The Medlock mansion got hit with eight inches of snow Friday night. 

It was wet and heavy snow although it became more and more powdery during the night.  Mrs. Medlock and I starting hearing tree limbs popping and breaking by eight o'clock.  Then a short time later all the power was gone.  As always happens with a big snow it turned very quiet and very bright outside.  A little bit eerie.  I think it's another minor way for the Big Guy to remind us that we're really not in charge of anything although we often think we're in charge of everything.

We got up Saturday morning to a beautiful snow scene.  It sort of looked like one of those Kinkade paintings that I detest.  A graying fog and a ton of snow.  But no lights anywhere.  We had gone to bed with the house temperature at 68 degrees, but the overnight had taken it to the lower sixties.  We also woke up to the site of a huge willow tree blocking our street and numerous pines and Bradford pears in varying states of breakage.  The willow had been totally uprooted from the weight of the snow.  Fortunately for us it did not block our exit but it did our neighbors.

I shoveled the driveway clear with Mrs. Medlock's help and we left for some food and warmth.  On our return the house temperature was down to sixty degrees and we knew we couldn't stay so we ended up at number one son's condo sleeping on the floor Saturday night.  That carried over into Sunday night as well as we continued with no power. 

By this morning the temperature was 50 degrees in the house.  I'll never think of 50 degrees as a mild temperature again.  Fifty degrees in a house is cold, brother.  Then on my way to work today, Mrs. Medlock called me and told me the power was back on. 

Total outage?  About 62 hours. 

Chance of me kicking Al Gore's ass when I see him?  100%

• Today: Snow showers in the morning will give way to a mixture of rain and snow for the afternoon. Some sleet may mix in. Temps nearly steady in the mid to upper 30s. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
• Tonight: Rain and snow this evening turning to all snow overnight. Low 32F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 90%.  5 to 8 inches of snow expected.
• Tomorrow: Snow during the morning will give way to lingering snow showers during the afternoon. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.
• Tomorrow night: Occasional snow showers. Low around 30F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%.

The red font is mine.  If you're counting, that's 6-11 inches of snow for East Tennessee.  East Tennessee drivers think three inches of snow is a blizzard.  It's going to be a fun weekend. 

I just wish my pal Al was here.

When I was a kid my Grandma Jackson would occasionally be so surprised at something that someone told her she would say "shut your mouth!".  Sometimes she would alter that response a bit by saying "shut the front door!".  Both phrases were meant to express her shock or dismay at whatever news she was receiving.

So when I heard that Congress had decided to get involved with the college football system for determining the championship team, my response was "shut the front door!".  

Yes, that's exactly what we need from our Congress.  Let's not waste their time with unemployment, health care, a recession, two war fronts and home foreclosures out our kazoo.  Instead let's get Congress involved with something that really matters, like who is the real champion--Alabama, Texas, Slippery Rock, etc.

Full disclosure:  I am not a fan of the current BCS system.  We need a playoff system.  But we don't need Congress involved in it.  Period.  Unless, of course, we want a partisan, influence peddling, junket-taking, scandal making, incoherent playoff system. 

Hold up a second.  Now that I think about it, the more time Congress spends on a college playoff the less time they will have to screw up what still works the way it should in this country. 

Hell, yes.  Congress involved in collegiate football?  Works for me.  Shut the front door!

I am surprised that Tiger chose to reveal that "he has let his family down". 

If I draw an inference from that it sounds very much like he not only had an affair but that his marital status was sufficiently impaired by it that he felt he had to make such a public statement.  With his penchant for privacy I don't see how I can draw any other conclusion.

Which brings me to the inevitable question.  Tiger is clearly intelligent.  He's clearly a great athlete.  He has a stunningly hot wife and two beautiful kids.  He's supposedly closing in on a net worth of a billion dollars.  So what was he thinking? 

Of course I know the answer to that.  He wasn't thinking.  At least not with his blood supply cut off to his brain that way.  Men in that situation have been known to do some pretty stupid things.  The latest name that comes to mind is Rick Pitino, a supposedly strong Catholic who not only did a similar thing but also financed an abortion.  That might put him one up on Tiger but definitely down one with the Pope.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not trying to judge Tiger.  The media has done that already.  But I am surprised that the guy who is seemingly so in control at all time wasn't in control.  It's really pretty amazing.  At the very least he put a half billion dollars at risk for what appears to me to be some pretty skanky looking women, at least when compared to his wife.  Honestly I wouldn't put one dollar at risk for the women I saw in those pictures.  You know that saying about lying with dogs and getting fleas?  I'm just saying.

It makes me wonder just exactly what it is that Tiger finds lacking in his lovely wife.  We will never know.  But I believe it's safe to say that it wasn't a golf club in her hand.  Or the courage to confront the world's best golfer with his infidelity.

It seems to me that there has been a lot more attention given to this Veterans Day than in years past.  For example this past Sunday NFL football had a number of tributes, including one of the pre-game shows that originated in Afghanistan.  I think that the added attention is a good thing.

I was in the service in a period of time when the military was looked down upon.  That was during and after the Vietnam War.  Unfortunately the military took the fall for some bad decisions by the civilians in charge of the Pentagon.  It was a very dark time for anything military related and I don't think I have seen anything since that has approximated the anti-military feeling that existed at that time.

