Good morning everyone.

Jason, most of the schools here are closed. -25 actual temperature, and wind chills below -50F. Supposed to get even colder tonight.

Making records in Cedar Rapids.

 

Morning everyone.

Minus 29 celcius here this morning, a hell of alot nicer then the minus 37 yesterday.
Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the plus's which is unheard of for january up here.

 

Balmy 0 here today.. after looking at the temps you all are playing with.. I am going to go and throw on a pair of shorts...

 

I found that over at Comp D and about fell out of my chair laughing if it is true then my lord that is awesome if not like stated he is a good story writer My job doesn't even hold a match to that especially now being temp layed off... How much training does it take to be a CNC machine operator? I'll have to pack up and head to TX.

Wow its hot down here then we'll be atleast in the teens later today.

 

It's a beautiful 22* here. Walked the dogs extra long this morning... for some reason it didn't feel that cold. I didn't even wear a hat, just my light snowboarding jacket over my dress shirt for work. Weird when you know it's cold out, but it doesn't feel that way.

OK, now for "goofy Brendan theory" time....

So I realize, some people just don't tend to make as much body heat as others. I'm a friggin' furnace, and I know this. But here's something I've actually "experimented" with:

When it's cold out, most people start piling on layers etc. At -25* ya gotta do it, but at say a more 'normal' cold temp of say 35*, is it really necessary? What I've found is that if I wear a light layer and a wind-cutting jacket, I stay more 'comfortably warm'; meaning I'm not sweating under all the layers. I believe that since you know you're not wearing as much, you somehow trip a "subconscious trigger" that tells your body "start making heat!!". Basically, you 'train' yourself to be warmer.

It may work for some, not for others, or be total BS. Then again, if I need to fall asleep I can lay down almost anywhere, at any time, tell myself "you need to sleep" and shut down. I've known other people to do it too, and you can do it so that you wake up at a certain time, without setting an alarm, so I know it's not just me.

Here's the trick: you're not convincing yourself that these things will happen. You decide it. Some people get it, some don't. One girlfriend totally understood and never set her alarm any more. Another didn't think it was possible, so it (of course) never worked for her.

So.... anyone else ever think about these things? Why some people never seem to get hot or cold? I find the human condition fascinating..

 

Still -27° here, our schools (in the metro area) never close or open late, everywhere else (rural areas) they are though.

 

Heres something a little strange for ya Brendan.

When it gets to be minus 20C up here, I wear a spring jacket. In the spring when it gets to be in the plus, or zero, its t shirt weather. In the summer though, I wear a sweater alot of the times.

 

You can condition your body to temperatures (acclimatize) and you can train yourself to sleep like you mentioned. Medical conditions also play a factor. The kind of shape your in, age, general health, rate of metabolism, blood flow, natural core body temperature, etc. Some people are better suited to the cold, others are more suited to the heat. I've been through extremes on both sides of the coin, even after becoming acclimatized, and I can tell you I'm better suited to deal with the heat. The older I get, the less I like the cold.

 

I know I'm better suited to the cold, but Sheldon, you're a freak!! LOL!!!

OK, so another odd/scary thing I've just learned: now when you apply for a passport it is mandatory that you enter an occupation on your application. Here's the text:

Occupation is a mandatory item and must be completed as descriptively as possible if a title alone will not make it clear. If you are not employed, state so in the occupation field and leave the employer field blank. If you are self-employed, the type of work you perform should be completed in occupation and “self-employed” in employer. Children should enter "student" or "child" in the occupation field.

I need to renew mine, and I'm thinking about putting "unemployed".

Also, you can now get a "passport card" instead of or in combination with the "passport book". Here's a nice little tidbit about these cards:

To facilitate the frequent travel of U.S. citizens living in border communities and to meet DHS's operational needs at land borders, the passport card contains a vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. This chip points to a stored record in secure government databases. There is no personal information written to the RFID chip itself.

LINK to Passport Card webpage

I might do both, but there's no way I'm carrying that thing in my wallet unless necessary. I'm not some crazy "conspiracy theorist" but I don't like the idea of someone being able to track me. And yes, I know my cell phone has GPS built in to it...

EDIT: The Dept. of State apparently includes a sleeve that will not allow "random tracking":

The passport card uses state-of-the-art security features to prevent against the possibility of counterfeiting and forgery. In addition, a protective sleeve is provided with each passport card to protect against unauthorized reading or tracking of the card when it is not in use.

 

I have the alarm thing built in,never need an alarm clock, but the sleep switch was left out so sometime I may lay awake til 3 AM and have to go at 5AM but am to dam old to retrain

 

I have both the card and the tradtional passport. I do not carry the card on my but only because I don't want it cluttering up my wallet. I could care less if they track me or not.

 

I'm thinking about getting both since when I'm on my roadtrip I'll be hitting both Mexico and Canada. Be easier for that trip to just keep it in the wallet or truck console.

 

I can do the internal alarm for certain times but not everyday. I wake up BEFORE the desired time. I value my sleep to much to do that on a daily basis. lol

I have just the traditional passport. And I do not care if they track me or not either.

Edit: HEY! I just finally hit 1000 posts too!!!!

 

Yea Im mellow but being so talkative they would get mad. I am a bit of a smart *** too...

I had a metal stool swung at me in 8th grade once. That teacher was nuts, literally he was fired for beings crazy.

Congrats on 1000!

 

Chris I find it very hard to believe that your a smartass