The Snow Canyon and Snowmageddon 3: The Revenge

Snow Canyon

One Thousand Milli-Em

This is a not-terrible shot down the private drive my house and two others sit on. The Howard County Plow Guy ™ was kind enough to plow down our private drive even though it’s technically not his job to do so. He took pity on us. Otherwise we would be burrowing out like gophers through the snow still. Even so, these piles of snow are over five feet tall. They don’t look five feet tall so I took a comparison picture and used myself (5′1″) as a comparison measurement.

So the Weather Guy on the Weather Channel has upgraded Snowmageddon 3: The Revenge from a “weak storm you have nothing to worry about” to “this could tie up roads” to “OH MY GOD POWER LINES TREES ROOFS DEATH DOOM THE END OF TIME.” It went from 2-4″ to 4-8″ to 8-12″ to 10-20″ to “it’s going to be inches of snow so you better deal with it.”

And we’re out of eggs. We are not yet eating the components of food.

Super Bowl and More Snow!

I sat down to watch several hours of over-produced commercials last night and, unbelievably, a football game broke out. Odds were on the Colts — the Saints had never gone to the Super Bowl and had only made two post-season appearances in 42 years. Manning already has his spot in the Football Hall of Fame picked out. Also, the mind-bending concept of Purdue’s own Drew Brees having a Super Bowl ring was like looking for *snow plows in Hell.

The sporting world loves a Cinderella story, and it got one. Who would believe the Saints of all teams could win a Super Bowl? Over the nigh-invincible Indianapolis Colts? But the team willing to covert on 4th and 1 on the 1 yard line, to have an onside kick at the beginning of the second half, and to go for two in the Super Bowl of all places deserves to win. The Saints played like a crazy Big-10 team pulling out every insane play they could cook up and it was awesome. Those guys earned their rings.

These games are normally terrible, one sided affairs but Super Bowl 44 is going off to Highlight Reel Heaven.

Meanwhile, Maryland is in complete paralysis. The main artery freeways aren’t plowed. What is plowed is now covered in ice. Coworkers cannot get out of their houses. They’re either plowed in or completely unplowed. And the best part? We’re getting 4-8 inches tomorrow. That’s just what we need — a nice layer of ice on top of everything. As if we don’t already have trees down.

I will take pictures of the SNOW CANYON when it gets a little warmer outside in a few hours.

* If you are wondering where the plow is and you are in Maryland? That’s where. Plowing hell.

Shoveling

We are trying to shovel our way out. The snow is well over two feet deep and the plow decided to pile up a huge mountain right at the end of the driveway we somehow have to tunnel through. We’re taking shifts since we only have one shovel and it is going slowly.

The shoveled part of the driveway is like walking through SNOW CANYON with SNOW WALLS made of SNOW.

Snowpocalypse 2010 (more pictures)

Chairs and Table on the Deck

We finally opened the front door. The door is blocked by 13 inches of snow. It’s 21 inches on the stoop, but the stoop was protected by bushes and trees so the real number is likely higher. We thought lost the antenna off his truck but it was just buried. Trees across the street came down. Our neighbors tried to dig out earlier but they have now given up. Snow is still coming down. It is very quiet.

Also, I am blaming the storm on Republican Obstructionism — and their evil weather machine! What better way to slow down legislation than a million tons of snow!

21 inches

Snow Trees

Snowmageddon 2010

According to the National News ™, Elkridge MD received 30.3 inches of snow and it is still snowing. We’re just south of Elkridge. I look out my window and I’m starting to get very nervous about the trees. We still have power (obviously) but… wow….

Oh, yeah. This used to be my deck. Of the 6 pictures I took, this is the only one that really came out. You cannot see the table, or the chairs, or most of the umbrella anymore.

Snowmageddon

There’s nothing like DC under the threat of snow. The grocery stores empty out in complete panic if the forecast threatens 2″ on the ground. Hell, it’s impossible to drive if it rains because people freak out their BMWs will get wet. (Hint folks: IT’S A CAR. It goes OUTSIDE.) I joke that the Magic Rain Water from the Sky comes down and drops the collective IQ of the region by 50 points.

