Let it snow,let it snow,let it snow

[arr&bee]

Hey gang,look out of the window,it's snowing and snowing stuff is closing and it's piling up and i gotta go to work,now where did i put that sled???

[moe]

Out by your shed. You used it to haul hooch in the snow. Your St. Bernard quit.....

[westgrandboulevard]

Barking mad. And I'm not talking about the St. Bernard.....

[144man]

It may be winter outside, but in my heart it's spring.

[westgrandboulevard]

Interior sprung - just like your bed.

[Jerry Oz]

Dang, my fingers are too cold to ty

[arr&bee]

Thanks moe i'd forgotten,as for poor st bernard,he's been in a hooch induced coma for six months...oh he'll be ok come spring.

[westgrandboulevard]

Best let sleeping dogs lie. They're not going to tell you the truth.

[moe]

No.........all they want is to fed and let out occasionally......

[westgrandboulevard]

These 'virtual' pets seem a strange idea to me, but I suppose they are a good way of training children for the real thing.

[moe]

.....and adults, too, westgrand........

[westgrandboulevard]

Are there such things as 'virtual' partners?

[arr&bee]

I had some virtual hooch but i ran out faster than i could type it in.

[westgrandboulevard]

Well now, who would have guessed?!

[moe]

You and I westgrand!

[westgrandboulevard]

Knowing looks were then exchanged.....

[roger]

Are there such things as 'virtual' partners?

There most certainly are westgrandboulevard ..

There was a BBC Documentary aired last October about Japan's "Demographic Timebomb" and one of the reasons given for their falling population and birth-rate was the popularity of "Virtual Girl-friends".

There is an article about this here ....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24614830

I can't say it appeals to me too much ...

Arr&Bee's virtual hooch sounds more interesting, but from my experience even the real stuff can make people virtually legless!!

Roger

[144man]

I could cope with a virtual hangover.

[westgrandboulevard]

Roger...

'Virtually' legless after arr&bee's hooch is the only possible outcome - as no-one has yet to see any, let alone sample it.

No, the idea of virtual partners doesn't appeal to me, either. If I talk to myself, at least I get the answers I want.

Which leads to me to ponder the existence of 'virtuous' partners, and how that would currently be defined.....

[westgrandboulevard]

144man, a virtual hangover does sound a most convenient idea but, to do that, I suppose you would have to imbibe virtual alcohol - and there's no taste in nothing, not even virtually.

Virtual fun, anyone?

[144man]

Maybe the whole universe is just a download on God's computer.

[westgrandboulevard]

Let's hope it's a lossless one.....

[Jerry Oz]

I always imagined we're just calculations on a celestial chalkboard...

And there have been virtual relationships for thousands of years [[as long as somebody had companionship to sell that another person couldn't obtain through charming personality and fresh breath... If you get my drift.) The beauty of those virtual relationships is that you're not paying for your time with the "partner", you're paying him/her to leave once the time is up.

[westgrandboulevard]

Understood! They're being paid to make up a shortfall in other people's lives, and there's a steady demand for it. It's essentially a negative situation, but that's people's choice, and I can understand that some people do not have such a lot of choice.

The best people we meet offer ongoing potential, not simply restoring our spirits to neutral for a short while.....

[Jerry Oz]

It won't be long before the only people we "meet" are on-line. Well, them and the pizza delivery guy.

[westgrandboulevard]

If he or she can find us.......

I don't use them myself, but I see them around ,undulating their way up and down streets,particularly after dark, parking on double yellows and running like mad. When they've delivered, they suddenly pull out of the line of parked vehicles, before circling and speeding off in the other direction....

That goes for the online grocery deliveries too. I've not tried that service either, but I believe it is a growing sector. I ac tually find the trip to the supermarket is often a social event in itself.

[arr&bee]

I'm thinking about deliveries too,just think it's late at night and you're thirsty you dial the secret code and the delivery buzzard is there with a special package...what,you think that i'd trust this cargo to a delivery person..besides people sometimes stiff delivery boys,have you ever seen a buzzard close up?ain't nobody gonna stiff a delivery buzzard.

[Jerry Oz]

Make sure he flies straight or he may have checked to make sure your hooch was the right brand by sampling it. Most of the old buzzards I know have no qualms about walking into someone's home, opening up the cupboard and helping themselves to a nip [[read: 6-8 ounces is a "nip" for them) without first being asked.

[westgrandboulevard]

They probably wear ID tags advising they are Hooch Meter readers.

They don't want you to update them online. They just must call on you, in person. If they leave a card saying 'sorry you were out', they really mean it....

[Jerry Oz]

They are my uncles, who were good for stopping by when they suspected my Dad wasn't in. They'd make small talk and almost unconsciously walk toward the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink to pull out the half-filled bottle of Old Granddad.

Without even looking at what they're doing, they would continue the banter, find a glass in a dish rack, pour a stiff drink, down it in one big gulp, and make sure my Mom knows to tell Pops that they came by before leaving. The whole theft lasted less than five minutes.

All Dad needs is to look at the level left in the bottle and trust me, he will know...

[westgrandboulevard]

Did/does he exhibit similar behaviour in their own homes?

[moe]

Whatever the behavior is: the snow has started!!!

[westgrandboulevard]

Are you all able to get about, albeit slower than usual - or is that not possible?

[moe]

At least 6 inches so far. Went out once; saw no plow trucks. Will be getting more here. When I was out it was a blizzard!!

[ralpht]

Pretty rowdy here today also, Moe.

[moe]

I'll bet, Ralph! Was supposed to go see my mother but what can you do with these conditions?

[Jerry Oz]

Four-wheel drive, moe. At least to get out of my condo parking lot... Who knows after that?

[marv2]

I am sooooooo friggin tired of snow already this year! Clean it up and here more comes!

[westgrandboulevard]

The UK is warned to expect some to drift in this direction in the next few days, to affect Scotland and Northern England.

Here in the south, still it rains - but like your snow, it's 'clean it up, and here more comes!'. Some poor souls are flooded out of their homes.

[moe]

I have a 4 wheel drive Jerry but if they don't plow & it's a white out YOU come & take me to Pittsburgh to see my mother! I'll be waiting.......

[westgrandboulevard]

Hurry Jerry. If Moe doesn't get there very soon, there will be such a shout from Pittsburgh way, y'all hear it....!

[moe]

And westgrand knows...............my mother doesn't wait for anyone!!!

[Jerry Oz]

I just came back in from a "quick" trip to the library and grocery. It took an hour longer than it should have... Sorry moe, but Mama might have to wait after all.

[moe]

I rest my case, Jerry!

[moe]

OK...........snowfall in your area?? What's the total so far??

[ralpht]

Broke every record, Moe. somewhere in the area of 33 inches, I think

[Jerry Oz]

!!?

We got buried in Columbus, but I think we're around 5-7". My truck got me to church this morning and over to Mom and Dad's this afternoon, so it's not so bad if you have the right vehicle and determination to get where you want to go.

[moe]

Wow Ralph, that's a lot!! Jerry, so far we're around 10-12 inches.

[Jerry Oz]

Well, it warmed up a bit... Just enough to thaw enough snow to create a solid sheet of ice by the time I go to work tomorrow morning.

[arr&bee]

SERIOUSLY FOLKS[did i just type that???]ANYHOW THE ICE IS WORST THAN THE SNOW.