I usually can't start the day without eating up the latest news, even with the heavy dose of doom-and-gloom coverage in recent months. But recently I decided to spend a few minutes clearing several inches of snow from the driveway with my new snow blower before I tucked into breakfast and the morning paper.

Soon after I cranked up the snow blower and began clearing the driveway, I heard a sudden Phthwb! just before the engine cut out. "Phthwb? That's an odd noise?" I thought. I made sure the blower was stopped before I peered down the chute only to see that day's edition of The Wall Street Journal, scrunched tightly in its tattered protective bag. Unfortunately, my snow blower had gobbled up the newspaper, which was fully buried by the overnight snowfall.

Unfortunately, I hadn't followed the advice I'd doled out a few weeks earlier about how to safely use a snow blower. You're supposed to remove everything from the area to be cleared to avoid clogging the chute and damaging the snow blower. So much for dispelling sage advice.

But once the snow blower had ingested the Journal, I did do things right before I extracted the paper: I shut down the machine, removed the ignition key, and made sure the auger and impeller had completely come to a rest before I wrestled the paper free. As you can see from the photo, I had to get my daily dose of depressing news elsewhere that day.—Ed Perratore

Essential information: If you're in the market for a snow blower, read about our preliminary testing and our last report on snow blowers. Also check out our interactive feature "Snow Blowers: Which Is Right for You?" to find the right model for your home.