Shut-In.

c. David Grim (taken 12/31/08)

It's now nearly a week-and-a-half since the last "storm of the century", and it's still a swirling mess outside. There are still plenty of roads awaiting clearing here in the 'Burgh, and little prospect of the great heaping mounds of snow vanishing overnight. We're in need of an unseasonal warm-up to melt the excess away.

So it's an indoor existence that stretches into the foreseeable future. What are the things that can make life bearable for the shut-in? A pool inside the house would be nice, of course. And maybe a hot tub. But I don't know anyone with those types of lifestyle perks.

Some of my friends settle for a cable plan, for all the good it does them. But my access to their homes has reinforced my decision never to buy into that morass. There are literally hundreds of channels of garbage awaiting the passive viewer. So much of today's programming consists of poorly-produced "reality television", detailing the lives of truly pathetic individuals that make me ashamed to be an American. Actually, it's more the fact that people are willing to accept having it put before their faces (and actually pay for it), God, I'm becoming a crank...