American here, and I've got work to do later on today. Not enough to warrant driving in to the office, though.

My BOOM story occurred when I was about 12, and some kids missed the curve and plowed into our neighbor's HOUSE, leaving great tracks across our front yard. Nobody hurt, surprisingly - the kids were able to get out and flee (which, why bother? It wasn't a stolen car or anything, and there's no running away from that kind of boo-boo). The house and the car were hurt, of course. Neighbors got a new living room.

My BOOM story

It occurs to me that today is the sixth anniversary of my BOOM story. Although, there really wasn't much of a boom. I was sitting in the living room of my old apartment watching television that night, when I noticed a car turn around in our driveway. Shrug. Then another car turned around in our driveway, and another, and another... My curiosity was piqued, so I took a look through the window blinds, and discovered that the apartment house down the road (our next door neighbor out there in the turf fields) was surrounded by fire trucks (which had blocked the road, which is why everyone was turning around). I put on a coat and walked over to watch. For awhile it looked like they had gotten it under control, but then the fire got into the walls, and the place went up like a tinder box. At the time, it was the oldest building in Slocum, built in the 1840's, so it was made of old, well-dried wood. (After it was gone, my landlady's house became the oldest building in Slocum.)

It turned out that the fire was started by one tenants' kids playing with matches.

It's still snowing, although there's not much accumulation yet, and it's windy as all get out here.

We've got about a foot of snow on the ground, and it's still snowing hard, so will get a bunch more. There was some thunder and lightning before.

I still have to go into work later.

I just watched the Stephen & the Colberts video linked above -- not that I haven't watched it on my TiVo at least twice already -- and have to report it's a fine way to start the day.

Snowing here, somewhat horizontally at times. Channel 4's "First Alert Xtreme Team" is on the TV, so I can watch their meteorologists and beat reports trying to stand up in the snow. Better you than me, guys!

Lots of snow. Big wind. Hopefully it will calm down a bit before I leave in an hour and a half. I think I will take my camera and get some shots.

Do that! I'm rethinking my plan of walking up to the Dunkin' Donuts to get a paper and fried bakery products. Not that it's dangerous, but it would be uncomfotably cold....

Flatmate and Other Flatmate just headed out into the storm for church. They are Congregationalists! They have to congregate!! Not really -- actually they are a small congregation full of really hardy people who live less than a mile away from the church.

I, OTOH, made coffee and watered the plant and the cat, and am going to make a pie.

Five years ago, I woke up at midnight to the flashers of emergency vehicles on my street, only to head outside and see that it was to move a tree that had falled in the road. (I never heard the tree fall.) The firefighters looked at me like I was some kind of alien, and I was like, Hey, you woke me up, dudes.

Just a few months ago I did hear someone down the street crash into several parked cars while showing off. (He was trying to sell his car, in fact, which -- probably not the most effective method.)

I don't have a lot of BOOM stories.

The view from my back windows: [link] .

If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound Nutty can hear?