I bought lights and a tree stand and some ornaments. I am ready for tree-having!

Tomorrow or Tuesday I will buy a tree. How exciting! I've not had my own tree in a very long time, and I'm kind of jazzed about it. I just hope the new dog doesn't decide that Christmas trees are terrifying, and spend the next month hiding in her crate.

OK, if you've ever sung Christmas music and/or enjoyed college a capella, this is pretty funny

Last night when I got off work my car was glazed like a donut. Are we done with the freezing rain for a while?

There is ice everywhere. I walked to a restaurant about 4 blocks away - I kept my eyes on the sidewalk so I could judge how much ice there was, and walked accordingly (ice requires that you take really short steps). An old man almost fell on his ass as he stepped out of a building.

And then on my way home I slipped a little anyway (a subconscious reaction thingy kept me from falling). Turns out the ice patch I slipped on was invisible for the angle that the streetlights were hitting it.

Bastards! (Somebody is to blame. Dunno who. Doc Martin?)

Yeah, the Patriots kicked some serious ass.

Also, I have made shephard's pie so I kick ass too! I did a topping of a mashed potato and turnips mixed with curried onions fried up in butter.

Waiting for Amazing Race, watching Robot Chicken. What a weird show.

Random question: How often do people decide not to have kids because of concerns about overpopulation as it relates to destruction of the environment? As in, "I would have children, but there are too many of us anyway and the planet can't support all of us and..."

I mean, I know people who've decided not to have kids for that reason - I'm wondering how common it is....

I just realized I have to pack tonight (for a quick work trip), and then tomorrow I have to bring my bag and a box for mailing to work. Oops.

tommy, given the number of people who drive SUVs, I'm guessing your number is "not so many."

We thought about the environmental issue (also the Coming Apocalypse issue) but had a second kid anyway.

For the hivemind (please, please help):

Did you ever read something that is written very clearly but for whatever reason your mind cannot understand what the writer is trying to say? I feel really stupid, but I'm reading a healthcare proposal for universal coverage, and I cannot understand one component of the financing scheme. It's basically a proposal that Medicare create a Part E to cover anyone not currently enrolled in a health plan. The part that my feeble mind keeps getting stuck on is this:

Part E is financed through a standard premium; everyone is charged the same amount. The federal gov't, however, provides a sliding-scale subsidy to help cover the cost of the premium for households whose income is below 400 percent of the federal poverty level. The level of the subsidy is based on the wage income of the household, where income is determined by how much the household pays in Medicare payroll tax. Premiums will be set so that the program breaks even, net of the subsidy.

The last sentence is what isn't coming through for me. Does this mean that the premiums will be set as if the government was not paying the subsidy, or that they will be set taking into account the government's expense in paying the subsidy?

We thought about the environmental issue (also the Coming Apocalypse issue) but had a second kid anyway.

Can I ask why you decided to have the kid(s) (if it's not too rude.)

I've never been in the position to decide to have kids, so the issue seems kinda' abstract to me. (I don't count my sis and her GF's kids - I see my role has "helping them out." They would have had the kids with some other dude's sperm if I had refused.)

I think the latter, but I'm not an economist.