I've had enough surgery to convince me that it's to be avoided except to correct a condition that threatens life or limb. Bingo wings are aesthetically off-putting, but that's all.

The snow continues in Stratford, with apocalyptic warnings of Lake Effect squalls from Environment Canada. The traditional amnesia has struck many Ontario drivers, accounting for the proliferation of fender-benders by people who neglected to slow down while entering a curve, or change their three-season radial tires to winter tires, or put the snow brush in the boot, or any number of other things we all have to do every year if we don't want to be that guy who fishtails out of the parking lot at Sobey's. And everyone will gripe about the snow until the week before Christmas, when it will suddenly become essential seasonal decor.

The weather makes my damaged joints hurt, which spoils my sleep and renders me even crankier than usual.

Today the snow is deep enough that I must extract my winter boots from the back of the closet and equip them with a pair of orthotic insoles. That means the end of trouble-free outdoor walking until Spring; for the next four months, at least, it's all about not slipping, tripping and/or falling over. Last winter, I managed to remain upright until the very end of March, when I went for a Burton on a patch of black ice in the parking lot at the Y. Let's see if I can do better this winter -- going for gold!