demand for electricity.

  61. 61.

    eddie blake

    February 15, 2021 at 10:53 am

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    good read. good points.

  62. 62.

    zhena gogolia

    February 15, 2021 at 10:54 am

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Nice!

  63. 63.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 15, 2021 at 10:55 am

    From ProPublica: “I Don’t Trust the People Above Me”: Riot Squad Cops Open Up About Disastrous Response to Capitol Insurrection

    Over the last several weeks, ProPublica has interviewed 19 current and former U.S. Capitol Police officers about the assault on the Capitol. Following on the dramatic video of officers defending the building that House lawmakers showed during the first day of the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, the interviews provide the most detailed account to date of a most extraordinary battle.

    The enemies on Jan. 6 were Americans: thousands of people from across the country who had descended on the Capitol, intent on stopping Congress from certifying an election they believed was stolen from Trump. They had been urged to attend by Trump himself, with extremist right-wing and militia leaders calling for violence.

    Many of the officers were speaking to reporters for the first time about the day’s events, almost all anonymously for fear of retribution. That they spoke at all is an indication of the depth of their frustration over the botched response. ProPublica also obtained confidential intelligence bulletins and previously unreported planning documents.

    Combined, the information makes clear how failures of leadership, communication and tactics put the lives of hundreds of officers at risk and allowed rioters to come dangerously close to realizing their threats against members of Congress.
    …………………………………..
    The interviews also revealed officers’ concerns about disparities in the way the force prepared for Black Lives Matter demonstrations versus the pro-Trump protests on Jan. 6. Officers said the Capitol Police force usually plans intensively for protests, even if they are deemed unlikely to grow violent. Officers said they spent weeks working 12- or 16-hour days, poised to fight off a riot, after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police — even though intelligence suggested there was not much danger from protesters.

    “We had intel that nothing was going to happen — literally nothing,” said one former official with direct knowledge of planning for the Black Lives Matter demonstrations. “The response was, ‘We don’t trust the intel.’”

    By contrast, for much of the force, Jan. 6 began like any other day.

    “We normally have pretty good information regarding where these people are and how far they are from the Capitol,” said Keith McFaden, a former Capitol Police officer and union leader who retired from the force following the riot. “We heard nothing that day.”
    ……………………
    “It was business as usual,” said another, who has been on the force for more than 15 years. “The main thing we were told was to be on the lookout for counterdemonstrators.”

    Because everybody knows those commie antifa black lives matter protestors are the real threat to America.

    One sergeant gave officers a final warning. “If this goes good, then we’ll laugh about it,” he told them. “But if it goes bad, it’ll change your life and you’ll never forget about it. They’ll talk about this for years and years and years.”

    Yeah, we’re not laughing.

  64. 64.

    CaseyL

    February 15, 2021 at 10:55 am

    Seattle checking in:  Slowly warming up to above freezing.  The 8″-12″ snow accumulation from the weekend is still there, just starting to melt.  Both cats went outside, one very briefly and the other for a few minutes. I have no need, and no intention, to go out.

    Sunday paper never got delivered, but that’s perfectly fine: I don’t want the papercarrier to risk life and limb just so I can do my crosswords.

  65. 65.

    Old School

    February 15, 2021 at 10:59 am

    @The Thin Black Duke:  Good column. Thanks for sharing!

  66. 66.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 11:00 am

    Gosharoonie. Piercing cold, overcast and wet stuff in mid-winter?

    Sounds like the backdrop accompanying any random hazy childhood image of the season. YMMV.

    [insert ‘barefoot, uphill both ways’ codger’s tale here]

    ;)

  67. 67.

    CaseyL

    February 15, 2021 at 11:01 am

    @The Thin Black Duke: That’s a good read – thanks!

  68. 68.

    WereBear

    February 15, 2021 at 11:02 am

    @The Thin Black Duke: I LOVE it! Shared. Thanks.

  69. 69.

    Cameron

    February 15, 2021 at 11:02 am

    Here in Bayshore Gardens it’s 79 with high (summer-level) humidity.  I actually like cold weather, but after surgery back in 2015 I couldn’t take it anymore.  So here’s where I’ll stay unless Gov. DeCovid decides to weed out some more Democratic Olds.

  70. 70.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    February 15, 2021 at 11:03 am

    It’s 50F here right now but the problem with living on the coast is the wind, it cuts through you when you go outside so I’m playing it safe and staying inside in the central heating.

  71. 71.

    The Thin Black Duke

    February 15, 2021 at 11:09 am

    Thanks, everybody! You folks make me feel like I just won the Oscar. Then again, this blog is the best writing course I ever took. Thanks again.

  72. 72.

    different-church-lady

    February 15, 2021 at 11:09 am

    It’s Feb. 15, 2021 and we’re talking about the weather instead of what horrible thing the president did today.

    !!!

  73. 73.

    CCL

    February 15, 2021 at 11:09 am

    @zhena gogolia:

    Yup.  Figured if the “point” of this is to force Republicans to go on record as complicit – then let us broadcast that record – let us remember the names of the wretched wusses.

  74. 74.

    Gravenstone

    February 15, 2021 at 11:10 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: That’s a rather damning set of statements to the effect of “the fix was in”. Of course, I don’t think anyone viewing events from the outside not through a partisan pro-Republican lens ever doubted that to be true. Heads need to roll over this (and so much more) and the responsible parties need some real life prison time as a consequence.

  75. 75.

    Damned_at_Random

    February 15, 2021 at 11:12 am

    Snow to the North (Portland area) and snow to the south (Willamette Pass) and lots of rain here (Western Cascades). So seasonal. Wet and bleak.

    A friend in Kansas is worried about the dogs freezing to their droppings before they move on. Lived in KS for 6 years, it gets real fucking cold

  76. 76.

    Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)

    February 15, 2021 at 11:13 am

    @Ruckus: I got the Pfizer. I was expecting trouble with the second shot, but it hasn’t really been that bad. Just a little listless.

  77. 77.

    Cameron

    February 15, 2021 at 11:14 am

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: This would be the same culture that enjoys lutefisk, no?

  78. 78.

    Benw

    February 15, 2021 at 11:17 am

    We’ve had a couple nice snowfalls last month that stuck. Nice for the kids to be able to sled and play without having to go upstate. Tomorrow’s going up to 50 and raining all day, so that’ll likely be the end of this snow season for long island.

  79. 79.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 11:17 am

    @Litlebritdifrnt

    Central heating in the U.K.?

    Can recall stocking up on coins (two pees?) when stayed for several days at step-brother’s student flat in West Croydon during a nasty, cold Xmas week (he was elsewhere at the time) so as to be able to keep feeding the gas meter for the Lilliputian and entirely inadequate device laughingly called a heater.

  80. 80.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2021 at 11:17 am

    @different-church-lady: Nice.  Ain’t it?

  81. 81.

    Betty Cracker

    February 15, 2021 at 11:19 am

    @The Thin Black Duke: I like your optimism! :)

  82. 82.

    Baud

    February 15, 2021 at 11:19 am

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    I never realized you were black.

    Nice work!

  83. 83.

    Delk

    February 15, 2021 at 11:21 am

    Suzy Snowflake is tap, tap, tapping.

  84. 84.

    Baud

    February 15, 2021 at 11:23 am

    @Johnnybuck:

    Bad weather shutting down 2/3 of the country? Maybe God is smiling on old Handsome Joe.

    Maybe Joe has a weather machine the way Obama had a time machine.

  85. 85.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 11:26 am

    @Delk

    And then there was Suzy Creamcheese.

