vastateofmind

I will miss Betty White and her uncanny ability to deliver deadpan lines. My 25-year old son -- who's never seen a lick of "The Golden Girls" -- texted me this clip just after her death a couple weeks ago. He was describing it to me on the phone, laughing hysterically. I think this scene very nearly became a blooper/outtake in TGG, but that Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan SOMEHOW held it together to salvage the scene.

And just as I read, @nj2va's obs, happened to look up -- WOW, can confirm. It's good to look up from the monitor and actually, you know, observe. Currently sitting at 31.

YO, @nj2va, have you posted nighttime snowy pics yet? I'm thinking that you are getting kickass conditions out there right now. So....waiting on updated pics.

I mean, we are TOTALLY gonna get sleet obs in our part of the world tonight, right? Again, don't care....because (and not rubbing this in the rest of the sub's face), we were fortunate to get almost a foot of snow about a week ago. I'm grateful for that....and grateful for whatever we get tonight....and grateful for whatever the rest of the sub gets tonight.

Current situation. BEAUTIFUL outside. Haven't even measured yet, don't care. I was spoiled with nearly a foot on 1/3/2022, this is icing on the cake. I know it will switch over soon, but again, don't care.

It's been 4 or 5 years since my wife and I and our adult sons visited Key West, but wow....what a visit we had. So MANY fun places to stop on Duval, and even on the side streets. Understand that y'all are avoiding the biggest crowds right now, but....SUCH an interesting place to visit, at any time during the year. One regret is that we didn't get to visit the Hemingway House (with the six-toed cats)...but one of my fave memories was taking a pic with myself and my oldest son at the "start" of U.S. Route 1 in Key West.

THIS. It's absolutely gorgeous falling right now. Biggest flakes, heaviest rates so far. I need to get my arse out there to take some pics as night falls.

Well....it should certainly bode well for your part of the world. I should've added that it's 24/20. Heaviest rates right now I've seen this afternoon...although by all reports, the mixing line is probably headed this way.

Yeah, NO. SN+ right now.

First flakes, 26/11.

LOL. With regard to Titanic -- I think some (e.g., your age on up to my generation) will still enjoy it, and many younger than that will simply roll their eyes at it. And yeah, it's admittedly pretty soapy. But I'll tell you this...back sometime in the springtime of 1998, right before the movie was leaving the theaters for good, I finally broke down and went to see it on the big screen at a matinee by myself. My wife had no desire to see it, and I was probably one of the LAST humans to see it in a theater, as I think there were only five us in attendance at the showing. My lasting impressions from my first/only theatrical viewing of Titanic: The special effects were incredible...and I was horrified. Yes, I read and knew all of the personal stories of tragedy on Titanic since I was a kid, read and heard about all of the ways that she ship hit the iceberg and started to sink (even some of the competing theories that it broke in half BEFORE sinking for good), but seeing all of it portrayed pretty damn realistically onscreen? Again, horrifying. Kate Winslet = good. Leo DiCaprio = UGH. Billy Zane was definitely chewing up the scenery in Titanic, but I nonetheless feel he was excellent as antagonist Cal. I've always felt like Billy Zane is a very underrated actor. I highly recommend everyone (at least those with whom I enter into a convo on Billy Zane, which is rare) to watch a 1989 film called "Dead Calm," a thriller starring him, Sam Neill (of Jurassic Park fame) and a then-somewhat-unknown Nicole Kidman. One of the best thrillers I've seen in my entire life. So many GREAT secondary players/cast in Titanic....but it all gets lost in the vortex of the whole Kate/Leo thing. Music = SO GOOD. James Horner is...actually WAS, sadly, since he passed away in a plane crash a few years ago...a phenomenal theatrical composer. Yes, Celine had HER big star turn and incredible charts/sales by warbling HER version of HIS theme with sappy lyrics, but Horner's music was spot-on and moving, especially for Titanic. For these reasons and many more, I purchased the Blu-ray of Titanic years ago, pop it in to watch at least a couple times a year, and will always stop and watch if I see it on a live viewing on the air. It's still entertaining....and yes, still (to me) horrifying.

