I can't see a thing but white through my office windows. The Powers that Be have decided to close up shop and let us leave here at 4, but I'm not sure how much that'll help. It looks nasty out.

I'm really glad Mike and I stocked up on food and such this weekend. Once I get home tonight, I know I'm not going to want to head back out.

If you have to be out in this mess, be safe.

"Manny Mondaca pulls a small black cat out of its cage in a room where the walls are painted a comforting pastel blue. He lays the animal gently on a steel table covered by a soft quilt and scratches it behind its left ear. He strokes it a few times. He takes care to treat the cat especially kindly, because he is about to kill it."

(from New York magazine)

They're filming an episode of Third Watch in our neighborhood.

Check out who the President is.

(Go, mom!)

Just got home from an appointment with the girlydoc. The appointment was at 2. I didn't actually get in to see her until 3:10.

I was also supposed to go to back to my regular doctor's office to get some bloodwork done ("We need you to come back in for more tests." "Why? Is something wrong?" "Just come back in as soon as you can..."), but by the time I got out of my first appointment, it was too late to head back to midtown for that.

Besides, at that point, I hadn't eaten anything all day.

So, I headed home. I got home, just as the latest Big Snowfall started, and got inside to find... we have no water. No running water in the apartment. Zip. Nada.

I called our landlady and left a message on her voice mail. That was about half an hour ago. I still haven't heard back from her.

This wouldn't be as big a problem if it wasn't the night before payday, and if I had more than $6 and change to my name.

Timing is everything, ain't it?

'Forgotten Killer' Salt Kills 150,000 a Year, Says CSPI Report
CSPI Sues FDA to Force End to 20-Year Delay in Regulating Salt

GAH... the CSPI really drives me nuts sometimes. If you read the report, you'll see that they rightly put the blame where it belongs, on excess sodium in processed foods ("Processed foods and restaurant foods contribute almost 80 percent of sodium to the diet, according to the 32-page report." and "The bulk of Americans’ salt intake is not coming from the salt shaker. Only about 11 percent percent of sodium in the diet comes from salt added while eating or cooking.").

But if you just read the headline, as most people will, then you get the wrong message.

SALT and SODIUM are not the same thing. If people don't understand that, then they will continue to eat their Big Macs and canned soups and blue box mac & cheese and Stouffer's frozen dinners, but they'll think they're doing right by foregoing the extra salt from the shaker on the table. It's just plain misguided.