Thursday, 19 February 2015

By on February 19th, 2015 in dogs, personal, science kits

08:02 – It didn’t get as cold here last night as it was supposed to. The forecast was for 2F (-17C), but the actual low was about 10F (-12C). The forecast low tonight is 0F (-18C). We’ll see. Saturday we’re supposed to have more snow and ice arriving.

Colin got his own back yesterday afternoon. In the morning, all four paws went out from under him and he went down. Yesterday, with the ice just starting to melt, we were on the street in front of Kim’s house when I slipped and went down in the gutter. After checking to make sure I wasn’t hurt, Colin mocked me for going down despite being in six-paw drive. It took me a moment to realize that he was talking about my own two feet and my four-footed cane. Kim and her mom came running out their front door to make sure I wasn’t hurt. I told them I was fine. The only damage was that my jeans got a little damp. The worst part was lying there in the gutter trying to get up with my feet sliding out from under me.

I’m still making up chemicals and filling bottles for science kits. When I eventually get through this batch, we’ll have most of what we need for 30 more forensics kits, 90 more biology kits, and 120 more chemistry kits. Then it’ll be rinse and repeat to get ready for the rush in July through September.


11:52 – Wow. I was just washing out the reservoir from one of our automatic bottle fillers when I noticed that the cold tap water seemed a lot colder than usual. So I filled the reservoir and stuck a lab thermometer in. The temperature was 4C (39F). No wonder my hands were starting to get numb. Falling into a pond at that temperature can kill you just from thermal shock. Even if it doesn’t, you’ll be in bad trouble in 30 seconds and probably dead in a few minutes.

15 Comments and discussion on "Thursday, 19 February 2015"

  1. OFD says:

    “The worst part was lying there in the gutter trying to get up with my feet sliding out from under me.”

    No kidding, been there and done that. It’s quite comical for observers, however. Colin must have had a big ol’ grin on.

    We’re having a dusting of snow right now with the temp at 14 and later possibly rocketing to 21! Followed by zero tonight and 7 below tomorrow night. More snow on the way Saturday and Sunday; Mrs. OFD is getting an early start Saturday for the drive down to Syracuse.

    I’m off to the VA for half the day today, one minor physical issue and then of course the rabid-insanity-war group after that. Always good for info and possibly a few laughs; our Desert One vet has aspirations of becoming a stand-up comic but he is a long way from doing that gig yet.

  2. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    Hah, you guys in warm climates slay me. It’s currently 11 here, with the forecast high 19.

  3. Ray Thompson says:

    On the drive into work this morning the temperature display in the vehicle indicated 1 (one). High is supposed to be about 16 with low tonight between -2 and -7 depending on which weather liar you listen. I suspect that I will find out that the temperature display in my vehicle does indeed have a negative sign in front of the temperature. We will be setting records for the day.

    However, we will not even come close to the record low in this area which I believe happened in 1987 where the temperature dipped to 26 below zero. I did not live here then but it was still very fresh in people’s minds when I moved here. Houses and buildings here are not designed for that kind of cold.

    Fortunately no power outages, the gas furnace is keeping up quite nicely (lots of insulation in the house), roads are clear for the most part.

  4. MrAtoz says:

    It is a chillinn’ 54F here in Vegas. Def movin’ to the Keys.

  5. Clayton W. says:

    A very unseasonable 50F here in Central Florida. People have to wear JACKETS! The end times are upon us! /sarc

  6. Lynn McGuire says:

    We are at 62 F here in the Land of Sugar and heading toward 64 F today. I anticipate firing up the air conditioners tomorrow since we are forecast for 71 F. They have taken the rain / snow / sleet out of my Saturday drive to Norman so that will be nice.

  7. Jim B says:

    It’s an unseasonably warm 69 degrees here in the upper Mojave Desert. We’ve had a warmer than normal winter, but what is really unusual is that almost all of the Pacific storms have stayed well to our north. This only happens every several years. In spite of that, we have almost normal seasonal rainfall, which for us is about 4 inches. I think we’re up around 2.5 right now for the season, all in two storms. No snow yet this season, although the Sierras to our NW have been white.

  8. Chad says:

    My mother is taking her annual trip to Florida (Tampa area) to visit her brother. I had to chuckle that she ended up going during a week that they set new record lows in places.

  9. OFD says:

    Yo, Mr. Ray and Dr. Bob be havin’ same kinda temps we got here now, amazing. How you like it, fellas?

    We’re so used to it now that if it goes into the 20s, like today, it’s Spring! Where the fuck are the daffodils and tulips???

    Did my eye exam and group thing today down at the VA; sloppy, messy ride down with blowing snow, probably four inches of powder coming down, and sure as shit, vehicles off the road all down and back up the interstate; one down in a ravine, facing the wrong way and crumpled into a tree. Multi-vehicle mess up ahead of us that had me doing 5 MPH for a good 45 minutes. Mostly outta-state plates involved. No one wants to slow down, despite crappy visibility, slippery road surface, etc., and they can SEE the vehicles that went off the road. Fucking Murkan cretins; more evidence for me to be cynical and have not much hope for most of the population here in the near future.

  10. Ray Thompson says:

    Yo, Mr. Ray and Dr. Bob be havin’ same kinda temps we got here now, amazing. How you like it, fellas?

    I don’t you little twerp. I have half a mind to come up to your neck of the woods and give you a piece of my mind. But I won’t for several reasons. 1. I don’t have much mind to spare. It is just too cold where you live. 3. You could make me hurt. 4. I hope you see the humor in my comment.

  11. Lynn McGuire says:

    We’re so used to it now that if it goes into the 20s, like today, it’s Spring! Where the **** are the daffodils and tulips???

    Daffodils and tulips do not grow on glaciers and sounds like you are at the verge of getting your own personal glacier.

  12. Miles_Teg says:

    37 C here, that’s nearly 100 F on the ancient scale used in North America. I have the a/c set to 22 C and am just now thinking of turning it off.

  13. Lynn McGuire says:

    I was just washing out the reservoir from one of our automatic bottle fillers when I noticed that the cold tap water seemed a lot colder than usual. So I filled the reservoir and stuck a lab thermometer in. The temperature was 4C (39F).

    This is bothering me for some reason. Is this the city water supply temperature to your home? If so then your pipes may not be deep enough below the frost line. Or are some of your house water pipes not insulated properly for a zero degree outside? What would happen if you got to -10 F? Or -20 F?

  14. OFD says:

    “4. I hope you see the humor in my comment.”

    Yeah, the humor was in how I “could make you hurt.” I can barely make it up or down the stairs or keep my shoes tied. And playing Barry Manilow and Abba cd’s is cruel and unusual.

  15. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    I don’t think we have a frost line here. They just bury them deep enough to keep them out of sight.

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