Cold weather tt comment 24feb2015

"... I'm trapped inside until the temp gets up over 34 or so ..."

According to the forecasts, the first chance for your minimum required temp to be reached may occur on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, but it depends upon which forecast you look at. We could be in the low 30s on Sunday. Another forecast predicts upper 30s for Sunday through Tuesday.

"Somebody needs to deliver one to her."

A new service launched recently, but it probably doesn't work here.

http://www.getmagicnow.com

Excerpts from the homepage:

We have trained operators standing by 24/7 to answer every one of your requests. Send us a text message, and we'll get you what you want. We'll order what you need from the appropriate service (e.g. DoorDash, Instacart, Postmates, etc.), and deal with them so you just automatically get what you want, like magic...

Jan 12, 2015 - Wired.com - What It’s Like Living in the Coldest Town on Earth

A comment in the Hacker News thread that posted the Wired story.

I live in Whitehorse, Yukon. Last week it was -37C for a few days, I rode my bike/walked to work every day. I've been out Caribou hunting in -48C snowshoeing around right near the Arctic Circle.

I was on a grand road trip and spent a couple of weeks in Whitehorse and met some really awesome people. We went White Water Canoeing, hiking, camping, etc. The wilderness and opportunities for adventure had me captivated, and I knew I'd have to come back. When I was in Argentina, I touched base with my friends up here and they helped me get a job with the local Telco, Northwestel.

It's extremely common to meet people here that say "I came for one summer...20 years ago" because it's so beautiful and the massive array of outdoor activities make it very hard to leave.

Sounds like my kind of place.

I don't wear glasses and don't have a problem with dry eyes, though sometimes my eyelashes start to freeze together - it kind of depends how hard you're breathing and how much condensation is building up on your face. Some people wear ski goggles when it gets really cold.

Every car here has 3 heaters actually.

Block Heater: in the 500W range and heats the coolant (basically a kettle element)

Oil Pan Heater: A stick-on heater that goes on the underside of the oil pan, usually in the 200-500W range. It heats the oil, because past about -35C oil has the consistency of butter, even synthetic will do that past about -40C. If you have a big vehicle, you stick more than one on.

Battery Blanket: Like an electric heating blanket for the battery. If the battery freezes, it's done for, so you don't want that. You'll also get a lot more current out of a warm battery, which is critical when you turn the key at -40C and have to spin all that cold oil.

Everyone also puts cardboard or whatever in front of their radiator for the winter so when you drive on the highway the vehicle can actually get up to running temperature.

"Recommend a brand of winter wear?"

Marino [merino] wool against your skin is absolutely the most important. Throw out all your cotten - it's completely useless in the cold. Also a high quality wool toque (beanie).

I can walk around in -20C wearing a marino base layer and my "light" down jacket no problem, while people wearing 4 layers of cotton freeze their asses off.