Dealing with the cold

This is one of the coldest winters we've had in a decade or so. The new temperature sign at HDCH read -19 C, as I drove past this morning. These are the sorts of temperatures I associate with my early years in Chicago and Minnesota.

While in Minnesota some thirty years ago, I came up with a way to start up my car in the morning while others had trouble. Before retiring for the night, I would go out and start the car and keep it running for about ten minutes. While the engine was warming up, I would take a shovel and pile snow on top of the hood. This would insulate the front of the car and help to keep the heat in. Sure enough, the next morning there would still be enough heat to get the engine going fairly quickly. I've had to resort to this method here in Hamilton only a few times.

Of course, if you're fortunate enough to have a garage, you needn't worry about this at all.