One of the very few things that stinks about my job is that there are Sunday's like these when the dolts in DC decide to vote on a pivital issue on the first warmish Sunday afternoon of the year. The rhetoric is flowing on tv like a vegan after I slipped a laxative in their prune juice. All this while facing Xavier-Pitt at 4:50pm, Cavs-Pistons at 6pm and a fantasy baseball draft at 7pm.

I must take advantage of this situation by clearing out my DVR while Rep. Paul Ryan cries about our growing national debt wanting to eat your babies on CSPAN.

It is amazing how my television watching has declined over the years; coincidentally equal to the programming on network tv.

Here is a snapshot of my viewing, typically 5 days (or longer) after it originally aired:

Men of a Certain Age - Even though I am a bit young for the target demo of this TNT Original, it does an amazing job hooking viewers through character development and situations normal people can relate to. It is a guy show with predominately guy issues.

Modern Family - A wonderfully absurd sitcom that takes your standard tv family and twists it with situations that would have been unheard of 15 years ago. What was repulsive is now hysterical. It is proof that our culture is continually evolving. The lack of canned laughter in this 30 minute show is icing on the cake.

No Reservations - Anthony Bourdain is simply awesome as he travels the globe visting locals and resident foodies while eating everything in sight. The foods featured will vary from 3-star Michelin establishments to street vendors. Yes, he takes meds for his cholesterol. As a former food service worker, I appreciate his dark humor when it comes to life in a kitchen. Bourdain's travels are not strictly international as many episodes are based in US cities that have a unique culture and flavor for food.

Archer - A delightfully irreverent cartoon about a secret agent who works for an agency run by his crazy mother. That crazy mother is voiced by Jessica Walter who brings a heavy reminder of her role as Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development. It definitely earns it's TV-MA rating for indecent language used during violent sex.

Top Gear - You don't need to be a car geek to enjoy this gem shown on BBC America. The hosts take the fanciest and crappiest cars on earth and use them in a different challenge each week. They have gone from demolishing buses to racing overnight mail across the UK. Warning: The first and last 10 minutes may bore the non car enthusiast. NBC was going to try it in the US with Adam Carolla in 2009, but nixed it.

There are other shows I watch, but they are either out of season or no longer in production. Examples being Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, All in the Family and Sanford & Son.

A new show has peeked my interest and Justified is now set to record on my DVR.

I love the frustration of realizing that the gutters were a wee bit too dirty when the snow machine turned on. The gutters are solid blocks of ice and I had this nice imitation of a stalagmite hanging of off the front porches gutter. It was nicely hidden by the white post that allowed the massive ice flow to blend in since the door and driveway is on the other side of the house.Yes, it went all the way to the ground and fused to the base of the porch.



That picture was from Tuesday. I attacked it tonight with a saw, file and hammer after it roasted up to almost 40 degrees. The size had doubled but the top of it had finally weakened a bit.

The end result: about 250 lbs of ice that fell like a petrified Redwood through the already snow squashed bush to the left.