But right now we’re under a blizzard warning until Saturday night at 10pm. The weather channel calls it “epic snow totals possible.” (Thanks TWC!) You know where it says “1-2 feet”? That’s on my house. Hell, they even closed the White House and it’s not like Obama has any kind of commute.

We already had one of these. I am so not thrilled. I moved away from the Midwest to avoid these constant snow storms. And if you live in the area, someone posted some good advice here.

Interesting Microsoft Op-Ed

I hate being sick. I don’t write when I’m this sick. I don’t do anything except read and watch the Style Channel mindlessly — and the Style Channel doesn’t even show clothes anymore. In this morning’s reading I came across a very interesting Op-Ed in the NY Times by Dick Brass, the ex-VP of Microsoft called Microsoft’ Creative Destruction:

As they marvel at Apple’s new iPad tablet computer, the technorati seem to be focusing on where this leaves Amazon’s popular e-book business. But the much more important question is why Microsoft, America’s most famous and prosperous technology company, no longer brings us the future, whether it’s tablet computers like the iPad, e-books like Amazon’s Kindle, smartphones like the BlackBerry and iPhone, search engines like Google, digital music systems like iPod and iTunes or popular Web services like Facebook and Twitter…..

…… The company’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, has continued to deliver huge profits. They totaled well over $100 billion in the past 10 years alone and help sustain the economies of Seattle, Washington State and the nation as a whole. Its founder, Bill Gates, is not only the most generous philanthropist in history, but has also inspired thousands of his employees to give generously themselves. No one in his right mind should wish Microsoft failure.

And yet it is failing, even as it reports record earnings. As the fellow who tried (and largely failed) to make tablet PCs and e-books happen at Microsoft a decade ago, I could say this is because the company placed too much faith in people like me. But the decline is so broad and so striking that it would be presumptuous of me to take responsibility for it.

Sitting here watching Eric play Mass Effect 2 reminds me that the Xbox360 is likely Microsoft’s most popular product. You cannot say that Windows 7 is “popular” the way people go out of their way to buy Xboxes. Windows 7 is a “grudging upgrade.” No one thinks Office is “popular” the way the new iPad will be popular. It is necessary — and slowly being overtaken by other, cheaper, less bloated applications. (I like Abiword but I know I’m an island.)

Read the whole editorial. It’s fascinating. I have been watching the Microsoft in my life slowly disappear and now it is condensed only in the Xbox360 and vestigial Office apps. Like a shark, in technology, you either keep moving or die, and when the business people get involved in the technology decisions and people start guarding territory with knives, what you end up with is a dead shark.

Weirdest Meltdown

Over the years we’ve had a whole slew of very weird meltdowns but I have to say, Katie’s meltdown this evening over the silent k before n in words like “knack,” “knight,” and “knee.” She completely flipped out. Showing her the origins of the words (cniht for knight, cneow for knee) in the Old English dictionary just made it worse.

Sometimes living with Katie is like living with a David Foster Wallace character.

Technorati Tags: katie

Oscar Season!

The Oscar Nominations are out this morning! And while I did not get to see too many movies this year, I sure saw a bunch of them that were nominated and sort of noodled on several more. And now, my highly controversial predictions which will so be wrong:

Best Picture: “Avatar,” “The Blind Side,” “District 9,” “An Education,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ’Push’ by Sapphire,” “A Serious Man,” “Up,” “Up in the Air.”

Who I want to win: Up
Who will win: The Hurt Locker

I want animated moves to be taken seriously, finally, in this country. Up is an amazingly fine film and it deserves to be nominated. I adore Inglourious Basterds so much I have it on Blu-Ray but I bet this is the year of the “woman made film” and the Academy will show their progressive spirit by giving it to the Hurt Locker.

Actor: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”; George Clooney, “Up in the Air”; Colin Firth, “A Single Man”; Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”; Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker.”

Who should win: Jeff Bridges
Who will win: Jeff Bridges

Jeff Bridges is due, he won the Golden Globe, and he sung all the songs himself. I haven’t seen the Hurt Locker, though.

