This morning, on a bare patch of the yard outside Scooter's window, I noticed something we watch for every year: the first of our daffodils poking its head above the ground. This particular spot gets a lot of sun and warmth, and is always the first to thaw in the spring. Even so, this was earlier than I had expected. With snow forecast for tonight, the poor things will most likely freeze and have to try again in a few weeks.

Twenty years ago, I was a kid with a modem who knew just enough to get into trouble. Inspired by the movie WarGames , I wrote a little program on my Apple II which would wardial for other computers: dial thousands of phone numbers looking for another modem. I had this program pretty well tweaked, and it could pulse-dial almost as fast as most modems would tone-dial. My dad, you see, wanted to save a few bucks and didn't order touch-tone service on our second phone line.

She Who Puts Up With Me had hinted very strongly that for her birthday she wanted a weekend for the two of us at our favorite resort, Gunflint Lodge. Her birthday was two weeks ago, but this was the earliest I could make all the pieces come together. Just as well, since they would have likely been mobbed for Valentine's Day.

Supposedly the Eskimos have 23 words for snow. Here in the Frozen North, we're not so far behind. Here's a list of words and phrases we use for various forms of frozen precipitation, in the air and on the ground.

-25.2F was the low at our house last night, handily beating the lowest temperature from last year (-17.9F). Once you get to that level, temperature is more about keeping score than anything else.

Sure, it costs more to heat the house, and the car is less likely to start, but from a human perspective, there's not much difference once the temperature gets below zero. It's just cold. You add an extra layer if you have to, but the psychological effect is minimal.

The temperature this morning was -17F at my house, with an overnight low of -18. It would have been colder, except that a cloud layer moved in overnight, which helps hold the heat in. Tonight, they're forecasting even colder weather. We could break the big two-oh.

We have a goofy tradition where I try to pick the coldest night of the year to invite folks over for a barbecue. Since we have a birthday party for the twins on Saturday (they're two), I think that will be the magic day this year. Folks in southern climes may find this surprising, but grilling outdoors works just fine in the winter. You just have to get the food inside fast because it gets cold quickly.

Woke up this morning to 3-4 inches of fresh snow, and a nice drift at the end of the driveway from the plow. This was not unexpected, as the weather forecasters had been predicting a nice snowstorm, and we'll probably get another 3-4 inches before it is all over.

So, I asked She Who Puts Up With Me to take care of getting the kids dressed and breakfasted, so I could go out and shovel the driveway before we had to leave. She moaned once, and pulled the covers more tightly over herself. I took this as agreement with my plan, and went out into the fresh blanket of white armed with my shovel to do battle with the forces of nature.

Since Scooter was born, we've had four nannies, not counting the occasional fill-in. The first was allergic to the cat, so she left after about three months. The second stayed for three years, until she had a baby and didn't want to make the long commute with a newborn. Number three overlapped with number two (for while number two was pregnant, and the twins were newborns), and has continued to work off-and-on since then. Number four was the full-time replacement for number two, and left after a year when we started putting the twins in preschool and cut back her hours.

Ever since a SuperTarget opened just a couple miles from Frozen North HQ, we've done nearly all our grocery shopping and regular household goods shopping there. This is a pretty chunk of our household budget.

For us, the Target visa card carries an intriguing reward system: for every $1,000 we spend at Target, we get a coupon good for 10% off anything we buy at Target on a single day. Limit one coupon per month.

It doesn't take a mathematical genius to figure out the optimal way to use this card: One trip a month of $1,111 would yield 10% savings on everything you buy.

Lots of people have and are getting home alarms these days. Here's a piece of advice before your sign up for service with Protection One: Don't.

About a month ago, the old reliable 4-cup Braun coffeemaker which She Who Puts Up With Me got for free in college died. She got it for signing up with Gevalia Coffee , which brought us far more coffee than we could ever drink, and charged us far more than we should ever pay, but it was a good coffeemaker. We used it every day, since the 4-cup size was far more convenient than the 12-cup one we got as a wedding present. So, we decided to get a replacement small coffee maker. At Target, they only had one brand of 4-cup coffeemaker: Mr. Coffee. I can say without reservation that this is the worst coffeemaker we've ever owned.

I'm not old enough to remember this, but I'm told that there was a time when travel--and especially air travel--was glamorous, exclusive, and maybe just maybe even fun.

The big news this week is that they're providing metal knives with the first-class meals. Fortunately, I got an upgrade. My VP of Business Development is stuck in coach, where they're now charging $5 for airline food.

I enjoy going on business trips. Traveling can be a lot of work, yes, but it is also fun to see other places, renew old acquaintances, and meet new people. Breaking up the office routine is also refreshing, and I always come back re-energized. Occasionally, I even get to do some sightseeing, which is like an added bonus.

After a certain point, though, the trips become draining. Not physically, but spiritually.

In New York this evening, after my grandfather's memorial service.

I inherited a lot from my grandfather: his offbeat sense of humor, his disregard for convention, his passion for learning. I identified with him more than just about anyone else in my life.