Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Why do we live here?

This morning it was -47 degrees celcius with the wind chill. It warmed up to -46 degrees and will stay there most if not all day.

At least there are no mosquitoes.

well that definitely is cold! But at least it's constant.
Here in TX we get 81F one day then 32F the next during winter (kind of like between yesterday and today). I'm sick of going from sleeveless shirt to coat!!

Oh hey Bruce... I never realized you lived in Winterpeg. Thought it was just Chesseroo and I these days.

Interested sometime in a listening evening when we finally do one?

Bren R.

I feel for you guys up there, we have a high of 5 today as that cold front keeps whipping us from Canada.

Have had about 6 days now of 70 degree weather here and if it continues, work on the tile will cease and I'm taking off on the bike!!

Tried to walk the dogs this morning but they kept falling down (and they're only 5 inches off the ground). Almost 12 hours of freezing rain last night...

Also nearly tore the drivers door off my Magnum again. Pulled into the driveway, stopped, got out, car started sliding back down the driveway towards the road. Just got the door closed in time before it hooked the Jeep fender and got hyper-extended.

And this was in Toronto, far away from the wilds of Winnipeg. I'm gonna have to invest in wheel chocks and tiedowns.

It's no better in my neck of the woords.

-24°C
A few clouds

FEELS LIKE -39°C
WIND W 39 km/h
GUSTS 48 km/h
RELATIVE HUMIDITY 57%
DEWPOINT -30°C
PRESSURE 104.48 kPa
VISIBILITY 19 km
CEILING unlimited

Perhaps you should just leave the doors off of the Magnum, needing to explain how you managed to tear off the drivers door a second time would be interesting. Once in the new house you won't have such a steep parking area so that should help.

About a 100 degrees difference from Houston to there. I like cold weather, but that is ridiculous.

Grandma and I just walked into the house a few minutes ago. Even though it's only 75F outside, it seemed a bit stuffy, so we felt obligated to turn on the air to cool the place down.

Here in northern Virginia, we had 9 inches of snow last weekend (a lot for us). It was all GONE within 3 days due to persistent 60 degree weather. Now, just in time for the weekend, it's going to dip again into freezing temps with a chance of more snow. Sheesh.

Yeah, it's been cold here (SF). Down in the 40s...

hehheheheh

Karma's gonna get me for that one...

Here in Indiana, our campus is literally in the middle of a cornfield. That means one thing: Lots of wind.

Basically, i'm suprised my nose wasn't frozen off when I was walking to class at 8:00 AM this morning. I guess I shouldn't complain, i'm not in canada.

I'm in NoVA, too. All I've got left on my lawn is a mostly melted ball of snow from the snowman we built.

Ah, Peter, another opportunity for a new cultural experience.

More on the cold... I just went outside to put the goalie equipment in my car and put it in to garage with the block heater and interior car warmer and left Lisa's outside (I have to be up at 8am for hockey on a Saturday morning, ugh!)

Starting my car, starting hers, moving hers to the neighbour's drive, driving mine into the garage, parking hers and plugging mine in... freaking hands are frozen.

How's the work situation for a broadcast/print graphics guy in any of your warm locales?!?

Bren R.

I had to get some gasoline this morning. I took off my gloves to slide the CC in that little slot at the pump in a -35 wind chill. EEEUUUWW! That was cold. I put my gloves back on only to discover that there wasn't any warmth to be had in them.

At my parents we had the "two cars, one AC circuit" problem (plug both cars in and the fuse blows) so we used timers to alternate power between the cars. That worked better than you might think, although the timers froze up occasionally and the fuses blew again

Eventually we just punched more wires through the wall and now can plug 3 cars in simultaneously.

Of course that was also about the time everyone moved out; now there is only one car and my parents don't go out when it's cold anyways...

Man, you guys can have that weather. Today would be great for the boat ... seas are almost summertime flat.

Our Local Weather Forecast

You suck It's going to be pretty cold here today as well. Their talking -22 wind chill.

