I've had the power and internet out for 1.5 days. We had an ice storm, I know they're common but this is my first one. What happens I guess is that slush falls from the sky. It's warmer up there than it is on the ground. Some of it lands on the limbs of trees where it sticks momentarily. The air is so cold that it freezes. Then it happens again and again, until the limbs and branches, even the smallest ones, are encased in a tube of ice, and it's heavy. It weighs the branch down so it sags, they all sag, and some branches fall off, and a few trees just fall over (not many because earlier wind storms probably already blew those trees over). The branches that fall might be on top of power or internet lines, and some of them are over big power hardware. And when that goes out, whole towns go out. Like the area where I live. No power for 1.5 days. So I have gone out once each day at about 9AM and drove down to Woodstock where there is cell service (we have none where I live) and try to find out what's going on, read my email, etc. Then I go back home and read, and think. I can't write software because It isn't set up that way. #

I catch glimspes of controversies like the one with Whoopi Goldberg. Apparently she said the Holocaust was white people killing white people, it wasn't racial. And she was suspended for saying this, after she apologized. I'm not sure what she apologized for, whose feelings were hurt? And if they were, they could deal with it, it's not anything like a big deal. It's also true! Most Jews are white people, at least the ones I know. There are African Jews, and they are pretty black. And probably some people who look Asian who are Jews. But by and large, she was correct. And if she wasn't whose is going to stand up and tell me Whoopi isn't mone of the most thoughtful celebs we have! She's an actual human being. I once had a long talk wtih her at a tech conference. I was a smoker then and so was she, and she came out and joined the smokers and we did what smokers do when they go outside to smoke -- we talk wtih each other about all kinds of stuff. She's a nice person. And if she's wrong (or more accurately you think she's wrong) then discuss it. Let's figure this out. But we have to stop punishing people for saying things that are obviously true that someone can get all pissy about. Now I wish I had an actual net connection so I could publish this. BTW, IU have a generator. This is only the second time it's been in use, and this is a very long period. I keep thinking it's going to run out of propane any minute. But for now, all my systems are going fine. #

Yesterday's posts were the first posts that didn't go out over email at midnight. I don't know if the server did something stupid. This situation has never been tested. #