At one time late yesterday, I had heard a forecast that said the upper end of the snowfall could be as much as 13 inches.

This morning... MAYBE it was 3"-5".. and the alerts were all cancelled... and the storm was over.

So... am I more tired and fed up about:

The snow storms piling-up the snow in big batches...

The roller coaster temperatures that never seem to get warm enough but sure seem to plummet at the drop of a hat...

The weathercritters who just can't get it right... they can predict the temperatures pretty well... but snowfall? When? Were? How much? NO WAY...

I am SO over this...

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 345 AM CST MON FEB 25 2008

...A WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA...

.LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPING OVER NORTHEAST COLORADO THIS MORNING WILL INTENSIFY AS IT MOVES TOWARD THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TODAY...THEN MOVES ACROSS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA TONIGHT. GULF MOISTURE BEING PULLED INTO THIS SYSTEM WILL CAUSE RAIN TO DEVELOP AND SPREAD ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA AROUND MIDDAY. RAIN IS EXPECTED TO QUICKLY CHANGE TO SNOW ACROSS FAR NORTHERN ILLINOIS...WITH THIS CHANGE OVER SPREADING SOUTH AND EAST ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE REGION DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN EXCESS OF 6 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA...WITH HEAVIEST TOTALS ACROSS FAR NORTHERN ILLINOIS WHERE THE RAIN TO SNOW CHANGE WILL TAKE PLACE EARLIEST. AS THE STORM CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY TONIGHT...WINDS WILL INCREASE FROM THE NORTHEAST WITH GUSTS OF 30 TO 40 MPH RESULTING IN CONSIDERABLE BLOWING SNOW AS TEMPERATURES DROP AND THE SNOW BECOMES MORE POWDERY. THE SNOW WILL GRADUALLY TAPER TO FLURRIES BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON...THOUGH SOME LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST INDIANA INTO TUESDAY NIGHT.

ILZ003>006-008-010>012-251745-
/O.UPG.KLOT.WS.A.0004.080225T1800Z-080227T0000Z/
/O.NEW.KLOT.WS.W.0004.080225T2200Z-080226T1800Z/
WINNEBAGO-BOONE-MCHENRY-LAKE ILLINOIS-OGLE-LEE-DE KALB-KANE-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ROCKFORD... WOODSTOCK... WAUKEGAN... OREGON... DIXON... DEKALB... AURORA
345 AM CST MON FEB 25 2008

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 12 PM CST TUESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 12 PM CST TUESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

MIXED PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...THEN QUICKLY CHANGE TO SNOW. SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES WILL THEN CONTINUE WELL INTO TONIGHT...WITH TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 9 INCHES BY TUESDAY MORNING. THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH TO FLURRIES BY MORNING...HOWEVER...STRONG NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTING TO 35 MPH WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. THIS...COMBINED WITH BLOWING SNOW WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS.

$$

I just didn't like the evening... wait... that came out wrong... I loved being with our friends and having a good time...

It's just the Red Carpet.. and the Awards... meh

No stellar dresses... STUPID people doing the coverage of the Red Carpet....and with SO many "dark" movies nominated, it was just kind of depressing, and since we don't see those kind of movies, we had no vested interest with anything in the show.

On top of that, no contest this year at the party because "because Michael always wins!!"

Well... not ALWAYS...

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird

Achievement in art direction
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti
Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo

Achievement in cinematography
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne

Achievement in directing
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Best documentary feature
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)
An X-Ray Production
Alex Gibney and Eva Orner

Best documentary short subject
“Freeheld”
A Lieutenant Films Production
Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth

Achievement in film editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse

Best foreign language film of the year
“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production
Austria

Achievement in makeup
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
(Fox Searchlight)
Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

Best motion picture of the year
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers

Best animated short film
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)
A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production
Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)
A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard

Achievement in sound editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis

Achievement in visual effects
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood

Adapted screenplay
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Original screenplay
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Diablo Cody

Today, starting at 11am, select AMC theaters will start a marathon of movies nominated for Best Picture at tomorrow's Academy Awards.

Michael Clayton 11:00 a.m.
There Will Be Blood 1:20 p.m.
Atonement 4:20 p.m.
Juno 7:00 p.m.
No Country for Old Men 9:00 p.m.

I think this would be SO COOL... but... if I have problems sitting through one movie, how am I going to sit for 5 movies over 12 hours?

Does NOT make the situation more... ummm... "palatable"

I was reading this post I wrote back toward the end of 2005 that referenced a list (and VOLUMINOUS comments) at Eric Zorn's blog at the Tribune of stores, shops, buildings, institutions that have left the Chicago landscape. (I think this was in reaction to MARSHAL FIELD'S leaving the landscape, a move that I STILL think is WRONG... but... I digress...)

I was SHOCKED to find out that people are STILL commenting on that blog entry for things that they remember that are no longer around...

But what a GREAT way to reminisce about ... "the old days"...

... and, are you old if you talk about "the old days"?

The sun is out.... I open the drapes on our patio door...

and there it is...

They've laid waste to the backyard too...

My blood is boiling...

Neighbor. 2 Golden Retrievers. Neighbor lets the dogs out, while he either stays inside the house or stands in the garage and smokes.

