Thoughts On A Sunday

Round 2 of our weekend snow has started. I admit to sleeping in this morning, with a brief period of wakefulness just before 7AM to stoke the Official Weekend Pundit Woodstove. At that time I did see a few snowflakes falling past the windows. By 8:30AM the snow started in earnest.

Last night's local forecast said we'd see about 10 -12 inches of snow here in the Lake Winnipesaukee area by the time it was all done. This morning's forecast upped that total to 12 – 18 inches. That means BeezleBub and I will be out snowblowing and shoveling sometime around 9PM tonight. Better that than getting up at 5AM Monday morning to clear the snow before heading off to school and work. (It's likely BeezleBub will have a one or two hour delay Monday, so the real reason is to make sure Deb and I can make it to work without delay.)

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The New England Patriots played the Arizona Cardinals today in Foxboro. It's been snowing like heck down there, something that helped the Pats since they were 9-0 playing in snow.

The Cardinals had a distinct disadvantage because they rarely if ever play in those conditions. In the first quarter the Pats managed to score two unanswered touchdowns. The Cards had 0 (that's 'zero') yards versus 95 yards for the Patriots in the first quarter.

In the end the Patriots won 47-7.

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Even if the Employee Free Choice Act, the so-called 'Card Check' act, passes in Congress and is signed by soon-to-be President Obama, it may be moot. There are serious Constitutional flaws with the act, particularly with the First and Fifth amendment rights of targeted employers.

The News Junkie at Maggie's Farm wonders if 51% of a unionized business wanted to get rid of the union, could they? I know if the unions had their way the answer would be 'no'. They'd prefer it to be along the lines of “once you're in, you're in for life...”

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Did the capital gains exemptions on homes passed during the Clinton Administration help fuel the housing bubble?

(H/T Maggie's Farm)

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It figures.

The California Supreme Court has ruled it is perfectly legal to sue Good Samaritans despite the existence of a Good Samaritan law in that state. The court has ruled it was meant to cover those rendering medical aid. But what of the person that pulls an injured person from a burning vehicle? Nope. Not covered. The accident victim or their family can sue them.

I can't wait for the hew and cry when people start dying because bystanders won't help someone in need due to this ruling. Call it another example of the Law of Unintended Consequences.

What a bunch of effin' morons.

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The WP Mom-In-Law called us earlier today to inform us their phone line is not working. (Yes, she used her cell to call us.) She informed me FairPoint Communications, the major incumbent local exchange carrier for northern New England, told her she would have to schedule an appointment for them to come out to service the phone line, and charge her $91 for the service call.

Excuse me?

First, it's likely the problem is with the phone company's lines and not inside the In-Law's house, particularly in light of the damage to hundreds of power lines and telephone poles caused by the ice storm that hit the area a little over a week ago. If that's the case, how is it my In-Laws should be required to pay for a service call until it's determined the problem is in their home?

This isn't the first time I've heard of FairPoint pulling something like this.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the first day of winter has arrived, the snow is still falling, and where we still have a lot of it to move.