Miscellaneous Stuff

It was 1 degree when I left for work this morning, and snowed again for most of the day. No, it's not too cold to snow. But the flakes at these temps tend to be fine, crystalline & powdery. They also tend to blow off of the auto glass by themselves, after you've driven a block or two (my favorite kind).

MoBro, my sometimes co-author here, had an exciting day: there was a high-speed chase and shoot-out on the highway near his home. The suspect apparently decided to commit suicide-by-cop, and after three of his tires were flattened by spike strips, did just that.

In Alaska news, 23-year-old Dallas Seavey has taken the lead in the Iditarod, and is trying to become the youngest winner ever. (His father, Mitch Seavey, won in 2004.) Rick Swenson, the only five-time winner, took his first victory at 24. There's a neat story about his team of talented pooches, too; read it all here. Here's an excerpt:

Even though he topped the leader board Thursday morning, Dallas is in the middle of his mandatory 24-hour rest. When he comes off it, he should be about seven hours behind Jeff King, who took his rest early and is moving like a runaway freight train.

King made the run from Ophir to Cripple nearly three hours faster than the next-fastest team and can head toward the Yukon River town of Ruby whenever his team is ready. Seavey must continue resting until after 1 a.m. Friday.

If Seavey could somehow catch King, it might set up a fascinating battle -- the oldest Iditarod winner aiming to extend that even further as a 54-year-old vs. the musher aiming to become the race's youngest champ.

And one more thing: I was asked recently what we do with "all that Alaskan snow". See for yourself; I have two more piles the same size, at other corners of the lot.