Hearts are always warm

Today's Tids Issue 5,357 

Apples and Oranges: 

 

 

I rate yesterday as a big A Minus! Alphabet, Amazon and Apple all missed in their Q4 reports. There goes the rally. 

 

I went to breakfast with a bunch of guys this morning at our regular place and I think the waitress and cook are teaming up to improve my eating habits. They cut the pineapple chunks to match the fried potatoes. Ouch! 

 

So, we're into a super cold one. Worst in 7 years, they say, and reminiscent of the 1940’s/50’s.  I always thought the snow seemed higher then. But it was probably because I was shorter.  

 

The Tids Punster Laureate writes to say he couldn’t find his Agatha Christie novels. He thinks he has lost his Marples.  

 

One of the biggest new threats from icy cold weather is Textothermia, typing outside at minus 30. 

 

The Question: 

What are the five coldest countries in the world as measured by annual mean temperature? 

 

 

The Headlines: 

--Jan Jobs Report Surprises; 517K Jobs Added Versus 185K Projected; Unemployment Drops to Lowest Number Since 1969, 3’4%. Markets React Negatively Early Claw Back Late Morn.  

--US Secretary Of State Blinken Abruptly Cancels China Trip After Spy Balloon Controversy; China Admits It’s Their “Weather Balloon”.  

 

Maybe unemployment is historically low because of the millions sleeping on streets and under bridges that don’t show up in record keeping systems. 

 

Or maybe the economy is really great, and it is just overinflated tech companies coming back down earth that is making us look bad.  

 

If Winters get you down, you can always sniff away at t your “Spring Scented” detergent.  

 

A US General a day or so ago said that in 2025 we’d be at war with Chins. But it won't bother a lot of people because the governments have managed to keep straws out of restaurants.  

 

What a great name for a poker-faced global conflict negotiator, “Blinken”.  

 

I don’t a think a steel shortage would ever be a problem because there is just too much irony in the world. Look around you.  

 

I think I'm missing something. Everybody seems overwrought about something called AT&T/Direct TV. I'd better wake up and become relevant.  

 

In reality, the hardest part of growing old is seeing guys and gals you love having serious medical problems. Our own aches and pains and declining skills really don’t mean that much.  

 

The new jobs creation number announced this morning was huge. And wow, did the experts ever get that one wrong. Number one industry sector for jobs creation was in Hospitality (99K) followed by Professional and Business Services from bookkeepers to consultants. (82), Governments (74), Heath Care (58), Retailers (30), Construction (25) and Manufacturing (19).  

 

Maybe the number was huge because all of those job cuts in tech industries produced a whole new class of consultants. 

 

I like Harrison Ford. He just seems to fit on the screen nicely, in any role. 

 

I think we could solve the immigration mess cheaper and more effectively if the USA just bought Guatemala.  

 

As long as you stay inside today, it is really quite beautiful out, Icy winds make the blue skies more crystalline and the seas bluer and sparking. There are advantages to extreme cold, as long as you don't try to mess with it. And you can keep your ice cream outside the bedroom window for midnight snacks. Yum. 

 

If weather never changed a lot of people could never start a conversation.  

 

The Answer: 

Number one at an annual mean temp of 22.37 degrees F is our own delightful neighbor, Canada. Yes, just a fast dog sled ride away. It is followed by Russia, Mongolia, Norway, Kyrgyzstan, Finland, Iceland, Tajikistan, Sweden and Estonia. The next ten are Switzerland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, North Korea, Georgia, Belarus, Lithuania, Austria, Kazakhstan and Slovakia.  

 

Have a great and very pleasantly cool weekend, E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!! 

 

 

 

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