I hab a cold!

It had to happen. I awoke this morning to the familiar runny nose and sense of displacement that could only mean one thing - I have a cold. Given that everyone I have been meeting with for the last couple of weeks has been in some stage of recovery from the cold going around, it was only a matter of time before I became the next victim. So now instead of a well planned post, you're going to get a random rant and thought as I honk my snorter between keystrokes.

I guess it's fitting given that I have a five or six hour meeting tomorrow with the engineering firm about our EPA mandated change in water treatment. May as well be miserable and as well as in sticker shock. We are going to have to spend somewhere between $15-20 million to remove the granite decay products from the water here. The levels in the water haven't changed in 2 or 3 million years, but because the congress critters changed (to levels even the EPA though were "unsupported by scientific evidence") the limits, all of us out here in the water scarce plains are being forced to spend like loons and waste precious water in the process. We are spending this money to remedy a problem that *might* lead to one (yes 1!) excess death every 300 years in a town of our size. Historical data from the 1900's on shows no statistical effect from the ever present granite decay products, but ... Even the official EPA stats claim that if you drank 2 liters of the water here every day for 70 years, you would increase your chances of getting ill by less than 1 in 10,000. Oh well. It just seems that there are a lot of ways of spending that much money that would produce much better results.

You may remember my words about the community benefactor from this post . Here (if you read this latter, select the 2008-12-17 link in the box at the bottom) is one of the official reports of the unveiling of the gift. They have chosen to honor their son (L and I's classmate) by donating and naming an oncology center in his name. Thank you Frank and Gloria and family! And here's to the memory of Dave!

I'm off to snort my honker and drink tea. At the rate of tea consumption today, I'm going to have to become English or give up my coffee drinkers card. {*grin*}


P.S. And I just looked outside and notice that it has snowed some more.