unburied

city plows came by
which is excellent service for us ( this street )

Now, we deal w/ < can we get out of our driveway >. Lately, the plow has been taking the snow from the cul-de-sac and layering the snow against the street opposite our drive. This location is in lieu of banking the snow on the cul-de-sac itself 
( they used to do this ). The turn is tight as of yesterday and to-day ? well, has to be tighter still.

We shall see said the Zen Master

And the air remains cold at 18 F give or take

Went out and like a beaver pecked away at the corner mound, opening up the bottom of the driveway. Turning out is simpler now. The corner mounds that are left after the plows push the snow/sludge mixture against the edge of the drive, take away the angle for turning.
Well, I got that sucker cleaned out, both sides.

Hoorah ! 
Bright sun all day

white stuff

floats its way down through the trees

' What a beautiful sight
not happy tonite 
or to-day 
Walking in a winter wonderland '

Oh, we don't need to go out

Changes the whole perspective
And cold as well, 20 F w/ a further wind chill of 6 degrees

All day snow, stopping at 3 inches give or take

They didn't lie, we are well on the way to exactly depth promised
Pretty
Great if you are indoors
outside not so

Officially buried - the full 4 - 5 inches came down

Sort of a Calm

the roaring is gone. The 2 day noise blitz of 40 mph winds cruising through the trees is over.

And we hear, virtually nothing. Branches litter the yard but ' still ' is the watch word.
Snow to-morrow an inch and tidbit is forecasted.

' the calm before the storm ' might be a touch to much
but its clsoe b/c everything  seems poised and ......waiting, for sure.

' listen to the wind blow.....

....... prophetic, Fleetwood Mac lyrics

Woke at 5 to the roaring -

Still howling out there. Some trees are displacing about 5 ft at the top.
Thankfully, we still have power. Our street or sector is the poster child for power outage. If ice or wind or snow load is predicted - yepper, we lose power.
I've just cursed the street, no doubt.

And it is cold as well w/ a 12 degree wind hill.
Button up your overcoat ( lyrics )

Tie It Down

weather alert claims everything that you don't will move

Well, the skies and heaven open up to-day.

Winds at 60 mph, snow, sleet, fog and falling temperatures.
Thats all .... really 
everything ( no volcanic activity )

Raining now.

After a dismal first 2 games, the Johns Hopkins Bluejays get a win in Division lacrosee. In other years, as in 6 years ago, this kind of start would have been a death knell for JHU. 
Since joining the B1G conference, dynamics have changed. JHU can still get in w/ an at-large bid based on record. But even w/ a mediocre ( for the Bluejays ) record, winning the B1G championship can and has seen Hop qualify for the play-offs.

 Go Hop !

And the sun blazed out, didn't see that coming. The glistening ice crystals in the tree limbs.

M come up w/ ' should we bring the gas BBQ inside ?'
Really !!

Nope

Weather Alert

we think - roaring winds

Temperatures look good to very good but apparently the highs occur almost durin the night and then cold sets in


February is slowly drawing to close.
I've got back almost my whole driveway.
However, the street is a mess - the narrowed passage is like a mountain goat trail, except goats wouldn't try our street.

Oh, Solar Tree

Oh Solar Tree
How shiny are your

What is this all about ?
Giant Tiger, home of the big deal and women's fashion has an on line clearance of items
Yes, instead of $63 a solar tree costs $29

I want one. We need M to talk me out of it

Weather. everything is glistening. The ice layer on top of the snow looked marvy last night. And a real warning to watch your step when you step onto pavement.
We will warm to above freezing for 2 days this week end.

a paucity

fell

But the way is slick.
Slicker than goose grease on a pump handle

Jennifer's dog wouldn't go out to do its stuff. I'm using her name b/c she is a broadcaster on CBC.

We will be above freezing for the day but falling off as night approaches. W/ the chance of 40 F for the week end

CBC.ca

' I get all the news I need from the weather report ' PS

Weather
Health
Science and Tech
business

its 16 F out there, soaring to 28 before the roof falls in and snow flurries followed by freezing something < they are not sure > but its freezing.

The official warning :

Tonight

Periods of snow or ice pellets changing to freezing rain then changing

to rain mixed with drizzle late this evening and ending before morning then cloudy. Wind southeast 30 km/h gusting to 50 becoming west 30 after midnight. Temperature rising to plus 3 by morning. Wind chill minus 8 in the evening.