>>seas are almost summertime flat

Big deal. So are ours... and you can walk on them too. Try that in your part of the world

>>> Big deal. So are ours... and you can walk on them too. Try that in your part of the world

I bet that looks funny whenever the wind blows hard and there aren't any waves, not too good for surfing I bet.

I've seen some questionable people *try* to walk on the water here, didn't work out too well though. Splash!

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Big deal. So are ours... and you can walk on them too. Try that in your part of the world

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John, that's pretty freakin' funny. Thanks for the laugh.

Amen to what Mark said, John. Got a good belly laugh this morning. I gotta remember that line when I get hassled by my brother in Ft. Myers, and my sister in S.F. 9 degrees here this morning.

It's warming up here!

-20°C

A few clouds
FEELS LIKE -30°C
WIND W 19 km/h
GUSTS
RELATIVE HUMIDITY 59%
DEWPOINT -26°C
PRESSURE 103.15 kPa
VISIBILITY 24 km
CEILING unlimited

Just noticed that there is this strange looking white stuff on the tops of the hills to the west of us, this is rare to see here in the valley. lol

I had my fair share when I lived in Newfoundland and Ottawa when I did my studies up north. Still remembered waiting for bus at -40C at Nepean, On.

Now I am in TX, a session of freezing rain shutdown the whole city for 2 days couple of years ago !!!

I can actually empathize with you cold weather guys today. I played a round of golf yesterday in frigid 60* weather - last couple holes there were even some sprinkles.

If I had known the weather was going to be so inclement, I would have worn long pants!

When it gets into the lower 40s and the wind is blowing only moderately, golf season has arrived (generally mid-April). When we see temps in the 60s, June has arrived.

Golfers are nuts.

We played an early round this winter one weekend. At the first tee it was 39* and windy. Frozen fingers made for a very difficult first few holes.

Let me know next time you're in soCal and I'll steer you to some very nice local courses. I think this has got to be public golf heaven here. Lots of nice courses competing with each other.

Played a Payne Stewart design yesterday for $35! All 18 and GPS to boot.

Yeah, it was 63F in Richmond yesterday...today its snowing!! WTF?!?!? It's like the Weather Wizard has somehow made it out the Flash books.




sorry, that was a little too comic book-geeky even for me!

Actually, if you get the right gear and dress for the weather, it's not bad. I bought a pair of winter golf gloves and dress in three layers (t-shirt, tutleneck and God's greatest invention - gortex).

Under the pants, some silk long underwear. Double advantage there with keeping your legs warm and the bonus of the silk making you feel pretty!

A nice hat to pull over your ears and it's off the first tee.

Surprising how well an 80 compression (MC Lady) ball will carry when it's cold out.

I'm suprised you can make a full swing with that much clothing on.

I used to play Redhawk out there 10 years ago when there were more golf courses than houses.

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Eventually we just punched more wires through the wall and now can plug 3 cars in simultaneously.

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Oh, that's not a problem... there's a dedicated 15amp circuit for each car... well, I share mine with the 500W security light... I just didn't like the idea of the goalie bag being outside (even with a car alarm).

Bren R.

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I'm suprised you can make a full swing with that much clothing on.

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I think Ray is confusing golf with his weekly game of strip poker...

How'd you like Redhawk? That one is on my email discount list thing, but I haven't played it yet.

Great course, one of the best courses I have played in So. Calif., if you get the chance I would definitely recommend it, I know you have alot of good courses out that way, but Redhawk was one of the first premier courses out there before the boom.

Leaving your hockey equipment in the vehicle overnight when it's -20 or 25C and your were concerned about it gettin stolen? I'd be at least as concerned about putting those blocks of ice on against your body the next morning. Especially the jock and skates.

I always bring my hockey bag in during the winter just to warm up and dry out the contents. One thing I do like about the cold weather we've finally been getting in Alberta is after my 07:00 games, the sweaty equipment that sits in the truck the rest of the day while I'm at work now freezes and doesn't fester like when it is warm out.

Gotta look on the bright side during such weather.

