Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Cold Snap!



Here it comes! Like the freezing, invisible (except for its effects), rolling wave of cold from The Day After Tomorrow, we have been enveloped by a cold bubble. It went from a balmy -1 degrees celsius yesterday evening to -21 this morning. I did not let the cats go outside last night for fear they would get caught by it and rightly so, for what did I see outside my window this morning? A small song bird, frozen in mid-flight, suspended in the air, its wings halfway through the upswing. It must have been trying to make it to its nest under the hood of the electricity junction on my roof and left it just a little too late.

I survived my 10-minute walk to work, though my nose was in a lot of pain by the time I got there. Now I look out my windows and see a bright, still day with a thin blue sky. Steam, smoke and vapour pouring from rooftops in thicker clouds than usual is the only indication of the cold. This thing is supposed to last at least through Saturday, so I worry a bit about the state of our building. The differential between the inside and the outside could become so great that I envision windows exploding, concrete flaking off in great sheets, beams cracking.

I'll try to keep posting but I'm hearing that in the eastern parts of the city, where the pipes aren't well insulated, the internet has frozen down to the point where it's like using a 14.4k modem.

And for God's sake, don't lick anything!

4 comments:

Jason L said...

Did you read that story about how the dogs in Toronto are getting electrocuted when they take a piss near hydro poles? Not sure if has anything to do with the cold but I love it!

mare said...

I licked the screen of my iPhone today because it was all fogged up and my tongue almost stuck to it.

And you're right, here in the east the Internet just trickles down the pipes.

mare said...

I licked the screen of my iPhone today because it was all fogged up and my tongue almost stuck to it.

And you're right, here in the east the Internet just trickles down the pipes.

Anonymous said...

this seems like another urban myth. If there was a picture, I'd believe it. But amazing idea, regardless if true or not.