…12/8-09: when pearls fall…

43º in ABQ; 76% humidity at 6A…GAQ; overnight & wind moisture at The Beach; 40 mph winds reported at the SunPort this AM; icy roads & sidewalks; bad driving from Grants to Santa Rosa; T’storms before the snow; deadly crash on US 550 in San Juan CNTY; also icy on parts of I-25; ignition interlock program is running out of money; frozen pipe broke in Complex 4, so Brad filled tubs & pans before the water was turned off [which may last 4 – 6 hours]: by 6P, water was restored; entire city of Cloudcroft is without power; a one woman crime spree in ABQ, with 400 victims, has ended: she has been arrested; over 250 various closings & delays, the sun came out during the AM; S Valley separation on hold, need more discussions; Deming goes high definition today; car smashed into a traffic light, toppling the pole; officer involved shooting in Carlsbad; Brad found a new, unused B-B-Q near the dumpster; strong winds ripped an antenna off Sandia Crest, leaving Rio Rancho without phone service, and forcing that city’s schools to close for the entire day; near White Sands; winds ripped the roof from a military structure that housed police & security personnel; 115 mph gust reported in the San Augustin Pass in the Organ mountains,

keep working on annual review; no PICU Admits; AM R/R was on time, and so was I; everyone is backlogged: request from Jenny to help with her TES edits; it was warm & slushy at 5:30A, then cold & windy at 3P;

snow in San Fran, Chicago, Madison, KC & Des Moines; wet in New Orleans, St. Louis & Mobile, plus parts of I-10; snow & rain in the N Plains: NE & IA; rain along the Gulf Coast; blizzards in the upper Midwest; freezing rain in OKC; cold in New England; snow & very cold in Reno; very windy along I-35 & I-40; a mega winter storm shut down I-5; Four Corners weather mentioned on ABC AM News; temps from below zero to the 80s;

the DOW went down; MA voters go to the polls to elect a replacement for SEN Ted Kennedy from six choices; Pelosi has more pull than the PRES?; the Tiger’s Tale, as more woman confess to being his mistress, wife has moved out; the ‘bad breath bandit’ of MI; H1N1 attacks the lungs; there is a 175 sq. ft. APT in NYC; more heads than tales when you flip a coin, or is it based on what you start with; fifty survivors attended the Pearl Harbor ceremonies; most people think we are in a recession; should TARP money be given to small businesses?; our GOVT will profit from the bailout; many people have tap water contaminated with bacteria; will NJ be the next state to allow same-sex marriages?; no one injured when gunshots were fired from a high powered rifle at NOVA in Woodbridge, VA; we are being told to ‘spend ourselves out of recession’; $1.4 billion will be paid to Native Americans in a GOVT settlement; should the US just default, declare bankruptcy, and start over again?; TSA operations manual went online: it explains, in detail, airport security measures, items that may not be examined, and that only 20% of luggage is searched…the agency says that is an outdated version, and has been updated during 2009; after 54 years, the soap opera ‘As the World Turns’ will go off the air; no Tiger TV commercials?; more Baghdad bombings; Dubai credit rating is dropping; Al Roker from the Weather Channel is in Kabul, where they burn dung to keep warm; AFG leader says it will take fifteen years until that country is under complete control by its own leaders; SECY Gates traveled to AFG, stating the US will be there for ‘as long as it takes’; more barracks being built for US forces; oil is $72.73 per barrel; gold is $1,164 an ounce; when Lady Gaga met the Queen of England…; an Eco-wall in Brazil; inefficient Iraqi security forces; the warmest decade since the 1950s;