For the relatively small snowfall in this area from the first storm, the effects were bigger than I expected. The roads turned slick very quickly and 4WD was an absolute necessity to go anywhere. Sand didn't help all that much and getting out of The Manse's driveway was iffy at best.
BeezleBub and I cleared away the last of snowfall this morning, spreading sand and some snowmelt (calcium chloride) to melt away some of the ice and compacted snow. Once the sun hit it much of the big slope on our driveway was down to pavement for the first time in over a week.
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The second Nor'easter headed this way is supposed to be a doozy, with anywhere from 10 to 24 inches expected to fall here in central New Hampshire. Normally that wouldn't concern me, but the Official Weekend Pundit Snowblower may not be up to the task of clearing away the snow.Two earlier snowfalls with heavy wet snow with the consistency of soggy mashed potatoes put a heavy strain on it, causing the drive belt for the auger and impeller to stretch to the point where it no longer engaged when needed. BeezleBub managed to make an adjustment to take up some of the slack on the belt, but it doesn't look to be in good shape. All we can hope for is that it will last long enough to take care of the coming storm (it should all be very light, fluffy snow, something we think the snowblower should be able to handle. I haven't yet found a part number for the belt in question, but hopefully I can find it on the Web later and call our local supplier to see if they have a new one in stock.
As a back up we did talk with our neighbor, asking if we might be able to use her snowblower should ours break down. Since we have taken care of her driveway when she's away, she had no problem with the request. So we do have a Plan 'B' if out snowblower fails.
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I see that Obama is yet again going to snub our allies, in this case he won't lower himself to attend the 70th anniversary remembrance of the liberation of Auschwitz. I guess he's got a golf date that conflicts with this solemn event.All I can say is that the next president, Democrat or Republican, is going to have to do a lot of fence mending to undo the eight years of damage caused by Obama's total lack of competence in regards to foreign relations.
What. A. Putz.
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I can state with absolute certainty that I agree with Sarah Palin 100% on this:“Screw the Hollywood Left!”
Heh.
Frankly, I'm hoping she runs for the GOP presidential nomination. If nothing else it will cause heads to explode in Hollywood.
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Juliette Ochieng tells it like it is: Dumb equals death, particularly in regards to black lives.As the saying goes, Read The Whole Thing.
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Obama says he's for the Middle Class. But if that's so, then why is he going to take away even more money from them? In this case, he is apparently eying the money many middle class families put aside into 529 savings accounts, money that will be used to pay for post-secondary education.Though millions of Americans have been putting money into "tax free" 529 plans to save for their children's increasingly expensive college educations, President Obama would change the law so that withdrawals from the plans to fund college would be taxed as ordinary income. So while you used to be able to get a nice tax benefit by saving for college, now you'll be shelling out to Uncle Sam every time you withdraw to pay for Junior's dorm fees.BeezleBub has had a 529 account for a long time and it's the reason why he hasn't had to borrow a penny to pay for school. But if Obama gets his way the result will be that he won't have as much money set aside as he thinks he does because up to a quarter of that money will be taken away when he withdraws it to pay his tuition and to purchase books.
And where will that tax money go? To pay for other people's “free” education. So once again Obama wants to punish the productive and thrifty in order to buy votes from his base, i.e. the takers.
It's yet another action right out of Atlas Shrugged. By the way, it was meant to be a warning, not a how-to manual.
Taxing the 529 plans isn't the only target Obama has his eye on.