Cold – When Centigrade and Fahrenheit are Equal

JUST HOW COLD IS IT?
Weather wise, it has been a cold Christmas/New Year here in Alberta. Temperatures have hovered in the sub -20C (-4F) range, but dipped to -40C (-40F) several nights. (Yes, at -40, the two temperature scales collide and agree that it is too cold to go anywhere, assuming your car will even start…)

There is nothing as bad as being alone and too cold.
You become totally ice-olated and cut off.
– Author Unknown –

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF SNOW PLOW SEASON
Twelve snowplows in Chatham-Kent (a Municipality in Ontario, Canada) are sporting new names, thanks to a naming contest:
Anita Shovel
Gordie Plow
Blizzard of Oz
Darth Blader
Pillsbury Plowboy
Sled Zepplin
Buzz Ice-Clear
Qunuk (Inuit word for snowflake)
Flurrious George
School’s Not Cancelled
Snobi One Kenobi
Sleetwood Mac

IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Yes, this is how we kept our feet dry inside our boots. Winter boots were often rubbery things that we pulled over our shoes, then buckled up. Spring, summer and fall boots were the same pull on rain boots that we buy today. All boots eventually leaked.  Hence the bread bags that we wore over our feet, inside our boots. (I think we used Sunbeam bread bags.)

Cold? Go Stand in the Corner. It’s 90 degrees.

DID YOU EVER WONDER

Why are there no dead penguins on the ice in the Antarctic? Where do they all go?
Well, Penguins are very ritualistic birds that live extremely ordered and complex lives.
If a penguin is found dead on the ice surface, family members and their social circle will dig a hole in the ice with their little wings and beaks. When the hole is deep enough, they will roll the dead bird in to it, then fill the hole back up.
Then the penguins will gather in a circle around the icy grave and sing:
“Freeze a jolly good fellow.
Freeze a jolly good fellow.”
… you really didn’t believe that I know anything about penguins, did you?
– Author Unknown –

If you rarely drive on snow, just pretend you are taking your grandma to church. There’s a platter of biscuits and 2 gallons of sweet tea in glass jars in the back seat. She’s wearing a new dress and holding a crock pot full of gravy.
– Twitter advice from @Chadsu42 –

HAVE YOU HAD THE SNIFFLES YET?
Another kind of circulating cold is the OmiCold. Oh, I know that isn’t what this Covid Variant is being called yet, but when you have mild symptoms (cold, flu or even covid like) and your government tells you to just stay home (isolate) AND you are not mandated to get tested, then it seems like Omicron is being lumped in with its sibling cold coronaviruses – 229E, NL63, OC43 and HKU1.

 

https://xkcd.com/

For up to date and non-scare mongering advice, I consult my Doctor and watch the videos posted by Dr. Zubin Damania. His Alt-Middle vision of health and communication is refreshing. His latest take on Omicron is Omicron and the Endemic Phase of Covid.

I did an analysis of Covid stats in my province: ‘Rona Virus – The Alberta Picture. Yes, Covid is ‘real’ – but we now know it targeted some groups much more severely than others.

RETURNING TO THE WEATHER
You can read more quotes about the weather at “Weather and Season Quotations”.