It’s cold and dark. My wife has appropriated my robe and my slippers, so I’ve been shuffling about the house in bare feet. I got up at 5am despite having no kids running about. I’m coming down with a sore throat. Donald Trump is tweeting about his major accomplishment of removing the world-wide prohibition against saying Merry Christmas.
The only good Christmas greeting is
Bah, humbug.
The world is run by fools and venal idiots, and I don’t want to hear about no fucking joy.
And a hearty “Bah, Humbug!” to you and yours too, PeeZed!
White wine in the sun
The wind chill is so cold here in Winnipeg that we’re at that point where Celsius and Fahrenheit intersect…-42 degrees baby! It’s Christmas and it’s the coldest day of the winter so far. I can only assume that this is the climate’s Christmas present to humanity, a big FU, enabling Republicans to stand on the floor of the House and whine that because it’s soooo coooold, climate change can’t possibly be real. Thanks a bunch, chaotic atmosphere!
We got a small amount of snow yesterday, enough to give us a white holiday, and now the temperatures are heading into the single digits. At least I seem to be recovering from my mild cold. Still a “Bah Humbug” day.
Definitely White Wine In The Sun Maybe a little strange to non-southern-hemispherians but the true meaning of christmas is buried in this piece of music.
We’re at -22°C down here south of Winnipeg. We’re practically a tropical paradise.
I am torn between Krampus and Scrooge myself. On the upside it will be in the 60s all day. A little chilly for shorts.
We in NE gots us a white Xmas as inches of snow blanket us west of Boston outside the 495 loop. Still in the balmy 20’s F so no chill here brrrr.
Take that, Grinch down in MaraLagoon, partying over tax cuts into the blood of working people who struggle to pay, enjoy gouging them to the bone. Bah Humbug is too kind a phrase for this GristMash
P. Z. . . . PREVENTING colds! I believe I’ve done this by maintaining vitamin D3. Present average 7,500 units daily. (5,000 on odd days 10,000 on even) Increase dosage according to tests. If the test result is low increase. I started with 1,000 units daily years ago. About thirty years ago found I could prevent post nasal drip by heating my sinuses, including mastoids, in a hot shower. No colds this year, one cold last.
Merry Xmas!
jack16
It’s -5 degrees Celsius here in the foothills of the Cascades. (PNW)
Snowy, but not too cold! I don’t miss subzero (Fahrenheit) temperatures at all.
Well I’ve had a great year and am feeling very happy today. So fuck all the pseudomisery around here and MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!!!
Advice to USA ians. Two words: weaponize Krampus!
OOPS! In comment#9, should have put the word vitamin in quotes.
jack16
+28c here in the land ‘o monotremes and venom. After a decade of Southern Hemispherical humbugging it still feels weird to be able to sleep off Christmas lunch under a tree outside, awaking to find ears and toes intact, and a body core temp perhaps slightly elevated.
I have no idea of what the weather is like today outside of cold. Sitting in the hospital, waiting for the discharge process to begin, trying not to think about just how crazy the next year will be with all the cancer treatment. At least I get to go home today, so I’ll just be thankful for that much, and try not to worry ahead of time.
Yay! We were into triple digits on the Fahrenheit scale today — take that white Xmas!
@9-jack16-
Vitamins prevent colds? I used to do the Pauling megadoses of Vit C and don’t know it helped anything but could cause rebound scurvy if abruptly ceased.
The Vit D study seems inconclusive:
https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20170216/vitamin-d-linked-to-lower-risk-of-respiratory-infections
Are common colds less common in sunnier areas? I would suggest the best way to avoid them is not rub shoulders with people on public transit. Hyperloop will take care of that.
And fat soluble vitamins can build to toxic levels if not careful.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-d-toxicity/faq-20058108
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/health-warning-over-toxic-levels-of-vitamin-d-sold-in-supplements-a7625331.html
Oh Caine, I’m so sorry to hear that. A shitty Christmas present indeed. Are you okay insurance-wise? I don’t have much, but if you need it I can chip in a bit.
FossilFishy:
Better than dead, and that thought will sustain me for a long time to come. Thank you so much, we’re fortunate to have good insurance.
Bah, humdinger.
Well, that’s something anyway. Gonna donate to a local cancer charity of some sort, ideally a patient support group I think, once the holiday’s bills are cleared up. That way some small, tangible good will come from your misfortune.
You’re one of the good ones Caine, and a world with an alive you is most definitely a better one.