    :)

  86. 86.

    germy

    February 15, 2021 at 11:29 am

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Monstrous as it sounds, the last thing the GOP wants is a functioning government that’s responsive to the needs of their voters. Why? Because it’s harder to con the public into thinking “the government is the problem” when the last four years brutally illustrated what happens when the government doesn’t help at all.

    Very true!  And an excellent essay.

  87. 87.

    JanieM

    February 15, 2021 at 11:29 am

    @The Thin Black Duke: Great essay, again. You have a gift for cutting through the oceans of BS we swim in these days and hammering home the central message.

    I sure hope you’re right that they’ve lost the war!

  88. 88.

    Baud

    February 15, 2021 at 11:29 am

    Via Reddit, awesome dance moves.  According to the comments, they are in Belgium.

  89. 89.

    Percysowner

    February 15, 2021 at 11:30 am

    @Frank Wilhoit: I’m In Central Ohio too. I’m just hoping the storm will hold off until 4:00-4:30. I have an appointment to get my first vaccination at 2:30 and my ex has one at 3:45.

    I’m hoping to get vaccinated, wait my 15 minutes then drop in to a local small grocery and pick up a few things just in case. I have most of the supplies I need to make it through for a week, but I want to be  over prepared.

  90. 90.

    gbbalto

    February 15, 2021 at 11:31 am

    @The Thin Black Duke: Great work!

  91. 91.

    kindness

    February 15, 2021 at 11:33 am

    I like the cut of your jib, John. Out here in California it’s been raining but we’re still way behind in the water we need. Such is life. It got cold for a bit in December and then another week in January. It never gets as cold as long as it used to. I was seeing bugs flying around in January so we’re going to have another bumper crop of them. The only bugs I don’t really like are the biting ones. They suck. They grow feed corn in the fields behind my fence line and so we get nailed by mosquitoes every year. Thank the FSM for dragonflys & bats.

  92. 92.

    Ken

    February 15, 2021 at 11:34 am

    @Burnspbesq: Texas still has its unique status as the only state with its own electrical grid interconnect. Not that it would help much if it were part of the eastern or western interconnects, with the rest of the country also sucking up power.

  93. 93.

    Baud

    February 15, 2021 at 11:37 am

    @different-church-lady:

    Agreed.

  94. 94.

    raven

    February 15, 2021 at 11:39 am

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

     

    Well, it’s cold over here
    And I swear
    I wish they’d turn the heat on
    And where in the world
    Is that English girl
    I promised I would meet on
    The third floor?

    And of the whole damn lot
    The only friend I got
    Is a smoke and a cheap guitar
    My mind keeps roamin’
    My heart keeps longin’
    To be home in a Texas bar

    I wanna go home with the armadillo
    Good country music from Amarillo
    And Abilene
    The friendliest people and the prettiest women you ever seen

  95. 95.

    Kayla Rudbek

    February 15, 2021 at 11:39 am

    From downstairs: had the diagnostic mammogram this morning.  They want to do an ultrasound as well and the scheduling and orders seem to have been mixed up for that, so the ultrasound will be this afternoon. No meeting or communication from the radiologist as yet, and the technician seems to have marked out two areas of interest from what I saw.  Here’s hoping that it’s just a benign cyst.

  96. 96.

    Baud

    February 15, 2021 at 11:40 am

    @Kayla Rudbek: ?

  97. 97.

    debbie

    February 15, 2021 at 11:41 am

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Nice! I can’t decide which batch is worse: the batch like Jordan who unapologetically still support Trump, or the batch like McConnell who now say Trump’s a criminal.

  98. 98.

    Platonicspoof

    February 15, 2021 at 11:44 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    For some bizarre reason I read it as mopwhomped.

    Can’t imagine why . . . . .

  99. 99.

    Damned_at_Random

    February 15, 2021 at 11:45 am

    @Kayla Rudbek:

    Fingers crossed it’s a false alarm.

  100. 100.

    brendancalling

    February 15, 2021 at 11:46 am

    Expecting 8-12” of snow here in Burlington.

  101. 101.

    Dan B

    February 15, 2021 at 11:47 am

    @Wapiti: Southeast Seattle got 11 inches of snow.  We’ve melted down to 4 inches.  Our normally busy street had cross country skiers, people walking to the grocery store, and maybe a dozen vehicles.

    Last night we had big ice dams on the gutters, especially below the slippery solar panels.  One crashed off the south side at 1 AM – sounded like a load of lumber.  I was very glad I knew what it was, not sure about the neighbors.  I grew up in Icy Ohio (near Sab’s rental property).  Ice dams were an annual phenomenon.  Memories!

    Plus icicles two feet long!  In Seattle?  They’re supposed to be in the mountains with the snow!!!

  102. 102.

    Benw

    February 15, 2021 at 11:47 am

    @Kayla Rudbek: best wishes for the best outcome!!

  103. 103.

    debbie

    February 15, 2021 at 11:48 am

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    Is there anything more hopeful than a snowdrop? I think not.

    I follow a few British and Irish FB groups just for the photographs, this being one.

  104. 104.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    February 15, 2021 at 11:48 am

    @Kayla Rudbek: Fingers crossed

  105. 105.

    Ken

    February 15, 2021 at 11:48 am

    @NotMax: It was only about ten years ago that this old codger realized that the reason I remembered such huge snowfalls when I was a kid, was that I was about half my current height.

  106. 106.

    HumboldtBlue

    February 15, 2021 at 11:48 am

    An unusual Ocean anomaly is being detected in the Gulf Stream, not seen in at least 150 years, bearing importance as we face the next weather seasons

  107. 107.

    debbie

    February 15, 2021 at 11:49 am

    @Kayla Rudbek:

    Fingers crossed. Sounds like you get to spend the entire day there. I hope the waiting isn’t too awful.

  108. 108.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2021 at 11:51 am

    @jeffreyw: My screened-in porch looks like a scene from Doctor Zhivago.   I thought of getting a picture of it earlier.

  109. 109.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2021 at 11:53 am

    @Ruckus: It’s Moderna that packs the extra punch on the second shot.  No reason to be concerned about Pfizer #2 that I know of.

  110. 110.

    oatler.

    February 15, 2021 at 11:59 am

    https://wtop.com/dc/2021/02/2-armed-people-looking-to-meet-president-biden-arrested-outside-white-house/

  111. 111.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2021 at 12:00 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Most excellent!

  112. 112.

    L85NJGT

    February 15, 2021 at 12:01 pm

    That road salt gets on everything.

  113. 113.

    Ken

    February 15, 2021 at 12:02 pm

    @debbie: I can’t decide which batch is worse: the batch like Jordan who unapologetically still support Trump, or the batch like McConnell who now say Trump’s a criminal.

    This sounds like a good match for “I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it’s an ethos.”  Jordan being the Nazi, McConnell being the one who can’t even muster up that much of an ethos.

  114. 114.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    February 15, 2021 at 12:03 pm

    @NotMax: LOL I remember that when I was a child.  Luckily most, if not all houses have central heating run by a combi-boiler (gas)

  115. 115.

    Almost Retired

    February 15, 2021 at 12:04 pm

    60’s in Los Angeles.  For Valentines Day, Mrs. Almost Retired and I drove up into the mountains to play a bit in the snow.  I do love the snow.  For awhile.  After a couple hours, we got bored and drove back down the mountain – which is a better option than waiting for Spring if you’re snow-bored.  40’s over night, but bear in mind these flimsy southern California tract homes were built without insulation.  We have a single wall heater in the bedroom hallway.  It keeps the house nice and toasty, as long as you are within 10 feet of the heater.  The dog has a sweater collection.

  116. 116.