Author's note F temperatures are approx 38 F

' You Gotta Eat Here ' food show on the road. This program is on in the AM 7 to 9 ish. The only worthwhile TV at the time.
OK, we have Japanese crepes as in the pancake kinda crepe. The crepe comes rolled in a cone - chicken, yam and sauce.

The tech report from a non-tech person.
Well, the hub can use the internet hard wired. 
The process is plug in the Dell DC power adapter and attach the hub - the hub is now powered and the blue light comes on. Connect the hub to the Chromebook.
And you do it in that order.
A warning window comes on to say that the power feed is insufficient to charge the Chromebook.Next plug in the Ethernet cable.
Go to settings and turn off Wifi.
And the network window reads < Ethernet connected >
Da da, hard wired to the internet and much more secure. This tactic is important in hotels etc b/c hard wired beats Wifi for security in most cases.

However , I could not get HDMI to work this AM.
I'll need to consult w/ tech guy at the pub. It will cost me another beer no doubt. Worth every drop.

MidWinter's midwinter

in the midst of winter, we get winter

For ten days, we will be cold, snowed on, warm a bit and get sleet.
Then we will start to warm.

The story til now. 
I purchased a Vava 8 in 1 hub. Highly rated on line w/ reviewers.
Waited as you know and the hub arrives.

Step 1. plug the hub into the laptop ( type c connector ). Nope !
Connect the charger to the hub to laptop. Nope.

I'm getting ready to return the hub, label printed and Amazon notified.

At the pub, my tech guy shows. ' Hey, can you check this hub, for me '
No problem.
Plugs in a wonking big power adapter.
' you'll need about this much juice '
Of course, the hub lights and works.

Thus, $65 for the hub and $60 for the power adapter.

Plug and play doesn't mean plug and play. You need power to the hub and then plug and play.

All sorts of email had gone out to Vava, Dell ( laptop ) and Amazon.

Get home from the pub and think ' maybe the original power supply for the laptop could power just the hub '
Thus, plug in the power adapter to the hub - light goes on.
Plug the hub into the laptop and light stays on and all the USB ports have power.
Take a USB mouse and plug it in to the USB port, the mouse works.
But no charging can happen.

To-night an email comes from Vava < Did you need information >
Four bullet items are there for FYI for user.

' We recommend 18 W to power the hub and laptop '

Right, now you tell me.
Basically, you should buy a 18 W power adapter while purchasing the hub.

Crap and more crap !

something Unusual

a guy goes to the pub

The start of a standard joke or my day.
At the Korner pub, I've met people and the staff. Well, Sunday Kate does the bar. Everyone chit-chats and we discuss - basically everything.
Last Sunday, cafes came up and donut shops. As in the best places.
Then Kate offers to bring in her monkey bread ( cinnamon loaf loaded w/ fruit and icing ). I offered to bring coffee from Tim Hortons. 
Thus, this Sunday morning, I texted Kate and took the coffee orders.
I showed up w/ coffee for the owner and also Kate.
I ate the monkey bread ( delicioso, mega ) and drank my coffee. Great start to the morning.
But I was full, no kidding there bucko.

I decided to get a pedicure. Better day going, now.
The salon has massage chairs ( phenomenal !!! ) and after the treatment, well, couldn't get much finer.
But I'm still feeling full.
The upshot, a guy goes to the bar and doesn't drink.

Cold, out there and 1 inch of snow fell.

On the morning show, the host suggested on a holiday (  Family Day, to-day ) clean your refrigerator.
We didn't do it.
We watched the snowy backyard and the swaying trees and like everything else ...... waiting for spring.

a Cold Head

all night

Woke up w/ the blankets over my head.
Furnace broke down, right ?

No, air conditioning was on and the house got down to 61 F. Thus, we are sure the air conditioning works or doesn't work in this case. I'm sure A/C didn't go on when the temperature outside was 6.

The final result - house is back to 70 F
outside is 8 F

TUWO
Tohuko University Wind Orchestra performing ' Canon in D ' Pachibel.
We all have our biases and favourites 
The winds are so full and musically colourful
There is a depth when the bassoon and brass get going on this 

LOVE this !!!

