Yes, there's another glorious weather event this morning. On today's menu--sleet, twenty-five degrees above zero, a long narrow driveway that's been Jackson-Pollocked with ice since last weekend, and an imminent high school track meet that has not yet been canceled. The weather guy announces that the sleet will shortly transform into rain. Will this make the driveway better? Will this make the driveway worse? Given the lessons of recent history, I vote for worse.

Question of the day: It seems that entomologists are cheering the Polar Vortex [insert cartoon representation here] because he [note anthropomorphic pronoun] will kill off many ticks and tree-infesters and the like. However, they assure us that the beneficial insects won't die off as well. Why are bad bugs easier to freeze out than good bugs are? Does the Polar Vortex [insert cartoon representation here] share humanity's blinkered moral code about insects (i.e., bad = annoys me, good = pretty and/or makes something I can use)? Does the idea that the Polar Vortex is out to squash bad bugs influence your image of him/her [note complications of anthropomorphic pronoun] in any way [insert updated cartoon representation here]?

Pardon my flippancy this morning. I've gotten kind of tired of arguing with my driveway and, no, I haven't gone outside yet and, yes, the woodbox is almost empty.