Oh, my--halfway through the first month of the new year.  Interesting stat on the weather yesterday morning:  we have had twice the amount of snow in this half month as is normal and half as much as we had last year in the same time.  We expect highs above freezing today and over the weekend so a good bit may melt.

Finished The Martian yesterday.  That was the second time around for that book and it is well worth a second visit.  Picked up The Human Age by Diane Ackerman which I had barely started some time ago.  Continuing with Being Mortal.

Ah, someone has finally called BS on the term "ride sharing."  I would go further and include all of the so-badly-misnamed "sharing economy."  None of it is sharing; it is a pay-for-service economy just like the rest of our economy.  The only differences between Uber and a taxi service is who owns the car, what regulations apply to them, what taxes and fees they pay and other such details.  As far as the customer is concerned there is no difference: each gives you a ride and you pay for it.