My criticism is that the French horns ( 8 of them ) could have done a soaring counterpoint. How ?
Haven't a clue b/c thats not how P wrote this beuti

Can Bleak be Sunny

bright sun and the air is freezing cold, literally

A winter wonderland, except the roads are dicey. A lot of wet, yesterday afternoon, that had to freeze overnight.

Will Rogers in his stage performance, often said < I don't make up the items - this stuff is straight from the newspaper > paraphrased.
In California, statistics from the E.R. of 2 hospitals shows, approx 240 scooter accidents and head trauma of some sort is the leading cause of admission. However, further study reveals that 4.4 % of scooter accidents w/ head trauma wore a helmet.
OR/ wear a helmet and you won't hurt your head.
Right !

And we got an Oops going. The new type C hub won't light and it means hub doesn't work.

struggling the way of life

no this is not dismal

In Buddhism, the tenets say ' life is dukha ( sp ? ) or life is suffering.

I'm not sure that Buddha meant shovelling. Yes, I'm talking about taking back the driveway.
Alright, its a slow news day, so suck it up
this is to-day's topic.

The driveway is widened at the bottom where we drive out. And you should be aware that the city snow plow decided to take the snow from the cul-de-sac and layer the mass against the neighbour's lawns across the street. The effect is to narrow the road to 1 car wide and maybe a bicycle.
Of course, turning in and out the driveway is really tight w/ the narrowing. Having a wider opening at the bottom of our driveway makes all the difference.

Now back to Buddhism. The struggle is part of life.
The tenet applies to all aspects of life - illness, tragedy ---- shovelling < kidding, kidding > and death.
' We surround all men and all forms of life w/ infinite love and compassion. To those in doubt and ignorance, pain and suffering, and especially to those whose feet are standing close to the great change that men call death, we offer up oceans of wisdom, mercy and love. ' is the closing prayer in Buddhism.
And I mention this bit b/ it goes hand in hand w/ the idea that I'm a failed Buddhist ( see previous posts ).

However, I shovel on b/c this is life. Working b/c this is the way of all things.

To-day is cold and will get colder. Apparently, the roads are slushy and pedestrians are ducking walls of water thrown up by cars. But by this afternoon the slush will ice up. We can hear the wind buffeting the trees or its the furnace buffeting the pipes.

A slow news day for sure

always the Aftermath

the review is in

T.O. missed the big dump, meaning half of the predicted snowfall actually fell.
However, my driveway and surrounds made up for the missed snow by accumulating wind drifts which beat the best estimates.
And to boot, snow lays on top of 3/4 in to an inch of ice.
Hard shovelling.
Usually, the plow company reduces the driveway by 4 - 5 ft b/c snow piles up on the sides. This round, I'll bet that the drive is narrowed by 7 - 8 ft.
Thus, I started taking back the driveway. Firstly, widen the entrance. Our property is at the end of a run before the cul-de-sac. Yepper, a big mound appears on the far edge of the driveway entrance.
I take back my driveway starting at the garage, widening the opening to full width.
Then I go down to the bottom and attack that narrowed entrance.
Why ? You ask !
B/c its my driveway and I want it back.

There is Some Sort

of irony ( ? )

There I was quoting ' in the Bleak Mid Winter '

and we get it

We missed out on 20 cm of extra snow. However, in our case, wind drift made up for the lack that fell.

The backyard has deep in snow ridges, I guess where there are wind alleys available.

The swirling snow pieces have stopped and there is clear viewing out there.

And ! Amazon appears ready to deliver the type C hub, tonite by 8 PM which would put it two days early. Very good service.  NOPE big delay - maybe three days

no Chinook - here

a warm wind wafting out of the mountain passes

Nooooo !

This is a full blown CARP
not to be confused w/ Canadian Association of Retired Persons
I believe CARP is
Canadian Arctic Roaring Piece of sh*t
pardon the French
pardonnez les Anglais ( in Quebec, no doubt )

Beautiful white background, the howling in the skeletal trees echoes down the ravine. Swirling streamers of alabaster dust.

TG I'm staying in

Breakfast. Re-heated tortiere < well, that was the recipe's name > M made it w/ corn flakes.
Funny that. I bought generic corn flakes in a box that would hold winter boots. The dilemma - titanic box of corn flakes for $ 3.50 or crushed corn flakes 200 g for the same price. Well, yes, good old cheapie here bought the whopper.
M's friend tells her the next day, I bought the box that was the size of my refrigerator.
We both needed 1 1/2 cups.