    Ken

    February 15, 2021 at 12:06 pm

    @Baud: Maybe Joe has a weather machine

    Now that you mention it, it is kind of surprising Q hasn’t adopted the HAARP nonsense.

  117. 117.

    LurkerNoLonger

    February 15, 2021 at 12:07 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Deep down the constituents know they deserve to be lied to. They’re broken people who elect broken people to represent them.

  118. 118.

    Heidi Mom

    February 15, 2021 at 12:08 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Excellent essay!

  119. 119.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 15, 2021 at 12:08 pm

    This has been a pretty normal winter in Massachusetts, which is to say we didn’t have a lot of snow until January-February but then we got moderately frequent snowstorms. This one looks like it’s just going to be a smallish amount of “wintry mix”, some slush and freezing rain. Fortunately the day I’m supposed to go in for surgery is the one day that looks completely clear.

  120. 120.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    February 15, 2021 at 12:09 pm

    @debbie:  There are several public gardens that have magnificent Snowdrop displays.   In years past there were festivals and fairs that went on during their blooming, sadly the pandemic has put paid to that.

  121. 121.

    germy

    February 15, 2021 at 12:09 pm

    Best thing you'll see today ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BywUsVQair
    — The Feel Good Page ❤️ (@akkitwts) February 14, 2021

  122. 122.

    Betty Cracker

    February 15, 2021 at 12:10 pm

    @Kayla Rudbek: Sending good thoughts. FWIW, the same thing has happened to me, and follow-ups revealed false alarms. But of course it scares the crap out of you at the time!

  123. 123.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    February 15, 2021 at 12:11 pm

    @WaterGirl: My wife and I both get #2 on 3-6.  I hope we’re not miserable all weekend. My sister hooked up my parents with appointments.  End of March and early April.  90 minutes to Dome in Syracuse.  Fucking bullshit on so many levels.

  124. 124.

    PAM Dirac

    February 15, 2021 at 12:11 pm

    @WaterGirl: I had Pfizer #2 last Friday. More pain than #1 for about 24 hours, but no where near enough to go to the OTC pain meds.  Fatigue, listlessness for the next two days, but might not even be clearly above the baseline from pandemic, winter, dogs getting me up in the middle of the night, etc. My wife had #2 a few weeks ago and she had a bit of a fever and chills, but nothing that didn’t clear up in a day or so and required no interventions.

  125. 125.

    Kayla Rudbek

    February 15, 2021 at 12:12 pm

    @debbie: I got to go home and have lunch before the afternoon appointment, and I have today off for the federal holiday, as does Mr. Rudbek. I really hate not being able to have him in the waiting room with me.

    Something has to be at least a little bit off, as I became noticeably asymmetric practically overnight about 3 weeks ago.  No pain or any other symptoms, but it’s a sudden, unusual, and persistent change.   And neither the general practitioner or I could find any lumps or see anything wrong.

  126. 126.

    Kelly

    February 15, 2021 at 12:17 pm

    Northwest Oregon has begun to thaw. The ice storm stayed a few miles away from us. These ice storms are the result of very cold air draining down the Columbia river gorge meeting a storm coming in off of the Pacific so the border of the disaster zone depends on how far you are from the Columbia. We never lost power. There are still a around 200k homes without electricity. The powerline crews have been working hard but the ice kept building up breaking more lines even as they worked. A lot of people are going to endure a week without power in winter weather by the time everything is fixed. It’s been 20~30 years since we had on this bad.

  127. 127.

    J R in WV

    February 15, 2021 at 12:17 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: ​

    I’m worried about friends in Texas who are checking in on Twitter to say they have no power, and water pipes are freezing.

    The first winter I took friends and neighbors out to AZ to start work on our little place out there, there was much more winter than we had expected. AZ is so warm much of the plumbing just runs outside, and there was so much freeze damage that by the time we got to repairing my cousin’s water equipment the hardware stores were sold out of the most common material.

    We missed several days of work, I decided it was too dangerous to work in intermittent sleet changing to snow and back. So no one was hurt, and we did hit the road home on schedule.

    Warren had a banjo music gig on a date certain, and so flew home instead of the 3 or 4 day 2,000-mile drive.

    Yesterday I went to town intending to stop at a couple of stores. When I came out of Aldis and was sitting in the car, it started to drizzle, and I instantly looked at the temperature on the dash — it was 30, and then dropped to 29, so instead of going on to Kroger’s I headed straight back home. The drizzle was freezing on the windshield~!!~

    I had no problems, the HIghways crews had salted the roads for the last snowfall, so it was still salty enough that no black ice had formed on my drive home. We only have a couple of inches from this 3rd snowfall. Lots of trees down, though, and power outages.

  128. 128.

    Sure Lurkalot

    February 15, 2021 at 12:19 pm

    Thanks to Betty, Ozark and Thin Black Duke for links to very good reads.

    Looking to get into the 20’s in Denver Metro and the 3-6” snow forecast netted less than an inch, like almost every snowfall we’ve had this winter. I may even go get the mail.  I was once a runner, now a walker who sometimes logs 25 miles a week so I am missing being outside (too cold and icy for an old).  Bitter cold weather makes me happy I have a small workout area in the basement and decades of using it. My walking friends have struggled with transitioning to at home fitness during COVID and I’m sure I would too if I hadn’t done it for so long.

  129. 129.

    different-church-lady

    February 15, 2021 at 12:20 pm

    @Ken: ​  I used to think that. But then one day in the 90s I was at a cross-country ski center, and they had a hand-written chart of their yearly snowfall totals going back to the 30s. And sure enough, there was a lot more when I was a kid than the past few years.​

  130. 130.

    Gravie

    February 15, 2021 at 12:21 pm

    3-4 inches of snow on the ground here in Oregon’s high desert, the promised ice storm did not happen, and everything will melt this week as the temps rise into the 40s. Life is good, except for Covid.

  131. 131.

    Kayla Rudbek

    February 15, 2021 at 12:21 pm

    @Betty Cracker: yes, suddenly becoming noticeably asymmetrical freaked me the hell out.  I wound up arguing with my designated primary care doctor through my medical chart messaging that, yes, I needed a mammogram as this has never happened to me before (basically, quit gate keeping and get out of the way of me getting the test that I needed.) Another primary care doctor in my clinic wound up doing the initial gate keeping exam, which was basically, “no, I don’t see or feel anything other than the asymmetry, you have no other symptoms, you have no family history of breast cancer, here’s your order for the mammogram and here’s another order for an ultrasound.”

    So now it’s go back for the ultrasound and then see the radiologist…

  132. 132.

    Jinchi

    February 15, 2021 at 12:22 pm

    Not to mention, it means fewer people galavanting around without fucking masks on.

    I wonder if vehement anti-maskers in places like Texas are going to feel conflicted about scarves in this weather.

  133. 133.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 12:24 pm

    @Ken

    Related.

    Rotating power outages were initiated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, early Monday morning, meaning hundreds of thousands went without electricity for short periods as temperatures fell into the teens near Dallas and 20s (about minus 5 degrees Celsius) around Houston.

    “We urge Texans to put safety first,” ERCOT tweeted as it urged residents to reduce electricity use. The council manages the flow of electric power in the state.

    “Traffic lights and other infrastructure may be temporarily without power,” the council said.
    Snow at the Alamo

    The council described the rotating outages as a “last resort to preserve the reliability of the electric system as a whole,” adding that utility transmission companies are tasked with determining how to reduce demand on the system.

