New Year's Revolution

It's the coldest, darkest, gloomiest time of the year. The season of happy family gatherings has just ended, the post-Christmas let-down begins, that taunting, tempting food is still around. Your will power, your enthusiasm, your motivation are at their lowest.
So why in hell has someone decreed that this should be the time for New Year's resolutions?? Is it really that special that the calendar says January 1 of the next year? Why? The stores are filled with exercise equipment, and Jenny Craig's food is on every channel. Society is feeding off your guilt (you did eat more than usual over Christmas, right?) and trying to force you to convince yourself that NOW is the time to make changes, turn over a new leaf, blah blah blah.
We've got to get over this. Given all the aforementioned circumstances -- the darkness, the food, the family stuff -- any resolution you make is almost guaranteed to fail, thus reinforcing the guilt and sadness and anger and frustration that led you to overeat and under-exercise your way to extra poundage in the first place.
I'm suggesting a revolution. Don't let "them" get to you. Don't make promises to yourself that you cannot and will not keep; just get up in the morning, look in the mirror and say, 'Dammit, I'm not that bad! This is going to be a good day!" and carry on from there. Walk when you can, eat healthy food, find humour in your surroundings, and don't beat up on yourself.
January 1, 2008 is no more special than any other day.

Reindeer Names

So, is it "Donner" or "Donder"? I thought it would be easy to tell, just by Googling the name, but it isn't. Seems like both are used. And that's not right; after all, it's a reindeer's name -- it must be either one or the other.
There are performers who have sung about Donner, and have been rewarded either by cash or by applause. Could be they were singing the wrong words. To me, that's a pretty big thing, getting the lyrics wrong. I have committed offences a lot less grievous, and yet paid a much higher price.
I think we can all recall a time when we called a person by the wrong name, or said one thing when we meant another. Verbal miscues, oral misappropriations, misspeaking -- call it what you want, if we do it we pay. I think all those guys who sang about Donner when they really meant Donder should pay. And if that's not feasible, then those of us guilty of oral misappropriations should forgive ourselves and move on.
Except of course if he calls out "Dora!" in the middle of the night and your name is Maryanne.

Cold Weather Starts

Who came up with the brilliant observation that it only takes one minute to warm up your car in winter? If you are unfortunate enough not to have a garage, your car has to sit out in -20 and -30 degree temps overnight. Before you can go anywhere, you need to scrape the windows, dust off the accumulated snow, etc. -- you can't just start the engine, count to 60 and then take off.
I don't appreciate walking down the street past an idling diesel engine. It stinks, besides which -- it's polluting. I don't see the need to leave any vehicle idling for long periods, and I acknowledge the convenience of remote starters whilst also acknowledging that, along with pretty well everything that's invented to help us, there is a point at which "use" becomes "abuse".
But it's just wrong to say you only need one minute to warm up your car. What's worse -- idiots who come up with these ideas, or the other idiots who give it credence by publishing it in the paper or reading it on the radio?
Well, here's my little contribution. Ignore the radio messages and the written advice and listen to me: take as long as you want, to warm up your car. Let me modify that: expect to take at least five minutes, maybe closer to ten, to get your vehicle ready to roll.