So cold here . . .

[Lambchop]

OK, it's unseasonably cold here. And how do we know? Iguanas are dropping out of the trees.

Here's some LOCAL NEWS for you to enjoy.

[Denny]

OK, it's unseasonably cold here. And how do we know? Iguanas are dropping out of the trees.

Here's some LOCAL NEWS for you to enjoy.

[I.D.10-t]

A relative drove up from Florida. He had a tune up before leaving and told the mechanic not to fill the wiper fluid. The mechanic did any way and it wasn't until he went to add the winter version that he had found that he had a solid chunk of ice in the reservoir. Fortunately there wasn't much slush at the time, or he would have had to pull over every several miles to manually wash the windows.

[dwest]

They're still edible after they fall, Iguana en pinol with bacon!

[mutepointe]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/0 ... 11767.html

[dwest]

That's why I hate leopard seals, photo hogs! And in front of royalty no less!

[HDSarah]

A relative drove up from Florida. He had a tune up before leaving and told the mechanic not to fill the wiper fluid. The mechanic did any way and it wasn't until he went to add the winter version that he had found that he had a solid chunk of ice in the reservoir. Fortunately there wasn't much slush at the time, or he would have had to pull over every several miles to manually wash the windows.

Do they just fill the washer reservoir with plain water in Florida? If it's warm enough to form slush on the road and need washers, I'm surprised that it would be cold enough to keep the fluid frozen. I guess we only get the "winter" version of wiper fluid. And we don't need washers in winter: slush is limited to the transitional seasons of freeze-up and break-up. The proper order of things is for snow to start falling in early October and stay frozen on the ground until it starts to melt in April. I feel sorry for all the people who have to live in places where the snow keeps melting all winter long, and it's dirty and ugly by all the roads. Here we have a lovely white blanket lining the roadsides, and it's only ugly when it starts to melt in the spring and reveals all the garbage that's flown out of the back of people's trucks all winter.

I do find it somewhat amusing to read southerners' complaints about "cold." Here in interior Alaska, NORMAL daily high temperatures for this time of year (mid-January) are -1 F, and normal daily lows are about -20 F. (Yes, that is all below zero Fahrenheit.) I just have to remind myself that, for the people who live so far south that it gets dark at night even in the summer , +20 F feels to them like -40 feels to us. (Trivia that all far northerners know: -40 is the temp at which you don't have to say "F" or "C", because it's the same on both Fahrenheit and Celsius scales.)

I don't enjoy cold snaps in January either, so I have sympathy for all those enduring one now. Luckily (let me knock wood) we aren't having a cold snap right now; in fact, it's delightfully warm today (+5 F official temp as I write this, and a balmy +20 F up on the hill where I live). And we're already up to nearly 4.5 hours between sunrise and sunset, which is a noticeable gain over the shortest days. We DO need lots more snow, though.

[rebl_rn]

I'm coming to Florida in a couple of weeks, I really hope it warms up by then!

[I.D.10-t]

Do they just fill the washer reservoir with plain water in Florida?

No, it seems that it is specially developed for removing mosquito splats.

The relatives forgot about the daylight schedule too. Not as bad as yours, but they noticed it.

We got a hard freeze last week and there was no slush.

I am looking forward to the heat wave next week.

[Lambchop]

Do they just fill the washer reservoir with plain water in Florida?

No, it seems that it is specially developed for removing mosquito splats.

We can use plain water, yes, but it isn't recommended. It clogs the nozzles. It doesn't work very well, either. It just smears the bug juice.

If they even sell de-icing varieties here, I've never seen them. Usually, you find only plain methyl alcohol (the blue stuff for 69 cents) and premium debugging brands like my favorite, Rain-X, which is only effective to 32 dF. Rain just flies off and, I think, bugs don't adhere as tightly.

[I.D.10-t]

It should not be called a De-Icer, but this is what we use now. (if you have ice on your window, you shouldn't be driving)

It is only good down to -25F, but at that point there is no slush and it is not needed because there is no slush being kicked up. (Below 0 F salt doesn't work to melt snow on roads)

[s1m0n]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/0 ... 11767.html

That seal must be a close relative of crasher squirrell.