Quinn would be at home in this weather

 

8951

 By early Sunday evening we had more than 11" of snow. I shrugged on my coat , pulled on my sheepskin mittens and grabbed the snow shovel. Of course I am more likely to spot a purple spotted monkey in my front maple than a plow in my cul-de-sac.

I was finishing the bottom third of my drive, anticipating the end, when my neighbor got stuck at the bottom of his driveway. Of course he did not shovel, he tried to drive his front-wheel drive van through it. I don't mind helping my neighbors, but when they won't help themselves...

I went over and pushed him. I pushed again as he got stuck in the street. I had to gently admonished him to keep the wheels straight. In the end he finally made it out and I finished my drive down to the apron. There is no use doing that part by the street until the plow comes - probably around Valentines Day. I'll brave the cold and do the last three feet at lunch.

Remotely Disturbing

 

A few weeks ago the wife bought these electric candles that run on batteries. They work via a remote that allows her to turn them on and off, set a timer, etcetera. 

Earlier this week she told me in jest she thought our house was haunted. She claimed she candles were coming on at random. Behind her back I scoffed at the notion. 

Alas, I was plopped on one couch and noticed the candles were on. I did not turn them on. The wife was upstairs. WTH?

I turned the candlesticks off and went back to whatever nonsense I was watching on the television.  The next time I looked the candles were back on. 

Challenge accepted.  

I won't bore you with the details beyond confirming without a doubt there is no ghost. There is, however, a Vizio soundbar. Every time we turn down the TV, the candles go on. Volume up does nothing, only volume down. And yes, as confirmation the "on" button for the candles turns down the soundbar.  

I tried the remote that came with the speaker. It turns on the candles. I tried an old Comcast remote we used to use. You guessed it, down volume turns on the candlestick.  Short of scrapping the candles or buying a new soundbar (my vote since I'll convince the wife's a new soundbar can only work with a new TV), we are just going to have to turn off the candle every time we turn down the TV, otherwise we better buy stock in AAA batteries.

Not yet, but maybe, probably, later

 

REO could really rock before they started playing that arena ballad crap.

January is going out like an angry honeybadger

 It sure looks like we are in for some rocky winter weather this weekend. You probably are also.

 Interestingly enough, this weekend also marks the anniversary of the Blizzard of '78, one of the biggest storms to hit this part of the country. That storm is memorable around the old homestead. The wife's father passed away at the height of the storm. This was before I met her later that same year. 

Anyway, before you diverted me, I was discussing the expected freezing temperatures and forecasted 5-11 inches of snow. As evidenced above, it is January, these things happen. Besides, for some places around the Great Lakes that amount of snow is just another day. Ho hum. 

For those of you who refuse to pony up the cash for my mediocre first novel, there is a description of the Blizzard of '78 in the book. 

Wayback MTV Staple

 

Dangerous Thinking

 We need to take over Greenland for the long-term security of the United States.

Now substitute "Ukraine" for Greenland and "Russia" for The United States.

If you don't like that analogy try ,Sudetenland, Alsace-Lorraine, the Balkans, or Tibet...