printdude / January 15, 2009 10:29 AM

Whaddya Somekinda Wiseguy?

When you can chuck some water on the pavement and watch it freeze, that's cold enough for anybody!

lmy / January 15, 2009 10:29 AM

sometimes this weather makes me feel alive, but most of the time it makes me feel dead.

Jasmine / January 15, 2009 10:33 AM

At least the sun is out. We've got that.

V / January 15, 2009 10:41 AM

seriously

Leelah / January 15, 2009 10:44 AM

I feel bad for my students who never know the joy of school cancellations due to inclement weather.

mike / January 15, 2009 11:05 AM

For me, it's truly cold once the temp drops low enough so the moisture in your nose freezes when you inhale. That happens at around zero. So yeah, it's cold. I second Jasmine though. I'll take a frigid sunny day over your typical gloomy 20 degree January day.

michi / January 15, 2009 11:50 AM

I have now lived where you can make tortillas on the sidewalk and where you can make instant margaritas that way. I think I need a sidewalk thermostat.

Dubi / January 15, 2009 12:08 PM

Looking at the non frozen core of a half full glass I'd say that it is perfect whether for writing code.

A. Lewellen / January 15, 2009 12:08 PM

As my train pulled into the station this morning in typical freezing weather fashion the waiting throng bum rushed the doors, including a few actual bums. The woman in front of me pulled her scarf from her face because she had to sneeze. It crystallized in mid air and in the ultra crisp way things sound in extreme cold I could hear the gentle ping of of crystalized saliva against the glass of the train doors.

Dubi / January 15, 2009 12:14 PM

I meant WEATHER not WHETHER, stupid spellchecker couldn't read my mind.

Damon / January 15, 2009 12:27 PM

I'll take it. It's sunny and there's only a bit of a breeze (out here in the western plains of Kane County).

annie / January 15, 2009 12:38 PM

My first concern is my doggies, they are not having this, my oldest one actually just peed on the steps and then ran back in. And then I think this might not be so bad, but my husband has been in CA all week and that makes it much worse for me. (I should be happy for him, but I'm not, at all)I'm also wondering what homeless people are hearing city officials on the news tell them to go to warming centers...how does this make sense? And then I'm concerned for the girl on the 66 bus this morning who left the house with wet hair which by the time she got to the bust stop it was frozen stiff and sticking out all over, yet she had a hood on her jacket and didn't bother to use it. I just don't understand that kind of thinking. or not thinking.

caitlin / January 15, 2009 12:57 PM

A. Lewellen, That is pure poetry.

The cold hasn't gotten to me yet, if only because weather chaos can be fun if you can safely watch from your window with hot chocolate.

More fun was the blizzard on Saturday, in which my face froze into a smile because I couldn't help laughing at the ridiculousness of Clark St. in Andersonville in the snow. An older man stopped me and asked me how I could be so happy in this weather. Of course, I told him thinking of the fact I had totally wiped out on the snowy hill that was my building's front steps and then slid rather than walked most of the way to brunch, it's funny! Which it is.

Allan / January 15, 2009 1:20 PM

Several of my farts froze upon escape this morning. I just left them laying in the street. Too cold to stop and pick them up. The weird thing was how beautiful they were. I am sure they still smelled like shit but just beautiful to look at.

flange / January 15, 2009 1:40 PM

i'm with jasmine. usually there will be between 7 and 10 days of sun between thanksgiving and easter here. i like wearing my sunglasses on days like today.

that said, the moment i opened my front door, my nuts leaped up to my nipples to stay warm.

Spook / January 15, 2009 2:06 PM

I called in sick. This is why I never complain about it being too hot. Any I place a pox on any body's house that has ever complained about it being too hot.

Spook / January 15, 2009 2:06 PM

I called in sick. This is why I never complain about it being too hot. Any I place a pox on any body's house that has ever complained about it being too hot.

Mucky Fingers / January 15, 2009 2:07 PM

It's good to breathe in this air six feet above, as opposed to six feet under. Bring it on! I keep myself moving!

Annie's husband / January 15, 2009 2:44 PM

It's cold? I hadn't noticed. It's 80 degrees here in Pasadena...

