Best Winter Ever!

I've been holding off for a while and I hope I don't jinx this ... but this has been the best winter EVER for this region and I am now starting my 4th decade of winters here, so I've got a little personal data to base this declaration on...

First, we'll talk cold.  Usually, at least once a winter, typically in January and February, there will be a stretch of just brutal, brutal cold.  I'm talking the temperatures don't get above 0 degrees (Fahrenheit) at all for days at a time.  There was one winter where essentially the entire month of January the temperature was below zero...day and night.  And with the cold temps, it usually is accompanied by a steady, stiff breeze...really adding some bite to the cold temps.  Wind chills are sometimes 20, 30 below for an entire day.

So far this winter, there has been, I think, a total of 3 days where the temperature has been below zero...and 2 out of those 3 days the temp got above zero by mid afternoon.  In fact, right now, the temperature is in the low 30's (which is very nice for this time of year) and the forecast for the foreseeable future is roughly the same type of weather.  Oh, and it is sunny and calm.  And that's what it has been, essentially all winter this season...

Next, we'll talk snow fall.  Since I've moved into my house, which has been well over 10 years now, I know we have had a fairly significant snow fall.  I know most winters I would have to snowblow my walks and drive ways at least once a week, if not more.  Last year, we had tremendous blizzards over the Christmas and New Year's holiday...both of which dumped a lot of snow and shut the town down.

This year we haven't had anything that even resembles a blizzard and we've had a couple of days with some significant snowfall, but for the most part, we have been mostly snow free.  In fact, the snow that is on the ground right now was dropped about a month ago and with the mild temps of this week, we might be completely snow free before February is done.

February might be just a hair early to call this the best winter ever because there is still the chance that we could get some blizzards or even sink into a cold snap.  March and April are both months where the weather is a virtual grab bag.  But the truth is, no matter how bad winter gets from this point, we've likely passed what has typically been the more brutal parts of winter and it has been great!

Valentine's Day And How Girl's Can Keep It Special

Today is Valentine's day, a day that has been engrained in many people's minds as a special holiday.  A day when women get showered with gifts by the men that love them.  But let's get real...if you've been married for any length of time (more than 4 years is the mark now-a-days) and/or have kids, Valentine's day will likely be just another day.

When you are in a relationship and aren't married, Valentine's day is a huge day...I almost feel sorry for the poor saps that are in this predicament but then remember it once was me so it's really nothing new.  When you are not married or even newly married, Valentine's day HAS to be special.  A man is essentially required to take the wife out to an expensive dinner after giving her roses and candy.  Then after the meal you will snuggle and exchange mentions of loving each other and hopefully seal the deal with some hanky panky later on if everything is up to the women's standards...and you will be fully aware of how horrible a Valentine's day it is if you indeed fail on your part to totally pamper your girl.

What am I going to do for my wife of over 16 years on this Valentine's day?  The same thing I do every Valentine's day...buy her some flowers.  If I am lucky I will get a thank you in return, but I'm not holding my breathe.  Why don't I shower my wife with gifts, take her out to supper and make her feel special on Valentine's Day?  Well, it's simple...when your wife let's you know that you have an exactly 0.0001% chance of any hanky panky, on any night, let alone Valentine's Day, a man's desire to treat his wife special is greatly diminished.  Oh and here they come...the chorus of women who are shouting "That's because that's all men care about is sex!"  If I wasn't such a pig and wouldn't want (or expect) sex from my wife, then she would return that affection.  No, wrong.  At a certain point most married women no longer have any interest in having sex like they once did and especially after having children.  If I have sex with my wife more than once every 2 months I think something must be wrong or she must be trying to get pregnant again.  When women begin this period they then also begin to use sex for leverage and try to gain favor, and you'll see many men in this type of married relationship.  When the guy knows the women is in favor of having sex and all he has to do is be her man servant until the deed, that guy will be hovering around that women like a bee making sure her every whim is taken care of pronto.  But eventually women will fail to follow through with that and then their power of sex over men is worthless and then the fires of romance in your relationship have been fully extinguished.  What is the end result with any romantic intentions?  Yes, the generic to show and receive love answer will be accepted but anyone that knows the "game" knows that's just the first inning.

And let's really boil down what the end result of Valentine's day really is...by most accounts you buy flowers, which will die soon and have an expensive dinner, which obviously won't be around for long either all for what?  To reaffirm your love to each other?  Ok, make her think that, but the truth is Valentine's Day is a day that is marked for men to "score" with their ladies.  Once the ladies no longer are interested in playing the game and letting the guy score, then the guy isn't interested in playing either and thus, you no longer will get flowers and candy.

The women that really treat their men nice in bed are the ones that have the huge bouquets sent to their workplace, maybe even accompanied by a singing delivery person.  They are picked up from work and driven straight to a spa and pampered with a facial, manicure, pedicure, massage and what have you.  Then whisked to a candlelit dinner at a romantic restaurant which is followed with some wine on the couch with the lights down low.


But the moral to this all is that women, if you want to keep romance in your life you can not douse the flame.  I'm more than willing to buy the biggest bouquet and have my wife delivered by horse drawn carriage on Valentine's Day, but the game has to be started again and for that to happen...well, she has the ball.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

State of North Dakota Fighting For Fighting Sioux Update

It what seems like it has become a yearly event, it has been almost a year but here we are again, at the verge of the State Of North Dakota taking the NCAA to court over the use of the Fighting Sioux nickname that the University of North Dakota uses.

So, in case you've missed it, here's what's happened since my last post...

The bill passed the ND legislature and was made law, then lawmakers met up with the NCAA to see if they could hash out some sort of deal...no deal was struck and the lawmakers came back and basically withdrew the law and took it off the books...but now, people from the state collected enough signatures to put the whole issue to a state wide vote which will happen in June.  If that measure passes, upholding the law that says the State of North Dakota will sue the NCAA if it tries to sanction or ban the university, then buckle up, because it's go time.

I think the NCAA would be foolish to go to court and have all its hypocrisy revealed.  And how much money does the NCAA want to waste on this endeavor in the first place?  I think they better take notice of the resolve the people of North Dakota have towards keeping the name and if they are willing to do all this to keep this nickname, the NCAA better have just as much of a desire to eliminate it, or else it will be no contest.

Of course this all comes down to a vote in June... I give the measure a 50/50 chance ... I know I will be voting to keep the nickname and I will be hoping for a court showdown...