Snow Plows.

If you listen to certain media over the past few weeks, the number "one" issue in Calgary has been the inability of the city to clear residential streets. On the flip side of this, every single "poll" I've seen on radio/media websites shows that the vast majority of Calgarians really aren't interested in paying more to have their streets cleaned.

Alberta has an admittedly nasty winter. It's comical to watch TV from Toronto and listen to a "severe cold alert" when it's -15C for 3 days in a row. Last winter, while living in Edmonton, I remember it hitting a "high" of -18C and thinking "it's finally warming up". If you're into the whole "it's a dry cold" bullshit, well..trust me, -45C, dry or wet cold is COLD AS FUCK.

If there is anything that's refreshing about Calgary is that most people out here don't go into a panic because there is a bit of snow on the street. A snowdrift on a side street is "normal" and while it's an annoyance, it seems most people don't really give a shit. It's not a provincial disaster if our major roads aren't cleared, people don't fly into a fit of panic, nor is it "breaking news". Most people (not all) just buckle down and drive to work.

Calgary just went through a 2 week spell where it was -40C with the wind chill. Yet, in all that, you rarely heard people complain about the cold. There was no panic, no rabid anger, not incessant complaining at work. And as wind chills pushed -50C around Alberta, life went on. Schools stayed open, people went to work, life went on. I'm sure people dealt with some shit, but it didn't seem to consume their lives.

So all in all, I'll take a two week spell of -35C over a "Ontario severe cold alert" any time. Sure it means poor gas mileage and a cold steering wheel for 20 minutes..but that's a much better choice than listening to endless whining about how -8C is "freezing"