Nanooks take a Whuppin'

UAF Nanooks got beat tonight at hockey and I mean badly! It got worse after this sign...we actually lost 7-2 to the Miami at Ohio Redhawks.

As usual, it's better to go and lose than not to go at all.

When its this cold out (between -30 and -40), people tend to leave their cars running. The carbon monoxide in the air is trapped by an inversion layer and we are fouling our own nests. In the 70s, people used to put potatoes in the tailpipes of cars left running and the car would stall out. I imagine that's not legal now. Ice fog is a big problem here. The moisture in the air gathers around little particulates, freezes and hangs in the air...too heavy to rise and too light to fall. The more particulates, the more ice fog and low visibility. Besides, like I say when I'm in a city, I don't like to see the air I'm breathing. Plugging in cars helps because it prewarms the engine, but thats not always possible (like at a hockey game).

Heaters have really gotten better though. In the 70s, we had "frost shields" on our windows- little plastic windows that we put on the inside of our car windows that trapped dry air and made a little clearing in the frost on the inside of the car. I can remember emptying the jellylike oil out of our car into a can and putting it on the stove to warm up. Then we poured the warm oil back in and started the engine. It purred like a kitten. I also remember breaking the extension cords that we used to plug in the headbolt heater and battery blanket because they had the flexibility of uncooked spaghetti when it's -40 or colder. There were lots more colder days and the temperature was lower in the 70s. When I have time, I'll hyperlink you to the data.

I'll be teaching a math class for middle school teachers online starting in two weeks. If you are interested in taking it, email joe.jordan@email.alaska.edu to get an informational brochure. I think it will be very interesting using eLive (Elluminate Live) and blog for collaboration.

I'm starting to read A Thousand Splendid Suns tonight. Should be an interesting one to take on my trip, too.