Leapfrog's Journal: cold!

There is a certain sort of cold which goes beyond mere cold. A prickle in the nostrils on every breath reminds me that nature is really trying to make me dead. Any bare skin aches. The wind is a viscious cutting force. Garrison Keillor once said that the severe cold makes one feel alive. I doubt it. All this cold has done for me is give me thoughts about Cozumel.

That would be -6F (-21C) with a wind chill of
-30F (-34C). Or, for the cryology buffs, a mere 252K.

cold

[pyrrho]

hi again leapfrog!

I can't help but gloat a bit. I live in Hawaii now. It's neither hot nor cold, it's quite accurately called temperate. If you were to walk around naked, sometimes you would be a little cold, sometimes a little hot, and generally you would feel just right. The moisture and temperature is very friendly to the skin. Hawaii has a feel such that nature wants to nurture you and provide. It's quite different from the mainland (I've lived here about a year an half).

One rarely gets the idea that nature wants to kill you unless you get blown out to sea. Even the lava usually doesn't want to kill you... eat your house maybe, but not kill you!

Now, I do miss crisp cold California mornings... but then, we also have two 13K foot mountains and it's quite cold and crisp enough up there, a forty minute drive away.

Re:cold

[Leapfrog]

I lived in one of those small California towns near San Jose for about three years. I've also visited the islands Kauai and Maui. Of course, my visit was so long ago that I don't remember much. Fantastic fresh pineapple, warm from the fields; snorkelling, and a long hike up a big hill.

If I were to walk around naked here, certain parts would suffer frostbite within five minutes. Hypothermia would start to take effect in ten, and mammalian diving instinct would kick in around fifteen.

Re:cold

[Leapfrog]

For comparison, I have checked the temperature in Juneau, Alaska every day for the past three weeks. It has consistently been colder here every day. For example; right now in Cedar Rapids it is 11F(-12C). In Juneau, it is 37F(3C), which sounds positively comfortable by comparison. At least I am at no risk for jungle rot.