On cold

Cold and people's reaction to it are interesting.  I've lived in upstate NY where there are occasional cold days and lots of snow and in Minnesota where there are four to six weeks of serious cold but not much snow.  For the most part neither cold or snow bothers me over much.  That said, this mourning it was around 10 below in Sudbury.  That's starting to be cold.

As a general rule, me feeling is that at 10 degrees above it's really not all that cold.  A reasonable coat, gloves, and hat makes it comfortable to be outside for extended time as long as you are moving a bit as in skiing or hiking.  From 10 below to 10 above it's time to get better dressed with thermal under cloths, better gloves with liners, and a face shield of some sort.  It's still possible to be out and active but you need to be dressed for it.  Now when it gets colder than 10 below it's time to get serious about clothing and really decide if you need, as opposed to want, to be outside.  A serious winter coat that covers the hips and upper legs and has a proper hood, and good over pants are essential to remain safe.  At around 30 below and colder, I've seen 45 below, it's really cold and while it is possible to dress for it it's time for serious arctic wear and a through reassessment of why you need to be outside.

I mention all this as I've noticed that New Englanders, at least those in Eastern Massachusetts are really weather wimps.  Today's cold seems to have most people in something of a state about being outside or driving.  I suppose that most people get like that when they experience the extremes of what they've seen previously.  Perhaps it's a survival mechanism, nature's way of telling us that we really need to watch out since we've not been here before.

All that said, I think I'll go skiing today.