Was 50º and clear yesterday. Looks ready to top that today, along with some rain. Had my second moth of the year last night. This is *January*?
Used the .410 again last night. And it worked, so time to stow the 12 gauge, I guess.
Have gained about five pounds since leaving the hospital, so time for Atkins again. Never asked for the weight loss, but since I've already paid for it, best not to toss it, eh? Should help with the leg swelling, too. (Being in ketosis is very diuretic. . . . )
Yes, Alan, that's Eldest*Granddaughter (age 5), from last Saturday in Maine. The skating rink is about 6 minutes walk from their house, and right there in the downtown, so it's seems classically festive. Afterward we walked two buildings over to a cafe for hot chocolate. :-)
Excellent article, Alan. Thanks for posting it. Wish I could have been there, but hadn't heard about it and we were in Maine by then.
I enjoyed this bit: "Every year, on the first Tuesday in March, Vermonters attend town meetings where they elect local officials, vote on budgets, and discuss anything related to civic affairs. It’s a state holiday—and a tradition that dates back to 1633. It’s the place that produced Howard Dean. "
The article says, "A crowd at the Montpelier statehouse in Vermont rang in the second anniversary of Citizens United, a 2010 Supreme Court decision recognizing that corporations have free-speech rights under the First Amendment, ..." but in fact the doctrine that corporations have free speech rights is about a century old. What is new about Citizens United is the doctrine that you can't place any restrictions on their political speech (contributions) so long as it is not officially connected to a campaign for office. I'm not entirely clear whether this applies to natural persons as well, although logically it should.
The article mentions a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate personhood. I think we'd need to consider very carefully how that would affect more than a century of legal precedent.
Every place I've ever lived, the norm is for one warmish week in January, and the rest: winter. We've really not had more than a day of two of winter this winter. Beau still has fleas!
The selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is – and I mean this seriously – the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been. ~ Fidel Castro, 26 January 2012 http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/26/castro-lambasts-republican-idiocy-and-ignorance/
It's been mild here, too. Very rarely in single digits and never below zero. But I remember other mild winters and haven't seen anything in the papers to suggest we're near any sort of record.
Interesting article. But doesn't suggest that anything specifically in Chicago is unusual -- doesn't mention Chicago at all. And attributes the pattern to things we have seen before and will see again.
The home base of Howard Dean in the news:
ReplyDeletehttp://prospect.org/article/vermonters-united
But nary a palm tree to be seen...guess that will have to wait on global warming...
Off to the Land of Nod later than I should. TTFN
Was 50º and clear yesterday. Looks ready to top that today, along with some rain. Had my second moth of the year last night. This is *January*?
ReplyDeleteUsed the .410 again last night. And it worked, so time to stow the 12 gauge, I guess.
Have gained about five pounds since leaving the hospital, so time for Atkins again. Never asked for the weight loss, but since I've already paid for it, best not to toss it, eh? Should help with the leg swelling, too. (Being in ketosis is very diuretic. . . . )
Glad to hear things are going well, puddle.
ReplyDeletelistener--is the little one in the photo a friend of yours? The photo is so fine!
Yes, Alan, that's Eldest*Granddaughter (age 5), from last Saturday in Maine. The skating rink is about 6 minutes walk from their house, and right there in the downtown, so it's seems classically festive. Afterward we walked two buildings over to a cafe for hot chocolate. :-)
ReplyDeleteExcellent article, Alan. Thanks for posting it. Wish I could have been there, but hadn't heard about it and we were in Maine by then.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this bit:
"Every year, on the first Tuesday in March, Vermonters attend town meetings where they elect local officials, vote on budgets, and discuss anything related to civic affairs. It’s a state holiday—and a tradition that dates back to 1633. It’s the place that produced Howard Dean. "
:-)
Hey, guys, Barney Frank's getting married! Woot!
ReplyDelete54º right now, and 46º predicted for overnight. This is gettin' *scary*! Isn't this supposed to be the "dead of winter"?
ReplyDeleteThe article says, "A crowd at the Montpelier statehouse in Vermont rang in the second anniversary of Citizens United, a 2010 Supreme Court decision recognizing that corporations have free-speech rights under the First Amendment, ..." but in fact the doctrine that corporations have free speech rights is about a century old. What is new about Citizens United is the doctrine that you can't place any restrictions on their political speech (contributions) so long as it is not officially connected to a campaign for office. I'm not entirely clear whether this applies to natural persons as well, although logically it should.
ReplyDeleteThe article mentions a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate personhood. I think we'd need to consider very carefully how that would affect more than a century of legal precedent.
I don't know. Temperatures up and down like a yo-yo has always been the norm in Chicago.
ReplyDeleteEvery place I've ever lived, the norm is for one warmish week in January, and the rest: winter. We've really not had more than a day of two of winter this winter. Beau still has fleas!
ReplyDelete*Like*
ReplyDeleteStatistically this is a very warm winter. Not okay!
ReplyDeleteThe selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is – and I mean this seriously – the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been. ~ Fidel Castro, 26 January 2012
ReplyDeletehttp://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/26/castro-lambasts-republican-idiocy-and-ignorance/
Spot on, isn't he? ;-)
Indeed.
ReplyDeleteIt's been mild here, too. Very rarely in single digits and never below zero. But I remember other mild winters and haven't seen anything in the papers to suggest we're near any sort of record.
ReplyDeleteI hesitate to post anything from Faux, but here's some info:
ReplyDelete"It really is on the verge of being unprecedented meteorologically to be this warm for this long, this deep into winter."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/11/this-winters-weirdly-warm-weather-explained/#ixzz1kcxH99vZ
In fact, Bill, the USDA has reappropriated the planting zones for the USA, because they expect this warming pattern to continue into the years ahead:
ReplyDeletehttp://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/
Here's a related article:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ksdk.com/news/world/article/299650/28/USDA-releases-new-planting-zone-map
Interesting article. But doesn't suggest that anything specifically in Chicago is unusual -- doesn't mention Chicago at all. And attributes the pattern to things we have seen before and will see again.
ReplyDeleteBut the USDA action reflects a long-term trend. Nothing to do specifically with this year and certainly not specific to Chicago.
ReplyDelete