If the last few days are any indication, it's going to be a long winter.

We got about 10 inches of snow on Thursday afternoon. Everyone tried to leave work and school at the same time, and this caused massive gridlock throughout the Boston area. I had the day off, but I had an appointment in Boston that morning. I took the train in and back, which wasn't too bad, but it took me 40 minutes to drive the four miles from the train station to my house.

I got off easy, of course. 5-6 hour commutes were not uncommon for many people.

Then there was the only local fatality from the storm. Some guy decided it would be a good idea to ride his snowmobile the wrong way on Interstate 84! Before long, a car carrier came along and smashed into the snowmobile. Needless to say, the snowmobile came out second best in that encounter.

Seriously, if you are dumb enough to drive you snowmoble on the highway (never mind the wrong way), you kind of deserve what's coming to you.

Today we got another seven inches, followed up by sleet and freezing rain. I spent a good portion of the morning shoveling, and I'll have to go out again later to clean things up.

The sad thing is, it's not even officially winter yet for another few days!