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Saturday, November 20, 2010

TV winter forecast


It was another tough week in the news but you can count on this journalist to give you the up-to-the-minute information you should already know. 
It’s time once again for my annual winter forecast of just how bad this winter is really going to be. This prediction is based upon a number of observations of the weather, birds and animals.
For example, last spring there was a large crop of twin fawns. Some would say that was the result of last year's mild winter but others claim it is a sign of a bad winter to come.
There was an abnormal amount of fog on the Strait of Juan de Fuca last summer. 
This fall saw an early growth of the deer’s winter coats and a lot of fat on their backs. 
There was an early migration of waterfowl, an infestation of spiders and a plague of toads that all add up to the same thing — a hard winter coming.
While it is not my intention to waste valuable Web space spreading fear, panic and innuendo about an impending natural disaster, it is every responsible citizen’s responsibility to prepare for what could be the worst winter since the continental ice sheet covered the North Olympic Peninsula.  
In fact, this could be the winter that causes the glaciers to grow back again. We could easily wake up in just a few thousand years to find ourselves once again under a thick sheet of ice, but that is another column.
Preparation is the key to disaster preparedness. Here are some helpful hints to survive the worst weather of this century. Starting with…supersize it! 
Natural disasters don’t have to be a bad thing. Next time you’re on the road ordering fast food, make sure you get the extra large everything. Your chances of being rescued are greater if the rescuers have a larger target to search for.  
With the miracle of today’s chemical preservatives, uneaten junk food can be stored in your vehicle indefinitely and help you survive being buried in the avalanche until help arrives.
You may want to make a list of the things you need to borrow for a disaster like food, water and batteries. Of these three necessities for your survival, the batteries could be the most important. It is a well known medical fact that a human being can survive for quite a while without food. 
We can survive for a while without water but few would survive for a day without our phone, computer and television.
A natural disaster can make the power go out for many minutes at a time. This can be traumatic since people are often forced to endure being trapped in the same house with no television, computer or cell phone. In the average American home television has become much more than just a babysitter. It is the most important member of the family.
The A.C. Neilsen Co. tells us that that advances in technology such as cell phones, iPods and MP3’s have allowed children to access television content for a national average of almost 55 hours a week. 
 Television plays a vital role in shaping a child’s self-image by combining inactivity with the viewing of thousands of violent and degrading video images that fuel a billion-dollar industry that is vital to the health of our nation’s economy.   A harsh winter with prolonged power outages could threaten our economic recovery.
This winter will be dark and cold and wet. It could be tough to keep the television on but I think it’s the least we can do for the children.

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