55 thoughts on “December 13, 2016: BRRRR”

      1. I usually power through and have invested in proper attire.

        The treadmill/ Netflix combo just sounded so much better than- 20 windchill.

      2. I've been icicling every time I'm outside for more than a minute or two.
        I think I need like a chamois or camp-towel like some sort of handkerchief so I can absorb all the melting condensed breath.

            1. Pretty ruff that you'd try to paw-n responsibility for that pun off on me. Anyway, it seemed like more of a BrianS specialty, I tail ya.

    1. I remembered this morning while standing at the bus stop that I have a second, warmer, pair of gloves for days like today.

      1. I was wearing my heavy-duty mittens, which are great for warmth but terrible for handoffs.

        I considered writing you a message in the snow atop the designated trash bin, but a couple other people got off the bus right behind me, so I didn't think I could pull it off. Plus, I figured you might have already come by, though I was wrong about that part.

        1. IIRC, yr vegetarian but not vegan.
          I've got some nice meatless cookie leftovers that are made with butter and eggs and were made with utensils that have had lots of meat on them.
          I thought about passing you one this morning. Then I realized that they were all still in the office.
          I may pass one to you tomorrow if the timing works out.

      2. I bought a pair of touchscreen-compatible gloves at the beginning of the winter last year based on The Wirecutter's recommendation. About two months into the winter their recommendation changed, as some kind of manufacturing change in the recommended gloves was causing them to degrade quickly. Sure enough, they stopped working before the end of the winter.

        I've got a great pair of fingerless wool mitten/gloves, but they're way too warm to wear at temps above 28º or so. On warmer days that means I'm currently fooling around with taking gloves on/off every time I need to pause the podcast or do something else on the phone. Probably time for me to look into a lighter weight version of what I already have and not fool around with fancy conducting fibers.

        If anyone has one, I'm game for recommendations.

        1. When its warm enough, a bit of lick of my gloves' fingertips seems to work for the little touchscreening I do.
          Like what you'd do to your fingers to turn the page.

        2. I have the fingerless gloves with the mitten flap. They're good for flipping between finger usage and coverage.

      1. Yep. My kids are pretty annoyed that I keep making them wear long pants to school instead of shorts, and even long sleeve shirts, too, on a couple of days this week.

        We'll be in Minnesota for a week after Christmas, though, so I'm expecting they'll get to experience what real cold is then.

  1. single digits in Omerha when I'm there, but I've brought Xmas cards to write, so that should pass some hotel time. We had snow* here in StL but that's passed.

    *some flakes -- hey, it counts!

    1. Yay for you.
      At my old company, we once got a press release from corporate telling us to view the new commercial, which was on Youtube, and share it on Twitter or Facebook. All of which were blocked.
      I had to ask a friend with a smartphone to look up what the WSK truck had tweeted as their lunch menu for the day.

      I've had problems with the abundance of random information I can find online, and my Alice-like fondness for falling down rabbit holes. I was under pressure from the boss about it.
      I got "Leechblock" for Firefox to meter my non-work consumption (though I frequently unlock it because a lot of one-time work things aren't on my whitelist).
      And a monthly subscription to "RescueTime" to measure it. Sometimes I fall short of goals, but I often make it up with early or late hours when I do. Works a lot better than the old company's blocking system, which just meant finding ways around things. (Like RSS and email notifications.)

  2. Question for the masses.

    I'm finally taking the plunge on Mad Men. I'm 4 episodes in and it hasn't really grabbed me. It isn't bad but not sure if I want to stick it out.

    Does it get better or am I just not getting it?

    1. That's pretty much exactly the same thing that happened to me (I think same amount of episodes, even), so I may not be of any help to you, but at least you can be comforted knowing you aren't the only one.

    2. It's been too long for me to remember how I felt over the first season. I think what drew me was mainly the period aspects of the show. I was entertained by a lot of the little details of their world. I did think the show had some strong characters in the early seasons, but it's not like I really identified with Don Draper. I forget how many seasons I made it but eventually it lost its luster for me.

      1. I watched through the first four (I think?) seasons, likewise mostly out of interest for how the period (more the socio-cultural norms & shifts than aesthetics) was portrayed. By the time it crept toward the mid/late Sixties I lost steam, perhaps because I spend so much time in that period anyway and the show was much less relevant to the aspects of that particular era that engage me.

        1. What these guys said. I lost interest after the party involving the riding lawnmower.

          Actual Spoiler SelectShow
          1. We watched Mad Men all the way through and enjoyed it, although it only took Breaking Bad a couple of seasons to totally eclipse it for us. I give the show credit for helping AMC capitalize it's subsequent original programming.

    3. I watched all but the last season, and I couldn't tell you much of anything that happened in it. It really didn't stick in my mind. I watched it out of obligation for awhile, then finally gave up.

    4. I stopped watching after a few episodes, but then gave it another chance and it ended up being one of my favorite shows.

    1. Ugh.

      On a sort of related note, a guy my wife used to nanny for (the guy who tried to screw us over on our taxes and my wife's ability to collect unemployment) and who was a teacher at the local high school, mainly dealing with "troubled" kids, was arrested a year ago and recently charged with inappropriate contact with a minor. Gotta be careful out there, apparently.

      1. It's tougher to accept when you like the guy. Not that I ever talked to him one-on-one, but he seemed to be a good principal.

        1. Oh yeah, for sure. I completely despise this POS (and his wife, too, to be honest). It's also a lot worse and, I'd imagine, more of a shock when it's child porn as opposed to sexting a teenager.

    2. Yeesh. So how do they inform the parents of something like that? I'm sure most find out through various news sources of course, but seems like a letter home isn't quite enough for that serious of a situation.

      1. Unfortunately, I don't think the district's attorney can draft a letter as fast as the media. A friend texted me a link to the news before the district email came through.

      2. Yeah, what algonad said. Although in our case, I did get the email before the news story was published.

  3. Nice watching Everton steal one from the Gooners late. I feel like the inverse has happened about 100 times the past few years.

  4. This is promising:
    http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/falvey-and-levine-new-leadership-in-minnesota/

    Levine: “It starts with communication. I think today’s player is pretty malleable. He understands what direction you’re heading with him, and he has some ability to participate in that conversation. I don’t personally subscribe to the concept that you have to have a set lineup to allow people to thrive. I would hope we have an open dialogue, such that players understand that, based on the type of pitcher we’re facing, or the handedness of the pitcher, we may be maneuvering our lineup a little bit. We don’t have a very veteran club, so we should have a little more flexibility with how we use our guys.

      1. I'm sure there will be plenty of quotes from the Wolves saying they never stopped believing they could come back and win the game. Of course, they've seen so many other teams make big comebacks, so they would know better than anyone it was possible.

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