snowstorm cripples Dallas!

Here is an example of the devastating, crippling snowstorm which struck Dallas today. The snowfall could be measured with a microscope, but only if you know where to look. Snow is somewhat rare here (compared to other parts of the country); as a result, the schools were closed¹ and offices vacant² as the residents tried to stay alive³.

1. for winter break;
2. procrastinating shoppers are at the malls;
3. and that's unusual because ... ?

Rumor has it that other parts of the Metroplex got measurable amounts of snow, especially those north and west of me. Like most large cities, Dallas is a Heat Island, and a lot of bad weather just mellows out before it reaches my domicile. The rain gauge says I got about 0.4" of precipitation with the storm, but most of what landed here was rain -- not sleet or snow.

frohe Weihnachten, ya'll!

First, to my good friends in Germany: frohe Weihnachten und glückliches neues Jahr! (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!)

I miss working with my German friends. When I was working with 250 website content authors (on the OneStop (Sun internal) website that I created), the 8 or so Germans were among my favorites (truly!). You were always precise in your work, and made my job much easier. I hope I was able to make that sentiment known!

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Several times a year, the various "yellow page" publishers (phone companies, etc.) deliver their phone books to my door. This year, SBC's books arrived in two sizes: one normal, and one smaller version. Huh?

I spotted a folded insert inside the smaller version, and therein was the explanation: the 1.7 pound book is the New! Mini SBC Yellow Pages! (a condensed version of the usual 5 pound edition). The idea is that you can place the smaller version in your car! I'm guessing this will provide endless hours of pleasure, as it will give me something to read when I'm stuck in traffic.

Noteworthy: the Mini version has 60 pages of listings for attorneys, while the large version has 100 pages of their listings. Hmmm; perhaps this is progress?

Dihydrogen Oxide ban - coming soon?

COX-2 [cyclo-oxygenase-2] inhibitors (a subset of NSAIDs) are aimed at those with arthritis and acute pain, and they're under attack. First, VIOXX® (Merck's rofecoxib) was pulled off the shelves; Merck says VIOXX can cause strokes, heart attacks, even death (not good). Then (a week later) Pfizer says Celebrex® (Pfizer's celecoxib - another Cox-2 inhibitor) is dangerous in high doses. Pfizer will still sell it, but won't advertise it.

Deep Thought # 49: I can seldom figure out what malady most advertised drugs are purported to cure, anyhoo. All I know is, that whatever they're selling will make me smile, dance and sing.

Today, I read that Aleve® (Bayer's naproxen) could be a problem, too -- and it's not even a COX-2 inhibitor! Aleve is often used as a substitute for aspirin, or Tylenol® {sigh}

Now, I can only wait for the headline:

Dihydrogen Oxide* Banned!

* aka H₂O, aka water

I predict this ban will happen once someone figures out that the stuff can cause some people (usually those whose heads are below it) to drown.

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At first, I thought it was a joke .. but no .. there he is .. George W. Bush named as TIME Magazine's Person of the Year. You may have heard of this bonehead (48% of Americans just call Him President Quagmire); he's the worst president (by a long shot) in my lifetime. I went to TIME's website and immediately cancelled my subscription. All I needed was my subscriber number (located on the address label) and my ZIP code. Sayonara, TIME.

BTW, I think this makes their appointment of the Ayatollah Khomeini (1979) seem positively inspired.

an experiment in Buying Blue

Yesterday, I copied (cut and paste) my Amazon.com wishlist to Barnes and Noble's site, then compared prices. In most cases (13/18 items), Amazon was less expensive, but they had the same price on 5 items, so I bought them from B&N and left the remainder in both wishlists. The B&N site was a bit more tedious to navigate .. it wasn't always obvious when they had a paperback version vs. a hardcover .. and used books aren't as obvious .. but those are things that they can fix with a good User Interface guy. Hmmm .. wonder if they'd hire me?

It's too bad Amazon.com backed the wrong candidates in 2004; I did like them. Maybe they'll see the error of their ways and either stop funding either party, or fund them equally in the future. Anyway, to further The Cause, I dropped an email to B&N saying I'd prefer to buy from them, if they'd match Amazon's price. Now I wait ...

Related to the above, the Dallas Managed News had a front-page story about the websites promoting companies who back Democratic candidates. I can hardly wait for the Opinion Letters to drift in, by those who say they'll use the list in reverse .. as a place to shop for their Red Candidates. More power to `em. When President Quagmire proclaimed his (51-48) mandate, it was like telling half of America: you are irrelevant.

It was interesting to note that 16 of 17 oil companies backed President Quagmire (if that doesn't smell of extreme self-interest, I don't know what does). The only one who tilted blue was Shell. I checked their website and found 4 stations within 2 miles. Since gasoline is gasoline (one brand's little different from another) I'll be happy to make that switch, too.

