Quick Update - Snow, Taxes, Games, Etc.

This one's just a quick update to explain why I haven't updated much lately. The prognosis for a full recovery is good, but I can't commit to a timeframe.

First up, the snowstorms. We've had a completely unnecessary amount of snow this year, including two storms within the last week. Each storm generally requires me to shovel my driveway at least twice. Whenever possible I wait until the snowplow goes by, swamping the end of my driveway, before doing it the first time. However, the snowplow often takes another pass to widen the street, sometimes as late as a full day or two later, requiring me to do it again. By the time I'm done shovelling, I don't even have the energy to type.

The last storm required shovelling sessions both last night and earlier this evening. Instead of normal snow, this time we got granular ice pellets that were like shovelling tiny ball bearings. They ran merrily off the edges of the shovel, and flowed neatly back into any hole I manged to create.

I'm also back in the grip of a full-blown Desktop Tower Defense addiction. I'd sign up for a twelve-step program, but it's been my experience that the crackheads all point and laugh when you say you're there because of a video game. I play the latest version, 1.5, and can walk through Medium level or Random mode, which is what I usually play. The 100-Level Challenge is my recurring nemesis. The furthest I've managed to get so far is level 91.

I'm also working on my taxes. I'm spending more time than usual trying to turn up where I've buried my charitable donation receipts. Since they're pretty substantial (I don't always manage to tithe, but I at least come pretty close most years), I'm not submitting without them. I've used QuickTax most years and found it very easy and powerful, but this year I'm trying StudioTax for one simple reason: it's free. I plan to report what I think of it once I'm done.

As for posting in the short term, don't expect much. We're going to see the Backyardigans "Live" tomorrow night, so instead of ranting on the Internet, I'll be watching some poor schlubs in foam-rubber suits trying to remember where the edge of the stage is so they don't fall into a sea of toddlers and get ripped apart.

I was very pleasantly surprised that my dear wife agreed to my suggestion of buying one ticket fewer than we need for the whole family to go. They weren't particularly cheap, and I figured that both parents don't need to be present. Unfortunately, when we pitched this idea to the offspring today and offered them the opportunity to choose which parent would be going, Daddy was elected in a landslide. Rats. I had done my best to offend and alienate the electorate over the past few days, but to no avail.

Then on Sunday, we've got a birthday party for one of my son's friends. The potential for chaos is high, because the party is being held at a bowling alley. Since my son can do significant damage with a ping-pong ball, I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with access to bowling balls. I always did enjoy the sound of sirens.


Enough rambling. Here's a blurry picture of my son being strangled by a mascot.