Weather

We got about six inches of heavy, wet snow. This wouldn't be a problem in January, but this fell on trees that are still in full leaf. The big trees (those that survived Sandy) seem to be OK, and the small trees (like the 8'-tall quinces in our front yard) bow down to the ground but spring back when the snow is removed, so they'll be OK. It's the mid-sized trees -- say, a foot diameter -- losing big branches or breaking off entirely.

The forecast for today was rain all day, turning the snow to slush and washing it away. But yesterday's news is old news: no rain, and the snow is sticking around for another day.

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Budgets

The morning John Boehner says, in a spirit of bipartisan compromise, he's willing to consider increasing revenues, as long as it doesn't involve raising taxes (!) He adds that the way to get the deficit under control is to grow the economy so there are more people paying taxes. What a concept! If he'd been willing to say that three years ago, we'd have more people working and a AAA-plus credit rating right now.

I'm still not clear on how he proposes to grow the economy -- probably by laying off more public-sector employees so they can move to the abundance of "real" jobs in the private sector. And by closing tax loopholes (while lowering rates, so he can't be accused of raising taxes) to make the economy very slightly more efficient.

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A mathematical-social puzzle

Last week Governor Chris Christie imposed even/odd-day gas rationing in much of New Jersey, elaborating that "for purposes of this rule, 0 is treated as an even number." Today Mayor Bloomberg imposed even/odd-day gas rationing in New York City, saying among other things

Vehicles with license plates ending in an even number or the number “0” can make purchases of motor fuel on even numbered days.

Why is it necessary to single out 0 and "treat" it as an even number? Is there some planet on which 0 is not an even number? Is there some doubt in somebody's mind, somewhere, that 0 is an even number? Is the evenness of zero somehow culture-specific?