But, honestly, I'd rather be in the cold with Annie.

But, really honestly, I'd rather have Annie here with me.

Val / January 15, 2009 2:57 PM

My eyelashes froze together walking to work.

Elizabeth / January 15, 2009 3:52 PM

Oh, now I'm scared. I normally participate in a little crop dusting when I walk and am terrified that now people will be able to see it.

Do farts make a fog in cold weather? I think this is an experiment we should all get in on. Better yet, maybe Mr. Wizard covered it at some point...

Allan / January 15, 2009 4:39 PM

Well Lizzy ole gal it's a scientific factlet that farts are 80% fog so depending on how many bean and egg sandwiches you had for breakfast you could look like you had a screaming tea kettle living in the bunghole under your trousers. Not an unflattering look for a woman.

winter warlock / January 15, 2009 10:33 PM

we threw some water on the sidewalk and timed it- frozen in less than 20 seconds.

but now there is are two patches of slippery ice in front of my house.

maybe the lazy jackass nextdoor with his ridiculous unshoveled spot being held by a plastic lawn chair will fall and break his nose.

Baldeesh / January 16, 2009 7:27 AM

I'm in England. It's 40 here. And awesome.

shechemist / January 16, 2009 7:55 AM

I ran out of my midwestern winter cheerfulness about the cold last night. It is ass rape-ingly cold. I bought a lotto ticket and if we win tonight we loading up the kids and the dog and we are leaving for the Florida Keys at dawn tomorrow and I'm not coming back till April.

In fact I'll scout beach side condo's right now.

shechemist / January 16, 2009 8:11 AM

ack... the run on sentence and the extra ' in condos. I'm a moron.

m / January 16, 2009 9:36 AM

It was fun waiting 20 minutes for a train at the packed Quincy stop during rush hour yesterday evening. Thanks vigilant CTA staff for not announcing anything. Doind' a heckuvajob.

eric / January 16, 2009 10:08 AM

long johns + super-warm fleece pants + windproof shell pants + balaclava = unstoppable. And I'll break out the ski goggles if I have to.

zoenotcool / January 16, 2009 10:15 AM

I don't have ski goggles, but that sounds like an excellent plan. I like the (limited) wind protection my glasses offer, but I keep fogging them up. My forehead seems to be the only vulnerable part of my body right now.

I have new YakTrax I want to try out, but they can't be worn on any non-icy/snowy surface. And they are too difficult to pull on/off with gloved fingers in a hurry. Dang it!

Keep on keepin' on, folks! What other choice do we have?

Kaylee / January 16, 2009 10:16 AM

Two pairs of knee-high wool socks, jeans, boots, leg warmers, long sleeve heavy cotton under the warmest turtleneck sweater on the face of the earth... plus a coat, scarf, hat, and two pairs of gloves.

I'm good to go. If anything, I can't put the post-ellipses stuff on too early or I sweat to death.

Sidenote, anyone else notice the CTA Trip Planner is giving strange routes? Ex: normally, I get one of three options; yesterday and today, it's cutting out the option that involves walking an extra block to the bus (the route that is the most direct and quick, yet the one that leaves me in the cold the longest).

Surely they didn't change their trip planner for the weather...

printdude / January 16, 2009 10:23 AM

This morning I did a test:
I threw 16 oz of water on the pavement; in thirty seconds I had slush. It only took 52 seconds to make the pubble frozen solid.

So, in answer to your question, Yes, yes it is cold enough for me.

Spook / January 16, 2009 11:24 AM

Winter warlock,
Either you’re a warlock or you’re not!
A real warlock would wait until night and toss those chairs! Seriously, that's what I'm doing. Two days ago I tossed two thick wooded chair over the fence of a soon to be condo, and
heard the chairs break on the frozen snow! The next morning what was left of the chairs was back marking the spot, so the next night walking my dog, I tossed them back over the fence were it remains today. I think I made my point! Seriously don't put up with that crap. Now they are actually leaving boxes and other forms of junk outside! Tonight I'm tossing that stuff as well! Some of us actually care about our communities! If they want parking spots then ORGANIZE the block to get zoned restricted parking!

Most of the people who do this sh*t aren't even homeowners!