Happy Year of the Rant!

Don't buy a Visa gift card for anyone you love; they're terrible gifts. I got one for Shannon (long story), and it's a huge headache to use. To check the balance, you have to activate it, but to use the card over the phone or online, you have to authorize it - only neither process is spelled out in the lit that comes with the cards, and both are hard to discover through the bank's website.


I should have just given her a stack of twenties (Canadian!) or deposited cash in her checking account.

Forecast: Significant blowing and drifting, with the possibility of heavy accumulation in rural areas.