Idus Februarius

There's a lot bright moonlight on the fresh snow. Yesterday afternoon I measured 14", although it was difficult to find a place where the snow hadn't drifted. We waited until four in the afternoon to start the cleanup. It took less than two hours, with the help of Mike and Matt's plowing. The snow was light and the wind swirling, so that much of the snow that came out of the snow blower's chute wound up on me.

The first two flights to Chicago this morning have been cancelled. So far, mine, at nine o'clock, is still scheduled. I'll leave early for the airport to thread my way through the crowds with the hope of claiming what I'm told is a confirmed seat. The meetings in the midlands start at two this afternoon.

It was only a matter of time before companies would require implantation of RFID chips for their employees. Twenty years ago, when magnetic card readers were installed at all of the computer labs at Digital, there was a lot of concern that the management could keep track of how much time an employee did or didn't spend in the lab. With my Blackberry, it would be possible for my boss to track where I am at all times. She won't, though, because she's a full-time job already and knows that if she starts micro-managing like that, productivity for the both of us will plummet.

Your tax dollars at work; Rus, the surfin squirrel, Stanley Stat, Pie-Chart Pam, and Ginger's CIA Adventure, and a special offering for Dick Cheney, Darrell and Shirley talk about gun safety.

If you plan to go to any of the World Cup games in Germany, well, remember that the Germans may not share your sense of humor about the war.

In the Roman calendar, the Ideas came on the 13th in short months, on the 15th in long month. February, though it feels like a long month, is short. More here.

Happy 16th Birthday, Michael Francis.