Slogging

I made it through day three of tax class. We had a short quiz today, so we'll see if any of this crap is actually sticking in my brain. I have my doubts, but I'll just have to wait until tomorrow and see what's up. With both of us working and sharing a vehicle, there hasn't been much going on other than getting our butts up and out the door in the morning, coming home, fixing something to slam down for dinner, watch a few Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes on Hulu, then tucking into bed so we can do it again. I do have a few hours between when my class gets out and when I have to go pick Debbie up that I use to do laundry, dishes, etc. And dash off an incoherent blog post.

Anyway, the TSA's security kabuki theater continues. I'm so glad we are beggaring the next several generations to pay for these Keystone Kops to blunder around accomplishing nothing.

On a lighter note, we have the entire eastern half of the United States shivering from the Gore Effect:

Miami has coldest weather in a decade.
Midwest sees record lows and snow by the foot.
Thirty degrees below normal in DesMoines.
All-time record snowfall in Burlington.
And in case anyone thinks this is only local to North America, Seoul sees the heaviest snowfall in 70 years.

Old political joke: How do you tell a politician is lying? His lips are moving. 2010 version: How do you tell a politician is lying? She hides behind locked doors. It seems nothing terrifies Nancy Pelosi more than a video camera. Given her actions in the House over the last year, I can understand why. Being held accountable for your outrageous (and probably criminal) actions can be a bit scary.

After six years, it looks like the next few months are going to be a death-watch for the Spirit rover. The attempts to get in unstuck have not worked, and it now has two non-functioning wheels, the dust continues to build up on the solar panels, it's not orientated correctly to catch the winter sun, and... well, it doesn't look good. But six years out of a piece of hardware that was expected to last six months isn't bad. I wish I had that kind of luck with my cars.

I tend to be a pessimist. Anyone who knows me or has read this blog more than once is well aware of that. To me, it makes sense to be pessimistic and spend most of your life being pleasantly surprised, rather than running around all happy-clappy and being forever disappointed. I would be at the head of the parade if I am pleasantly surprised by the economy (as one example) in the next year, but I'm expecting and planning for the worst. The internet seems to be largely split between people like me and those that are the polar opposite; the whole greens-shoots-are-springing-up-everywhere gang that think because they have a job and their 401k made back a little less than half what it lost in 2008 that everything is pink butterflies and purple unicorns that fart rainbows. Somewhere between us doom-and-gloomers and the rainbow-farting unicorns is where reality is likely to fall. How America Can Rise Again is likely close to that reality. It's a long read for the internet, but it is worth the time.

Well, I need to get moving. They were digging up the street in front of Debbie's work this morning and I have no idea what kind of mess I have to deal with to pick her up.

Stay warm!