Minnesota Politics

I read a lot of political blogs and the Huffington Post is one of my favorites. While it leans far left (who am I kidding? I'm a CA moderate, which is pretty far left across the nation), it's nice to see well thought out, argued points of view from that perspective. Conservatives have won the war of words for decades now, and thanks to the blogosphere, things seem to finally be changing.

Tonight Pete Smith wrote a stinging critique of Minnesota governor Time Pawlenty: Hey, Senator McCain - Take our governor. Please.

I've never been a big Pawlenty fan, but his refusal to sign off on the five cent gas tax was the final straw. Following the HWY 35 bridge failure he said he'd consider such a law to improve the state's infrastructure. At the time, it was politically the right thing to say, but he needs to get his conservative credentials up now that he's got the White House in mind.

The extreme weather here forces us into two seasons: winter and street repairs. Simply put, Minnesotans needed to stop borrowing money to work on the roads. The work needed to be done and the time is now to do. I was proud of the six Republicans who switched sides to override Pawlenty's veto. It's a shame they've now been disciplined by GOP House Minority Leader Marty Seifert.

They deserve to be commended. I've listed their names below:

Bud Heidgerken of Freeport
Neil Peterson of Bloomington
Ron Erhardt of Edina
Kathy Tingelstad of Andover
Rod Hamilton of Mountain Lake
Ron Abeler of Anoka

Thank you for cutting through the gridlock. Minnesota and I thank you.

Star Tribune's Weatherman is Bored

I've heard many different descriptions of weather here. I've never heard, until now, it described as "hazy moonlight." How about you?

Living on Minnesota Time

A co-worker of mine reminded me the other day that I wasn't living on "Minnesota Time." She'd given herself an hour to get to work, when normally the commute takes 20 minutes. I just made it on time, running in the door and completely out of breath. It seems that everything depends on the weather: from the clothes I put on my body to the amount of time I allow myself to get to class, work or an appointment. I don't have it down yet. I'm often still running late. I'm getting better, but she was right. I'm not living on "Minnesota Time."

I look at the weather report first thing each morning. My entire day is then scheduled around the day's forecast. I used to check the Star Tribune's website for the weather forecast, but I've recently installed the Forecastfox addon for the Firefox Web browser, which updates regularly.

Each morning I go over a check list:

[X] What is the temperature? From the low 30s to mid-20s - it's hoodie, long sleeve shirt and gloves weather, without the need for long johns. In the teens, winter jacket is a must, and depending on the wind chill, it might be a long john day. Once the thermostat reaches 10 degrees or below, long johns, long sleeve shirt under a short sleeve shirt, gloves, winter jacket, and winter boots are all a must. In the single digits, more likely than not, I'm also wearing a hoodie under my winter jacket along with the rest of the attire.

Also, depending on the temperature, it takes longer for my car to warm up. My Honda Civic doesn't like winters. The Civic handles the winter better than the Nissan Altima I owned when I moved here. There have been times when my car won't start, but for the most part, it takes a good 15-20 minutes to warm up before it's drivable. This extra time must be worked in to travel time.

[X]Is it snowing? Again, many things vary depending on "type" of snow, how much snow has come down, have the streets been plowed, extra time is needed for the commute (either by bus or car), extra time needed to scrape the snow and again time for the car to warm up.

I'm two plus years in now and I'm finally getting better. You'd think I'd be less stubborn and adapt to the seasons. The first thing most Minnesotans ask me regarding the transition into Minnesota is how I'm handling the winters.

Really, though, the winters aren't so bad. I know. I know, they've been mild the last three years. I've heard it before. Winter just seems to last forever. Once you figure out the "Minnesota Time" it's just a matter of layers and coordinating your outfit. I've got the the layers down. Now if only I can start living on "Minnesota Time" my life would be much less stressful.