Weather update: Here in Sunnyvale, CA the high today will be 64F/18C on Jan. 26th/Super Bowl Sunday. In contrast, in Edmonton, Alberta (where I originally hail from), it will be an un-seasonably warm 31F/-1C.

One of the things that I still haven't gotten used to in my 5 years in the Bay Area is the almost complete lack of weather here. There is less yearly variation in weather here than Alberta might get in a spring long weekend. The forecast for every day between early March and late October could be exactly the same : "light cloud overhead, burning off by noon. Sunny the rest of the day". And when they say "sunny", they don't mean "enough breaks in the clouds that the sun is visible most of the time", they mean "not a cloud in the sky". In the 5 years I've been hear, I've experienced exactly 2 thunderstorms - coincidentally the same as the number of earthquakes I've felt.

From growing up in Alberta, I developed an extreme dislike of the cold. Standing out every morning for 15-30 minutes during the winter in -4F/-20C weather can do that to you. I also don't miss weather forecasts where they give you useful information like the number of minutes it will take for exposed skin to freeze. But oddly enough, I do miss the weather in general. The un-relenting day to day sameness hear can be quite mind-numbing. And there is nothing like spring in Alberta. After the crushing weight of winter is lifted, it truly does feel like a brand new wonderful world.

In California, spring is just another day.