    “Every grid operator and every electric company is fighting to restore power right now,” ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness said in a statement. Source

  134. 134.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    February 15, 2021 at 12:28 pm

    My sister found my 78 year old parents appointments for shot #1 90 minutes away in Syracuse at the end of March and early April. Fucking ridiculous.

  135. 135.

    Betty Cracker

    February 15, 2021 at 12:29 pm

    @Kayla Rudbek: Yeesh! Well, good for you for sticking up for yourself and telling the gatekeepers to get the hell out of the way. Fingers crossed!

  136. 136.

    trollhattan

    February 15, 2021 at 12:29 pm

    Cloudy, cool and drizzly in Norcal today. Yesterday we took a Valentine’s hike in the hills above Napa Valley and had peekaboo sunlight. In sum it’s been a warm, dry (too dry) winter. The drive there took us through one of our 2020 fire zones and we were flabbergasted at how long it took to emerge from it and how complete the devastation was. A typical fire zone has stands of green trees that survived but this was as though the land had been scraped of anything taller than four feet. My kid will not live long enough to see those countless thousands of heritage oaks return.

  137. 137.

    J R in WV

    February 15, 2021 at 12:29 pm

    @CCL:

    Your list is cromulent, but I would suggest that

    •  Shelley Capito R-W.Va.

    should be instead her full name

    •  Shelley Moore Capito R-W.Va.

    which provides her maiden name, the last name of Arch A Moore Jr, the last WV Governor to be convicted of a federal crime and sent to a prison camp down south. Solicited and accepted a bribe with an associate sitting next to him wearing a wire. Ooops.

    Arch took his whole fam damily to Europe for a weeks-long vacation, all of which (5 star hotels, 3 star restaurants, etc) was paid for with cash from a suitcase full of money. Only things bought with credit cards were the airline tix which they no longer take cash for. Shelley and her husband were on that trip.

    After Shelley became a Senator, she was able to vote against a banking regulation bill, and a week later her husband was made VP of Wells Fargo Bank in WV. Same as it always was in the Moore family.

  138. 138.

    trollhattan

    February 15, 2021 at 12:30 pm

    @Old Dan and Little Ann:

    That seems…ridiculous. Hope you find a Plan B.

  139. 139.

    Central Planning

    February 15, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    @Old Dan and Little Ann: We got my in-laws appointments for late March this morning at the Dome in Rochester. 6 weeks away and counting. Their primary care physician has done fuck all for getting them an appointment.

  140. 140.

    ellenr

    February 15, 2021 at 12:37 pm

    Reporting in from the Keweenaw Peninsula, at the northern tip of the UP: We haven’t been above 10F for almost three weeks now, with 2 – 18 inches of snow daily. With wind – which is rare for us. Today is the most peaceful weather we’ve seen in weeks. And we might even see 15F by Saturday! So exciting. Maybe I’ll send pics of the roof being shoveled. It’s 3ft of compacted snow up there today.

  141. 141.

    Mary G

    February 15, 2021 at 12:37 pm

    lamh in Houston:

    Riddle me this, is it still rolling blackouts if my area has been without power for 5+hrs ?. Roll some power back our way please ? https://t.co/nEHuZrU4G2— NB NOLA (@psddluva4evah) February 15, 2021

  142. 142.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 12:42 pm

    @ellenr

    Northern Yooper? That there’s some chilly geography.

    Stay toasty.

  143. 143.

    J R in WV

    February 15, 2021 at 12:46 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Thanks, everybody! You folks make me feel like I just won the Oscar. Then again, this blog is the best writing course I ever took. Thanks again.

    Nice piece… but you get oscars for acting, and Pulitzers or McArthur grants for writing. Still, liked the writing very much.

  144. 144.

    L85NJGT

    February 15, 2021 at 12:46 pm

    @Mary G:

    The US grids need more and more robust interconnects, but the GOP would rather whine about tree huggers and “the good old days” rather than investing in the USA.

  145. 145.

    WhatsMyNym

    February 15, 2021 at 12:47 pm

    @Old Dan and Little Ann:

    My sister found my 78 year old parents appointments for shot #1 90 minutes away in Syracuse at the end of March and early April. Fucking ridiculous.

    It is. My sister & spouse were already able to get their 1st shots in rural MO, as have all the friends (over 65’s). They didn’t have to go that far either, one of the nearer small towns.

  146. 146.

    japa21

    February 15, 2021 at 12:49 pm

    Just got word that Mrs. Japa and I have tomorrow off. We are the in home teachers for our 1st grader grandson for the remote part of his schooling whilst mom and dad are at work. It’s a morning only gig as we drop him off and he does in-person in afternoon.  Well, the school where our son teaches is going to go full remote tomorrow due to the weather.

  147. 147.

    Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)

    February 15, 2021 at 12:49 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Read and followed. You’ve done the ancestors proud!

  148. 148.

    StringOnAStick

    February 15, 2021 at 12:51 pm

    @Kelly: I was wondering how typical this is; not bad here on the East side though I’m wishing I didn’t have an appointment this afternoon.  I’m thinking it is not a Prius kind of day!

    Saturday there was a guy with an electric scooter with very fat balloon wheels pulling kids in a sled around the neighbourhood loop thanks to the snow.  By loop 6 we heard “I think the battery is dying” and they pushed it home.

  149. 149.

    lowtechcyclist

    February 15, 2021 at 12:53 pm

    Wish we could get some of that snow everyone else is getting!

    Here (about a half-hour south of Annapolis, MD) we’ve mostly gotten slushstorms rather than real snowstorms.  It’s dry here right now, but we’re supposed to get rain tonight.  I guess that’s the same storm that’s been dumping snow on everyone else, all the way down to freakin’ Texas, but can we get any of that? Apparently not.

    Gripe grumble grumble.

  150. 150.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 12:53 pm

    @japa21

    “Tell me again about when schools used to have snow days, gramps.”

    ;)

  151. 151.

    raven

    February 15, 2021 at 12:54 pm

    If you haven’t seen “The Dig” on Netflix, do so! I just got a note from a friend “My family lived within a mile or so of Sutton Hoo and would pass by on an almost daily basis on the way to Woodbridge, and I knew nothing about it until this film came out”!

  152. 152.

    raven

    February 15, 2021 at 12:55 pm

    @StringOnAStick: Careful with that Prious, there is a rash of catalytic converter thefts from them  around here.

  153. 153.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Well done, my friend.  Tight writing.

  154. 154.

    Kelly

    February 15, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    @StringOnAStick: Upside of these storms is the xc skiing on Santiam Pass is looking up! Sloppy snow today should pack down the new snow, easing trailbreaking. Looks like we’ll get some good snow tomorrow then sunshine Wednesday.

  155. 155.

    Mary G

    February 15, 2021 at 12:59 pm

    Snow on the beach at Galveston:

    Snow meets ocean in Galveston, Texas:Via @chitakhou pic.twitter.com/uDE50ghZie— Leah McElrath ?️‍? (@leahmcelrath) February 15, 2021

     

    Galveston City Manager Brian Maxwell confirms Galveston is 100% without power. Damage to homes from freezes could be worse than some hurricanes if it doesn't return soon, Maxwell says. #GalvNews— John Wayne Ferguson (@JohnWFerguson) February 15, 2021

  156. 156.

    raven

    February 15, 2021 at 12:59 pm

    I’m sure John is long gone but I wonder how long they have had skiing at Oglebay Park? I was there for a week for five winters and don’t  remember it.

  157. 157.

    raven

    February 15, 2021 at 1:02 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Nice writing and great bow ties!

  158. 158.

    smedley the uncertain

    February 15, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    @BC in Illinois: Thanks.  Wasted a morning chasing sounds from all over the world.  Satellite map is awesome.  Our local college stations show up in small NY  village.  Interestingly, Cuban stations are silenced.  US or Cuban choice?  Need to check N. Korea.

