The voluntary tax

"A lottery is a taxation upon all the fools in creation; 

and heaven be praised, 

it is easily raised, 

for credulity's always in fashion."

Henry Fielding

The Powerball jackpot is now over a billion dollars, a pile of misery just waiting (so the experts say) for the winner.  Approximately 70 percent of big lottery winners lose the money within a few years and face financial ruin.  Along with that happy statistic, there's a constant pattern of family tensions, addictions, murder and suicide with big jackpot winners.

Sorry to be such a spoilsport. You probably don't have to worry about this depressing fate. They say the chances of winning are equal to getting struck by lightning while being eaten by a shark. Which does sound pretty unlucky.

It was a football weekend in this house, and just like the rest of America we sat for hours in front of the set.  Three games exceeds my limit by two, but it's that time of year. If you can't beat them, join them.

Oh, and speaking of blind luck, the buzz in Seattle this morning is "The Road to the Superbowl."  That road is rocky and steep. But there was lots of screaming in the streets last night. In Cincinnati and Minneapolis, some crying. I felt for the Vikings, I really did.  We've been there.

Here's some girlfriends who did something healthy and fun this weekend, far away from television.  That's Amanda, fourth from the left.  They cross-country skied for several miles, and then camped in these cozy primitive huts for two nights.  Their food and water was all hauled in ahead of time, what a sweet deal.  Amanda said they had a fabulous time.

Between them, they probably "orphaned" about a dozen kids for the weekend. Ha!  I'll bet there were some very tired dads when they got on home on Sunday.