The DMN article mentioned a competing website: ChooseTheBlue.com. I don't like the URL -- it's not as memorable as BuyBlue.org. I guess they tried blue.com ("Blue" magazine is about what? outdoor sports?!). While attempting to check out ChooseTheBlue (from memory) I tried BlueChoice.com; it turns out that's owned by (the medical provider) Blue Cross-Blue Shield! I wonder if BCBS will notice extra hits on their website and not understand why. Perhaps the similarity will drive business their way.

Deep Thought #48: I wonder if Blue Cross-Blue Shield backed the (blue) Democrats in 2004?

Unrelated: on Constantin's suggestion, I added [The Butterfly Effect] (2004) to my list of DVDs to see. Somehow I missed this one, unless it didn't make it to The Angelika (still my favorite theatre in Dallas).

My upper left arm hurts today, as a result of Saturday night's tetanus shot. Fortunately, I haven't seen any signs of infection on my foot; I'm continuing to clean the wound and apply Neosporin™. Someone from CareNow (the doc-in-the-box) called yesterday to make sure I was doing okay. I was taken aback, since followup is SO rare nowadays.

a 3-bag Sunday

Most days, the newspaper arrives in a single plastic bag. Today, it was a 3-bagger. Most of the excess were ads for digital cameras, or spiral-sliced hams, or sets of wrenches ...

Note: this has no relation to a 2-bagger.

While watching TV today, I decided to add the CARFAX ad to the List Of Ads That Make Me Reach For The Remote. You know the one: where the "doctor" sits in front of the red car, asks "How are you feeling?" then snaps on a rubber glove and goes to the car's rear (presumably to check the car's prostate). Enough already.

lockjaw? no thanks!

I'm probably not a huge believer in real win-win situations. It seems that deals invariably leave one party or the other with a lopsided victory. So, it is with great glee that I experienced one this morning.

One gent in my neighborhood was looking for a new farwood supplier, and I've been trying to get rid of the wood left over before I got the gas farplace, so ... I donated the remaining wood. It's been there a few years, and some logs were in contact with the ground and starting to become One With Nature, but my neighbor took the rest of it off my hands. Woo hoo. This will make My Termite Guy a happy camper.

However, all is not without a price. Turns out I stepped on what appears to be a roofer's nail of some sort:

I suspect this thing has been sitting in my driveway since my house was reroofed in 2003. Today, it found its way all the way through the sole of my shoe, through a heavy sock and into the space between my big toe and the one next to it. When I came inside from fetching the snail-mail, I hear a clicking sound, like I was wearing taps; that's when I found the thing above.

I checked my foot and spotted the mini-gash. Naturally, this happened on a weekend, so instead of going to my doctor or (heaven forbid!) the emergency room, I stopped at a local doc-in-the-box, where they checked the wound and gave me my first-ever tetanus shot (unless I was given one as a child). The DITB did a good job with the shot; I didn't even feel it. Now all I have to do is keep the wound clean, so I don't develop lockjaw or get an infected foot. Tra la la.

Unrelated: it's now time to address my Retaliatory Christmas Cards [RCC]. Those are for the nice folks who send you a card, but they weren't on your outbound list. Yet. Now, for the rest of their natural lives, they'll get one from me. I usually wait until 3 or 4 days before Christmas Eve (the last day mail's delivered before Christmas) to mail Christmas Cards, which will be Monday or Tuesday. That way, it's too late for them to send an RCC of their own (to arrive before Christmas). Nefarious, huh?

chaos averted .. and you'll never guess why

I've been a fan of The Straight Dope for many years, going back to the days when I lived in Redondo Beach, California and was told about Cecil Adams' series of books by Bob (who is not a -Bob).

Later came the web, and The Straight Dope's e-newsletter (today's included a pointer to a classic: Who decided red means "stop" and green means "go"?) We've come to accept certain things as global (if not universal) standards, that it's seldom questioned. What if we traveled to another country (France, no doubt) where the signal light standard is:

maroon means go and and teal means stop?

Chaos has been averted (in this case) by the American Railroad Industry. Go figure.

I recall another column where Cecil (not a -Bob) explained why the size of our space-bound rockets can be traced back to the Roman chariots (no lie!). As Tonto once said: "Heap Strange, Kemo-Sabe."

Deep Thought #46: why didn't the Mars Rover find ancient traffic signals? Could that be why life never flourished on The Red Planet?

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Deep Thought #47: boycotts don't work (the vast majority of the time) but here's an interesting alternative to those opposed to the Bush Regime: BuyBlue.org