    Thanks again.

  159. 159.

    Mary G

    February 15, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Excellent piece of writing, sir.

  160. 160.

    trollhattan

    February 15, 2021 at 1:04 pm

    @raven:

    Really enjoyed “The Dig.” Watched it after reading a BBC piece on the film that featured photos of some of the treasures they unearthed. Fabulous craftsmanship that evidently completely rewrote the then-accepted history of the early Anglo Saxons. Not to mention that was a big-ass boat to drag inland and bury.

  161. 161.

    Suzanne

    February 15, 2021 at 1:08 pm

    Getting hit by the same snowstorm. Would love it if my kids would take the cue to chill out. Instead it’s been nothing but gnashing and wailing.

  162. 162.

    Kathleen

    February 15, 2021 at 1:09 pm

    @artem1s: We’re getting total of 9 to 12 inches in Cincy.

  163. 163.

    raven

    February 15, 2021 at 1:10 pm

    @trollhattan: It reminded me of Fitzcarraldo

  164. 164.

    trollhattan

    February 15, 2021 at 1:10 pm

    @Mary G: ​
    I’ll attest that far-below-typical temps wreck havoc to plumbing of houses not designed for them.

    We had a record freeze the first winter in our new-to-us house that split some of the iron water supply lines and only because the furnace was dumping half its output into the crawlspace did we not experience what many of our neighbor did: fractured iron sewer pipes.

    Plumbers bought a lot of boats that year.

    Also killed off a lot of non-native trees, eucalyptus especially, which led to intense fires that next summer and fall.

  165. 165.

    Mike in NC

    February 15, 2021 at 1:10 pm

    We have a single friend in Raleigh whose 12 year old cat passed last week. She’s coming to visit for a few days for some human contact. Hopefully we’ll catch a break from all the wind and rain.

  166. 166.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 1:11 pm

    @raven: uh huh.  Jerry Jeff

  167. 167.

    WhatsMyNym

    February 15, 2021 at 1:12 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Not to mention that was a big-ass boat to drag inland and bury.

    Sutton Hoo is on the River Deben that goes to the sea.

    ETA: additions

  168. 168.

    The Thin Black Duke

    February 15, 2021 at 1:12 pm

    @J R in WV: Thanks again, everybody. Before my head gets too big to squeeze through the door, it’s time to work on the next essay. That will make me humble.

  169. 169.

    Jinchi

    February 15, 2021 at 1:15 pm

    @Betty Cracker: ​

    I wish there were an easy way to expose these elitist shitbirds who impersonate bumpkins for power and profit.

    The bumpkins elected a guy who literally sits on a gold-plated toilet. They know who they’re electing. The important thing was that he was willing to (have someone else) punch hippies.​

  170. 170.

    Ruckus

    February 15, 2021 at 1:15 pm

    @pat:

    I lived in OH for 11 years, and I can say with full confidence that a large percentage of the folks there had pretty much about a zero concept of winter driving. Now it doesn’t normally snow as much in OH as it does in WI but it does snow enough.

  171. 171.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 1:18 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: that is a bit tl;dr (science articles almost always bury the lead) but the weakening of the conveyor is no small matter.  The Brits think Brexit was bad for England?  Wait.

  172. 172.

    Ruckus

    February 15, 2021 at 1:19 pm

    @Wapiti:

    Almost LOL!

  173. 173.

    Kent

    February 15, 2021 at 1:20 pm

    @Jinchi:The bumpkins elected a guy who literally sits on a gold-plated toilet. They know who they’re electing. The important thing was that he was willing to (have someone else) punch hippies.​

    It’s honestly a lot like sports team loyalties.  You root for your local NFL team even if the star QB or receiver is a degenerate drug addled sex abuser.  Because he is YOUR guy.

    That’s the best I can figure out from following my MAGA relatives on FB who are still Trumpers.

  174. 174.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2021 at 1:20 pm

    @Suzanne: Thanks for reminding me of the “Stop telling me to chill out!” scene from Shaun of the Dead. :)

  175. 175.

    japa21

    February 15, 2021 at 1:20 pm

    @NotMax: Nah, we tell him about how we had to walk 6 miles to and from school, through 4 feet of snow, uphill both ways.  I think he is starting to figure out we may be exaggerating a little.

  176. 176.

    trollhattan

    February 15, 2021 at 1:21 pm

    For those who think DiFi is a problem:

    Longtime Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) hasn’t announced whether he would seek another term in office in 2022 when he turns 89, but his grandson, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley (R), told WHO that he expects his grandfather to run again.

    Said the younger Grassley: “As I sit here right now, I think my grandfather is going to be running for reelection and I have not been led to believe anything otherwise.”

    https://politicalwire.com/2021/02/15/grassleys-grandson-thinks-hell-run-again/

    Goddamnit Iowa, was 18 years of Steve King not enough for you to pollute American politics?

  177. 177.

    cain

    February 15, 2021 at 1:22 pm

    @CaseyL: ​
     
    I remember when KitKat my first cat first encountered snow, he was an indoor and outdoor cat and so when I opened the door for him, walked on the snow, tried to shake it off his paw and then finally noped the hell back into the house.

    He was pissed all day though. :D

  178. 178.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2021 at 1:24 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Goddamnit Iowa, was 18 years of Steve King not enough for you to pollute American politics? 

    Obviously not! ?

  179. 179.

    WhatsMyNym

    February 15, 2021 at 1:27 pm

    Unfortunately, “The Dig” seems to be not woman friendly.

    “We know who the Sutton Hoo photographers were,” observed Jeffers. “Their names were Mercie Lack and Barbara Wagstaff. Yes, two women. And it’s believed that they produced the first color photographs of an archaeological excavation in England, and thus they made history with their work. But instead of giving them their due, these two groundbreaking women were replaced by the fictional hunk-a-hunk-a-burning love, Rory.”

    “Peggy was not an inexperienced sweet young thing who was chosen because she was small and petite,” he said. “She was an experienced archaeologist who had worked on previous digs and who was a postgrad archaeologist and published scholar…

  180. 180.

    JustRuss

    February 15, 2021 at 1:27 pm

    Here in the Willamette Valley we had one snowy afternoon a couple weeks ago.  this weekend brought freezing rain, while Portland, 70 miles away, got a blizzard.

  181. 181.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 1:30 pm

    WHOA!  Breaking news from Texas!

    My son just got back to college in Houston.  He had a Covid test, had to wait in a holding dorm for four hours then was cleared last night to go to his normal room.  Small snow storm (less than an inch plus ice) and temperatures in the 20s.  But the cold and ice have overwhelmed the electrical grid all across Tejas.

    So, the power goes out at Rice Medical Center.  Students get a notice that there are 1000 vaccines available that must be used pronto because the minus 80 freezers have turned off.  Sudden sprint across campus to get in line — and my friggin 19 y.o. son is getting his first jab right now!  Moderna.  Disaster = Opportunity.

  182. 182.

    cain

    February 15, 2021 at 1:31 pm

    @Kelly: ​
     
    Here in Hillsboro I have been unaffected.. we got the ice and snow but luckily no electrical issues.

  183. 183.

    Denali

    February 15, 2021 at 1:32 pm

    Is mollywalloped the same as gobsmacked?

  184. 184.

    Nelle

    February 15, 2021 at 1:32 pm

    @Immanentize: Wonderful!  He deserves it.  Relief for you, too.

  185. 185.

    Another Scott

    February 15, 2021 at 1:34 pm

    @gvg:

    Never heard that word before.