Dogs do not stay on his property - they go to the neighboring properties...

... and proceed to... ummm... dump... their waste.

Neighbor calls dogs back inside...

DOES NOT CLEANUP AFTER THE DOGS. EVER.

So, during the snowfall season... they've been crapping on my lawn... and now that the snow has melted a bit... I can see them... everywhere...

We've had this issue for years now. During the summer, our lawn mowing service would come weekly to mow... and ... well... that would.. umm... dissipate the issue...

We've had TruGreen ChemLawn come out to fertilize and treat the lawn and leave us messages that we should clean-up after our dog.

OUR DOG.

Do you have any idea how ANGRY I am right now?

Somebody is floating the idea of a reality show that can actually produce - as a winner - an Olympian.

So... what kind of sport would work for that? How about... curling!

Now, it has turned into a American Idol reality thing with five male and five female slots to produce the entries to the Olympic tryouts.

The cool thing, that was unfortunately false, is that at one time they were talking about "closet curlers" that are rockstars would be involved - specifically John Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. How cool would that have been? How cool would it have been for those guys to expose more people to the sport?

According to the "language of flowers", certain rose colors carry specific symbolic meanings.

Red: love, used to say "I love you," but also stands for courage and respect.
Red & White Together or White Roses with Red Edges signify unity and togetherness.
Pink: symbolizes grace, sophistication and elegance. Also symbolizes gentle feelings of love and friendship.
Dark Pink: Gratefulness and appreciation.
Light Pink: Admiration, sympathy
White: Innocence, purity, secrecy, friendship, reverence and humility.
Yellow: Often akin to joy and deep friendship or platonic love. In German speaking countries, however, they can mean jealousy and infidelity.
Yellow with red tips: Friendship, falling in love
Orange or Coral symbolizes enthusiasm and desire
Burgundy: Beauty
Blue: Mystery
Green: Calm
Black: used to signify death (black being the color of death) often of old habits. In a positive light it signifies rebirth after death. Also, slavish devotion (as a true black rose is impossible to produce).
Purple: protection (paternal/maternal love)

The rose also has various supernatural and literary attributes.

Pale Colors:convey warmth and friendship.
A Dozen Roses: stand for "there are dozens of ways I care about you."
Two Dozen Roses: stands for the 24 hours in a day and tells that "you think about them every hour".
Three Dozen Roses: signify a romantic attachment unlike any other.
Four Dozen Roses: mean unchanging and unconditional love.

But I thought it was interesting to hear about what I would think would be another "shot through the heart" that is being planned, though not from cupid... or Bon Jovi for that matter.

There's this Spy Satellite (identified only as USA 193) that was launched on December 14th, 2006 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a Delta II rocket. Shortly after reaching obit, ground controllers lost the ability to control the satellite, and have never regained it.

So, this thing is in this decaying orbit. Since there was never any contact, 1,000 pounds of the maneuvering fuel (hydrazine) is still onboard. So, the United States is concerned that this huge thing is not going to burn-up completely when it finally dives into the atmosphere. The hydrazine is deadly, so the United States is going to shoot down the satellite first. With an anti-ballistic missile. To make sure the tank gets ruptured and the hydrazine gets dissipated.

Let's look at a few things. this satellite is about 5,000 pounds. The government is worried about the debris. Larger things have re-entered with little damage, like Mir (clocking in at about 274,000 lbs). Even Skylab, that had major pieces survive didn't do that much damage (about 169,000 pounds).

I'd like to believe the government is worried about the hydrazine, but... come on... truthfully... don't you think it's because they're worried key technology components may survive reentry and be recovered by other unnamed countries? I mean... hello!... Spy satellite!

Still... kinda cool if they could actually hit the thing.

Snowfall this season up through today: 45.2 inches

Snow up to this date last year? 13.5 inches.

It's becoming obvious to me that I've accepted the past mild winters as normal, because this winter is just weighing hard on me...

The trip home was terrible, but actually moved better than I had anticipated, but it was still a struggle to get there.

Perhaps this will be the biggest one of the season... maybe...

I mean... there's too much scheduled today... it's Fat Tuesday... which really is Mardi Gras... which is the last day of Carnival... (that started on Twelfth Night, which is the 12th day after Christmas, January 6, or as the dictionary says "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking"... which also marked the end of a winter festival that started on All Hallows (also known as All Saints) Eve — now more commonly known as Halloween)... but it's also Shrove Tuesday... but that's also Pancake Day? ... and then, in Chicago, it's Pączki Day... but that's only for Chicago, Detroit, Hamtramck, Milwaukee, and South Bend... because it's really supposed to be on Tłusty Czwartek or Fat Thursday which would have been last Thursday... which is also Fettdonnerstag, or Schmutziger Donnerstag in Germany... or Giovedì Grasso in Italy... and all of this is because of Ash Wednesday tomorrow...

THERE IS JUST TOO MUCH HAPPENING WITH TODAY...

... and I'm supposed to go out and vote today?

But... it's only a Primary election... and I don't exercise my right to vote on those days... because it requires me to officially declare a party and I refuse to do that. I always rather vote for a candidate that I believe in regardless of the party affiliation.

I'm just looking forward to the end of all the damn political advertising... at least until we do this all again later this year - for "real".