Here's what you northern folks need...

Article from www.gizmag.com:

'For the man with everything - the V8 snowblower'

'December 2, 2005. If you’re tired of anaemic, one-lung snowblowers with their slipping drive belts, you might consider Kai Grundt’s V8 snow blower which raises the bar on the traditional snow blower in every respect. With electric start, electric block heater, antifreeze heater and eight cylinders, it has no drive belts to freeze up and you’ll never get bored with the job as the 454 cubic inch big block Chevrolet V8 produces 412 horsepower, 430 foot pounds of torque and can throw snow 50 feet at just 3500 rpm. Nor will you get cold as the machine has been ingeniously designed to route the engine coolant through the handle bars, with the rear mounted, enclosed radiator keeping the operator nice and cosy.

The first point to make is that this is not a V8 grafted on a traditional snow blower carriage but a purpose-built unit crafted around a motor of this magnitude. It functions very much like a traditional blower by way of operator input and feedback and offers effortless safe operation.

Manouevering the massive beastie (it has a total wet weight of 912lbs) is a snack thanks to the hydraulic-drive 4WD skid steer on independent walking beams which offers a zero turning radius. It’s also as fast as you like, with an infinitely adjustable speed range on the drive wheels via dash mounted flow control. At the opposite end of the scale, it has more than enough torque to pull your car out of the ditch before the hydraulic motors stall!

Adding to the well-balanced feel of the unit, just 15 pounds of down force on the handlebars will lift the auger blade off the ground in order to climb stairs/walkways for ease of snow removal. Safety has and continues to be paramount with spring return to centre "fail safe" type directional controls with emergency stop and tether cords.

Safety is one of the key theme, with a flashing blue light (as required by law in many areas) being the least of the safety features. No-one will fail to hear you with those twin throaty exhausts, which come standard with 92 decibels at the controls, though if the rhumba of a V8 exhaust is music to your ears, you can obviously go much louder. Evan at the standard baffling, hearing protection is strongly suggested.

The powerful yard machine lights and a dashboard with backlit gauges complete the package to ease the burden of this normally reviled task

The custom 42 inch, two stage auger has a Chevrolet 10 bolt truck differential with spool and a centrifugal auger clutch with shear pin protection, further adding to the image of this “automotive theme blower.” As each unit is cutom-built, optional extras for the snowblower are both diverse and outrageous as the base unit – there is unlimited auger choices from single to multi stage designs and various motor combinations to suit the religious preferences of the customer (Chevy, Dodge Hemi, Ford) and such exotica as a V-10 or a diesel engine or remote starting can be accommodated.

And if, after a while, you feel you’ve outgrown the 400 horses, this particular engine is well catered for in the performance modification area, with Lunati camshaft, Milodon Gear drive, Holley and Edelbrock components to name a few, and there’s always the fuel injection option too, if you feel you need to throw the snow out of the county or ensure your seat in the “neighborhood blower blingster hall of fame."

The V8 Snowblowers site can be found here, and if you’re interested in purchasing one of them, drop Sale Manager Kerry Phibbs an email.'

That thing looks REALLY loud.

I'd really hate to be his neighbor.... that is, unless he plowed my property, too.

Speaking of hockey, Bren.

I notice that the US is not quite the hockey country these days that Canada is.

Witness the fact that the US Olympic team just lost to half a country.

Hmmmmm......

Only $29k CA and guess where they are made................... Muskoka, ON.....just down the road from Axiom.

Well the Canadian mens team isn't doing that well either (at least at the moment). Yesterday they lost against Switzerland 2-0, which is probably a first. And they're in the first period against the Finns right now and getting outshot badly. The Finns also beat Switzerland the other day. Both our countries mens teams are having a tough go of it.

Well, back to the game.

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Leaving your hockey equipment in the vehicle overnight when it's -20 or 25C and your were concerned about it gettin stolen?

