The weather people were all atwitter last Friday about the beginning of a three-day snow storm with “blizzard conditions” up here in Maine. High winds often mean power outages for us, so Ollie the cat and I stocked the cupboard with food, candles, lamp oil, etc. I even prepared a post for today in case I couldn't get on line.

The storm was a dud, at least by Portland, Maine standards; nine or ten inches of snow over the three days and nowhere near the deeply frigid temperatures the midwest is experiencing. Winter is tolerable here so far this season.

The Internet
A poll from Harris has a bit of insight into how pervasive adult use of the internet has become. The number of adults 18 and older who are online at home increased last year to 76 percent, up from 66 percent in 2005. The average number of hours spent online is now 14 per week, and half of all adults online bought something in 2009. So what? asks Harris:

“The increase in the number of hours spent online in the last two years compared to all previous years is striking. It probably reflects a growing ability to use the Internet, an increase in sites and applications, increased TV watching online and increased purchasing online.

“Also, hours online may have increased because of the recession. Going online is free; going out usually costs money.”

People 50 and older average 11.5 hours per week online. Nearly 55 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds bought something online in November; 37 percent of people 65 and older did so.

I am curious how people figure out their average their average time online. I'm on and off so many times a day for anywhere from a minute to check spelling or the definition of a word to hours reading news and blogs, tracking down information, banking, watching videos or just fooling around that I couldn't possibly estimate the time over a week except there is no doubt I am among those on the high end who helped raise the average.

What the...?
I'm sure we all have had our fill of Tiger Woods, but I couldn't let this pass without a sneer. Actually, it's about Brit Hume who, on Sunday, took to ranking the quality of religions against one another in ragging on about Woods:

”The extent to which [Tiger Woods] can recover seems to me depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith.

“My message to Tiger would, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'”

Do you suppose anyone who says such a thing is capable, on second thought, of embarrassment?

2010
There was a brief story on CNN Friday about how to pronounce our new year. Apparently, a poll had been taken and only 20 percent of respondents liked “twenty ten.” The majority preferred “two thousand ten.”

Huh?

I've been uncomfortable for a decade saying “two thousand one,” “two thousand two,” etc. I would have preferred saying, “twenty oh three.” It just seems more efficient and it is certainly more mellifluous. For a millennium, people said, “ten X,” “fifteen X,” “nineteen X” and I can't imagine why we've spent ten years adding those extra syllables in “thousand.”

So whatever the eventual consensus, here at TGB, you'll read references to “twenty ten” and onward until the day I die or I end the blog – whichever comes first. What about you?

At The Elder Storytelling Place today, Jeanne Waite Follett: Father Time is My Peer.