Notes from the cold:
- I'm taking some days off this week just to hang around the house. It turned out to be a smart decision, in one way -- better to be indoors this week instead of being out during the coldest week of the year. But I also have evidence of what a leaky old house this is. No matter how high I crank the furnace, the house never gets close to "toasty warm." The cats have been keeping at my heels, ready to huddle next to me the minute I sit down. It's starting to feel a little like "Groundhog Day" around here.
- With Fort Wayne Community Schools forced to close -- one building had no heat, the buses wouldn't run properly -- the cold snap has put more attention on the fact that some basic infrastructure needs have not been taken care of for a long time. But it also causes people to look at the things in the big $500 million rehab project that aren't aimed at those needs. Even WANE-TV did a piece last night on how much of the project might be "legacy building" (click on "FWCS spending habits" under Featured Videos).
- A lot of global-warming critics are saying, "Where's you're warming now, huh, huh?" But that's no more valid than the people who say this was the hottest year on record, and therefore we have global warming. Both confuse weather with climate and add nothing to the debate.
- Like most people, I complain when it is too hot and complain when it is too cold. At times like this, I am reminded to temper my hot-weather whining, because I hate winter so much more. The people who say winter is better because you can always add more clothes, but there is a limit to how many clothes you can take off in summer are nuts.
