After the Ice Storm

Breaking the ice crust on the snow in order to clear the driveway

The Ice Storm

We are getting a new (to us) and particularly treacherous storm tonight: ice pellets, also known as freezing rain. It consists of BB-sized, spherical ice crystals that rain down and collect like snow. When the wind picks up and pushes them against the window, it sounds like handfuls of beads are hitting the glass. This precipitation is much more slippery than snow, though, and if it melts a little and then refreezes, it turns into a slick sheet of ice. We are expected to get about 4 inches of this stuff tonight.

Aside from making roads nearly impassable, the ice collects on power lines and tree branches, and can overload them and make them snap. Here in southwestern Ohio, temperatures are expected to stay well below freezing for several days, which means that power lines will be in jeopardy for at least that long.

What fun.

Shower TV Is Back!

Ratings are up, especially among females

The new season of Shower TV is getting renewed interest from an audience that seemed to have deserted it completely for more than a year. As you probably recall, this is a television reality show in which dogs –  horrified but fascinated – watch humans take showers.

It’s hard to account for the resurgence in interest for this show, since it features the same lead male actor as before. Perhaps it’s significant, though, that the audience this time around is almost exclusively female – as you can see from the photo.