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We better have turned the damn corner on this cold snap. The week of -40 has well worn out its welcome.
MATLAB Handle Graphics
Let the great mini-thaw begin. More of this please.
We’re having a nasty confluence of sorts here, a heatwave combined with the smoke from forest fires in three of the cardinal directions. This is definitely a ‘first world’ complaint as the people with real problems like having your house consumed by wildfire are hundreds of kilometres away.
Professor google has come up with lists that cant be summarized like this:
1. Close blinds
2. Use Fan
3. Don’t use heat generating stuff
4. Keep your AC in the shade
5. Plant Trees
6. Turn on AC
Well, we don’t have AC and the tree solution is incoming next year, but it is kinda sucky right now.
Our current plan is to close the house during the day and then once the sun isn’t high anymore (around 9pm) we open all the things and let the cool air(?) in. It works moderately well, but if anyone has some whiz-bang advice, now is the time to share. :)
I know what you’re thinking. “Fascinating subject Arb, do tell us more!”
Okay, perhaps not as gripping the other newsy bits we we have around here but none the less a subject that shouldn’t be casually swept aside. Living in Alberta means that for three to five months of the year, snow will be on the ground. The lovely first fall of snow marks the official end of mosquito season and the transition to having ‘exposed flesh stick uncomfortably to metal season’. Some might balk at all the freezing rain, sleet and snow – but really – it isn’t that bad.
One of the civic expectations of snowy Edmontonian existence is keeping the public sidewalk in front of your place of residence clear of snow and ice. Our civic authorities mandate that from the time of the last snow event forty-eight hours are given in which to clear your walks in order to make them safe for people to walk on.
Sound reasonable?
Seems workable to me and thus after each snow I make my rounds with my trusty shovel and ice-scraper. My goal is to get down to the concrete to ensure a safe and solid footing for all those who would come to see me, or merely have to sojourn past my property. For my work to be done, my walks need to pass the inappropriate winter footwear test. If I can confidently make my way in my sandals –
Then, and only then, my job is done. :)
It takes some time and work, let me assure you. Many factors are working against you in the valiant quest for clean sidewalks it is here my arch nemesis must be named.
Freezing Rain.
A glossy, slippery, unchippable horror that can only be bested by the most potent weapon in my winter arsenal.
Glorious sidewalk-salt. That being said, one must consider the bitter-salty implications of using this dread weapon on icy sidewalks. Salt is not conducive to the growing and maintenance of grass or anything else organic for that matter.
Observe.
The battle for clean sidewalks is necessarily a delicate balance. A fateful alchemy of dedication, perseverance, and Na Cl. It is a fine line that must be walked during snow-season in Alberta.
Seeing that yellowish burning orb in the sky would be a nice change of pace right about now. :)
Lovely UofA Campus, featuring the roof of SUB and the Education Building in the distance.
Since there was hail coming out of it, this can be assumed to be a shelf cloud, not a wall cloud, which would have been found in the rain-free part of the cloud. Apparently I didn’t need to get quite as excited as I did.
This is the extended weather forecast for my region.
High Monday -15°
Tuesday -10° | -18°
Wednesday -3° | -17°
Thursday 1° | -4°
Friday 4° | -3°
Saturday 1° | -6°
It feels like we are a hapless bird in a wonky convection oven that regularly decided to blast warm and cold air for days at at time. This weekend was highlighted by positive temperatures and freezing rain mixed with snow.
Who needs to go to the gym?
Yes, for those of us who used the nice weather (3 days in a row above zero) to finally scrape and clean their sidewalks and driveway down to the concrete, that work was undone over the course of 24 hours as everything was recoated in snow and ice for my convenience.
So after work today, I once again have my winter recreational activities cut out for me. I really do not mind winter, but the weather really needs to decide to be either cold or warm and not fluctuate wildly between the two.
bleatmop
Mystro
The Arbourist
Dead Wild Roses 
Your opinions…