I seem to be having some bad luck with the cold this year.
It started in the fall with the regular, 'I don't like the cold' comments occasionally. It really started coming together though a few weeks ago when I was vacuuming. I noticed that there was a small cloud forming in front of the vacuum. I quickly deduced something must be wrong. I found the culprit clog and at the same time decided I needed to empty the container and clean the filter. So, I opened my balcony door, walked out, and proceeded to bang the filter against the rail to clean it. Well, being as smart as I am, when I stepped out, I thought I better close the sliding door so the dust cloud couldn't work its way back in to my apt. Mind you, this was about 3 weeks ago, it was about 20 degrees outside and I was dressed in a t-shirt, pajama pants, and slippers....that's all. Oh, and being as smart as I am, in the winter I have a board that's angled into the sliding door and once the door is mostly closed, it's impossible to open again without moving the board. The board is on the inside where if you go out and close the door, it's impossible to move. So, after I got done with the filter and turned back toward the balcony door, I did what most people would do and began to cuss and panic slightly. I knew I could climb down from my balcony and get to the door of the complex, but had no idea if anyone was home or if anyone would actually come to the door to let me in. By the time I had rung a few buzzers to get in, I was beginning to think about which houses on a Sunday would be best to approach in my pj's. But, all was well, just as my toes were starting to get cold, someone from inside let me in. I thanked them and headed toward my apt door, which in the 5 or so yrs I've been living here has very rarely (maybe 3 or 4 times) locked itself with a deadbolt that's kept open most of the time with a little thumb trigger that's pressed in, but like I said, occasionally, pops out and the deadbolt locks. So, my keys are inside, the deadbolt is locked, and I'm outside in the hallway in my pjs. Longer story short, I finally got in my apt after finding a spare set of keys in my car.
Most recently, the cold attacked again today as I was continuing to forge a very sculpted, sleek body first by conditioning via my swimming schedule. I always get into the hot tub first to get my powerful muscles warmed up so they don't cramp up or tear as I pull all 210 lbs of sinewy muscle and bone through the water at record pace....or something similar. Today I walk into the spa/swimming area just behind an elderly gentlemen and I notice there are 4 women in the hot tub and strangely, there is no one in the pool. I pardon myself as I walk in between the women. As I'm sitting there, each one of them go over to the pool and dip their feet in the pool, testing the water. I'm thinking to myself that I hope they don't get in...then I'll have to share lanes and I'd rather not. But, none of them get into the pool, they're just sitting around chatting. Well, I'm warmed up and I walk in between all of them a second time as I step into the pool. It's cold on my feet and I go ahead and dive under the rope into the second lane as I hear one of the women say, 'Wow, how can he do that?' HOLY SH@%! The water is freezing. I decide to tough it out and act like I knew it was going to be this cold. I swam under water the length of the pool as I usually do, just to see if I still can. By the time I get to the other side, I'm already starting to feel my toes....they're cold. I'm thinking that if I swim a few laps at a good pace, I'll warm up. Wrong! After swimming a couple laps I was actually colder and felt like I was swimming at boyscout camp in Humbolt in the fall. I remember swimming for my merit badge....had to swim a mile and the pool must have been about 65 degrees. Everyone's legs didn't function when we finally finished. This is what it was starting to feel like. I jumped in the hot tub to warm up and then when I walked into the locker room, saw the sign that I had missed because the elderly gentlemen had opened the door just before I got to it. It said they planned to keep the pool at 'about 75 degrees' until the heater was fixed, but it wouldn't affect the hot tub or spa. I don't think it was quite 75 degrees. Either way, I survived and I'm sure I'm a stronger person for it.

Bobby Jindal has some really interesting ideas. First, his story of the bureaucrat that keeps rescuers from hurricane Katrina survivors stranded on rooftops is apparently a great analogy of how government is bad. Pretty sure given a couple minutes I could come up with a better analogy. I wonder if the depositors of the almost 40 banks that have failed during this fiscal debacle believe that the FDIC is a bad idea or if that doggone bureaucracy stood in the way of losing their money held in those banks?
Another interesting take is that the spending going on with this stimulus bill is increasing the size of our gov't....as examples, Jindal gives new cars, high speed rail, and volcano monitoring. States this is wasteful spending and as a logical conclusion to the increasing size of gov't insinuation.....apparently the gov't is now making cars and high speed trains? I wasn't aware I guess.
I hate to bring this up now, but according to most economists an economic stimulus plan is one that SPENDS money. No doubt tax breaks will help those that have had to cut back on spending...and guess what? Everyone who gets a paycheck will see their first tax break in one month! They will be able to spend more than they can today. Everyone that makes less than a quarter Mill will receive a tax break....they will be able to spend more.
What I think he was saying was to tax people so we can have a strong military, but cut all other spending since that will rid us of the bureaucracy that keeps us from saving the people on the rooftop. And, this is really admirable thinking, but if it could just be delivered by someone that doesn't smile like Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, it would be so much more palatable.