It's six below zero where I'm at ...

Not according to Craig James' boy.

 

Craig James chose ... because his boys couldn't cut it at Highland Park.

 

I have to disagree with you on this, JR.

When it's 100F outside you can still do things outside to cool off -- jump in a lake or a pool, run under a sprinkler, dump a bucket of water over your head. Yeah, it's hot, but you can do things to keep cool.

On the other hand, when it's that cold outside and you start to feel it, there's little you can do. Sure, you wear layers and layers, but once the cold penetrates there's nothing extra you can do.

And being too hot is much more comfortable than being too cold. I've never felt pain as severe as the ends of my fingers and toes when the cold has defeated the gloves and socks and shoes. Plus, getting dressed for icy temps is a lot more of a hassle than shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops.

 

I beg to differ, Old Tony.

You see, if it gets cold, you can always put more layers on yourself.

But when it gets hot (and humid), there's only so many layers you can take off.

Even if you have "the Italian ice of supple asses."

 

There's a point of diminishing returns for extra layers. And, practicality dictates that two is pretty much it for layers. A third layer maybe, but a fourth layer never.

Plus, when you come in from the hot into an air-conditioned room, you're immediately more comfortable. When you come in from the cold, your hands and feet are still cold and hurting for 5-10 minutes.

 

O_T has a point.

 

When was the last time it hit 60 below in Minnesota? 30 to 40 below is normal every year.

 

It was -64 (without the windchill) in Embarrass, Minn., during the awful winter of 1996-97.

-60 with the windchill is not that uncommon up nord. And I count the windchill.

 

My freshman year at WAZZU (I would guess it was Dec. '95 or Jan. '96) we had -30 one morning. I made the mistake of calling my brother, doing grad work at U of Minnesota at the time. Big bro informed me it was -70 where he was at. My complaining stopped, and I've greatly appreciated the perspective ever since.

 

I moved to Iowa when I got married. I'm glad we no longer live there, since there were several extended stretches in the winter of '07-08 when -6 would have been a heat wave. My wife was extremely disappointed last winter when we had one snowfall all winter and other parts of the Northwest got pounded. She misses the snow and cold greatly. I don't. I don't miss scraping thick ice in -30 temps while it snows at 6 a.m.

 

I drink beer when I shovel snow. Sometimes, when it's really cold, if you don't drink it fast enough it freezes.

 

One of my favorite things is when they talk about "what it feels like" outside.

Reminds me of a Greg Giraldo bit:
"Tomorrow it is going to rain, but if you have an umbrella, it will feel like it's dry."