    It’s useful when you mollycoddle a codswallop.

    HTH!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  186. 186.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 1:34 pm

    @Nelle: Exactly.  Now I have to stay alive until April or May for mine.

  187. 187.

    Nelle

    February 15, 2021 at 1:35 pm

    @trollhattan: I suspect the plan is for the grandson to be named to the seat whenever Senator Grassley retires or dies.  I think the family regards it as familial property.

  188. 188.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 1:36 pm

    @Nelle: Now would be an excellent moment for a good Dem to announce they are running against the elder Grassley.

  189. 189.

    Nelle

    February 15, 2021 at 1:36 pm

    @Immanentize: I hope that is happening all over Texas, rather than letting vaccines spoil.  Lots of outages.

  190. 190.

    Cameron

    February 15, 2021 at 1:40 pm

    @raven: Agree – wound up watching that instead of the 2nd half of the SB. Don’t regret it at all.

  191. 191.

    Ascap_scab

    February 15, 2021 at 1:41 pm

    Parler is back up and as brain damaged as ever.

  192. 192.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 1:42 pm

    @Immanentize

    Si la vida te da limones, haz limonada.

    ;)

  193. 193.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2021 at 1:42 pm

    @Another Scott:

    codswallop 

    !!!!!!!!

  194. 194.

    Kelly

    February 15, 2021 at 1:42 pm

    @cain: The air currents make some weird borders on these events. Our son in Tigard never lost power, PGE doesn’t know when our son in Scott’s Mills will have power back.

  195. 195.

    TEL

    February 15, 2021 at 1:42 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Very nice essay!

  196. 196.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 1:43 pm

    @Nelle: It certainly is happening all around Texas (the outages) but who has a few thousand potential vaccine takers just two three blocks away?  Captive audience gets benefit!  It’s a “snow” day at Rice, so I bet a lot of students just missed out on this little lottery-like boon.

  197. 197.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 1:44 pm

    @NotMax: tasty with tequila too!

  198. 198.

    Amir Khalid

    February 15, 2021 at 1:44 pm

    It is revealed in the books of Harry Potter that Arthur Weasley’s secret pet name for his wife is Mollywobbles.

  199. 199.

    BlueNC

    February 15, 2021 at 1:44 pm

    @WhatsMyNym:

    The photographers are an issue, but regarding the second excerpt, the movie made it abundantly clear that Peggy was highly qualified. She was just treated as cute petite unskilled labor by the British Museum dude. That reflected on him, not on her

    PS Late to the party as usual but great article from The Thin Black Duke!

  200. 200.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 1:44 pm

    @Ascap_scab: The new Parler — now with more Russian than before!

  201. 201.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 1:45 pm

    @mrmoshpotato

    Worst Federation starship name ever.

    :)

  202. 202.

    Kelly

    February 15, 2021 at 1:45 pm

    Seems like a good day for Corb Lund’s “Truck Got Stuck” ;-)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCcWzLAcv4o&ab_channel=CorbLund

  203. 203.

    Nelle

    February 15, 2021 at 1:46 pm

    @Immanentize: I was hoping Mike Franken would run against Grassley.  We need a good Dem to run against Covid Kim, Iowa’s trumpism governor.  I’d be happy to see Franken run for that and disgust is high for Covid Kim.

    Meanwhile, Grassley, the younger, is State Senate majority leader, charging ahead with a far-right agenda of anti-abortion, stripping public schools of money, anti-mask, force schools away from hybrid learning, stripping curriculum of the 1619 project, legislating bathroom use,  moah guns for everyone.  It’s a fever dream of imbecility.  I’ve likely only touched the surface.

    I wonder what method T-45 is using but I think he’s running a shadow government through a lot of state legislatures.  Sounds like I’m off in conspiracy land, but while the Democrats do their usual long stare at the federal level, really nasty stuff is happening in many states.

  204. 204.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2021 at 1:49 pm

    @NotMax: Better than the starship Crashy Explody.

  205. 205.

    Immanentize

    February 15, 2021 at 1:49 pm

    @Kelly: ?

  206. 206.

    Another Scott

    February 15, 2021 at 1:50 pm

    @Frank Wilhoit:  Yup.

    We lived in an old house in Dayton in the winter of ’78. It was very cold and lots of snow. I remember the ~ 1/4″ of ice on the inside of the living room windows. And spending hours digging out the on-street parking space…

    A friend took his VW microbus to Chicago to visit colleges in the winter of ’79. He said it was freaky that the snow was piled up higher than the top of his bus…

    Things are very different now – not just the averages, but the swings. It’s not good. :-(

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  207. 207.

    Albatrossity

    February 15, 2021 at 1:50 pm

    Just lovely. -12F with wind chills at -25F at sunrise. Currently it has warmed up to -3F.

  208. 208.

    WhatsMyNym

    February 15, 2021 at 1:50 pm

    @BlueNC:   You mean Charles Phillips who was actually about 38 at the time?

    ETA: IRL, Stuart Piggott was only 2 years older than his wife, Peggy.

  209. 209.

    MattF

    February 15, 2021 at 1:53 pm

    @Nelle: I’d guess that many previously-busy Republican ratfuckers who tried to burrow into the Federal bureaucracy are now looking for ‘gainful’ employment in the states.

  210. 210.

    Miss Bianca

    February 15, 2021 at 1:54 pm

    @Victor Matheson: Yeah, I had a riding lesson the other day at a facility I hadn’t visited since the Before Times. New Mexico is way stricter about masking up than CO, it seems. Anyway, I had a nice cloth mask over my face the entire time, and I did fine. (And never let *anyone* tell you that horseback riding – particularly in the arena  – isn’t physically taxing because you’re “just sitting there”!)

  211. 211.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 1:54 pm

    Made a large pot of a favorite dish for cold weather yesterday, enough to last through the week.

    So wouldn’t be in the the least surprised for weather to now return to being more tropical, contrary to forecast.

    ;)

  212. 212.

    Mary G

    February 15, 2021 at 1:55 pm

    @Immanentize: Wow. Must be a good feeling even if he is low risk for serious effects of Covid.

  213. 213.

    FelonyGovt

    February 15, 2021 at 1:55 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Good piece, very well analyzed.

  214. 214.

    Geoduck

    February 15, 2021 at 1:55 pm

    In SW Washington state we got a foot or so of snow dumped on us, but now it’s warmed up and melting. Power stayed on in my tree-filled town, probably because we had a windstorm a couple of months back that cleared out a lot of the problem branches ahead of time. I guess other places in the region got hit a lot worse.

  215. 215.

    BlueNC

    February 15, 2021 at 1:56 pm

    @WhatsMyNym: LOL…I’m not defending historical accuracy, just pointing out that Peggy said something about defending her dissertation etc right before the whole “you’re small, go dig” incident. My takeaway was that it was hard to be a woman in archaeology…

  216. 216.

    jeffreyw

    February 15, 2021 at 1:58 pm

    @Denali: I generally read that as the gob is the smackee, while molly is the smacker.

  217. 217.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    February 15, 2021 at 1:58 pm

    @Immanentize: Whoa. Good for Immp! That should make his semester better. Too bad you’re not doing a visiting gig there right now.

  218. 218.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 1:59 pm

    @mrmoshpotato

    Statistically speaking, there’s a non-zero chance that somewhere in the galaxy there’s a population in whose native language “enterprise” is the filthiest, rudest word imaginable.

  219. 219.

    Mo Salad

    February 15, 2021 at 2:00 pm

    So, wait. This Molly whoever both coddles AND wallops?
    Seems kinda fickle.​
    ​
    ​

  220. 220.

