So What

A Panoply of Topics of No Concern to Anyone.

1.  Now that was a storm.  We didn't get snow like that when I was growing up in California.  (Actually, we didn't get snow at all.)  This storm added a whole new level of snow removal to my life.  Clearing the driveway is Old Hat now.  But, this year, I had to go dig out Janet's greenhouse.  There was so much snow that the roof of the greenhouse was potentially in danger of collapsing.  But the snow was piled up on the sides, so I had to dig out the sides so that the snow could slide off the roof.  I was wading through snow piles a few feet deep.  But the greenhouse is now safe.  The plants inside are rejoicing.

2. Speaking of California, being back in Davis was really odd.  I left there 17 years ago.  The town looks really different now.  Not only has there been a huge amount of new building in areas that used to be vacant, but most of the stores that were there when I was there are gone.  Our favorite restaurants have survived though--and most importantly, the best Mexican food place is still there.  Dos Coyotes.  I still remember when they opened up--even for those of us who grew up on Mexican food, it was obvious that this place was something special.   If you are ever in Davis, be sure to eat there.

3. In a sign of the times, the old video store in Davis from which we rented VCR tapes is now a Trader Joe's.  It was right across the street from us.  Janet and I would have loved to have lived across the street from Trader Joe's.

4. Speaking of VCR tapes, I mentioned a record store yesterday--Emma laughed at me.

5. I can still feel the disappointment of Trader Joe's coming to Hadley, MA.  One of the best things about Trader Joe's is the cheap wine--they get great wine, slap a Trader Joe's label on it so that you don't know what it is and sell it for cheap, very cheap.  (A great question for Economics students--why would this happen?)  So, as grad students we were able to get very good wine for not much money.  When Trader Joe's came to a town near us in MA, we were really happy.  But, then we learned about MA alcohol laws--no chain can sell alcohol in more than two locations in the state.  So, we have a Dry Trader Joe's.  Annoying to say the least.  Why does MA, which prides itself on being so liberal, still have alcohol laws from the Puritan era?  (Yes, I know that economics students can provide an answer to that too, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.)  It was odd walking through a Safeway in Davis and seeing the alcohol aisle--one forgets how normal that is.

6. I am currently listening to Mumford and Sons.  You can hear them here.  It's an amazing album.  They are Big, but I hadn't paid much attention.  I was talking to Janet one day in the car when the came on the radio, and I mentioned how Amazon had really been pushing this album in their MP3 Deal of the Day section.  $5 download in December.  She said she would like the album, so I got it.  I think I may like it even more than she does.  It's seriously good music.

7.  Meanwhile when in my truck, I am currently listening to Miles Davis.  Listen here.  The album was $4 from Amazon.

8.  I am turning into a walking commercial for the Amazon MP3 download of the day.

9.  None of my kids like listening to Miles Davis in the truck.  Sigh.

10. Interesting slate of games this weekend.  The Steelers-Ravens game is the one to watch if you are only going to watch one.  That should be a fantastic game.  Pats-Jets could be entertaining, but only if the Jets play above themselves--Sanchez is so bad, though, the game could be a blowout.  In the NFC, the Falcons-Packers could be good--but I still have a hard time figuring out the Falcons (quick, name three players on Atlanta--yeah, I can't do it either without thinking about it for a minute or so).  As for Bears-Seahawks--are you kidding me?--how exactly did this become a playoff game?