Thus, I had re-heated meatloaf / tortiere plus and egg.
Dynamic ! 

Trivia, did you know, that re-heated starch - potatoes, rice and pasta lose their calorie count b/c the starch changes to resistant- starch. The process is called, starch retrogration. This means less absorption of calories. About 15 % I think. You need to cook, cool and reheat the starch.
Neat, eh ?

on not Comfortable

' I don't expect to sleep through the night ' Paul Simon sang in ' Obvious Child '

I mimicked PS

Woke up and couldn't re-sleep.
Thus, I heard the Reef ( sp ? ) lecture on ' War and Civilization Pt II ' by Margaret Wilson, historian.
A BBC podcast from york University ( UK )

Cold and gray out there

My latest purchase below. Recap that Chromebook 13 has 2 type C ports ( peripherals and power ), 2 USB ports and a card slot.
I'm looking for flexibility and an Ethernet port to hard wire the CB 13. The cost is $ 65. 
The cons are that I'm not sure whether this is passive or active flow through. And various other consumers have had some issues w/ failure. Apparently, the promised ' power through function ' ( charging your device while using the hub for other functions ) sometimes fails.
I have a second type c ( the hub needs 1 type c ) for charging. Thus, I can avoid the one possible let down.
I've read where some devices come w/ the one type c port and absolutely would need the charging function mentioned.

VAVA USB C Hub 8-in-1 Adapter with PD Power Delivery, 1Gbps Ethernet Port, SD Card Reader, 4K USB C to HDMI, 3 USB 3.0 Ports for MacBook Pro and Type C Windows Laptops-Space Grey  Electronics Sold by Sunvalleytek Canada Condition: New

Comfortable ( Episode 2231 )

back on this topic

Hello SR

Thus, I'm thinking comfort food
Comfortable in bed 
a comfortable bed

This morning on ' Fresh Air ' CBC, hosted by Innava Duncan, a listener sent an audio message.
' We're listening to the old stove top percolator and CBC '
 as their week end ritual.

I was listening on the buds through the Moto 5G which has FM as an app.

Alright, comfortable

is looking out our back picture window on the ravine. Over the years, I may have added that we look out on
a city ravine. At this time of year we can look across the ravine at the back of Cedarbrae Mall. Now, Cedarbrae Mall doesn't have a lot of appeal from the front side and the back side... well, not as much as that.
however, peering through the screen of trunks and branches, the long view is rewarding.... a vista that gets cut off as the green grows.
We are shrouded by June and our view is a canopy and wall of living things.
We see deer in the backyard. The deer feed at our neighbours ( buds and shoots and flowers ) then wander by our place on the way out

Comfortable. Umh
food
warm
typing ( ??????????????? )

Remember this blog is pure catharsis

The Blue Jays of Hopkins were slaughtered in men's lax by Towson. I was able to watch the debacle by streaming coverage out of ' laxsportsnetwork '
Ugly as sin

And, natch, cold out there

On the Audio Technica earphones ( little name dropping there )

' in the bleak midwinter 
frosty winds may moan
earth turned hard as iron
water like a stone '

performed by Corinne May
joy !

' angels and archangels may have gathered there '

on YouTube

and here all the lyrics, Christina Rosetti and Gustaf Holst
get the credit

1. In the bleak mid-winter Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow, In the bleak mid-winter Long ago. 2. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him Nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away When He comes to reign: In the bleak mid-winter A stable-place sufficed The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ. 3. Enough for Him, whom cherubim Worship night and day, A breast full of milk And a manger full of hay; Enough for Him, whom angels Fall down before, The ox and ass and camel Which adore. 4. Angels and archangels May have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim Thronged the air, But only His mother In her maiden bliss, Worshipped the Beloved With a kiss. 5. What can I give Him, Poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb, If I were a wise man I would do my part, Yet what I can I give Him, Give my heart.

F******** Your Face Off

oh, F*********

Is ' freeeeze ' 

Yepper, that cold. We have 20 F but the wind chill is at least 10 or all in its 5 F out there in the breeze.

We rise to 32 and get snow in two days

I mean its cold but the sun makes it look hospitable.

Stuck our noses out but that was cold to-day.