    Brachiator

    February 15, 2021 at 2:00 pm

    Getting a late start to my day here in Southern California. The weather is very nice, in the 50s.

    My family in Texas is dealing with snow and cold weather. My sister reports that birds have flown in and stripped berries from a couple of small trees or bushes in her front yard. They swooped in periodically and just scooped them up.

    In a short while, I will embark on my long commute from my living room to my little home office to start work. Life is strange.

  221. 221.

    FelonyGovt

    February 15, 2021 at 2:01 pm

    @Almost Retired: Yes, I think you live in my neck of the woods here in Southern California, and my old house is surprisingly cold given that it’s supposed to be 61 degrees out there.

  222. 222.

    sab

    February 15, 2021 at 2:07 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: Rob Portman fist-bumped Officer Goodman last week, then voted to acquit.

  223. 223.

    Mo Salad

    February 15, 2021 at 2:08 pm

    RE: freezing pipes, aren’t you supposed to turn open a faucet or two slightly to allow the water to flow through the exposed pipe instead just sitting there? If you have water pressure, that is.

  224. 224.

    laura

    February 15, 2021 at 2:09 pm

    @Kayla Rudbek: Rooting for You! I joined team benign cyst in 2019. When you get done with the ultra sounding the ice bag is your friend.

  225. 225.

    Brachiator

    February 15, 2021 at 2:09 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Just read your essay. Great stuff. One paragraph emphasized for me how dishonest the Republicans are.

    For example, calling witnesses for the trial is what the GOP wanted the Democrats to do. When Lindsay Graham suggested it, the Democrats knew it was a trap. It’s a standard ploy from the Republican playbook.

    I watched a snippet of an interview with Graham on CNN or Fox News. Here he claimed that the impeachment trial was illegitimate because Trump was not allowed to confront and challenge witnesses against him.

    So, the GOP apparently both wanted and did not want witnesses. They will contradict themselves, lie, go back on their promises, flout tradition, do anything to preserve their power.

  226. 226.

    BC in Illinois

    February 15, 2021 at 2:11 pm

    A comment from @robwynne on Twitter, about the Governor of Texas telling people to stay off the roads:

    More government interference interfering with the Freedom of Texans do what they want.

    Open the Economy and let everyone drive on the ice and snow … without masks.

    And quit asking for government disaster aid, Texas, that’s socialism.

  227. 227.

    Another Scott

    February 15, 2021 at 2:11 pm

    @trollhattan:

    ScienceMag – Stonehenge was erected in Wales first:

    Around 3200 B.C.E., Stone Age farmers in Wales’s Preseli Hills built a great monument: They carved columns of unspotted dolerite, or bluestone, from a nearby quarry, then thrust them upright in a great circle aligned with the Sun. Exactly what the circle meant to them remains a mystery. But new research reveals that several centuries later, their descendants took down many of the giant stones and hauled them 200 kilometers to the Salisbury Plain, where they created what is still the world’s most iconic prehistoric stone monument: Stonehenge.

    The paper’s authors “make a very good argument Stonehenge is a dismantled stone circle from Wales,” says Alison Sheridan, a curator emerita at the National Museum of Scotland who was not part of the research team. “They dealt with very tricky data but came up with a brilliant hypothesis.”

    Researchers had already traced Stonehenge’s slabs of bluestone to the west coast of Wales; they’d even identified some of the quarries where the stones were extracted more than 5000 years ago.

    But radiocarbon dating showed a puzzling gap of several centuries between activity at the bluestone quarries and the earliest construction at Stonehenge. Researchers wondered whether the distinctive, 2- to 3-meter-tall bluestones had been used to build other stone circles first, then moved to Stonehenge later. “They’re clearly not spending 200 years slowly moving them across the landscape,” says University of Southampton archaeologist Joshua Pollard, one of the co-authors. “It always seemed likely they were dismantling existing monuments.”

    […]

    We underestimate the very oldsters far too often.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  228. 228.

    debbie

    February 15, 2021 at 2:13 pm

    @Immanentize:

    There’s some good news for the day!

  229. 229.

    Suzanne

    February 15, 2021 at 2:15 pm

    @Immanentize: I told y’all that there was a shortage of backup generators for all of these freezers! Glad that’s working out in his favor!!!

  230. 230.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2021 at 2:16 pm

    @Mo Salad: Hogwash your codswallop with some poppycock.

  231. 231.

    sab

    February 15, 2021 at 2:16 pm

    @ellenr: Best thing I ever bought living in Michigan was a roof rake. I still have it.

  232. 232.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 15, 2021 at 2:22 pm

    @BC in Illinois: All good and stupid, but points off for lack of unnecessary exclamation points!, and misspelling “freedumb”, “gubermint” and “soshellisum!”

  233. 233.

    sab

    February 15, 2021 at 2:22 pm

    @Suzanne: My cats (all are indoor) have decided to be nuts today. The hyper-sensitive meankitty Shadow decided to face rub that quilt covered thing on the stool in the corner, and knocked the folk harp onto to the floor with a resounding crash and very resonating strings.

    The harp is fine, but the cat’s nerves are still twanging

    ETA I bet she won’t do that again.

  234. 234.

    CCL

    February 15, 2021 at 2:23 pm

    @J R in WV:   Cromulent twice in one thread – now three times… I had to look it up.

    In future uses, I will make sure it is Shelly Moore Capito R-W.Va.

    Cheers!

  235. 235.

    Ken

    February 15, 2021 at 2:27 pm

    @Another Scott: How long before the Welsh demand return of Stonehenge?  The Stone of Scone is already back in Scotland

    And if India ever succeeds in getting back all their jewels, and Greece recovers the Elgin Phidias Marbles, there won’t be any interesting rocks left in England….

  236. 236.

    Another Scott

    February 15, 2021 at 2:30 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    … and although I’m not entirely happen with it …

    It’s important to grow and to strive to do better. But at some point, one has to hit “publish” and move on to the next thing. Brilliant essays that are never quite perfect enough to get read don’t help anyone.

    That said, this is a great thing you wrote. :-) Thanks for the pointer.

    Keep it up!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  237. 237.

    Lyrebird

    February 15, 2021 at 2:31 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Dear Diane of the Subarus, I just want to wish you light comfort etc in spite of the gloomy weather.  I was late to a thread with your news of even more loss in the family.  Please accept some more condolences if they are of any comfort, or just scroll past if that is better for today.

  238. 238.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 2:31 pm

    @FelonyGovt

    Parents’ house (vintage late 20s or early 30s) in NY when I was in high school had a gigundo living room – on the order of 24 feet by 36. Casement (read: drafty) windows along two walls. Outside of house was the original stucco, replete with mini-cracks developed over the ensuing decades. Of course, that was the room where the thermostat for the oil furnace (also original to the structure) was.

    To bring the living room up to anything approaching comfy and maintain that meant the temps in the small bedrooms upstairs became hot enough to melt orchids. Set to have the upstairs be comfortably warm all but made the living room into a meat locker.

    (My own bedroom was a quickie job converted from half the garage when we moved in. No built-in heat at all other than what wafted in if the door leading from it to the pantry/mud room and a second door to the kitchen were left open.)

    Then there was the freshman dorm room at college, as physically distant, horizontally and vertically, from the boiler providing steam heat for the complex as it was possible to be. To compensate for what played out steam made it that far it had 16 radiators, along 3 of the 4 walls.

    ;)

  239. 239.

    The Thin Black Duke

    February 15, 2021 at 2:32 pm

    @Another Scott: From one Scott to Another, thank you.

  240. 240.

