Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It - Wait A Minute, Can We Stop For A While?

Here we go again:

... Winter Storm Watch now in effect from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening...

The Winter Storm Watch is now in effect from Tuesday afternoon
through Wednesday evening.

* Precipitation type... snow.

* Accumulations... potential for 8 or more inches of snow. There is
a good likelihood of snow in excess of 10 inches.

* Timing... mid to late afternoon Tuesday through Wednesday.

This is on top of the nearly two feet on the ground already.

I confess that I'm getting quite sick of it all.

Remind me of this, please, when I'm griping about the heat and humidity come summah.

UPDATE: Sweet baybee Jaysus!

... Winter Storm Warning in effect from noon Tuesday to 7 PM EST Wednesday...

The National Weather Service in Sterling Virginia has issued a
Winter Storm Warning for... which is in effect from noon Tuesday
to 7 PM EST Wednesday. The Winter Storm Watch is no longer in
effect.

* Precipitation type... snow.

* Accumulations... 10 to 20 inches.

* Timing... mid-afternoon Tuesday through Wednesday.

* Temperatures... temperatures near freezing at the onset Tuesday
afternoon. Temperatures will drop into the upper 20s Tuesday
night and Wednesday.

* Winds... light southeasterly winds Tuesday becoming
northwesterly 15 to 25 mph Wednesday.

I positively guarantee that this means the power will go out again. Although I am all for the great Commonwealth of Virginny in most things, the fact of the matter is that Virginia Power's grid does not seem to have been upgraded since Reconstruction.

Mrs. Robbo is already making noise about checking into a hotel.

Random Supper Bowl Thoughts

Well, the Llama-ettes and I sat down with our traditional big ol' bowls o' nachos and watched the game last evening.

First off, congratulations to 'Awlins. At the end of the 1st quarter when they had stalled out, I said to the gels that the game was pretty much over, figuring Manning & Co. would simply wear the Saints down. This is why I'll never retire on NFL picks. The Saints' rally and gradual domination of the game was a truly first rate effort and they more than deserve their triumph.

I don't know which was more painful to hear, Queen Latifa murdering "America" or Carrie Underwood butchering the National Anthem (including her spectacularly false final note).

Coo-el lighting for The Who's half-time show. However, the gels simply couldn't understand why we were listening to a band that's been around for almost 50 years now.

As to the commercials, I thought that Audi "Green Police" one pretty damn funny. I also simply couldn't understand all the fuss over the Tenbow pro-life one. I probably wouldn't even have noticed it had it not been for the undies-wringing in the press the last few days. Actually, I thought the Doritos one with the little boy telling the date to keep his hands off the boy's mama was far more touching in a sneaky way - how horrid (but true) it is that the kid has no dad around and that he's savvy enough to know why the date is eyeing his mom that way. Also, although I've never actually seen the show, I'm assuming that the people in that Bud spoof of "Lost" were the actual actors from the program. Finally, I thought the Simpsons/Coke ad was immensely stupid. Somebody take that horse round back and shoot it, please.

Because I Have A Thing For Brunettes

Clips of Sarah at the Tea Party convention mixed with Batman. Via Hot Air.

Storm of the Century of the Century: The Llamas Are Alright Update

"Snowmaggedon?"

It's a very white world in the Mid-Atlantic today, where the historic blizzard of 2010 has buried residents under a record-breaking two to three feet of snow. The storm, which President Obama referred to as "Snowmageddon" in a speech before the Democratic National Committee winter meeting, set the all-time record for heaviest snowfall in Delaware history, thanks to the 26.5" that fell in Wilmington (old state record: 25" in the President's Day storm of 2003). "Snowmageddon" dumped the second heaviest at Philadelphia 28.5"), second heaviest at Atlantic City (18.2"), third heaviest at Baltimore (24.8"), and the 4th heaviest at Washington D.C. (17.8"). Several locations in Maryland have seen over three feet of snow, with the northern Washington D.C. suburb of Colesville receiving 40", and the southern Baltimore suburb of Elkridge receiving 38.3". While the blizzard was not an exceptionally strong storm--the central pressure was a rather unimpressive 986 mb at the height of the blizzard, at 9am EST Saturday--it was an exceptionally wet storm. The melted equivalent precipitation for the blizzard exceeded three inches along its core snow belt. That's an phenomenal amount of moisture for a winter storm. The blizzard formed a very unstable region aloft where thunderstorms were able to build, and there were many reports of thundersnow during the height of the storm. These embedded thunderstorms were able to generate very heavy snow bursts of 2 - 3 inches per hour.

