Here are some photos taken Thursday morning. As you can see, it’s still snowing.

Here’s our house. Look at the roof above my wife’s head.

Here’s our neighborhood. We have about 2 feet of snow so far.

Digging this car out is probably pointless. It won’t be able to get out of our neighborhood for a while anyway.

If you have the right vehicle, snow is fun!

My 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser, now with chains

Chains are hard to put on, but they sure make a difference!

I was the only one who decided to go to work today, apparently.

I think I may be parked in a handicapped spot.

The path in to my office is normally not so narrow.

Somebody did some shoveling yesterday.

Ah! Here’s my office.

The funny thing is how quickly all the roads will be clear and everything will be back to normal — the Wal-Mart will be open 24 hours and everyone will be stressed out again. I think God gives us days like this to allow everything to shut down and make people stay home with their families. Should be interesting to see how many babies are born 9 months from now.

It just snowed a couple of feet of snow here in Denver, and it keeps coming down. I’m tempted to compare the hardships we’re suffering with the Colorado pioneers. You probably can guess all the stuff they suffered: frostbite, starvation, death, so I won’t bore you with their details. Here is a list of the things which we have suffered today:

1. Drank last bottle of red wine. Forced to borrow another bottle from the neighbors.
2. Had to shovel three feet of snow that had drifted atop the hot tub before enjoying a soak.
3. Satellite dish for DirecTV needed to be cleared of snow in order to watch TV.
4. No mail today.
5. Chained up the tires on my Land Cruiser. Forced to lie in a cold puddle, briefly. My blue jeans were wet and cold.
6. Weather.com maps showed inaccuracies.
7. Relative in warmer climes kept annoying us with phone calls for some incomprehensible reason. “Yes, we’re OK. No wait, we’re dead! Just kidding, we’re drinking.” WTF?
8. Ski trip to Copper Mountain may be postponed due to excessive snow. How ironic is that?
9. Prevented me from playing the hero. Newer version of Volkswagen Passat seems to have no front tow point. I have an enormous 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser with lockers, aftermarket bumper, recovery points with D-Rings and a strong strap. All Volkswagen had to do was provide a single front recovery point, as they did for decades in their other cars. What, do they think their cars are able to fly? Fucking Germans.
10. Couldn’t find my favorite knit cap.

As you can see, the hardships faced by the modern Coloradan have not changed much in 150 years. Even my mule was cold.

This is pretty cool. I have one of those atomic time clocks in my office and another at home. Now you can get a watch with the same technology for a reasonable price. Only $50 + shipping.

Of course, this is assuming that you wear a watch at all. I read an article a few months ago that said watch sales have plummeted in the past couple of years, because many people are now using their cell phones as time-keeping devices.

This is cool, even though the technology will never equal atomic accuracy. This is an Ollech & Wajs MP 2824 automatic watch. I’ve been jonesin’ for one of these for about 6 months.

They are available through Gnomon Watches in Singapore. $210 + shipping.

Oh! I desire you most at night, especially after everyone else in my household hath gone to bed. You are best when fresh, recently unwrapped, naked to the nighttime air. I love that first taste, when my whole mouth doth envelope you. I am overwhelmed by your luscious sweetness.

Must I wait? Oh, how do you tempt me!

Do not elude me, my love. I search for thee in the deep cabinets of the pantry. You are hidden from the easy eyes of children and strangers, yet I will seek you unto the bottom depths of the bread drawer. Art thou hidden on the back side of swing-out shelves, behind boxes of name brand cereal, betwixt bags of chips?

When you are with me, I must have you immediately. When you are absent, every synapse in my skull arcs with aching bursts of micro-electricity, longing for your return. I feel I can hold your shape within my hands, even when you are not here. I stroke your ghost with my fingers and thumbs, close my eyes and picture your magnificence. Our affair must be brief, yet I will savor your memory for all time.

My saliva glands cannot lie. I want you, I need you — now more than ever. Let us join together as one, and this moment shall become the landmark when two became as one, crashing through the gates of tradition, and the lower shelves of grocery stores, forever.

A friend recently asked me about Lasik. I wrote a long synopsis of my experience, and thought I would share it with the world.

The short answer: I would be hesitant to recommend Lasik. Read below.

Before surgery
My vision was very near sighted. Right: 20/600 Left: 20/750
I wore glasses most of the time. I used one-day contact lenses for skiing and other stuff.

