Contrary to what I reported a few days ago, winter and rain are back, and the weather has been absolutely horrid. The only consolation is that it is worse almost everywhere else. Ten days ago, Atlantic storm Klaus killed at least 15 people in southwestern France and northern Spain. In France alone, the damages are estimated at roughly 1.4 billion euros, and tens of thousands of homes were without power (and therefore heat) for several days. If the weather forecast can be trusted, the cold and wet will continue for the better part of the week in this area, and if all goes well, things should clear up just in time for the weekend. In the meantime, it’s not so bad in the office: the furniture is comfortable, the work interesting, the colleagues friendly, and there’s a thermostat.