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Let me point out how I phrased that... THE goalie equipment... Saturday I was returning the equipment to our usual goaltender. It was his shins and groin that were going to be exposed to the cold pads. Besides, since we play outdoor (anyone remember outdoor ice?) warm equipment just delays the inevitable.

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I always bring my hockey bag in during the winter just to warm up and dry out the contents.

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Oh, it's brought in and dried... that's the great part about having a crawlspace right next to the furnace... the mechanical room smells like gently warmed crotch for a while. But the equipment is always cleaned and dried.

Bren R.

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the mechanical room smells like gently warmed crotch for a while.

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If I had a dollar for every time I heard that phrase. . .well. . .I'd be poor.

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If I had a dollar for every time I heard that phrase. . .well. . .I'd be poor.

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Given the context of Bren's statement above...I reckon you'd be piss poor, no?

Rimshot, please.

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If I had a dollar for every time I heard that phrase. . .well. . .I'd be poor.

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My own "forward" equipment - I keep it clean and fresh smelling but I've never met a goalie whose equipment didn't smell like ol' Frieda on 3rd street.

Bren R.

Maybe you can convince the neighborhood kids to throw bars of soap at Frieda. No, that would be painful. Perhaps just liquid soap.

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Oh hey Bruce... I never realized you lived in Winterpeg. Thought it was just Chesseroo and I these days.

Interested sometime in a listening evening when we finally do one?

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Absolutely! Sorry got busy and was away from the board a bit...

Despite our rain, I have never contemplated having to Defend my children from a Polar Bear while passing a game of street hockey.

Canadians know how to LIVE, baby.

The strongest person in the world is a mother whose child is in danger. Ain'tcha ever heard that before?

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Despite our rain, I have never contemplated having to Defend my children from a Polar Bear while passing a game of street hockey.

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Tom, i saw that mentioned last night on the Colbert Report. Tough not to find that at least slightly humourous in a sick sort of way. Those sorts of attacks are restricted to very isolated communities in the far north. I watched a 10minute deal on Halloween in Churchill, Manitoba where townspeople set up a perimeter around town to keep the polar bears from snacking on the trick-o-treaters. Needless to say penguin costumes are not a big seller there.

The big draw in Churchill is the Tundra Buggy Tours.

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penguin costumes are not a big seller there

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ROTFLMAO

No offense, Tom, but I definitely prefer Sirquack's new avatar.

Me too, Mark.

... as I get up to play the first game of playoffs on a Saturday morning it's -23C (-10F), my thoughts wander to the fact I could be sleeping in in a warm bed.

Masochism.

Bren R.

Bren, I feel for you. Somehow, I'm gonna have to find a way to put up with temps in the mid 70s and a whole bunch of sunshine. Not to rub it in or anything.

Off to play some golf. . .

At the pump stations where I work, you can throw a cup of cold water above your head and it’ll all vaporize before it hits the ground. When it gets cold, you can do the same thing with a cup of piping hot coffee.

Last time I went to Mexico with a couple friends (November), we were the only three people at the water park. Had a blast, no lines. Come to think about it, we were the only ones in the swimming pool too. Don’t know what the big deal was, it was over 60.

I went to Tucson in the spring. Temperature was in the high 70s, which I consider "shorts and t-shirt" weather.

You would have thought I had green skin and tentacles. Everyone down there was wearing long sleeve shirts and/or sweaters.

Up here in blizzardland, the old ones used to say they didn't mind the weather because it kept the 'riff raff' out, as though the riff raffers could care about a thousand mile block of ice. Funny thing, I don't ever hear that anymore. Maybe the riff raff have arrived and they all have $29k snowthrowers.

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When it gets cold

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You mean it's not cold when tap water vaporizes!!!!!

Not really. That's the winter norm..... - 35 F. When it gets cold, it'll get down to - 70. Then there's the wind..........

That's up the line on the pump stations heading to Prudo Bay. I'm at the other end of the pipeline where it's nice and warm all winter. About + 10 - + 30.

I guess you would hate living in the tropics!

I guess +30 would be the tropics

Two morning games this weekend. Saturday... not so bad. Sunday... since I have no hair and a goalie mask provides very little head warmth, my noggin got chilled.