First surgery Dec. 2001
I had Lasik done on both eyes at the same time. My surgeon was Dr. Dishler, a well-known eye surgeon in Colorado.
Result: better vision, but not full correction. Right: 20/150 Left: 20/200
Side effect: very dry eyes. I had to have plugs put in my tear ducts to solve this problem. The dry eyes would continue to be a problem for the next two years.

Second surgery early 2002
I had a Lasik enhancement done on the right eye.
Result: Much better. Right: 20/40

Third surgery mid 2002
I had a Lasik enhancement done on the left eye.
Result: Much better. Left: 20/30

A few years passed.

Foggy vision mid 2004
Then I started noticing that the vision in my left eye was getting foggy. I thought it was due to dryness. The doctors at Dr. Dishler’s office thought that it was due to an uneven suface of my eye. After half a dozen visits, my vision continued to get worse, and the doctors were clearly stumped. Finally, I went for a second opinion at a local ophthalmologist. The result: I had a cataract in my left eye.

Most people have cataracts in their 70s. I was 40. My cataract surgeon, Dr. Kevin Cuevas, says that no studies have been done, but he is seeing many more young patients requiring cataract surgery. All of these people are lasik patients.

Sidenote: if you need an eye surgeon, I highly recommend Dr. Kevin Cuevas.

Fourth surgery Sept. 2005
Lens replacement surgery for my left eye. Due to my lasik surgeries, it is hard for the doctor to calculate the strength of my new artificial lens.
Result: I end up a bit far-sighted in my left eye.

Fifth surgery Dec. 2005
Lens replacement surgery for my left eye (again).
Result: Perfect! Now at 20/20 in my left eye.

Sixth surgery Feb. 2006
I still had a bit of fogginess in my vision. My cataract doctor used a “Yag laser” to blast a hole in the back of the capsule surrounding the lens in my left eye. This was the least invasive surgery of the six.
Result: Now at 20/20 in my left eye, no fogginess.

Current status Dec. 2006
Right: 20/100 Left: 20/20
Yes, my right eye has gotten more near sighted again. It’s so minor that it doesn’t bother me. I may get some glasses for night driving. I have started using reading glasses occasionally (near sighted people generally can wait longer for this, but I’m no longer near sighted).

Recommendations
If I then what I know now, I would have stuck with my glasses. After thousands of dollars and six surgeries, my eyesight is very good. I just hope that it stays that way.

You are Raiders of the Lost Ark. You live for adventure, fortune hunting and danger.

This is pretty cool: a personality test that tells you what classic movie you most resemble. They have some other cool tests too.

Other interesting tests:

• Jung Tests I-E S-N F-T J-P
• Maslow Inventory Test
• Right Left Brain Tests
• Intelligence Tests
• Famous Leader Test

What Classic Movie Are You? | personality tests by similarminds.com

I’ve been getting these e-mails from democrats.com — Dec. 10 is “impeachment day.” All I can say is: yipee. woo hoo. terrific.

For years, the Dems have been struggling to convince just about anybody that they have a single new idea. The Republicans finally proved so inept and corrupt that the Dems won by default, new ideas or not. And now they’re going to seize the day by playing politics?

“We won both houses. Let our first act be to alienate as many swing voters as possible.”

I just did a little Googlingâ„¢, and determined Democrats.com isn’t the official voice of the Democratic party — Democrats.org holds that distinction. And the official site mentions nothing about impeachment. So maybe the Dems aren’t complete losers yet. But I gotta tell you, the Republicans do a much better job of defining a strategy and keeping everybody on message.

It seems like the Republicans politicians are all corrupt and the Democrats politicians are all idiots. I’ve been siding with the idiots. Isn’t there some other choice?

It’s too bad Ross Perot turned into such a flake.

Betcha didn’t know that the original 7 wonders of the world were chosen by Philon of Byzantium in 200 B.C. You can probably name a few of them: the Pyramids at Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse at Alexandria, and, er, four others…. The others are all pretty much forgotten today. In fact, the only original wonder that remains intact is the Pyramids.

My Dad forward this on to me: the New 7 Wonders. They’ve narrowed it down to 21 existing wonders of today’s world. They ain’t exactly spankin’ new: the candidates include Stonehenge, the statues at Easter Island and the Pyramids (again). The newest is the Sydney Opera House, which was completed in 1973. All the rest are much older.

I was skeptical at first, but soon I found myself reading all the details of the original ancient 7 wonders, as well as the new candidates. The winners will be revealed on 07/07/07, which is a fine example of good planning. You can vote, too.

I’ve seen 5 of the 21 in person:

• Chichen Itzá
• The Colosseum
• Eiffel Tower
• Statue of Liberty
• Stonehenge

Now I want to go to Timbuktu.