This Might Sting a Little

On my way to work this morning, I heard a story about honeybee decline on NPR's news program Morning Edition.  They called it "Thanksgiving Buzz" because the story led off by mentioning how many Thanksgiving foods are pollinated by bees.  Since the story is more about hive health, I think they should've called it "The Plight of the Bumblebee".

Oh, One More Thing

I forgot to tell you more about the recycling polycart.

When I dragged it across our snowy driveway, I figured that it just seemed heavy because the wheels couldn't turn in that much snow.  When I opened it this morning (a day and a half later), in order to put a piece of cardboard inside, I saw somewhere between a gallon and two of water inside.  I had to turn it over to drain and dry.

Gee, it must have snowed *a lot* to produce that much water.  Just how much does it need to snow to produce that much water inside a container whose lid is closed?!

Snow Day

It rained all morning on Monday.  After a brief spot of sun, it started snowing.  (See my previous post.)  My boss let us go home early (especially me, as I have such a long commute).

The drive home was awful.  Nearer Santa Fe, the same idiots who exceed the speed limit on dry, sunny days didn't seem to think it was hazardous to do so in dark, wet, marginally freezing conditions.  The usual idiots who drive in the dark with their headlights off also were on the road.  Oh well, as a former coworker was fond of saying, "You can't fix stupid."  (I'm fond of saying, "When they take themselves out, I hope they don't take anyone else with them.")

About halfway to Albuquerque, the snow got heavier, and other drivers finally started slowing down.  At my exit (the first one on the N side of ABQ), the snow was blowing so thickly that we were at just 25 mph.  The two-lane road I take through the reservation was almost invisible.  (Thankfully, the drivers coming from the other direction were just as eager to stay on their side of the road as I was on mine.)  Once I got home, I pulled my car into the garage, retrieved the mail, and brought in the recycling polycart.  I then hunkered down for the night.

I decided not to try driving to work on Tuesday.  Still, I got up early to shovel.  I was very surprised to see the street mostly clear-to-slushy, and some of our sidewalk was free of snow already.  By the afternoon, it was warm (46 degrees) and sunny, so I refueled my car (which I couldn't do during the snowstorm the night before) and also took my mom to the grocery store (ditto).

When I arrived in Santa Fe this morning, I was surprised to see that all the snow had melted.  There's still a lot of snow in my mom's section of Albuquerque.  It just goes to show that snowfall in NM can be as spotty as rainfall.  In fact, when you head just a mile west of my mom's house, the snow had mostly melted by the time I went to gas up.  (A significant elevation drop probably is responsible, as my mom's house is more-or-less near the foothills of the mountains, and most of the city is not.)  One of the TV weather people showed a striking image (I'm not sure if it was a capture of the radar as snow fell, or if it was a picture of the relative accumulations afterward) which indicated that the entire half of the city west of Interstate 25 didn't get any snow at all.

So, it appears that my caution wasn't warranted (although I really couldn't head in to work without refueling).  Still, better safe than sorry.

I Can See Clearly Now. The Rain Has Gone.

Oops.  No.  Wait.  After a brief, sunny interlude, it has turned to snow.  (It's going to be a fun drive home from work; I can tell.)

Take Two -- They're Small.

I went for my monthly haircut on Friday.  It always seems to be a revelation when the process allows me to look at my head from someone else's viewpoint.  I'm trying to keep a sense of humor about the thing, though.  This time, I've decided that my hair isn't just receding; it's seceding.

When the barber/stylist holds up a mirror so that I can see the back of my head...  Well, let's just say it isn't pretty.  I should take a tranquilizer before I go.  My friend Robomarkov once took me to a barber shop in Austin, TX.  As soon as we walked in the door, we were offered a beer.  That place had the right idea.  I could use some dulling of my senses.

You'll have to drive me, though.  I may need a lot of dulling.

Deaf and Dumb

The audio system in my previous car had a feature where the volume would automatically increase and decrease as the car accelerated or decelerated.  Since I didn't opt for the fancy audio package when I bought this car, I figured I didn't have that feature.  It turns out I was wrong.  When I tried to figure out how to turn down the bass level yesterday afternoon, I stumbled across the way to turn on the automated volume option.  I've had the car for six-and-a-half years and just now figured it out?!

I never did figure out how to turn down the bass.

Little Monsters

We bought a bag containing 150 pieces of candy to distribute for trick-or-treating this year.  I thought that would be enough because of all the candy left over last year.  When I got down to one piece left, I had to turn off the light.  (It's not that I wanted the last piece for myself, but most kids were in groups of four to eight children, and I didn't want to let one child feel fortunate and turn the others away.)

We had at least four, store-bought Captain America's this year, and a whole bunch of kids in unrecognizable, homemade costumes.  (At least, they were unrecognizable to me.  I'm sure if I had asked, the kids would've told me who they were then looked at me like I was stupid or something.)  I saw a couple of Spider-Man's (men?).  Glad to know that the classic characters are going strong.  (Spidey's my favorite.)  Shortly before I ran out of candy, there were a boy and girl dressed like Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.  I'm surprised children that young are even aware of "old" characters like that.  (Bless their parents.)

A trio with their father showed up a little after four o'clock, but the rest didn't start arriving until 6:45 p.m.  Back in my day, when Halloween wasn't on a school day, I hit the pavement at 3:00 p.m.  Are kids not as greedy for candy these days -- or is it just parents are too cautious?  I realize now that it was little over an hour before we ran out of candy.  (I might as well have left the door open, or maybe just sat outside the door and waited.)

I guess we'll have to buy two bags of candy next year.