Come oonnnnn spring.

Bren R.

You Canadians would love Hawaii right about now.
I lived there for 2 years w/out wearing long pants or a jacket.
My nose peeled every couple days and I still have a scar where my lip split repeatedly, but it was nice and warm.

-32.5*C on my drive in to the plant this morning. How is it for the rest of you? They don't give the windchill up here - they're afraid no one will leave their houses.

-9c but very sunny and NO SNOW to be seen anywhere*, all in all a beautiful day. Easiest winter I've ever had, only 2 days in January with snow on the ground.

*Burlington Ontario

>>-32.5*C on my drive in to the plant this morning. How is it for the rest of you?

Um... warmer. It was about -11 in Toronto, and -17 at the new house.

I thought the reason they didn't give windchill numbers up north had something to do with absolute zero... once it gets cold enough, the wind chill can't make things any worse

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once it gets cold enough, the wind chill can't make things any worse

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Tell the guy shovelling out the doorways here that!!!

butlers should never complain, regardless of weather.

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-32.5*C on my drive in to the plant this morning.

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You must have finally received the weather that seems to have passed us. It is warmer now at -14 to -17 degrees C (down to -27 degC with the wind chill).

Winter seems to leave Winnipeg kicking and screaming. It is rarely a pleasant exit.

I feel your pain. It was a frigid 65 degrees this morning. I think I may have felt a rain drop too.

Brrrr!!!

50 degrees F here, downright freezing, had to break out the winter gear again

The overnight temps are cooler out here in Corona, spiff, but it sure was nice at dawn when I let the dog out - about 54* with the air soft and full of tropical moisture. Big improvement over that cold, dry desert air we had before.

We had a golf time about a month ago delayed by frost in the morning. My bro and his friends from OC were incredulous.

I know what you mean, Mark. Almost left my jacket at home this morning when I left for work. Very pleasant outside. Then I remembered the rain storm slated to come through. Glad I brought my jacket. Still, all that cloud cover really helps keep the warmth in.

Hey, Sean, I forgot there was someone else in the vicinity.

Interested in a poker game on Sat night at my house in Corona/Eastvale? Buy in is $25 - no limit hold-em.

Thanks for the invite, Mark. With the way I play poker, though, it may be easier for me to mail you a check for $25.00 and save myself the embarrassment! I think I will hold on to my money, but thank you.

Gorgeous night tonight... -10C (14F) out there...

Good night for a win. Into the final next weekend. And you guys think I chirp HERE? I'm personally responsible for 6 minutes in dumb penalties taken by the other team. Gotta control your tempers, guys... even when you're down by 2 and there's a tall, Irish biker calling your lineage and sexual orientation into question, and muttering unrepeatable things about your offspring to you. I can take the butt-ends and slashes if it means you watch from the sin bin for 2 mins.

I love winter.

Bren R.

I always knew you were a cunning linguist.

And, he's clever with words too!!!! You watch you tongue, Peter!! (and I'll bet you do, don't you)

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Gorgeous night tonight... -10C (14F) out there...

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I wish all winter could be like this. Gotta love hockey. Only ever played spongee myself (never learned to skate ). Had my share of slashed hands and wrists, though.

I find it's harder to use my tongue if I'm watching it.

- 12C outside Edmonton this morning.

Finally been getting some reasonably cold weather the last week or two. Up till now the ice has been pretty soft and getting really chewed up during our hockey games.

Sunday night we finally had some good hard, fast ice to play on. Even got a couple goals while on defence (pretty infrequent for me). I'm not as hardy as you though, I haven't played more than the odd game on outdoor ice since I was a kid (like 40 years ago).

Yes, we had a lot of sledders go through the ice this year before we had the big cold snap. Only -29*C on the way in this morning - much better than yesterday!!

We are finally getting some snow. They're calling for 4 inches and it started comin down hard just in time for the evening commute home. The tobogganers and cross-county skiers will finally have something to work with.