sick

It's cold. The high temperature today was about -2 degrees Fahrenheit. That probably doesn't mean a lot to many of you; being from warm climates, you have no experience with which to judge such a temperature. But take my word for it; it's cold.

Not the coldest I've ever experienced; that would be approximately -60 degrees Fahrenheit in 1996. Air temperature, not windchill.

It's not that cold yet, but they're predicting a low of -18 degrees F tonight. As sorry as I am for the people in the Northeast, I have to say "better them than us." It was in the 50s out there. If we were without power here right now...well, it would be very bad.

That being said, I think that if anyone is going to live in a climate such as Minnesota's, they should experience nearly freezing to death at least once. In a situation where they won't actually freeze to death, of course. But experiencing it teaches two things: how dangerous even moderately cold weather really is, and how to recognize the signs and symptoms of hypothermia.

Having lived here my entire life, and being an outdoors type, I've experienced it more than once. Never life-threatening, but stupidly close. It's not entirely unpleasant. That's one of the dangerous things about it.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm inside tonight.