Wednesday 5th February

We didn't get the 70% forecast of snow I thought would come this morning.  I had rung the church yesterday to say I didn't think I would be able to do the desserts for tonight's meal, but actually there was no problem in getting out, and I picked up the flowers from Emmanuel and took them to the hospital.    Other than that I haven't done a lot today. 

Pattisue rang and I think we have given up on "12 years a slave", it is too bitingly cold to go out.   I don't mind as I wasn't terribly keen.   We are both very keen however on seeing "Monuments Men" a WWII movie in which an Allied platoon comprising seven museum directors, curators and art historians enter Germany with the Allied forces to rescue artworks plundered by the Nazis.    Pattisue laughed when I said I was longing to hear the clipped  British accents of the British officers in the film, asked if I was tired of the Oklahoma twang.

In the news....there is a disorder - or maybe it is just a legal defence - called "affluenza".   It affects kids from wealthy parents who have been spoiled rotten and don't know right from wrong.  One of these kids, a 16 year old, got drunk, got behind the wheel of a truck and killed four people, and very seriously injured two others.  He was sentenced to ten years probation.   In most states death from drunken driving carries a sentence of life imprisonment without parole, but this kid was tried in a Juvenile Court.   The parents - quite rightly - are going to lose everything they've got; the victims' relatives are all filing lawsuits against them.   I think the parents should have known what their 16 year old was up to, where he was going, what he doing.

The weather is not about to get any better - I hope I can make it to Kiwanis in the morning.

A Wind Chill Advisory is issued by the National Weather Service when the wind chill is low enough that it is a threat if adequate protection is not taken against hypothermia and frostbite.   Areas prone to colder temperatures often require the wind chill to be lower before issuing an advisory.

Winter Weather Advisory is when snow, freezing rain or sleet presents a hazard but does not constitute a warning.   And that varies from state to state.  A few flakes of snow in Florida would constitute a weather advisory, but in other states it would have to be several feet deep (almost).

As you see, it is pretty chilly right now, and I am feeling cold.   I am going to ring the Energy Company in the morning, tell them to stop monitoring and turning down my thermostat.   Sometimes I think there is just too much technology.