Crazy Green Bay Weather

After a tough start to the winter (as we've had the past two or three years), Mother Nature granted us a reprieve with some mild temperatures for the past week or so.  The result has been an elimination of our snow:

Yes, sports fans, that's green grass in January in the land of the Frozen Tundra.

Typically, winter up here is a matter of endurance - you need to be able to make it through at least three straight months of brutal weather, and some winters it is longer than that and can be as long as five months.  But this year, ah, what a change.  November was indeed cold through nearly the entire month, but December has been downright delightful.  It's resulted in December walks, hunts, smiles, and damn-near euphoria.

And, of course, green grass.

January is brutal, as is February.  March is a coin flip.  April, it's over.  Suddenly, this winter seems tolerable.

Crossing the Ohio

On our trek from Green Bay to Nashville to see the Irish play in the Music City Bowl, Mrs. YDP and I decided to make a stop in Paduca, KY for the night.  Just before we got there, we crossed the mighty Ohio river.  A couple of things struck me:

• It was a big, damn river!  It seemed equal to the Mississippi further south
• I was sure I had not crossed it before, which seems remarkable for such a long and winding river

In looking at the map, what I didn't know was that just to the west of us, about 20 miles away, the Ohio joins with the Mississippi (which is a smaller river) in Cairo to become the Mississippi and ultimately empty into the Gulf of Mexico.

Here's the look:

I should have known this - just goes to show how ignorant Americans are about our wonderous country.

At least I'm south of the Mason-Dixon, so that means Waffle House for breakfast!

Relief at the Pump

With our travels over the holidays, we've seen a massive decline in the price of gas at the pump.  The production in North Dakota has added some much needed supply to the oil market, and the Saudis are not lowering their output to protect prices.  The result has been welcome relief in the cost of a gallon of gas, and some stations in our native Minnesota have already decreased prices below $2.00.

The timing of this was certainly a boon to the US consumer as it frees up discretionary dollars that could be used for holiday gift-giving.  As we've seen in the past, the confident American consumer can drive an entire economy, and the benefits of this activity for many can be substantive.  It's great, great news.

Unfortunately, the news is not universal.  There are two laggards to this party, and both are proactively gouging the American consumer:

• Airlines, often the first industry to raise prices in periods of increase fuel charges, have done very little to their pricing structure.  I have a number of upcoming trips ahead of me, and the costs (and full flights!) are shocking.  Ultimately, someone will likely blink in the industry and will lower costs, to which others will follow.  But for right now, all of the airlines appear to be quite content to reap the profits afforded by low fuel and high ticket prices.
• Deliver companies - specifically Fed Ex and UPS - are actually RAISING prices in 2015.  The change has been touted to account for the larger size of packages being shipped (dimensional weight versus physical weight), but everyone is in agreement that all that is really being done is a sizable rate increase that will impact all who ship, or receive goods, via those two methods.  

Indeed, the relief afforded via reduced fuel helps the US consumer, and ultimately the economy.  It is just unfortunate that the relief is not universal.

Saturday Song Share: The Devlins - Waiting

Older song, but fantastic.

What are you waiting on?

Gun Violence PSA - What Does it Encourage?

Here is a recently produced Public Service Announcement about guns:



So what does it teach the kiddos?  Let's recap:

• If you find a gun, pick it up
• Steal it, if it is not yours
• Never check to see if it is loaded, and certainly via your handling don't assume it is loaded
• By all means, take your gun to school
• Whip out your gun in front of an adult

Now compare those lessons against the lessons delivered by Eddie the Eagle; the NRA's mascot for gun safety:

Who is responsible here, and who is not?  Forget that - let's call a spade a spade here - who is right here and who is wrong?  

And after answering that, ask yourself: who is treated like a villain, and who is treated as a hero?

Exactly 

Merry Christmas, Again

May this day and what it means - a Savior! - not be lost on you and yours.

Merry Christmas, and my God bless you

Merry Christmas

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

What the Sony Hack Really Means

It has been fascinating watching the hack and subsequent threats against Sony unfold.  Someone, likely North Korean hackers, were able to convince Sony to not release a major motion picture, but not before wreaking havoc like releasing executives racist emails, releasing executive and star compensation, and releasing employee information like medical records.

The hack was deep, thorough, and devastating.  Ripple effects like the bad publicity from the emails and employee lawsuits continue to rock the company, and it is pretty clear that Sony will never be the same.

Neither will we.

I predict this is just the start of a massive plague of hacks by foreign entities which will become all too common.  Think about it: the skeletons in Sony's closet aren't any different than those of every other company.  Once armed with that information, the extortion required by the hackers will seem like a small price to pay to make them go away and prey on others.

Sony rolled over.  The US government was far too impotent to do anything about it.  And it is only a matter of time before it happens again and again.

Get ready...