Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"In one case out of a hundred a point is excessively discussed because it is obscure; in the ninety-nine remaining it is obscure because it is excessively discussed." -- Edgar Alan Poe (born 1809-01-19, died 1849-10-07)

Draping a layer of something white outside the house, under and across from the windows, can really brighten up the place by reflecting light into the house from more angles than usual.

(Not enough to shovel -- not even a uniform coat yet, as bits of black still show on rooftops -- but more than enough to change the albedo. Predictions last night said maybe two inches (5 cm) and they hope it'll end by evening rush hour, so it might not add up to enough to shovel even by the time it stops, or I might get away with using a broom if there aren't too many ice-footprints in my four squares of sidewalk by the time I decide there's enough there that I ought to do something. I woke up just in time to see a transition from a delicate mist of fine flakes to streamers of white flowing by the window. By the way, I love the word 'albedo'. Even more than 'insolation'. But I'm amused by Weather Underground showing a current temperature a few degrees colder than their predicted low for the day -- shouldn't today's forecast have been updated at some point?)

Hey, somebody in the Balto-Wash area who's been on the road for evening rush, let me know how the roads are for driving, eh? HCB rehearsal got cancelled because of a report from a bandmate earlier about the roads being really bad, but that was when it was still snowing seriously ... (hey, it made sense to make the decision early enough to be sure everyone would see the email, so even if things are not bad now, I won't mock) ... so now I don't absolutely need to get out in whatever mess is or isn't left over, but there's someplace else I was thinking about going if I still feel well enough after rush hour ends and the streets aren't annoying or worse.

At my house we got more snow than was predicted -- closer to three inches than to two -- though I wonder whether they predicted the right amount of water and it's only deeper because it's Extra-Fluffy. Very light, but still not easy to move: it doesn't take much force to lift, but it won't stay on the shovel and can't be thrown as a clump. (Well, if I took the time to pack it all into snowballs first, yah, but that seems like more work.) My steps cleared easily with the broom, but the broad stripe of sidewalk where people had walked had packed stuff that didn't want to come up even with a metal snow shovel. (The "chip a spot in the middle and get under it there" trick didn't work; this stuff is downright adhesive.) So I scraped it to a thin layer and salted it; I hope that's enough. (I should check the expected low temperature again -- I don't think it'll be too cold for NaCl, but ...) Anyhow, I was only out there half an hour (but long enough for my toes (in winter boots) to get painfully cold even though the rest of me was fine). If the roads really got that bad, it was because it's really slippery powder, not because three inches is a significant depth of snow by itself (uh, except in Dallas).

Then I treated myself to a decadent snack -- baked potatoes (made the slow way so the waste heat from the oven would help warm the kitchen, instead of in the microwave as I usually do[*]) with melted blue cheese (courtesy of the previously reported Cheese Fairy surprise) instead of butter, with black pepper and dill sprinkled on top, and a mug of decaf Earl Grey tea alongside. Yum! Blue cheese[**] generally goes on the "nope, can't afford that" list, so this was a special treat made possible by the Cheese Fairy (BTW, I do know who it is, and am quite grateful). Some of the blue cheese might wind up on crackers at some point, but I may just reserve it for melting on potatoes ... or maybe splurge on portabello mushrooms and make a blue-cheese grilled-portabello sandwich. Anyhow, hot root vegetables with fancy cheese and a mug of nice tea seemed an appropriate after-shovelling-snow treat. Very "yup, this is winter and by God I can cope by means of my taste buds and my stomach" food.

Not that I should really like blue cheese as much as I do, being allergic to mold, but I'll be okay as long as I don't eat the whole rest of the package at once. I'll get around to answering the folks who asked what types of cheeses were in the box a bit later. For now I'm going to slip into bed at least long enough to get my toes warm.

[*] Y'know, I actually had to look up the temperature and cooking time. I think this is the first time I've made baked potatoes in a conventional oven, since I learned the trick to making them come out right in the microwave when I was still living with my parents. My first guess turned out to be pretty close, but there's still this thought echoing, "I'm this old and have been cooking for myself for this long and I had to look up how to make a baked potato in the oven? Sheesh!" OTOH, I've made them in a campfire before, so it's just the first time I've used a conventional oven, not the first time I've baked potatoes without a microwave oven.

[**] The spelling caught my attention and startled me a bit. I'll have to hit Google to figure out whether the French spelling is reserved specifically for French cheese (this is Danish), or they just switched to the English spelling to avoid confusing Americans.

Last night I did not make it to 3LF rehearsal, nor to anyplace else. Feeling halfway decent yesterday morning and afternoon did not last through evening. A couple of friends went to watch for the Poe Toaster after 3LF -- I'd been invited to join them, but didn't get out. (I'd already made plans to go to Virginia after rehearsal if I had felt well enough to go anywhere anyhow ... but Poe is buried pretty close to my neighbourhood, so if I'd been just a smidgen more awake, I probably should've joined them at the church.) Fred sent this report and said I could repost it here if I liked:

Last night, I went to Westminster Church in Baltimore to see the Poe Toaster ( http://www.labyrinth13.com/Poe_Toaster.htm ) perform his annual ritual.

He came and left. I didn't see him. About twelve people were gathered on the street corner, while one guy across Fayette Street from the church stood watch with binoculars. The binoculars seemed a bit melodramatic, but it turned out that binocular-guy knew what he was doing.

The Poe Toaster slipped through, noticed by only two people on the street. He was dressed in modern clothing, and started by mingling with a crowd of spectators, then slipped in the east gate on Fayette, then a couple minutes later bolted out the south gate on Greene and ran south on Greene. The majority of people -- me included -- were talking among themselves and didn't notice.

Binocular guy was the only to see him enter the churchyard, and he and one other person saw him leave the south gate.

Speaking with binocular-guy afterwards, I learned that this was the fourth year he's watched the Toaster come through. He chose the best vantage point, from where he could see all four gates simultaneously, and being by himself he wasn't distracted by conversation.

Binocular-guy insists that this was NOT the same guy as last year.

Happy birthday Edgar Allan Poe, wherever you are.