Ice Storm/Blizzard 2010 and stuff

After a scary Thursday with freezing rain accumulating on the branches and power lines, the precip turned to sleet and left most of us here in Norman with power. Most. My friends in Lawton just got hammered. My buddy told me they had 2 inches of ice on their trees and it "looked like a tornado hit." I am teaching an online course down there and have not been able to reach their system for two days now.

Yesterday it just snowed like a bastard here.
Really unbelievable that we would have two big snow storms with light powder (well, on top of a layer of ice) in a little over a month's time. Thinking of those who don't have power, and hoping that it is restored soon. But it sure looks nice out there, as SOF's picture so nicely captures.


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Catching up on news, saw the other day that the Witchita jury was not swayed by Roeder's justification defense and found him guilty of first degree murder for executing George Tiller as he sat in church. Listening to conservatives make the justification argument for torture made me fear that too many would say that it was ok to brutally murder someone as long as you believed their actions to be evil. This gives me some hope.

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I missed Obama's SOTU the other night. There is a limit to how much I can take at times. I read he did well, though has turned right on some issues in a manner that annoys me a bit. It doesn't surprise me, but it annoys me. It annoys me especially since I know that such appeals to Republican ideas will not broker better relationships between the parties. Because the Republicans are really not about those ideas--they are about their opposition to the Democrats. When prominent Republicans can accuse Obama of purposefully bankrupting the country (McCain) and sound completely similar to some of the brainless trolls who drop by here--or can make the suggestion that fighting liberals like me and some of you is more important than fighting terrorism--then you can count me as dubious about the GOP.

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Now for something a little more enjoyable. I lost my grandmother several years ago. She was really an amazing woman, and was the only grandmother I really ever knew. She left me some money which I used to buy my first mandolin--an f-style Michael Kelly. It was a great starter mandolin for someone who didn't know if they would pursue it further. And I though it something that my grandmother would have enjoyed.

While there have been some lulls in my progress, I have really enjoyed playing this instrument. I am not sure you could tell by listening, but I have improved even a bit. So, this year, I decided to upgrade to a better mando. After a lot of research and talking to mandolin people (the makers are mostly different than those who make guitars--with the exception of Gibson), I decided to purchase an A-style Collings.



It really is a beautiful instrument and I am hopeful I can improve enough to do it justice. I think my grandmother would have loved this one too--and would be glad I was playing something like this.