Thoughts On A Sunday

You'd think a major month-long blizzard was coming from the way folks have been acting since yesterday. It's amazing what an impending snowstorm does to folks.

The supermarkets, hardware stores, WalMarts, and big box home improvement stores (Home Depot and Lowe's) were busier than we'd usually see on a weekend. Folks were stocking up on food, entertainment (DVDs), snow and ice removal implements (shovels, ice scrapers, bags of rock salt or calcium chloride, and maybe a snow-blower or two), and for some strange reason, toilet paper. Did these folks really believe that they'd be snowbound for so long a two month's supply of toilet paper was essential? You'd have thought that we've never had a snowstorm up here before.

Then again, the first real snowstorm of the season tends to make folks a little crazy.

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Unfortunately we have to wait until Monday night to watch the New England Patriots play the Baltimore Ravens. But I suppose it's better than nothing.

Will they go 12-0?

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Why is it the Democrats keep trying to blur the distinction between legal and illegal immigration? Could it be they can't tell the difference between the two? Or are they trying to paint those who want to stop illegal immigration as anti-immigrant?

Whenever a Republican presidential hopeful mentions stemming the tide of illegal immigrants pouring over our borders the Democrats jump all the candidate as if he'd declared an intent to deport all immigrants, even the legal ones.

It could be nothing more than campaign rhetoric. If it is not, the Democrats might actually believe there is no difference between the two.

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The Official Weekend Pundit Woodstove has been doing a pretty decent job of keeping The Manse nice and warm. Even with the colder than normal temps and high winds yesterday the temperature inside The Manse was between 68 and 70 degrees.

Of course it might be it was warmer inside than it otherwise might have been because BeezleBub and I sealed most of the windows on the first floor to minimize the heat loss and any air infiltration. The second floor windows have heavy thermal shades that are closed once the sun goes down, keeping the warmth inside where it belongs.

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Rachel Lucas (always a favorite of this member of the WP crew) lays a reverse hum-bug on those who worry about and work against public displays of any kind of Christmas celebration.

Says one commenter:

Really? So it’s “impolite” to make non-Christians look at a decorated tree and recognize its religious connotations, but it’s okay to piss off Christians by not letting us celebrate Christmas the way we want to?

This attitude just boggles my mind. When Christian schoolchildren are forced to acknowledge non-Christian holidays like Hanukkah, Passover, and Ramadan, they call it “diversity”. But when non-Christian schoolchildren are asked to do the exact same thing by acknowledging Christmas, suddenly it’s “impolite”.

I plan to be as “impolite” as possible this Christmas season.

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Only the Belgians would think of barbecuing as a major contributor to global warming.

And only the Belgians would use a means of surveillance to spot such an activity that generated far more CO₂ than the activity itself.

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Canadians have been warned that this will be the coldest winter in years. By implication, that means we – 'we' meaning New England – probably will, too. Even the Old Farmer's Almanac is saying the same thing.

I have no doubt that someone will blame it on global warming.

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And speaking of cold weather, is it possible that Hell will freeze over?

There's a move by taxpayers in the People's Republic of Taxachusetts to repeal the 5.3% state income tax.

A repeal of the state income tax would remove $11 billion of revenue from the state budget, something the tax-and-spend legislature and special interests say will destroy the Commonwealth.

I recall when so-called Prop 2 ^1/2 (Question 2) became a ballot issue in Massachusetts. It reduced the property tax rate to 2.5% of assessed value across the board. Doom and gloom became the mainstay of the anti-Prop 2 ^1/2 forces. They predicted severe cuts in police and fire personnel and a decimation of all public services in the municipalities. Despite this the ballot question passed overwhelmingly. The world did not end. None of the dire predictions came true and the taxpayers regained some small amount of control over their hard earned money.

Should the state income tax be repealed, I'm sure the Commonwealth will survive and the taxpayers will breath a sigh of (tax) relief.

(H/T Instapundit)

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This is totally cool! I want one! I want one!

(H/T Wizbang)

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The only downside to using a woodstove to heat your home is the extra cleaning around the house it entails. Bits and pieces of firewood are tracked all over the first floor of The Manse, meaning we are vacuuming far more often than we usually need to, often every or every other day. Dusting also needs to be done far more often due to the ash that is the waste product of burning wood. When either BeezleBub or I empty out the ash and clinkers from the woodstove, there is usually a small cloud of ash that rises from the ash bucket with every shovelful we put in there. It goes everywhere, meaning a lot of dusting. Of course I could just use 900 gallons of propane at $3.30+ per gallon to heat The Manse and avoid the extra work.

I'd rather do the extra house cleaning.

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We're all prepared for 8-14 inches of snow the Weather Guys™ have predicted for the Lake Winnipesaukee area.

The Official Weekend Pundit Snowblower has been checked out, the oil checked, the gas tank topped off, and the tire pressure checked. Fifty pounds of snow melt has been distributed into the appropriate containers, the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout's trailer has been moved to one side, and both cars have had their snow tires mounted.

The snow is expected to start sometime around 9PM tonight and run through until sometime late tomorrow morning. It's a safe bet that there will be no school for BeezleBub tomorrow. I know he's hoping there will be no work for me as well, but in the ten years I've worked for my employer they've called off work for weather only once and then only because the peak of one particular Nor'easter last winter was during the morning commute hours. So my chances of a day off are pretty slim.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where pre-snowstorm madness has wound down, the road crews are ready to do battle with with snow and sleet, and where we're looking forward to the first real snowstorm of the season.