Comments

  2. says

    Sofa, book,* coffee. That’s my idea of hibernation. Mind you, until the melting ice cap interrupts the gulf-stream, my chances of a prolonged period of sub-zero aren’t exactly high, Cthulhu be praised. (When/if it does though, brrr! We’re on the same latitude as Calgary.)

    *Just finished the new one in the Rivers Of London series. It’s out in late January over there, I believe.

  3. says

    Daz:

    *Just finished the new one in the Rivers Of London series. It’s out in late January over there, I believe.

    Thanks!

    I’d be fine, staying in my toasty warm bubble if 1) a pipe hadn’t burst and flooded the basement yesterday; 2) I hadn’t woken up to fucking frozen pipes this morning.

  4. says

    Living in Asia for fifteen years, I definitely do not miss winters with a metre of snow and temperatures down to -40°C. I don’t miss choosing between being trapped inside or risking back injuries and broken bones by slipping and falling on ice (I’ve had both).

    Like anything, cold is relative. Last December, all of Taiwan hit low single digits, some places as low as 0°C. For most foreigners it was nothing new, but to the families of nearly one hundred people killed, it was a disaster they weren’t equipped to cope with. Buildings here are constructed to withstand earthquakes, not insulated for the cold.

  5. says

    Intransitive:

    but to the families of nearly one hundred people killed, it was a disaster they weren’t equipped to cope with. Buildings here are constructed to withstand earthquakes, not insulated for the cold.

    Oh gods, that’s fucking terrible. We’re going to be seeing a lot more of this sort of thing, as climate change accelerates.

  6. says

    Caine (#5) --

    Last winter was an anomaly, but I can’t say how much is attibutable to climate change. My first winter here was 2005 which was also near freezing in December, and such winters happen periodically. I bought a space heater that winter thinking it was normal, then never used it until last year (glad that I kept it).

    Winter 2015 followed a year after the 2014 typhoon season with zero typhoons, then droughts and water rationing across the island. Typhoons have started coming almost year round, which has never happened before, but at least they fill the reservoirs. And then there’s typhoon Tembin from 2012. Take a good look at the path of that one, how it hit Taiwan twice.

    Thankfully this December is more typical, 11°C to 15°C in the coming weeks following a “normal” typhoon season.

  7. Onamission5 says

    I hate cold. HATE. Love cold weather clothing, hate the cold.

    We’re only getting the edges of the arctic blast, so teens to single digits with wind chill and that’s bullshit enough. Actual temp is mid 20’s and sunny, but not the sort of sunny that does anything about how goddamned cold it is.

    This time last year it was still in the 70’s. Going to the tree farm with kids in shorts, that was freaky.

  9. says

    Thanks, Onamission5. I just want to get the pipes unfrozen, and hopefully avoid more bursting. There just isn’t a way to keep everything warm enough. The nights, with windchill, have been hitting -30 F, and there’s word we may reach -50 F soon. No matter how much heat we keep going, there’s no way to win. The root cellar, where the heater is, and most of the pipe, is bloody freezing, and I can’t keep our kitchen warm enough, either. Just put out a couple heaters in the kitchen, to try and bring the floor up to freezing, rather than below.

    I’d seriously love to see a fucktonne of snow, because that would mean warmer. Not a flake though, just bone chilling cold.

  10. Onamission5 says

    That’s fucking brutal temps. If wishing for snow would help.. fuckit, I’m wishing anyway.

  12. blf says

    Today it only got up to perhaps 12℃ but not as much sun, some rain. Looks like the sunny weather will resume for the next few days.

    I finally replaced the ceiling light in my bedroom (it burned out some weeks ago). To my surprise it wasn’t an LED — I’d thought I’d installed LEDs everywhere but over the bathroom mirror — so I’m a bit confused, albeit I note the socket was of a type not used elsewhere in the lair. I had to make a special trip to buy the proper replacement (and made sure it was an LED), which might explain why it wasn’t an LED.

  13. says

    Oh, well, those who are roasting, you stay safe, too!

    When I’m down to near begging for snow, you know it’s bad. We’ve already been dealing with 7 foot high drifts, ffs. Fuck, trying to recover from being outside for maybe 7 minutes, putting birdseed out. *shivering*

  14. rq says

    Just finished the new one in the Rivers Of London series.

    Wait wait wait, this is already available in places? How am I not aware of this? (Actually, probably looking at the wrong Amazon, either way, good news.)

    The photo, Caine, is just delectable. The way the light refracts through the top ice drippings makes ’em look outlined in black, it’s a really neat effect.
    I’m sorry the cold is being such a bum for you (and the pipes, and the heaters, and…). I hope things settle in a bit soon enough, with less cold, more heating and less issues with household amenities!

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