Winter. It's what's for dinner.
Physiologically and anthropologically speaking, homo sapien is a heat-adapted species. We evolved on the plains of Africa and our bodies were designed to function in hot temperatures. Our relatively high surface-area-to-volume ratio and upright stance means more skin exposed for cooling, and our lack of body hair makes temperature control more efficient when it's hot. As we migrated into more northen climes adaptations took place to help us adjust to colder temperatures. The shorter, thicker body type and larger, arched nasal cavity sported by people of European descent came about to help our ancestors deal with cold. Even so, the basic body type didn't change and that heat-adaptation still dominates.
Which is a fancy way of saying it is fucking cold today. I grew up in Wisconsin and am of largely Scandinavian descent, so not only am I used to this but it's hardwired into my DNA, and damn it's cold. Raw temperature is at 2F right now, with windchills in the negative teens.
You'd think with all that evolutionary history and the examples of our fellow mammals we'd have more tolerance. The temperature range at which humans feel comfortable, not too hot nor too cold, is ridiculously narrow. Days like this always make me ponder our dependence on society's infrastructure, too. What if someone dropped a bomb on our utilities and there was no heat? We'd all freeze to death and probably resort to cannibalism in record time.
It is booger-freezing, snow-squeaking, snow-blinding, air-chafing, car-killing, lip-cracking, school-closing, coat-mocking COLD. And I had to stand around in it while the two truck guy jumped my car, then sit there inside it while it was idling and try to imagine myself ever being warm again while he took his sweet time writing my bill in his nicely warmed-up cab. I don't know about you but my car does not warm up quickly while idling. It really takes getting moving for it to warm up. So sitting there was just barely better than sitting outside.
But once I got on the highway, before too long I found myself turning down the thermostat because it was too damned hot. See? Narrow tolerance.
And it's like we forget how those temperatures feel, too. Sitting in that car I could not imagine ever having been warm, or ever being warm again. But in July when it's 100F and 98% humidity you gasp and choke and can't recall what a nice January Arctic blast of wind feels like.
I don't know why I'm talking about the weather. Normally it bugs me when people go around trumpeting about the weather like it's a revelation. Last week someone said to me "Hey, it's cold!" Like this was something shocking and unexpected. I wanted to say "Yeah! Know why? It's winter!" Funny how that works. But cold like this is still kind of unusual, so I guess...aw hell, I can't give myself a pass. I'm still blathering on about the weather like an idiot.
Which is a fancy way of saying it is fucking cold today. I grew up in Wisconsin and am of largely Scandinavian descent, so not only am I used to this but it's hardwired into my DNA, and damn it's cold. Raw temperature is at 2F right now, with windchills in the negative teens.
You'd think with all that evolutionary history and the examples of our fellow mammals we'd have more tolerance. The temperature range at which humans feel comfortable, not too hot nor too cold, is ridiculously narrow. Days like this always make me ponder our dependence on society's infrastructure, too. What if someone dropped a bomb on our utilities and there was no heat? We'd all freeze to death and probably resort to cannibalism in record time.
It is booger-freezing, snow-squeaking, snow-blinding, air-chafing, car-killing, lip-cracking, school-closing, coat-mocking COLD. And I had to stand around in it while the two truck guy jumped my car, then sit there inside it while it was idling and try to imagine myself ever being warm again while he took his sweet time writing my bill in his nicely warmed-up cab. I don't know about you but my car does not warm up quickly while idling. It really takes getting moving for it to warm up. So sitting there was just barely better than sitting outside.
But once I got on the highway, before too long I found myself turning down the thermostat because it was too damned hot. See? Narrow tolerance.
And it's like we forget how those temperatures feel, too. Sitting in that car I could not imagine ever having been warm, or ever being warm again. But in July when it's 100F and 98% humidity you gasp and choke and can't recall what a nice January Arctic blast of wind feels like.
I don't know why I'm talking about the weather. Normally it bugs me when people go around trumpeting about the weather like it's a revelation. Last week someone said to me "Hey, it's cold!" Like this was something shocking and unexpected. I wanted to say "Yeah! Know why? It's winter!" Funny how that works. But cold like this is still kind of unusual, so I guess...aw hell, I can't give myself a pass. I'm still blathering on about the weather like an idiot.