    Lyrebird

    February 15, 2021 at 2:35 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Congrats congrats congrats!!! That is awesome!

     

    Was going to try to say something serious, but then I got to your line about Nikki Haley.  niiiiiice.

  241. 241.

    gvg

    February 15, 2021 at 2:36 pm

    @trollhattan: ​
     I don’t know if that is good or bad but the complaints about DiFi stem from several times recently when she has seemed to not know what is going on, to be living in the past, and to just be completely confused. Senile doesn’t have a definite age where all are the same.
    Grassley has always seemed disconnected form my views but I haven’t heard specific examples of new confusion like I have DiFi.

  242. 242.

    Lyrebird

    February 15, 2021 at 2:37 pm

    @NotMax: I loved my old dorm radiators!  Did you read this Bloomberg article about how those things were designed to overheat because someone noticed that fresh air protects against the flu?

  243. 243.

    KSinMA

    February 15, 2021 at 2:38 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Thanks–good essay!

  244. 244.

    sab

    February 15, 2021 at 2:39 pm

    @NotMax: My parents’ house had hot water radiators, and the bedrooms were unbearably hot. They always slept with bedroom door shut and the bedroom windows open.windows open and down quilts.

    It turns out that in tje 1920s, when the house was built, the heating system was designed for that. Closed windows in bedrooms at night were comsidered unhealthy.

  245. 245.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 2:40 pm

    @Another Scott

    Pre-urban renewal.

    Or an unignorable claim to the land — a Salisbury stake, if you will.

    :)

  246. 246.

    Another Scott

    February 15, 2021 at 2:42 pm

    @NotMax: [snort]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  247. 247.

    NotMax

    February 15, 2021 at 2:44 pm

    @Lyrebird

    Cool (no pun intended) link. Thanks.

  248. 248.

    evodevo

    February 15, 2021 at 2:46 pm

    @CCL: ​
      What pisses me off is that Portman and Shelby aren’t even running for re-election – and they couldn’t even bother to go to the light … what a bunch of wankers…

  249. 249.

    WaterGirl

    February 15, 2021 at 2:47 pm

    @Mo Salad: Yes, leave a trickle of water going overnight in all your faucets.  I have been doing that for over a week.  It’s a good thing, too, because when I turn the water on in the morning, it flows out right away, and then it gurgles for a bit – which I take to mean that it is a really good thing that i am keeping the trickle of water going.

  250. 250.

    CaseyL

    February 15, 2021 at 2:47 pm

    @Ken: ​
     

    I’d like to know more about the Great Move itself: weren’t the Welsh upset when their astronomical clock was stolen? “Hey! We plant our fields by that thing!”

  251. 251.

    Ken

    February 15, 2021 at 2:48 pm

    @sab: I will say that Friday, when I realized I hadn’t opened my apartment’s doors or windows for nearly a week, I was wondering if the oxygen levels were still OK.

  252. 252.

    Ken

    February 15, 2021 at 2:52 pm

    @CaseyL: The article says the ones who moved it were descendants of the ones who first set it up.  That may be true, though it doesn’t sound like something you could prove from the archeological record.

    It was long before the perfidious thieving Angles and Saxons showed up, so I guess they can’t be blamed. This time.

  253. 253.

    James E Powell

    February 15, 2021 at 2:53 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Given that Ernst was easily re-elected, I have no doubt that if he retires, the good & wise people of Iowa will elect a person who is much worse than Grassley.

  254. 254.

    Miss Bianca

    February 15, 2021 at 3:08 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Hey, I just finished reading your essay – good stuff! Keep it up!

  255. 255.

    evodevo

    February 15, 2021 at 3:14 pm

    @WaterGirl: ​
      That movie was on TCM the other night and I had to quit watching….too much like what was outside lol…I got too cold…

  256. 256.

    satby

    February 15, 2021 at 3:15 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: Hope you don’t mind, I shared it on FB. Well said.

  257. 257.

    Robert Sneddon

    February 15, 2021 at 3:26 pm

    @Another Scott: ​

    How long before the Welsh demand return of Stonehenge? The Stone of Scone is already back in Scotland
    And if India ever succeeds in getting back all their jewels, and Greece recovers the Elgin Phidias Marbles, there won’t be any interesting rocks left in England….

    Just wait until Cornwall demands everybody returns all of its tin. There won’t be a bronze-age artifact left standing.​

  258. 258.

    J R in WV

    February 15, 2021 at 3:49 pm

    @Brachiator: ​
     

    I watched a snippet of an interview with Graham on CNN or Fox News. Here he claimed that the impeachment trial was illegitimate because Trump was not allowed to confront and challenge witnesses against him.

    So, the GOP apparently both wanted and did not want witnesses. They will contradict themselves, lie, go back on their promises, flout tradition, do anything to preserve their power.

    Yes, indeed. And Little Lindsey Graham has told us that the Republicans will impeach VP Harris if they take the House of Representatives. Of course, he can’t tell us what the charges would be against VP Harris.

    Do you suspect Senator Graham is unaware that outside South Carolina (too big to be an insane asylum, too small to be a nation) it is not illegal to be black, professional and in power?

    Every time I think Republicans can’t surprise me any more, one of them says “Hold mah Beer and watch this!” and jumps right into the shit pile.

    Arrogant ignorant evil bastards, all of them.

  259. 259.

    Ruckus

    February 15, 2021 at 3:52 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Very well written.

    But then the truth always sounds good in the end.

  260. 260.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    February 15, 2021 at 4:19 pm

    @J R in WV:

    One can, of course, win an Oscar for writing a screenplay.

  261. 261.

    Kayla Rudbek

    February 15, 2021 at 4:25 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I may have to start praying to the Five Gods of Chalion, specifically the Bastard: “And the Bastard grant us… in our direst need, the smallest gifts: the nail of the horseshoe, the pin of the axle, the feather at the pivot point, the pebble at the mountain’s peak, the kiss in despair, the one right word.”  (Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold)

    In my case, the smallest thought that, oh, hey, one breast is looking much larger than the other, there must be something wrong…

     

    The bad news is that I have a highly suspicious area in each breast and a round lymph node on one side.  The good news is that I pushed and I got in early while these were all too small to feel.  So now I can’t figure out whether one breast enlarged or if the other breast is being pulled in.

  262. 262.

    Mikethebookie

    February 15, 2021 at 7:03 pm

    @The Moar You Know:  As a Southern California native I too am suffering the after effects of outside dining in 60 degree temperatures.  These frigid conditions are becoming all too common although the local indigenous people refer to it with a term called “winter”.  It’s distressing to see my tan fade into gray February.

  263. 263.

    l3000

    February 15, 2021 at 9:28 pm

    not enjoying the cold this winter with rolling blackouts due to unprecedented cold snap. Middle of country from MN to TX is screwed this week. scary to contemplate unannounced electric blackout of 30-60 minutes at a stretch (assuming there aren’t “problems” that may mean “unknown longer outages” per the energy company) when it’s -12 plus wind chill and minus 2 or even at 4 degrees actual temps. feel bad for people in TX who I assume had even less insulation protection than those of us in KS who have mid level protection (as compared to MN say) that now seems inadequate. if this is the new normal, insulation products are going to start flying off the shelves.

  264. 264.

    kmax

    February 15, 2021 at 10:07 pm

    Temps been hovering around zero for a while now (MO).  6 inches of snow today on top of 3 inches last week.  more coming they say.

    Feels like I am back in Canada.. I’m actually kinda happy..

    but no water in my house today.  City says all is fine at the meter..  Plumber hasn’t called back…. feels like it is going to get expensive.

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