More recently I think it has been hard for the country to rally around the military as was done in the World Wars.  Our conflicts for the last fifty years have been more localized and limited in nature and that alone has been one reason they haven't been as widely supported as World Wars.  The first Gulf War was an exception to that, mainly because Saddam Hussien was stupid enough to put himself in a position that united everyone against him.

I am very glad that we seem to have come full circle in our treatment of the military.  Unlike my time we have an all volunteer army now and I think that is a good thing.  At the very least it means it's a more professional army and that makes all the branches professional.

Take the time to say thanks today to a veteran or a current military professional.  They have earned the right to be appreciated on this day.  We do not owe our freedom to a single President, congressman, senator or justice.  We owe it to our soldiers.  God bless you all, past and present.

I've been catching up on my reading of late.  

I read one magazine over the weekend that said taking a flu shot reduces your chances of getting the flu by 90%.  Today I read in the Atlantic that those same vaccinations are practically useless.

It proves to me there's a downside to getting all the information that we get from the media.  Our tendency is to believe what we read but obviously one of those publications has it wrong.

I suppose the advantages of all the communication we have outweighs the disadvantages but I've felt for a long time that the media operates in a vacuum of sorts.  By that I mean there's no checks and balances like those that exist in most of our society.  And if anyone from a blogger up through a government official proposes some checks and balances the media screams censorship. 

I'm all for a free press.  It beats the heck out of the alternative.  But I think we need a few checks and balances to prevent the misinformation that is occurring.  Maybe better labeling of articles or reports for opinions versus news reporting would work. 

I don't know if that will do it but if this type of media reporting leaves me confused as to what to believe it makes me wonder what seniors twenty years older do with it. 

You can classify this post as an opinion.

The Medlocks are now the proud owners of a new heating and cooling system for the mansion.

The old Rheem machine gave up the ghost after 13 years by developing a hole in the heat exchanger.  That makes it pretty inefficient and also dangerous for sending carbon monoxide into the house.

The new unit costs about sixty percent more than the old one but has a nice rebate from Trane and a $1500 tax credit so it's not too bad. 

I think it should be obvious that the Medlocks are doing their part to stimulate the economy.  Yes, it's true we didn't have a choice.  And we made the decision on short notice as well.   But at least we did something.

I think this clearly qualifies us for the 2010 Nobel prize for economics. 

I've already started writing my speech. 

I've been hearing and reading about this opinion and finally got around to reading it today.

To be honest my first impression is that it was written for its shock value.  That's because it's simply too offensive take it literally.  No one in their right mind could write what this lady wrote and really mean it.  It's just too much. 

I don't think any rational person believes Polanski fled because he feared "irrational punishment" due to his past experiences.  If this lady really believes that I've got a bridge to sell her cheap.  I think the author is either seeking publicity, naive beyond belief or perhaps it was meant as some sort of vile parody.  Or maybe she thinks convicted child rapists should be forgiven after an appropriate period of time.

Pure and simple Polanski committed a crime.  One that he confessed to and agreed to a plea bargain.  And the fact it happened to an underage person makes it more hideous. 

I don't find anything outrageous about the Swiss arresting him.  Her opinion, while she is entitled to it, is what is outrageous.  If she starts showing up on the television talk shows I'll know the real reason why she wrote it.  And I'll know then just how twisted people can get for media attention.

I was all set to blog on this topic today until I read USA Today while at lunch. The article does a good job with it. 

I'll just say this.  Of all the recent instances--Serena Williams, Joe Wilson, Kanye West--I think West's outburst was the worst.  That's not saying much since they were all bad but I think his was more rude than the others because he grabbed the mike from Taylor Swift.  At least the others were just verbal. 

I think West has such a huge ego that he thinks people want to hear what he has to say anytime and anyplace.  I hope he now knows differently but I doubt it.

Personally I think this lack of civility all started when Muhammad Ali began berating his opponents verbally.  I think he originally meant it in fun but got carried away with it.  He used some pretty bad words about Joe Frazier.  It gained momentum with Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe and now it's really out of hand.

1.  You would think that after all the contentious town hall meetings that have occurred our lawmakers would figure out that a lot of people aren't happy with them.  You would be wrong.

2.  Have you ever experienced talking to someone by phone for a long time and then when you finally meet them they don't look at all like you visualized them.  Why is that?

3.  I'm still convinced that the ridiculous run-up in gas prices last year was the result of speculation more than real supply and demand issues.  I think that speculation came from financial institutions and other investment firms trying to make huge bucks while contributing exactly zero to the GNP.  Wait a second.  That's the same thing that caused the housing crisis.

4.  I love AMC's Mad Men.  It's my current favorite television show.  But I have to admit that sometimes I just can't follow what is really going on behind the scenes.  Like what's up with Peggy smoking the joint last week in the office?  Is that supposed to be showing her growth into independence?

5.  Congress has been on break for nearly a month.  They return to "work" September 8.  I'm for giving them more breaks and less "work".  The country would be a lot better off and I wouldn't be pissed off every night after hearing the nightly news.