not a snowflake

I thought it was reasonable not to spend money on an eventuality that no one expected. I was wrong. Ten years ago Texas had a cold snap and lost power, not like now, but enough. Same thing in 1989. In 2011 it only caused a few hours of blackouts though. Federal energy officials recommended weatherization. 

Even one of the two nuclear power plants in the state had to be shut down because of cold. This never happens, but nuclear power plants are also always weatherized - except, apparently, in Texas. 

Most power is back. Thank goodness. People were increasingly dying in desperate attempts to stay warm. There are hospitals in Texas that don't have enough water. Water pipes are bursting all over the state. 

I put in a great line in a proposal that I only realized thanks to a blipper's comment yesterday. "Civilization requires toilets." Deep, eh? Profound? Definitely dramatic. It may be the most interesting line I've written for a proposal for a long while. 

We did not get a lot of snow here. I was hoping to take a macro of a snowflake and thought this morning would be a great opportunity but....we got sleet instead. Oh well. I bet snowflake macros require a lot of practice. 

A black-footed ferret was cloned. 
We landed a robot on Mars. 
And we are nearly through the week.