Y'all remember Dianne from the Halloween party, right? She's from Houston and despite spending a good chunk of last winter in Chicago, she didn't actually get to experience a real snow. Can you imagine? Snow is just such a part of my life that I never realized all the little details that come with it. Like... how do you explain the messes at intersections that snowplows make to someone who has never seen a snowplow in action? Or which kind of snow is right for snowballs? Or kicking the doorstep as you enter to knock the snow off your boots? Or silicone spray for waterproofing? Why hiking boots aren't real good in the snow?

She got a full snow experience Wednesday and Thursday...
I rolled into town just before the snow hit. Dianne was coming from work out on Transit right when it started snowing and was still talking on the phone! Handsfree but the data indicates that is just not a substantial improvement over using the handset:

Drivers engaged in cell phone conversations look out the windshield but fail to see up to 50 percent of the driving environment, missing important driving clues critical to safety, such as red lights, stop signs, pedestrians and other vehicles.

Why don’t hands-free devices offer any safety benefit while driving?
Hands-free devices do not eliminate cognitive distraction. Hands-free devices are often seen as a solution to the risks of driver distraction because they help eliminate two obvious risks—visual and manual. Most people can recognize when they are visually or mechanically distracted and seek to disengage from these activities as quickly as possible. However, people typically do not realize when they are cognitively distracted; therefore, the risk lasts much, much longer.

We went for a walk in the snow, had dinner at Cantina Loco, made snow angels, discussed the right kind of snow for good snowballs, and checked out Days Park. These are her pix (obvs, i took the ones of her making snow angels).









Snow with flash


Thursday was mostly a snow day. We both worked a little bit, walked to Cafe Taza then to the office. By the time we headed back to my house, Nisha was all tuckered out. Worked some more, then I took a nap. As I woke up, I realized she was out clearing our vehicles for Thursday street side shift. So I went out and helped her and we moved both in time for the 6pm shift. She needed stuff from Walgreens and I wanted more beer, so she got to try driving in it. Again, all the random stuff that you grew up knowing about snow... can you articulate it in a way that's comprehensible?

Brena & Nisha @ Taza



Digging out the briefcase



Nisha @ office today. She didn't like it. First, it was too warm, then there were all these people i wouldn't let her go talk to.

"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand—and melting like a snowflake..." Francis Bacon

Gorgeous photos of snowflakes


A whole site devoted to the science of snowflakes. Even taxonomies of snowflakes!

Our blinds aren't functional enough for the film noir setting (e:matthew) suggested.



Deflated lantern



Finally took a decent shot of (e:terry) for his QuickBooks ProAdvisor profile

(E:terry) was out at a client's all day while I sat in the office and studied, watching the street traffic and sunshine. We have pretty shadows from all our pretty plants. A client gave us the neat print of a main street painting.

Is this white stuff?

I didn't check the weather this morning before I left the house wearing sneakers. I also didn't grab mittens or scarf and only have one jacket layer. We had an appt at elmwood and bryantthis afternoon. It was nice enough when we got there but 3" of snow when we left 3.5 hrs later, with whiteout conditions. Took about 15 min to drive from there to the office.

My truck heater core is clogged (limited heat) and I broke the drivers side window crank in that bad freeze. It's stuck open about 2". So brushing off my truck also requires brushing the snow off the seat and floor. «sigh» I need a new vehicle. (also needs new catalytic converter, some new e brake cables, february inspection...)

It didn't look too bad from the 28th floor of the hilton, but traffic out of toronto was creeping along. I was on the QEW for a while doing an okay speed when I hit a patch of ice, flew across the grassy median ditch and landed facing oncoming traffic on the other side. Fucking crazy. Someone else did a 180 right behind me and a little farther a couple tractor trailers were jackknifed and cars were just all over the place. I made it back okay, 2.75 hr trip.

From the office window

Yikes!