Actress: Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”; Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”; Carey Mulligan, “An Education”; Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”; Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia.”

Who should win: Meryl Streep
Who will win: Sandra Bullock

What a change from all those terrible movies to have Sandra Bullock win an Oscar. The Oscars loves a feel-good story. Although I bet I am wrong and they will give it to Gabourey Sidibe.

Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, “Invictus”; Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”; Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”; Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”; Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds.”

Who should win: Christoph Waltz
Who will win: Christoph Waltz

Best. Nazi. Ever. Best Nazi Ever! And look at the last several supporting actors! All mass murderers! You cannot go wrong with death! I loved him to death. Blows everyone else away.

Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Nine”; Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”; Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Crazy Heart”; Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”; Mo’Nique, “Precious: Based on the Novel ’Push’ by Sapphire.”

Who should win: I haven’t seen any of these but I will guess Maggie Gyllenhall
Who will win: Mo’Nique

All of the pre-Oscar buzz has Mo’Nique winning this award for her performance as the horrible Mom in Precious. Precious is a film that sort of repels even me, but I know that it has heavy Oscar buzz and they’ll want to give it some award somewhere.

Directing: James Cameron, “Avatar”; Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”; Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”; Lee Daniels, “Precious: Based on the Novel ’Push’ by Sapphire”; Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air.”

Who I want to win: Kathryn Bigelow
Who will win: Katheryn Bigelow

No woman has ever won for best director before. Never. This is the 82ntd Oscars so in 82 years of movies there has not been one woman. I bet people will vote for her just to get the chance.

Adapted Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, “District 9”; Nick Hornby, “An Education”; Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, “In the Loop”; Geoffrey Fletcher, “Precious: Based on the Novel ’Push’ by Sapphire”; Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air.”

Who should win: District 9
Who will win: Precious

Oh, come on. You know they’ll give it to Precious. I sort of want it to go to Jason Reitman but I can already see the future and say that we’ll all be pulling for District 9 in this category and it will go to Precious.

Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, “The Hurt Locker”; Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”; Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, “The Messenger”; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “A Serious Man”; Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, “Up.”

Who should win: Inglourious Basterds
Who will win: The Hurt Locker

This is a throw-down category for me. I think Inglourious Basterds is a masterpiece of dialogue but doesn’t Tarantino already have one of these for Pulp Fiction? The Coen brothers as well. I want to give it to Up because again, I want animated movies taken seriously as art in the United States but I bet it’s a big night for the Hurt Locker.

Note that I have stiffed Avatar on everything. It will win a huge slew of technical awards including cinematography, sound mixing, sound editing, and, of course, visual effects. Like the Matrix before it, it is a masterpiece of visual wizardry. But as a piece of great film? You have got to be kidding me.

Edit: Sorry, I thought it was 83 years, when it is in fact 82. To make up for it I give you the Slate Oscar Nattering which is some of the best Oscar nattering on the Internets.

Another Edit! And the John Scalzi picks, too!

Ending the Moon Program

If you have not heard, we are no longer going to go to the Moon. Ever. The Obama Administration has decided to cede space sciences to the BRIC countries and embraced a fantasy of outsourcing space flight to private corporations.

I know NASA is a Byzantine mess. I know NASA is extremely expensive and years of research goes on without anything to show for it. I know the country is in a fiscal hole. But I also know all that money goes to keeping a very specific dream alive. It’s a carrot. All those kids who dream today of being astronauts will never be astronauts. Screw those kids who want to go into planetary science or space science or astronautical engineering or material sciences or even computer science. No kid today going into the Air Force will ever fly a launch vehicle.

China is talking about a man on the moon in 2020. India too. Americans? So much for the great US of A. So much for the campaign promises of supporting science. That whole line about not being second best in the State of the Union was noise.

The crazy thing is that I find myself pulling for the Republicans on this one. Space stuff is like my version of DADT. No space? Fine. No donations to the DNC this year, either.

I don’t know. I don’t know the politics of Constellation. I just know that, in my daughter’s lifetime, she will see someone else’s flag fly on the Moon.

Bonus Content: A whole list of cool tech that will never see space.