We just returned from a week in Argentina, average temp was in the upper 80’s. A week without Trump, idling in the long, sunny days, a glass of red wine at my elbow. That was my solstice present. Oh, and lets not forget all that natural Vit. D, jack16. Coming back to the USA never seemed so dark and depressing.
Ha, bumbug!
“Bah Humbug everybody!”
“Good morning, Mr Scrooge!”
Poor PZ.
Didn’t get slippers for Xmas.
#17 Hemidactylus
My doctor and my VA pharmacologist oversee my medicines. A simple precaution that everyone should follow. Steve Gibson (grc.com) started my D3 considerations. It, D, is a hormone and not a vitamin. There is controversy and the subject is complex. Deficiencies do exist. I think the need increases with age. A lot of guys have reported they’re not getting colds after taking D3, says Gibson. That said ??? , there are a great many viruses and you can’t dodge all of them. You might increase your resistance. Don’t forget your flu shot.
jack16
Well, here in Victoria British Columbia (well View Royal technically, a very small town a few clicks westward) we have disaster on our hands with at least a centimeter of snow and temperatures plunging to around 0 Celsius. Send in the troops please, Justin!
Mr. Grinch, don’t believe what they say
Mr. Grinch, just walk away
Mr. Grinch, you’re really OK
Mr. Grinch, happy Monday
No idea what the temperature was during the day outside — I did my usual thing and stayed in bed reading. Until the goose downstairs started complaining. As I was stumbling down the stairs, became more confused than unusual — I hadn’t bought a goose this year! And it was a bit cold, temperature outside was c.11°C, and raining. Again.
The special sausage had got into the port. It and the MUSHROOMS! were supposed to just be marinating in the port. And the MUSHROOMS! are missing. The sausage, however, seemed much bigger as I was putting it in the pot, where it and other things are now cooking, smelling wonderful.
Thanks to the snow in Portland yesterday, I’ve gotten the first white Christmas in my life. I will celebrate by not stepping outside at all, and instead cuddling under the Uniqlo x Disney fleece blanket/capelet that I got for Christmas.
https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/17979321264115714
So “Happy Holidays” was OK once upon a time .
Happy Monkey!
Oh, and thoughts and prayers!
Happy Hogswatch!
Thanks for the uplifting message, PZ. Oh well, suicide it is then – seriously…
Here in the only Spanish city named after a Hobbit (or perhaps vice versa) it got up to about 15 C, and oddly enough the sun was shining.
Should be here just long enough to recover from jet lag.
pita,
Maine, or that imposter out west?
chrispollard@31: “So “Happy Holidays” was OK once upon a time”
That was the actual title of one of the many many Xmas songs that I used to hear every year around solstice, played over and over forever and ever on the radio. I recall that it was mainly just the words “Happy Holidays” repeated over and over with a few unmemorable other words.
“Holiday” of course, is a mashup of the words “holy” and “day”. For the life of me I can’t understand people being offended and a wish that they have happiness on their holy days. But, despite being brought up Anglican I still can’t figure out how many Xtians seem to think.
What a Maroon @35: Ha, thou mountain-foreigner! Sir John and Master mine,
I combat challenge of this latten bilbo.
Word of denial in thy labras here!
Word of denial: froth and scum, thou liest!
Peeze, go put some socks on.
It’s cold here, but it wasn’t dark. The sun shone bright most of the day; even so, it was a pretty decent Christmas. People seemed to like their gifts and nobody spoiled the day completely by being a complete horse’s ass. Plus, I got to watch two of my favorite Godzilla movies (Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack) courtesy of El Rey’s Kaiju-Christmas marathon. Not too shabby.
(How is it that the spellcheck recognizes Godzilla, but not Mothra?)
I realized long ago that God or No God, I could spend my life either being Scrooge or Fezziwig. I ended up choosing Fezziwig. He had fewer millions but a lot more fun. So happy Newtonmas, and take a day off from care and worry.
Cheers.
“I choose Fezziwig”
I’d buy the T-shirt.
You need to move somewhere with a better climate.
I actually had a nice day. Played with my granddaughter, got and gave some nice gifts, wore warm slippers, did some fun things with nice people. I even managed to go to church yesterday with people I love and maintained a decent attitude. Merry Christmas for me; I hope tomorrow is a better day for you.
After three days of managing to hold off, this evening I finally coughed so hard for so long I couldn’t keep from throwing up.
As if flipping a switch, cough is 95% gone.
Anyone who knows physiological can explain this shit?
Rob Grigjanis,
I am not altogether an ass.
you think you’re the only one who thinks christmas sucks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAq4H0JEyl0