You know, I’m beginning to think I need to take a camera with me wherever I go. There is so much that I see that I think is worthy of a snapshot. This morning on the way to work, there was again a dazzling hoarfrost. But the more interesting bit was that there was almost no wind and a temperature inversion. The warmer temperatures, about one hundred feet up, stopped the smoke from folks’ chimneys rising, but the colder temperatures kept the steam visible for a long time.

A farmer was delivering hay to his cows in their pasture, while his farm house puffed a stream of smoke that traveled straight up and then took a ninety degree turn, as if it were actually traveling in a stovepipe.

Another house on the side of a hill was several hundred yards from the road. The smoke from its chimney also traveled straight up, but when the inversion checked it, it began to spread north in a widening layer. So by the time the smoke had reached my viewpoint, it was as wide as a road and as thick. It was a smoky country road in the sky.

C was eating out the other night and noticed this curiosity. A father and mother were seated at a table with their six-year-old daughter. So far so good. But here is the problem. The whole time the couple ate, the six-year-old watched a movie on a portable DVD player. How sad!

Fireworks have been democratized! Last night, on account of the lateness of the hour and the tiredness of the little ones, we decided to forego the traditional municipal fireworks and watch our neighbour’s display. Well, as it turned out, we were able to watch the displays of 10 “neighbours.” No, there was not as much spectacle all in one place and right in front of us, but you may say the total spectacle was about equal, just scattered about a few square miles and a major portion of the night.

I heard a statistic; in 1976 (the bicentennial of our independence) we Americans (private citizens, not municipalities) spent $30 millions on fireworks. In 2006, we spent $900 millions. So our affluence even allows us to create our own fireworks shows. I do not think, however, that the democratization of fireworks will put the municipalities out of business. I do think it will force them to make bigger and better shows.

Is anyone else bothered by the clutter that has lately come to the Google home page?

Clutter was the original reason I left Alta Vista for Google. I grant that Alta Vista, and other search engines, subsequently cleaned up their home pages, but Google have always defended the minimalist title. Now we see Google going down that road and I am not so sure I want to go with them.

Update (2/2008):  Google have kept the additions to a minimum and the additions have kept out of the way.  I can handle that.