One of the hallmarks of the new administration was to be its enlightened view of diplomacy. Talking to our enemies was to be the new approach,along with working closely with our allies and the United Nations. The results of this enlightened approach have recently begun exploding into the headlines. Iran announces it is a nuclear nation! North Korea restarts its production of enriched uranium! Our Russian allies do not support action against Iran.UN unable to reach consensus on action against Iran!

I have no doubt we all know at least one relationship with a nagging woman.  Look up the word nag and you will find nothing positive in the definitions or descriptions; words like anxiety, complaining, faultfinding, annoying, unrelenting, torment are what you’ll find.  Having been in a number of terrible relationships myself, I know the signs of abuse, and nagging is a form of abuse.  Women can be just as guilty of abusing their significant others as men.  In fact, emotional abuse can have far more damaging effects than physical abuse.  Nothing good comes from nagging.  

Well, that's what the signs at the border should say. That may not be entirely fair though; rally courses tend to be a tad smoother, actually.

What is it with this state and a complete lack of roadbeds under the pavement? It will never cease to amaze me how little substance there is under the macadam surface; tar on dirt, as far as I can tell. I know it's a cost thing, but I can't help wondering if, given the cost of doing repairs every spring, it might not have been better to spend the money up front to put in good, deep road beds. It costs more up front, but just the savings in bent rims would be worth it.

With some of the frost heaves in my area creating a delta in the road surface of over six inches, the time has definitely come to park the car for the rest of the winter and just use the Jeep. It's a tough decision, since the car gets around 50% better fuel economy, and with a commute just over 54 miles each way, that makes a noticable difference in my weekly fuel budget; I have this particular car for exactly this reason, commuting; it's economical, reasonably (read as; low) powered and intended to get me safely to and from work every day. The Jeep? Not so much. Really it's a toy, but with sidewalls roughly three times taller, it's far better suited to the rally course I drive to work. My comments earlier about building myself a rally car for winter driving were simply fun, but maybe I should think seriously about it. Taller sidewalls with a tougher suspension would be entirely appropriate. Besides, it would give me an excuse to get/build another car; I like that idea. I suspect my wife might not share my enthusiasm though.

So, what are your experiences with the roads here in New Hampshire during frost heave season?

I stumbled upon this scene earlier in the week while on a political assignment. It struck me in the sense that the same scene could have existed twenty or even thirty years ago. Objects that used to be staples in our lives, such as phones with chords and cigarette dispensers, are now becoming things of the past.