Well that was fun! Power went out around midnight Friday night and did not come back on until last evening. Saturday was a very. long. day. However, no furniture was destroyed and no felines were consumed in our efforts to tough it out.

I measured 22 inches at the near end of the Orgle Manor driveway this morning. After bashing at it for a bit, I realized that I would be all day clearing it and would probably put myself in traction as well. As a result, I finally relented and agreed to Mrs. Robbo's suggestion that we hire somebody to come in and plow us out.

Guess what's in the forecast for Tuesday night and Wednesday? (Hint: It's not a record-breaking heat spell.)

BSG meets The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

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CAPRICA's depictation of human society is depressing because there are few sympathetic characters: Adama's father is a mob lawyer who bribes judges, his gay uncle is a mob enforcer with the requisite same-sex spouse; Caprican society includes "group marriage" where there is little sense of fidelity, even to those in the group, Zoe gets blown up in a terrorist attack but reappears thanks to her AI avatar which is loaded into a robot with a scrolling red eye, Zoe's father is an evil defense contractor who uses Father Adama's mob connections to steal secrets from a competitor, and the monotheists are viewed as likely security threats. I give it a few more episodes before the plug is pulled.

"I AM IN CONTROL"

Flash traffic from Robbo's bride to mine here at the post headquarters (located, of course, amidst the vast real estate holdings which comprise Fort LMC): Orgle Manor is out of power thanks to the storm of epic proportions which is pounding Our Nation's Capitol. Accordingly, I am reluctantly forced to undertake certain temporary, emergency measures until this event has passed--please remain calm and in your homes. Official bulletins will update you as we receive pertinent information. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

UPDATE: The Butcher's Wife checked in and reports power has been restored--the sideboard is safe from being burned in the fireplace and the cats do not need to worry about an encounter with the grill.

Storm Of The Century Of The Day Update

Oh, Lordy Mama.....We are gonna diiiiieeeeee!!!!!!!!

Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 10 PM EST Saturday...

A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 10 PM EST
Saturday.

* Precipitation type... heavy snow.

* Accumulations... storm total accumulations of 20 to 28 inches.

* Timing... snow will begin mid-morning... and will continue through
Saturday evening. Conditions will deteriorate rapidly this
afternoon... with heaviest snowfall occurring from sunset through
Saturday morning. The most hazardous conditions will occur
tonight.

* Visibilities... the combination of heavy snow and strong winds
will reduce visibilities to below one-quarter mile... producing
near-blizzard conditions tonight through Saturday morning.

* Temperatures... highs in the lower 30s today. Temperatures will
be in the mid to upper 20s tonight and Saturday.

* Winds... becoming northeast 10 to 20 mph today with gusts to 30
mph tonight and Saturday.

To date, nearly all the snow we've had (including last December's blizzard) has been pretty dry and powdery. Word is that this batch is going to be wet and heavy.

Assuming an almost inevitable loss of power, we already have plans in place for burning the sideboard and eating the cats, if necessary.

Clash Of The Titans

Here's a question to make the ganglia twitch on this snow-blown Friday: Who would win a fight between ManBearPig and Demon Sheep?

I know I'd buy tickets to see it either way.

DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL

The debate is rightly one which must play out in the political arena in light of existing law and the President's desire to change it. The fundamental question to be answered is not whether the present policy is morally right; it is at best an imperfect solution to a sticky problem but such is the nature of any compromise to a politically divisive issue. The real question is what impact that changing the present policy will have on good order and discipline and the military's primary mission: to fight and win the Nation's wars. Somewhere deep in the pages of the opinions of the Supreme Court is the observation that an Army by its nature cannot embody all of the attributes of the free society it protects. One is dedicated to equality and liberty, the other to victory. From my standpoint as an infantry officer who has served on active duty and in the Army Reserve, in peace and in combat, these are the considerations which must be weighed:
1. Soldiers are not bigots or homophobes but what impact, if any, will there be in how the troops interact with one another? The average age of most units is around 19, the age when the hormones of young men and women are running hot. Commanders and senior NCOs in units with men and women have to contend with the normal social interaction between the sexes, including infatuation, heartache, and jealously between unit members--none of which are conducive to good order and discipline. Adding gays to the mix does not improve the situation and only complicates it. Infantry, armor, and cavalry units are largely free of these concerns, except to the extent these combat arms soldiers are attracted to women in adjacent gender-integrated units. Adding gays to their ranks will only add another dynamic for combat arms commanders to juggle.
2. As necessary, units provide separate billeting for men and women, NCOs, and officers where possible, providing some small measure of privacy. (Unlike "Starship Troopers," there are no co-ed showers.) Adding gays to mix will only complicate matters. For example, will first sergeants now have to take into account separating the straights from the gays? While the gays may not object to having a straight roommate or roommates, what about the straights? Is it unreasonable for straights to object to sharing quarters with someone who is predisposed to be attracted to members of their own sex?

Puppy Cam!

If your heart doesn't melt over these fluffy little buggers, then you don't have one.

Tip from Ace.

Storm Of The Century Of The Week Day Watch

We've had two snow storms this week already here in Your Nation's Capital, one on Saturday and one Tuesday night. The forecast folks low-balled the amounts we would get from each of them. While they initially predicted around an inch or so, we wound up getting 4 or 5 inches out of each one.

Well, lo and behold, we've got yet another one coming in tomorrow. This time the O-fficial weather critters seem to be letting their hair down a bit more:

Winter Storm Watch remains in effect from Friday morning
through Saturday evening.

* Precipitation type... snow.

* Accumulations... this storm is likely to produce 12 or more
inches of snow in the watch area... with a good chance for
localized amounts over 20 inches.

* Timing... snow is expected to begin late morning Friday...
continuing through Saturday evening.

The folks on the radio are also predicting this one will be bigger than the blizzard that hit us back in mid-December.

Further, Jim Cantore was practically swallowing his tongue on TWC last evening while making ominous predictions about another four or five systems lining up way out west that may hit us over the next couple of weeks.

Yup, this is the snowiest winter I can remember here for a long time. Personally, I blame AlGore.

UPDATE: Alright! Now we're really getting into the swing of things:

* Precipitation type... heavy snow.

* Accumulations... storm total accumulations of 16 to 24 inches.

* Timing... snow will begin mid-morning Friday... and will continue
through Saturday evening. Conditions will deteriorate rapidly
Friday afternoon... with heaviest snowfall occurring between
sunset Friday to sunrise Saturday. The most hazardous winter
weather conditions will occur Friday night... when the
combination of heavy snow and strong winds will reduce
visibilities to below one-quarter mile... producing near-blizzard
conditions.

Run for your lives!

UPDATE DEUX: Too late!

* Precipitation type... heavy snow.

* Accumulations... storm total accumulations of 18 to 24 inches.

* Timing... snow will begin mid-morning Friday... and will continue
through Saturday evening. Conditions will deteriorate rapidly
Friday afternoon... with heaviest snowfall occurring between
sunset Friday to sunrise Saturday. The most hazardous winter
weather conditions will occur Friday night.

* Visibilities... the combination of heavy snow and strong winds
will reduce visibilities to below one-quarter mile... producing
near-blizzard conditions at times Friday night and early
Saturday morning.

* Temperatures... highs in the lower 30s Friday. Temperatures will
be in the mid to upper 20s Friday night and Saturday.

* Winds... becoming northeast 10 to 20 mph Friday with gusts to
30 mph Friday night and Saturday.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

Conditions in this storm are expected to be comparable to those
in the storm of 19 December. Plan for substantial disruptions to
travel Friday afternoon through the weekend.

UPDATE TROIS:

Aaaaaaaah!!!! Why, Snow-Miser? WHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY????????

(Frozen Yips! to Oahu Mike.)

Playing Catch-Up

The great Commonwealth of Virginny takes one step closer to recognizing reality.