And the wind chill fell off drastically

I found out to-day, that I've been on ' blogger ' since OC 2011. I'll have to go back and reprint the first one.

Found the first one, I think :

Improving cine

In the movie " Thor " the hammer is too big.  Thor looks like he's swinging a doll house.
It must be tough striking the balance between those who read ' Thor ' comics or know Norse Edda and the frosh who see a new action-fantasy movie.
Dr. Don Blake ( Thor's alter ego, on earth ) used a cane and limped. The cane became Mjolnir.
Of course, I pronounced it ' ma jol neer ' instead of ' molnir ' my Norse, not being fully developed at age 15.


I'm getting used to the hammer now that I've seen the " Avengers "
update 2012 6/ 19

To be re - broadcast for #900

Tres Cold

and windchill

up the wazoo. At the Staples store, the truck door almost didn't open. Then, it was hard to close.

Part light and cloud, temperature is 25 but wind chill has to be 10 degrees

Thank you Pachebel

No Groundhog Shadow

means, spring is close

The little critters better be right. We've got a real good imitation of winter going on this aft.

Pellets, snow drizzle and all other disguises of precipitation are hitting the windows. The wind chill is almost at double digits.
Didn't even go out. I'm still recovering from my cold or flu. Likely it was a cold that got out of hand.

Meanwhile, I've noticed the CB13 is my go to computer. 
I shouldn't call it fun but definitely easier to use. Loads fast and responds in a timely manner.

One of the cons about the CB 13 was the key travel or how far the keys depress. Some critics said that the shallow movement of the keys was uncomfortable or not to their liking.
Me, not a problem.

And after I figured out how to ' highlight - cut - paste '
etc which are all functions of the right click of the mouse, typing is very functional.

I've activated sticky keys which allows for sequential hitting of function keys : for example normally on a keyboard to get a capital letter the process is simultaneously hold the ' shift ' and strike the intended key. W/ ' sticky keys ' activated, I can hit       ' shift ' release and strike the intended key and get the capital. The ' shift ' unlocks after you type the letter.
Unless, you touched the ' shift' twice and then ' caps lock is on ' until you release w/ the third touch of ' shift '.
Handy once you get used to the system.

And despite the knock re: battery life, CB13 has been more than adequate. As well, CB13 seems to charge relatively quickly.

And I've hopefully mentioned how cool the device stays. W/out the whole loading the system required w/ a normal device e.g. laptop etc. the CB13 stays pretty constant in temperature

Oh, I like the CB13.

Power Outage as a Good morning Call

for about an hour

Just long enough to start to figure out ' how you can get through the day ' kind of time.

Back on now and all is momentarily well

Canned

continuing from yesterday

Yep, I'll eat and even enjoy canned fruit salad.
As well as pudding, adding bananas is good

Fruit Salad

always been a favourite

Usually, I'd prefer the fruit chopped small - ish.
Also, I'll add applesauce or pudding plus cereal that has some crunch.
I'm not a purist as you can see

Comfortable

or what you do at 3 in the AM

I fell asleep at 8P trying to nurse the end of my sicky period. I ran a fever for two days this week and brightly thought myself cured as of yesterday morning.
NO
I needed Nyquil in the early evening to clear my head and dropped off  < not my head, me  >.
I decided to rinse my sinuses and listened to depressing reportage re: Brexit and the state of England and the gloomy predictions of less prestigious and influential England.
You see somehow, I'm British by culture or preference.
Cooking, literature, clothes etc are all areas where I've been known to favour things English. 
My favourite football team is Arsenal of London < b/c much to chagrin, I've discovered there are at least 8 other countries where I could cheer for Arsenal or Arsenale >.
I decided to ask the question ' Where Would I Be Comfortable ? '
Country : Canada ( I'm horribly biased here )
City       : Toronto ( nuts, we never go downtown )
Am I doing the the Sherlock Holmes analogy ?
' sat amongst the teeming millions w/ feelers set out to sense the vibrations of the city ' 
Not really. 
More like : born here
see little reason to leave

I'm shutting down and trying to nod off again

Your turn to ' wonder why '

I'm still a little groggy from the mixed up sleep pattern last night

So far, I've recognized that fruit salad makes me comfortable. Peanut butter and jam on toast.

the New Month

but same winter

Bold sun and blue sky but the air is cold.
However, the temperature might have made 2 digits but it would be a near thing