PLEEEEEEEEZ post pics this weekend!!!

LOL. This topic comes up from time to time in banter -- but I really, REALLY miss driving stick-shift. I had one of the most boring cars in the world in the 90s -- the Ford Escort wagon -- but in the first few years of our marriage my wife and I hauled everything under the sun in it (including a full dining room table with four chairs at one point), and with 5-speed, that little jitney had a surprising amount of pickup. That car lasted us well through most of that decade, but both my wife and I grew tired of cramped feet/ankles working that clutch in stop-and-start traffic, and traded it in for -- UGH -- a minivan once the kids started to arrive. But....I can still hop in a manual transmission car and get used to driving stick again in just a few minutes. It's apparently just like remembering how to ride a bike through your life. I miss driving stick.

I generally don't "like" on-air mets. But I have to be honest...I've lived in this area for over 30 years, and it seems like Sue Palka has been a "measured voice" most of the time, at least in terms of the on-air personalities, and she's been the only one that I've tuned into time and again on TV. This makes me genuinely...a little sad.

Pretty sure I dated her in college. And a number of other girls who drank PBR.

Those extreme conditions are hard for me to imagine for northcentral PA. I probably should remember hearing about some of those effects back then from up there (sister and mom still live in Williamsport), but the ONLY thing I remember about the back to back January 1996 storms is that we were trapped inside our small townhouse for nearly two weeks. With our six-month old infant son. Who was VERY colicky.

Seriously. We have a handful of friends who live in the Lorton area, who have been without power ALL THIS WEEK. That's rough...and with colder temps incoming, they're getting concerned about keeping pipes warm, etc.

There is nothing quite as beautiful to behold as fresh snow cover, especially on prior snow cover that's half-melted, compacted, muddy, or...other colors from pets passing by. Wish I could get some video snippets of the blowing snow this morning...that's pretty, too. You all know this. But I'm like an eight-year old all over again staring out the window this morning.

I did not make it past the time you posted that last evening. Beautiful sights this morning, though, with a fresh 2.5" and blowing snow with intermittent sun. Currently 27, and I'm surprised to read that we're not forecast to go much higher than that today.

34/24...nothing falling yet, but didn't expect it to for awhile yet.

Wow, in-person course registration...that brings back some memories. What a nail-biting time THAT used to be...jostling for a view with dozens of other students of the constantly-updated course lists (and 11th hour cross-outs) posted in the long main hallway of my college's main admin building. Younger generations may (or may not) have it easier with digital registrations now, but the old manual methods made life...interesting.

THANK YOU, @GATECH, for chiming in! I remember reading your initial impression of the Tempest Weatherflow last year, and did some of my own research shortly thereafter...reading a fair amount of good reviews. I wanted to pull the trigger....but I need to convince Mrs. V that it's worth it. In any event, something to add to your list of considerations, @clskinsfan -- and the unit certainly remains on my list.

You brought back some interesting memories of this timeframe, @losetoa6 -- my oldest son was only about six months old when this hit, and we were trapped inside with him for a couple weeks. Also, it's great to see/read you here again.

Ahhh, "The Christmas Story." Took in my requisite 27 viewings of it over the last four weeks. And it never gets old. Unrelated -- apparently my wife and I are probably one of only a few folks around the globe who haven't seen all six seasons of "The Sopranos." We watched the prequel movie (Many Saints of Newark) back in late fall on HBOMax, and just binge-watched all Sopranos episodes since then, with exception of the final three which we'll finish tonight and tomorrow. It's always a little sad when you reach the end of a binged series and approach "show hole" status once more...but I've already decided I'm going to re-watch Sopranos again. Plus, last season of Ozark will land next week, AND we've the final season of Lost In Space to catch up on, too....