various

I watched the president's gun speech yesterday, and found it interesting (and inspiring, mostly).  I don't know how much it was off the cuff, but whether or not he was winging it, it was a fine performance.  Snark, tears, common sense, self-assurance ("I taught Constitutional law.  I know something about the second amendment."). Though, as Peter Sagal tweeted "'Michelle was mean to me'  POTUS is my least favorite POTUS."  (that's not true of me.  Sending drones to kill people POTUS is my least favorite, but that one may be second).  I already donate to a couple of gun control organizations and write occasional letters.  I'm not sure what to add to that, but there must be something.

While I'm talking about writing letters, it's time to send some outrage to Hasbro.  Read this (for many good points)http://mikeadamick.com/2015/12/rey-is-not-a-role-model-for-little-girls-major-spoilers-ahead/
(in case you don't read the article but are confused by the subject line, his role model point is that Rey is more useful as a role model for all the male people who can't conceive of women as being strong on their own.  Hasbro has declared that only boys play with Star Wars toys, and haven't made any sets that include named Rey).  (quotation I heard yesterday on a radio show about the discrimination women still face in sports:
"The stronger women get, the more men like football.")

In my childhood, a certain type of outer garment was called a car coat.  I haven't heard anybody say it in (possibly) decades, but I thought of it yesterday.  Last winter I bought a long baggy coat, full of loft.  Prior to that I hadn't really worn a winter coat for years, layering flannel shirt, sweat shirt, fleece vest,and jacket  (as many layers as relevant) instead.  The big coat is wonderful for standing at bus stops.  I hadn't really thought about how cold my knees used to get, even with long underwear, until they weren't cold while I was wearing the big coat under similar circumstances.  Driving a car isn't waiting for a bus, though.  The coat is bulky and awkward and weirdly constricting in ways something so baggy shouldn't be.  I thought "What I need is a car coat."    Interesting to me is the wikipedia article pointing out that the original car coat was a full-length duster.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_coat