No Snow To Speak Of :-(

Well, this is all the "accumulation" I was able to find. There wasn't any visible snow on the grass or roads or in the ditches. Just on my deck. Pooh.

I know I'm supposed to like warm, snowless winters better. But I don't. I miss snow. It's kind of hard to have snowball fights, snow angels and successful cross-country skiing without it.

Plausible Deniability
I hearby attest that I had absolutely NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the accidental severing of an underwater Internet backbone cable. In the past, I may have had some passing association with the catastrophic failure of various webservers, but I really really really didn't do this one. I promise I was at work in the mainland US, not cavorting around in the Mediterranean breaking cables. I wasn't even on the internet at the time of the breakage, so my mere web presence wasn't even the problem as has been asserted in the past with the aforementioned crashed webservers. So *there*!

SuperBowl Weekend
My tremendously exciting weekend will involve baking bread (the usual Oatmeal Toasting Bread from FarmGirl Fare), doing the usual chores around the house and then making pizza before watching the big game (or rather watching the commercials and mostly ignoring the game). Rumor has it that the weather might get into the 60s by Sunday, so I might have to get my motorcycle out for a spin. It could use the exercise.

What is it with Celebrities?
Why are people so obsessed with what "celebrities" do? When standing in the checkout line at the grocery store last night, it would seem that the major topics this week are what Heath Ledger may or may not have done in the weeks, months and years prior to his death and whether or not Angelina Jolie is pregnant and/or carrying twins. WHO CARES?!

So what if Heath Ledger was found with prescription sleeping medication "nearby". (If "nearby" includes the category "in the nightstand", then I suspect there are many people in the US alone who have been found deceased or asleep with prescription medications "nearby.) Sometimes young men die. I'm not saying it isn't/wasn't tragic, but in 2005, there were 10,323 deaths per 100,000 white males aged 25-29 years. So what if he may have used marijuana or cocaine in his life. That's not necessarily a rare occurrence in some circles, including politics, sports and the entertainment industry.

So, Angie and Brad may be reproducing. I'm happy for them if it's true, but I don't particularly care and frankly don't think it's anybody's business but theirs. It's not like they don't have the resources to care for their current kids and then some. Don't get me wrong, I like them and I think they're very talented actors who have made a point of using their influence and resources to benefit others, but they're also entitled to a private life.

I really don't understand the gossip/tabloid industry. Obviously there is a large market for these publications. Are people's lives so incredibly pathetic and boring that they must live vicariously through others? Are they so insecure that they must exploit the misfortunes of others to feel better about themselves and gloat about their superiority? Can you imagine how different the world could be if people took the time and money spent on the gossip stuff and put it to something to better themselves? Reading a book. Going for a walk. Heck, *writing* a book. Volunteering somewhere. *Doing* something, instead of relying on someone else to live for them. I really wish people would stop watching imaginary people live fake lives on television and would actually live themselves (or at least significantly reduce TV watching from an average 4.5 hours per day). The US population would be a whole lot healthier and probably a lot smarter and more productive as well.