# 48 Below this morning!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 21, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422 "2011-01-21T05:42:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/21 "2011-01-22T00:50:36Z")
And here’s how Texans react when the thermometer drops to _gasp_ single-digit temperatures!!! ( 1 F equals -17 C, which means I might do up my coat if the wind is fierce.) [Extreme Cold Weather Awareness](http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/80804312.html) from KXII in Texoma. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/22 "2011-01-22T01:22:05Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I put **Northern Piper** ’s location 1880km north of Texas, to be slightly more precise. Interesting. Google Maps tells me that Texas is closer to **Northern Piper** than I am (Bancroft, Ontario -\> Regina, Saskatchewan = 2638 km, a little shorter if you go through the States and stay south of lake Superior). > [@Gorsnak](#): > > As a minor point of interest, the quickest route between those two points contains only 70km on interstates. I’m thinking that there may not be any other trip of that length in North America where that would be true (granting the TransCanada and 400-series highways equivalent status, and excluding the far North). I’m not sure I’d grant the Trans-Canada automatic status equivalent to an Interstate, because there are thousands of kilometres of it through Ontario that have only two lanes. So this boils down to, What would be the longest route in NA not using controlled-access highways? Route from where to where? Most direct route? You could cross the continent on back roads. We need to nail this down a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/23 "2011-01-22T01:24:36Z")
> [@AshenLady](#): > > Where is this?? I want to avoid living there.😃 It’s the province whose residents go to North Dakota to warm up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/24 "2011-01-22T10:33:21Z")
It is only 6 here today - warm by comparison to 47 below, but my house is currently at 52 and it is damn chilly. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/25 "2011-01-22T13:05:21Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Interesting. Google Maps tells me that Texas is closer to **Northern Piper** than I am (Bancroft, Ontario -\> Regina, Saskatchewan = 2638 km, a little shorter if you go through the States and stay south of lake Superior).I’m not sure I’d grant the Trans-Canada automatic status equivalent to an Interstate, because there are thousands of kilometres of it through Ontario that have only two lanes. > > So this boils down to, What would be the longest route in NA not using controlled-access highways? Route from where to where? Most direct route? You could cross the continent on back roads. We need to nail this down a bit. For interest, the longest drive I’ve found in the USA that doesn’t have to cross into Canada is Miami, Florida to Seattle, Washington, which is 3334 miles/5366 km. Going from Miami, Florida to Anchorage, Alaska would be 4937 miles/7945 km. Whereas in Canada, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Inuvik, Northwest Territories is 5190 miles/8353 km. It doesn’t surprise me, then, that you can find drives between two cities in Canada that take much longer than a seemingly longer drive between a US city and a Canadian city. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/26 "2011-01-22T13:28:06Z")
I was all ready to be pretend-snobby about dealing with cold (the places I lived until I moved here, anything below about 50F was OMG FREEEEEZING!) until I remembered how close C and F are when you get that far down. That…is cold. We’ve had a couple of cold snaps this winter that gave us lows around -15, -20F and that was plenty cold enough for me. Brrrrrrr. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/27 "2011-01-22T14:39:31Z")
Warm here by comparison. Probably 10dF or so. I will need to plow today though. Expecting another foot of snow. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/28 "2011-01-22T15:04:24Z")
It’s not as cold here (14°f - feels like 4°f according to [weather.com](http://weather.com)) but when I leave the house today, I have to take the Jeep and it doesn’t have heat. Lemme tell you, that is going to SUCK!!! Luckily the library is only a 5 minute drive. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/29 "2011-01-22T15:12:57Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > I think you’ll find a hell of a lot of people can have a barbecue in the middle of January. [Yep](http://s862.photobucket.com/albums/ab183/spike1380/House/?action=view¤t=grillin.jpg)! [I can](http://s862.photobucket.com/albums/ab183/spike1380/House/?action=view¤t=grillin.jpg#!oZZ1QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs862.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab183%2Fspike1380%2FHouse%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3Dgrillin1.jpg). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/30 "2011-01-22T16:19:45Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > That is so cool! I’ll get working on a ‘next time’ performance there. > > And we can do the little-known Messiah aria ‘The Piper Shall Sound.’ 🙂 You’re bass/baritone, aren’t you? For the 96 performance of Messiah, we were in the front row of the orchestra seats, centre stage, so we were looking directly up at the soloists. All of the women in our group commented afterwards: “Did you see the tenor’s shoes!?” They were disgraceful!" Guys: “What was wrong with them?” Gals: “He hadn’t polished them! They were all scuffed!” And you thought the audience sit there enraputred by the music, ignoring everything else… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/31 "2011-01-22T19:07:14Z")
