And down came the snow...

Got to hand it to the German Met Office, almost on the minute they predicted. Now it's still snowing and the radio is talking about traffic problems on all the major routes around here. I'll Believe it, the snow must be around three inches and still mounting here on our mountain top. And tonight is the first session of my many times rescheduled language course. Of course.

Getting down to Wiesbaden this evening could be entertaining to say the least, but the effort must be made. In the meantime, as soon as this stuff stops falling, I have to get outside and shovel it off the drive...

Yeah, I know, finger in the dyke ....

Colder yet, and colder ...

We have had snow since Thursday and the temperature is still falling. Moresnow is promised for tomorrow and really heavy snow for Monday - which will be interesting as my language class starts at 18.15 in Wiesbaden. Getting there could prove challenging. The temperature last night got down to -6*C up here and hasn't managed to get above 0*C all day.

I'll confess that I am amused to see the UK Met Office has stated that the trend is currently for colder and earlier winters in future...

I wonder which of the CRU datasets and computer models they're using for that?

Pardon?

This was sent to me by a friend, I have no idea where he got it from, but it is really worth sharing. Every one of these puts a different slant on things we all say ...

A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. Check out the following for examples:

Ø If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.

Ø I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.

Ø Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Ø I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

Ø War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

Ø To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

Ø I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

Ø Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but always check when you say the paint is wet?

Ø Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

Ø You do not need a parachute to skydive. You definitely need a parachute to skydive twice.

Ø The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some darned good ideas!

Ø Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won't expect it back.

Ø To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

Ø Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

Ø Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Thanksgiving

I'd like to wish all my American readers a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. It seems to me an eminently sensible thing to do - to set aside a day on which to consider the good fortune one has enjoyed through the year. And we in the western world do have much to be thankful for.

Though we may not always appreciate it, and there are certainly those living in our society (and enjoying its benefits) who feel we have 'stolen' everything we have from some 'victim' of their choice, but we do enjoy a degree of freedom and security most of the world does not. Even those of us who are currently unemployed receive some support, perhaps more so in Europe than in the US, but there is still a safety net which is non-existent elsewhere.

No human society is ever perfect. No human society can ever be Utopia simply because one man's vision of heaven on earth, is another's vision of hell. Ours suits us and our belief in the freedom of the individual, in our belief that each of us is free to choose his or her religion, lifestyle and, yes, our own road to hell. We should give thanks for it and be prepared to defend it - there are many who loathe that choice and want to restrict it or suppress it.

The western societies also enjoy a greater distribution of wealth than almost any other. In most of the world the real wealth rests in the hands of 5% or fewer of any given population group, in the west that figure is higher and so is the size of the group perhaps best labelled 'Middle Income' earners. Many of the countries I have visited have a much narrower division of wealth - those who have everything and those who subsist - the middle class "middle income earners" are almost non-existent or invisible.

Yes, we have a great deal to be thankful for. We should join our American friends and give thanks for it.

Attempted Snow ...

Looking out of my window I can see that I got the last leaves raked up this morning just in time. It is now raining - sort of - and snowing - sort of...

Big white flakes descending in amongst the rain drops. Wierd, I think is the best description for it. So far the snow is not settling, but if it gets colder tonight, it is after all only around 2*C at the moment, it could tunr our roads into skating rinks. Time to find a few bags of "Struwlesalz" I think.

Korean Flashpoint?

The news that the North Koreans have apparently launched an unprovoked attack on the South should concern us all. Officially the war in Lorea has never ended, though a "truce" was agreed in 1954. The North Koreans are a rogue state in anybodies terms, but with their "Beloved Leader" clearly deranged and a military that is equally clearly flexing its muscles, it seems to me that it must be only a matter of time before they do something that will escalate into a full on war.

If ever there was a state and a government that proves the point you can't negotiate peace with some mindsets - Kim Il Jong has to be it.

The artillery fire today was not a 'rogue' commander, it will involve people all the way up to Kim himself. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that his chosen successr - recently 'promoted' to General without any known military background at all - hadn't decided to see what would happen if he gave the order. When the Chinese, just about North Koreas only real allies, express serious concerns over this act, something is seriously amiss.

I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens next. One thing is for sure, no power in the West has the apability to do what we did in 1950 - 54.

First snow

Yup, I looked out of the window just in time to see it. The first snow flakes in amongst the rain. It has been drizzling - a sort of misty rain - most of the morning, but then it started to rain in a slightly more meaningful way, and that turned, briefly, to snow. It hasn't settled, it's probably still too warm to do so - at 2*C - but it bodes well for the predicted snowfall later this week.

In the meantime it is cold outside - windchill - and damp. Madam Paddy has found a nice warm spot, out of drafts and where she can monitor the approaches to the kitchen and her food bowl. That apart she seems to have decided on hibernation...