The federal government has been shut down for the last two days, which is probably a good thing — it alleviates stress on the transportation system, which is nowhere near full capacity at the moment, and I imagine there are a lot of people who would have great difficulty getting to work, especially so as you look north. Even here in northern Virginia, I can see side streets that have significant snow and ice, and where I would not choose to drive for fear of getting stuck.

So what’s next? More snow!

We are anticipating up to a foot where I am, and even more as you move into Maryland. The official warning starts at noon today, and snowfall has already been reported ~50 miles away, an hour prior to that. I just got back from the store; I had to refill my pantry, and pickings of perishables were scant (Yes, we have no bananas). I chatted with a nice lady while in the very long line; she also works for the federal government, and we agreed that it will probably be closed down tomorrow too — there’s no way the roads are going to be in better condition than they are now.

At least they are doing a better job of snow removal at my apartment complex. I surrendered my parking spot (no friction-related trouble getting out), and noticed that the snow removal crew was attacking vacated areas with their little Bobcat tractor/loader. I was able to find a cleared spot when I got back, so I’m good for now. Just fighting some cabin fever, because daytime TV sucks.