Coming in from shoveling (and I do mean shoveling, as opposed to walking behind a snow blower), I found a pleasant surprise. Liz, home for the weekend, had chocolate chip buckwheat pancakes, strawberries, bacon, and coffee waiting. With the exception of the strawberries, which were of the frozen variety, and the chocolate chips, a consession to modern taste and decadence, it was a moment my father and grandfather might have  recognized. (Their wives worked hard, but show shoveling wasn't part of the divided-labor routine for women.)

I ate happily, knowing that for once, I'd earned the hearty meal.

Removing snow the old fashioned way is a great way to get exercise without using fossil fuels, if your health allows. I cover my face with a scarf like a child to warm the air I breathe, and I take my time. Though I will say I'm getting good at it and feel just a tiny bit macho right now. Rosy cheeked and satisfied: the body loves to operate against a little resistance.

The truth is I'd have blown the snow if I had a functioning snowblower. But the $25 job I have is ancient and jury-rigged. I bought it from good neighbor Wally, who had a passion for machines and could make anything work, before he was wisked away to the condos of Brookfield. I doubt that anyone else could get it going again.

I guess this is one of those silver linings in the economic downturn. 

Slow cooking at home is another way to cut spending. I had lunch out yesterday, a guilty pleasure for an unemployed person, and a sandwich and soda set me back $8. Too much, and judging by the coupons and buy some, get one free cards they handed out, people are balking at paying that price for a simple lunch.

This Christmas will be greener, in the sense of environmentally aware, at our house this year partly out of necessity. And that's not a bad thing. Though when I land a job, I just might buy a used snowblower along with the used car.

Big wheel keep on turning, and all that.

Wondering why the auto makers didn't make a bigger objection to the new energy bill signed into law yesterday? After all, it raised standards for emissions control.

The answer became clear within hours, according to the New York Times. That same day, the Environmental "Protection" Agency decreed that states could not pass more stringent bills but would have to abide by federal standards. Sixteen states have waivers permitting them to develop higher standards for greenhouse gas emissions than the newly approved standards. But those waivers have been effectively nullified. 

EPA administrator Stephen Johnson says that federal law trumps science, and “Climate change affects everyone regardless of where greenhouse gases occur, so California is not exclusive."

Well, erm, yes--and so what? Hello, bigger government; goodbye, states' rights.

The automakers are elated. The states, starting with California, are filing lawsuits. 

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Still think sex education isn't for kids? By now, everyone who makes the mistake of reading newspapers or watching TV knows that 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears, baby sister of the recklessly fecund Britney, is pregnant. "It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected. I was in complete and total shock, and so was he (19-year-old boyfriend Casey Aldridge)."

Erm. Or . . .HELLO??!!!? You have sex, you should expect to get pregnant. You can drastically cut down the chances by using good birth control--the right way, and all the time. But you can't prevent pregnancy by wishful thinking. Or in this case, non-thinking.

Self-proclaimed parenting expert Lynne Spears, the girls' mother and someone few Tosans would adopt as a mom-model, didn't believe it. ". . . Jamie Lynn's always been so conscientious. She's never been late for her curfew."

Erm, HELLO!!! It's not the time of the night that predisposes girls to getting pregnant, it's the time of the month. That, and having unprotected sex. 

I guess someone should have taught Lynne that first. She seems to have grown up in a place with a Brookfield less-is-more state of mind when it comes to sex education.

In any case, there seem to be no responsible adults in this clan. Someone tell them that babies aren't fashion accessories. 

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Is there a common thread here? Knowledge of the facts of life (science + moral behavior) matters. Ignoring it has consequences. And so does "extreme" parenting, whether too rigid or too loose.