Already having a bad day-HCR, snow, other:

[Are_grits_groceries]

[midnight]

1. I love the pic...

[taterguy]

2. Other, no biking til the damn snow melts

Great pic BTW

[HuckleB]

3. Well...

http://gearjunkie.com/winter-bike-commuting-10-tips-to-ride-safe

:hi:

[taterguy]

4. Some very helpful hints, alas a lot don't apply to me

I have no garage so I can't store my bike at cold temps

I can't afford a spare bike and/or new tires

Plowing in the South is virtually non-existent.

Thanks for trying though

:toast:

[tblue37]

5. That DC snowstorm? What it did to me should be against the law.

I was supposed to fly from Kansas City to DC to visit my son on Friday, who turned 30 last month, and whom I have not seen in 15 months. I was scheduled to fly from KC at 7:10 Friday evening. I got all the way to the airport, barely making it on time since I was still giving exams earlier in the day, and stood in line for 15 minutes, only to find out my flight had been cancelled. (I don't watch TV or listen to the radio, so I didn't know about the blizzard.) The soonest they could possibly get me out was Sunday (today) at 1:00 p.m.--if the Washington, D.C., airport opens by then.

I called my son to let him know and to say I could maybe reschedule for another time in the next few weeks.

Then he informed me that as a surprise, my28-year-old daughter, whom I have not seen since she graduated from medical school 20 months ago and went to Orlando, Florida, for her residency, had flown up to D.C. on Friday as a Christmas surprise for me. She was leaving D.C. to return to Florida at noon Monday morning.

So of course I have to get out there today (Sunday) or miss my chance to see her. There wouldn't be another chance for a very long time.

Well, I am scheduled for carpal tunnel surgery at 8:00 Tuesday morning, so I HAVE to get back home by Monday night. But I HAVE to get to D.C. today if I want to see my daughter. I just checked, ad so far the 1:00 p.m. flight is still scheduled to leave for D.C. on time today. But what if there are delays because the air traffic all over the country is all messed up from the closing of the D.C. airports over the last couple of days? If I get to D.C. even a couple of hours late, that would reduce my time with my daughter to a couple of hours tonight and a couple of hours tomorrow morning, and my time with my son to not much more than that. And what if I can’t even get to D.C. and get stuck somewhere along the way because they close the airports again?

And what if I get stranded in D.C. and can't get back for my surgery on time? I have used up my $3,000 deductible on my health insurance this year, so if I have it done on time, it won't cost me any co-pays, but if I reschedule, it will be weeks before I can get it done, and I will have to pay hundreds more in co-pays. I am still paying down a lot of heavy co-pays from other health problems I have had this past year (which is why my deductible had been met).

This tiny 25-hour visit, which is what it has turned into (and less than 25 hours for my daughter), could end up costing me several hundred more if I end up missing my surgery on Tuesday, so I am a nervous wreck about this. Also, my daughter, who as a resident is always struggling financially still, is out about $300 for a trip to see me—and she will have just a few hours with me if everything goes perfectly from here on in.

The ONE weekend out of the whole year that I could go to see my kids—and this is what happens. A freak snowstorm that is worse than anyone has seen in forever.

Sucks.

But at least that adorable OP picture made me smile. (I am a Cute Overload fanatic.)

[fasttense]

6. Keep the faith, and check on AMTRAK ? n/t