#WeatherGeek Update: #WinterStorm #Ice #Snow #WindChill #BelowFreezing

We did have a Winter Storm hit overnight and North Georgia got socked with ice and snow. Colder air is now swooping in adding considerable wind chill. Not expected to get more than a degree above freezing today, and only for a few hours before plummeting overnight. More of the same expected tomorrow though it should top out a few degrees above freezing before dipping again overnight and then finally warming (comparatively) on Monday. Weather Alerts are advising folks not to go out unnecessarily, especially if driving (as roads are iced).

About four hours ago, pup and I bundled up --- she got Vaseline rubbed over her paw pads in a protective layer --- and walked around the neighborhood to do a welfare check on a few of our immediate neighbors. It was silent as the grave, a Winter Wonderland of clear ice and white snow. Luckily, everyone that we checked on is doing OK.

Walking back toward home, we encountered a lone Georgia Power truck creeping along, crews are out checking power lines. (Trees are completely iced over in our area and with this brisk wind outages from falling limbs are a definite concern.) Shout out to ALL the folks out there working, making certain everyone else stays safe! We see y'all.

We're home now, snug and eating a hearty chili. (Pup thinks she should get a full bowl though she had her own breakfast before 6:00a.) Hopefully, it'll be a nice quiet day and I can get some more work done. (I'm still Winterizing the house.) In accordance with our new weather "normal" in these parts, it's expected to be nearly 70 degrees again by this coming Friday. Like I've said, yo-yo weather.

When #Nature Calls, Sometimes It's a Wrong Number #GoodDog #Dogs #Wilderness #Fauna

So last night, er correct that, as 'twas 1:00a, so this morning. My pup comes to get me. (By the way, I will generally refer to any dog as puppy or pup, regardless of its age, because each is someone's furbaby --- or should be. To say, I'm a dog person is, putting it mildly.) Anywho, she's all frisky and dancing around and nudging me. So I ask her, if she needs to go out. Instant tail wag.

Know that normally, she sleeps through the night without incident, but like her human counterparts she sometimes over indulges during the holidays --- everybody who visits us these days brings treats, or so it seems --- and occasionally needs "an extra go." All she has to do is ask. I will get up and take her out, day or night. No argument.

She knows this, and as I found out this morning, counts on it. (We've had a few coyote sightings in our area recently, so I don't allow her to range unattended at night, though she'd no doubt be a proper match for any coyote. I'm not faulting the coyote, mind, we humans are the culprits who've encroached on his habitat.)

Rhodesian Ridgeback

Temperament: Dignified, Intelligent, Loyal, Mischievous, Sensitive, Strong Willed

So we go out at 1:00a-ish. It's already dropped down to 30 odd degrees outside. In other words, it's as cold as a witch's tit. But pup, my pup, she's out strolling like we're taking a Sunday morning constitutional, leisurely checking each and every tree, sometimes doubling back, pausing here and there. After a bit of this, I start to get the sneaking suspicion that I'd been snookered.

Of course, it being in the thirties outside is no matter to her. She has a nice full length fur coat, so frolicking in cold weather is nothing to her. I stop mid-step, I'm like pup, "Do you actually need to go?" She turns around and gives me the doe eyes, like "Whatdayamean? I thought this was a walk..." And there you have it. I discovered I live with a con artist.

We turned around and headed back toward the house. She came back in and went straight off to sleep. I, on the other hand, was wide awake from the effects of the bracing cold air. Shaking my head and laughing to myself. The rascal. Rhodesian Ridgeback for the win!

No Need to Reinvent the Wheel #AlexaDev #AlexaSkills

Of course, now that I have an Amazon Echo (and the Alexa app on my Fire Tablet), I can't go two seconds without coming across an Alexa Skill. People send them to me, often unsolicited.

Alexa Can Learn: Skills are add-on code snippets that allow Alexa to do new things. Amazon opened the Alexa platform to third-party developers, so there have been a lot of skills created. As with any newly emerging tech, people play around with it. Some skills are mundane, some silly, and others are dead useful. Browse the Alexa app to see what's available. No need to reinvent the wheel. If you need Alexa to do a specific thing/s, chances are someone else might have needed that same ability and there may be a skill for it already in existence. Users can rate Alexa Skills that have been accepted to the platform, so check ratings to find out what others think. Be aware that using a third-party service could mean that Amazon will share your basic user data with said third-party. ALWAYS read privacy policies and terms of use and be aware to which conditions you're agreeing. No commercial entity is entirely altruistic despite catchy mottoes like "Don't Be Evil", so YOU must be the safeguard of your own data. Weigh the trade-offs and limit sharing, when necessary. (This includes what you share with Amazon.com.) Turn off the mic. It's hysterical that the idea of "Always On" is used as a selling point. 1984, much?

The other day I received an eNewsletter from some Purina brand that offered an Alexa Skill to determine "What dog breed is right for you?" My girl (a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix and former stray who rules the roost) looked at me and cocked her head to say, "As if." Guess we're not getting a puppy for Christmas!

Between skills and IFTTT triggers, Alexa will be able to help me run my household quite efficiently once I've configured everything to my liking. I'm still playing around with the litany of things I'll be able to do with Alexa, testing this and that and having a loads of fun in the process. Oh, the Places We'll Go....