The Virginia House and Senate moved Tuesday to raise the maximum interstate speed limit from 65 to 70 miles per hour, passing a measure backed by Gov. Bob McDonnell to speed traffic on wide-open stretches of highway.

The identical bills passed by wide margins in both chambers. Proponents argued the change would result in shorter travel times for motorists, with many roads already designed to safely handle greater speeds. Officials expect the higher limit — part of McDonnell's transportation plan — to apply to rural sections of interstates and not in the traffic-choked corridors of Northern Virginia. Each proposed increase would require a Virginia Department of Transportation engineering study before being put in place.

Critics said the change would hurt gas mileage, make roads more dangerous and do nothing to address Virginia's transportation funding crisis. Others took a wait-and-see approach. AAA Mid-Atlantic is "of two minds" on the legislation, said spokesman Lon Anderson. "We know people want to speed, speeding is popular, nobody wants to do 60, 65 if they can do 70," Anderson said. "That said, we have so many people on the road, and we have so many distractions on the road, the question becomes, Will higher speed limits translate into more fatalities and make the roads more dangerous?"

The governor called the legislation an "important proposal to speed up traffic in rural and less populated sections of Virginia."

State Sen. Creigh Deeds — McDonnell's opponent in the 2009 election — for the second straight day delivered a fiery floor speech criticizing GOP legislation.

"This is one more bill that does nothing to fix the problems we have," Deeds said. The higher speed limit could result in more reckless-driving arrests, which can still be triggered by driving more than 80 mph. That leaves speeders with a smaller window between a simple traffic ticket and a far more serious charge.

The truth of the matter is that traveling the highways of the Old Dominion at 65 mph is an invitation to get rear-ended. The average speed on I-95 is already somewhere between 75 and 80 mph. (Ditto for I-81, with the added possibility of getting a logging truck up your tailpipe if you dawdle.)

Indeed, one of the famous South of the Border billboards that has always tickled me says, "No, Virginia, 95 Is Not The Speed Limit!"

Super Bowl Ads

Bad Cheetah:

Gratuitous Supper Bowl Observation

(Yes, "Supper" Bowl. For the past few years now, the Llama-ettes have taken the Super Bowl Sunday cooking in hand, preparing big dishes of over-stuffed nachos, which we all eat while watching the game.)

I'm having a hard time trying to decide about this year's match-up. On the one hand, while I sorta, kinda like the Colts, I think Peyton Manning is an arrogant jerk. On the other, while I know a lot of the country will be rooting for New Awlins - first appearance in the S.B., post-Katrina comeback, etc., etc. - well, I just really can't get very excited about them.

UPDATE: I see my remarks about Peyton Manning have caused a bit of comment. Actually, it's nothing more than a gut feeling. I don't get that much exposure to Manning, so perhaps I'm mistaken in my assessment. And as a long time fan of Dan "Laces Out!" Marino, perhaps I should be more careful about judging other sooperstar QB's. (Except Tom Brady, who we all know is the devil's spawn.)

Gratuitous Grammy Observation

I see from the "entertainment" nooz this morning that Beyonce and Taylor Swift racked up a considerable number of awards between them last evening at the Grammies.

I do not believe I have ever heard a single song of Beyonce's. (BTW, is it "Be-YONS" or "Be-yon-SAY"?) Pop music is a world with which I have almost literally no contact whatsoever.

And as for Taylor Swift, she'd better not ever show up at Orgle Manor, as the Llama-ettes positively loathe her for crossing over from country to pop. (One of my few achievements as a father has been to teach the gels the difference between real country (e.g., Alan Jackson, George Strait, Randy Travis), and bogus pop-country (e.g. Rascal Flatts).)

LMC FAV TURNS 46

Bridget Fonda, of course:

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I have never been able to look at a gal in black cocktail dress the same way since Point of No Return:

THE SUN RISES

All is well here at the post headquarters, located amidst the vast real estate holdings which comprise Fort LMC after a winter storm dumped 9 inches of snow on Virginia Beach, the largest such event in more than 20 years. The roads are iced over but we have all of the essentials: food, booze, toilet paper, internet, and ammunition (strictly for civil disturbances).