Wednesday, January 18
6:30 am
It is -35 °C, with a high forecast of -26 °C. The windchill factor is -46 °C.
From the Environment Canada website:
Warnings
Lethbridge - Taber - Milk River4:16 AM MST Wednesday 18 January 2012
Wind chill warning for
Lethbridge - Taber - Milk River continued
Wind chill values of minus 40 to 45 this morning and tonight.
This
is a warning that extreme wind chill conditions are imminent or
occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for
updated statements.
Cold Arctic air has invaded Alberta bringing temperatures into the
minus thirties. These temperatures combined with winds of 15 to 20 km/h
will give wind chills of minus 40 to 50.
At these extreme wind chill values frostbite on exposed skin may occur in less than 10 minutes.
Today
Increasing cloudiness. 40 percent chance of flurries late this morning and this afternoon. Wind up to 15 km/h. High minus 26. Extreme wind chill minus 44 this morning.
Tonight
Cloudy with 30 percent chance of flurries early this evening. Clearing this evening. Low minus 29.
Normals: Max. -2 °C Min. -14 °C.
11:00 am Cooking
With the cool weather forecast to last a couple of more days, this seemed like a good time for some Bigos stew (also called Hunter's stew). This is a minor variation on the theme of peasant food or as some say, "food that smucks". One of the nice features of this recipe is that all measurements are flexible, or if one prefers, there are no measurements.
The basic idea is some pork tenderloin, a ring of garlic sausage, and some sauerkraut.
First, sautee a large onion.
Then brown the garlic sausage,
and the pork tenderloin.
Oops! We didn't have any fresh mushrooms. Off to the corner store. It is only an 8 minute walk so there was no danger of frostbite (it takes 10 minutes for exposed skin to experience frost bite under the current conditions).
Then lightly cook the mushrooms.
This is all added to a large pot, with sauerkraut (4 cups), tomatoes (1 can diced, plus a few fresh) and 2 apples (peeled, cored and diced). Cook on low heat for 90 minutes, more or less.
Then add a cup of good red wine. This is very important.
Cook for another 40 minutes. Serve in appropriate bowls. Drink any left-over wine.
Enjoy the moment. It will soon be warm.
10:00 PM Literature
With plenty of time for reading, I had no difficulty finishing Hitchens', "god is not Great".
It is an amazing set of essays, all dealing with the genuine "evils" of religion. I find myself in agreement with virtually everything Hitchins says. This is the most telling book I have seen that describes and documents the historical basis for all of the religions on the planet with a natural emphasis on the triumvirate of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The focus on history makes sense given that Hitchens' background is journalism.
Now I would like to read a couple of other books on the same topic, but from a philosophic and psychologic perspective. This is where the overall topic of religion is usually discussed. From a philosophy point of view, how is it possible that belief systems that preach morality can be so immoral? And from psychology, why is religion so pervasive in our cultures? Hitchens does address the latter in a number of his chapters but our inability to see the immorality in much of what is preached is amazing.
I would have reversed the title and the sub-title. In my view, the book is about religion, not really about whether or not god exists, although this does get a fair amount of discussion. As a foot note, Hitchins sprinkles the text with a lovely dose of wit, which certainly brought a smile to me on many pages.