I have been virtually enjoying it via Twitter, Facebook, and text messages.  Still, the best forecast I have seen, summing up how I feel about our rash of weekend snowstorms, comes from Jim Kosek at Accuweather.com.

“And the snow beast continueth.”

• Last Wednesday, thanks to my better half, I saw and enjoyed The Rivalry at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC.  If you consider yourself a student of American history, I highly recommend it.  The play is a dramatization of the Lincoln-Douglas debates as both of them vied for the one of the seats for Illinois in the US Senate.  The language used by both Lincoln and Douglas during the debate portions of the play is accurate, while the rest of the play is a dramatization as seen through the eyes of Douglas’ widow, Adele.
• Work has been, as usual of late, extremely busy.
• My taxes are done, and with it, my refunds are now in hand.  I finally splurged on myself, purchasing a long-needed (and desired) HD LCD TV–a Samsung LN46B750–and a new univeral remote–a Logitech Harmony 700.  My splurging is now complete, and I have been able to enjoy programming in HD.  Why did I wait so long?
• The winter weather around here has been to my liking.  I do take exception, though, to the snowfall occurring on weekends as opposed to a weekday.  Enough with the Saturday snowstorms.
• This weekend, I am off to Boston for the Beanpot.  Again, it would appear I will be seeing BU in the Beanpot final after their defeat of Northeastern by a score of 2-1 in the first round last night.

Posting that was cathartic.  I already feel better.

The Allocation of My Time:

The Proper Staffing of Projects:

Ruminations on Software as a service:

Truly eerie.

With the failed attempt of the “underwear” or “crotch bomber” on Christmas Day, Schneier has written some astute observations on his blog and in a recent opinion piece on CNN.  Go read it, then add his blog to your feedreader and read it regularly.

The conclusion of Schneier’s opinion piece on CNN is much of what he has said in the last few years when it comes to airport security:

Focus on the general risk of terrorism, and not the specific threat of airplane bombings using PETN-filled underwear. Focus on the general risk of troubled teens, and not the specific threat of a lone gunman wandering around a school. Ignore the movie-plot threats, and concentrate on the real risks.

Just think of how hassle-free flying could be if we protected against those general risks as opposed to utilizing a reactionary position to the most recent terrorist event–successful or unsuccessful.

Dilbert’s response was the same as mine.

Surprisingly, though, the one thing that I expected from her never took place.  She never made that one terrible gaffe while in office.  Granted, I never found her to be a erudite speaker in public or on the airwaves.  Still, she did not “screw up” as I had expected.

There were some policy changes that I still disagree with.  While the tree-huggers who inhabit my fair city have been brainwashed into thinking that the change to trash pickup in this city was a good idea, I still despise it.  I need not look much further than my neighborhood to see the rigorous enforcement of the various laws around trash that has clearly taken place.

Now, we await the assumption of the power by current City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.  Never have I been more dismayed over this turn of events.  From the stories I have heard from her time in the Baltimore Office of the Public Defender to my personal experience attending social events where she has been present.  In all of my dealings, she has always seem to me to be detached and somewhat annoyed to be where she is.  To me, she offers nothing more than the cachet of her father’s last name.

Maybe Rawlings-Blake will be a surprise in office.  I can only hope.

The usual rules still apply while watching 24:

• Do not bother me during an episode.
  • No calls will be answered.
  • No emails will be written.
  • No tweets will be made.