My mom was in Calgary for Christmas and stayed for a bit afterwards; she went back home to just a bit north of Saskatoon last Wednesday. We got the chinook here, and you guys got the arctic front there. Sucks to be her. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/32 "2011-01-22T19:14:17Z")
> [@](#): > > **Northern Piper** - You’re bass/baritone, aren’t you? > > For the 96 performance of Messiah, we were in the front row of the orchestra seats, centre stage, so we were looking directly up at the soloists. > > All of the women in our group commented afterwards: “Did you see the tenor’s shoes!?” They were disgraceful!" > > Guys: “What was wrong with them?” > > Gals: “He hadn’t polished them! They were all scuffed!” > > And you thought the audience sit there enraputred by the music, ignoring everything else… That’s right; I’d forgotten about that! - Michiel, the tenor, had forgotten his good shoes in Montréal and performed in his street shoes? Low rise boots, maybe? I remember reassuring him that no one would notice. He’ll kill me if he ever reads this. Hardest thing about Messiah is not the piece itself - it’s having to sit there onstage and look ‘profound’ while your colleagues or the chorus sing. A former teacher of mine was particularly good at it; people would talk about how he looked like ‘a biblical scholar in contemplation’. When asked what his secret was, he said he was working out how much he was getting paid per note. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/33 "2011-01-22T19:37:56Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > And we can do the little-known Messiah aria ‘The Piper Shall Sound.’ 🙂 Or even “And With His Pipes We Are Healed.” 😉 Looking forward to your next swing through western Canada, **Le Ministre** –just ask that, if possible, it occur during the good weather. So if you do get to Regina “next time” to sing _Messiah_, I might be able to drive over. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/34 "2011-01-22T20:30:28Z")
[QUOTE= Le Ministre de l’au-delà] I remember reassuring him that no one would notice. [/QUOTE] Are you kidding?? Shoes, women notice! Just read this exchange out to Mrs Piper, and she remembers it as well; said to say, by way of reassurance, that she remembers being surprised by the shoes - the tenor was from Montréal, after all. (And, to get back to the main point of the evening - we both did enjoy the performance!) ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/35 "2011-01-23T08:16:17Z")
Congodwarf, you have a beautiful house. Make that kick-ass, for the indoor grill. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/36 "2011-01-23T12:35:01Z")
I was ski racing on Thursday night in TBay. Negative 32 before considering the wind chill while running the gates, which would put it somewhat cooler than -50. Presently, it is -37, but is supposed to warm up to -14 by race start this afternoon and continue to warm thereafter. Trans-Canada up this way? Just a two-lane blacktop regional road, with the Marathon-Nipigon section being a delight or a nightmare due to the curves and grades; nothing at all like a 400 or Interstate. (Interestingly, the Nipigon bridge is the only road that connects Canada from east to west. There are no other roads to use as alternates.) I live at the top of Highway 61. It has been known as “the blues highway” due to it passing through New Orleans and Memphsis, but blue ice would be a better descriptor at this end of the road. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/37 "2011-01-23T14:34:48Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > Congodwarf, you have a beautiful house. Make that kick-ass, for the indoor grill. Thank you! When I saw the grill, my first reaction was, “What the hell is that?” For some reason, we’ve only used it once though. We really should use it more. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/38 "2011-01-23T16:58:31Z")
Still -25 – looks like it will be a chilly race. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/39 "2011-01-23T17:10:50Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > Thank you! When I saw the grill, my first reaction was, “What the hell is that?” For some reason, we’ve only used it once though. We really should use it more. We have one of those too. We’ve used it once or twice since we’ve lived here (18 years), but it is sorta cool. It’s in the basement so it is more convenient to use the Weber on the patio (closer to the kitchen). I’ve never seen another one until now. BTW, I use the Weber to grill outdoors year round. I grilled the other night and it was -11 F. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422/40 "2011-01-24T02:48:02Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] The real temperature was only - 36 C. Almost balmy, in fact. [/QUOTE] What a coincidence. I’ve just come back in from lunch and the temperature outside was +36 C. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-below-this-morning/568422.md?page=3)