Coldish

Looking at Facebook today, I started to wonder if I should do my usual walk to gaming (just under five miles, but I'm not in Chicago...). In the end, I layered up, and headed out, figuring I could always divert to a T stop on the way. Happily, though cold, it's mostly dry (amazing considering the rain and melt yesterday), so footing was fine. It even turned out I'd put on too many shirts and hats; I overheated on the way (though it took my toes closer to two miles to fully heat up, rather than the usual one, and I had to touch my nose every so often to warm it up (covering my mouth or nose leads to fogged up glasses)). I did stick to the route that was likely to have less wind (smaller streets), too. And hey, at least the pollen count's low :-).

I saw a couple of cyclists, one not even wearing anything on his face! I was impressed: my toes freeze far too easily when biking in cold weather. (Not when walking: toes are active walking, but merely the end of legs when biking.)

The Mystic River under Route 28 had a lot of ice, except by the passages under the bridge. It was thick enough to be impressive. My eye went to what looked like some little white snow drifts bobbing nearby in the open water. As I got closer, I finally realized that there was a mixed group of water birds, swans (which look super odd with their heads S-curved along their backs as they sleep), Canada geese, and ducks. I can't imagine being in the water at these temps, but I suppose their waterproof feathers and layer of fat (mmm... duck fat) make it reasonable for them. Still, I was surprised they hadn't gone to one of the smaller inlets of the river nearby, rather than staying on the very open water with a lot of current.

Cambridge city council vote recount

Now that the new councilors have been sworn in, I should finishing writing and posting about this!

There were 25 candidates on the ballot for nine seats, with three of four candidates that were very close getting a seat. Unsurprisingly, the fourth candidate, an incumbent, called for a recount. It takes longer to do this in Cambridge than other places, because there's proportional voting (more explanation below).

I got involved with the recount when a Facebook friend posted about needing people for the recount. I said I could help, and became an observer for a candidate, going to the youth center where the recount was happening, unsure what to expect.

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