We’ve spent the first 13 days of 2010 never reaching temperatures above 50. And we’ve lived through three numbing days of temperatures at or below freezing. That may seem like nothing to folks living in the Northern states, but here in the sunny south, where the average daytime temperature in January is 70 degrees, it’s been torture!

I live in the Historic Kenwood neighborhood of St. Petersburg. Homes here are old wooden structures built in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, before the days of central heat and air. Some have been retrofitted with electric furnaces for heat, but because we so seldom have truly cold weather, many of my neighbors rely on fireplaces, space heaters or even the kitchen stove as their only source of heat.

That rag-tag assortment of heating equipment is the source of many home fires during the rare cold snap. When the really cold weather hit a week ago and frigid winds came whistling through our houses (very few are insulated) those winds were immediately followed by the shrill siren of emergency vehicles responding to fire calls.

I woke up at 5:30 last Friday morning to the sound of 12 emergency vehicles pulling up and around my own house. My heart almost leapt from my chest! But they had the wrong address. They were looking for a house at the end of the block, where an over-heated kitchen stove had started a small fire.

My neighbors were lucky. The damage to the house was minimal and no one was injured. All around town, others were less lucky. On average, there were four homes a day destroyed by fire during this cold snap. Worse yet, there were many people rushed to the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning. They’d taken charcoal grills inside to try and warm up, not knowing that the fumes from those grills could kill them.

I spent most of the last few days huddled in front of my computer, an electric heating pad under my feet and an electric blanket wrapped around my shoulders. My unprotected fingers were so cold I could barely type. And rolling electrical brownouts meant I was kicked off the internet more often than I was on.

So there was great joy and celebration this monring when we woke up to temperatures in the 40’s, expected to climb into the 60’s this afternoon. I enjoyed the luxury of a long bath with the first hot water we’ve had in three days. Later I went into the yard to see the damage. Florida this time of year is a green and flowering paradise. Today it’s as brown and curled as a cured tobacco leaf.  Here’s a rare look at Florida when Old Man Winter manages to find us!

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The New York Times

announced the winner of the 2009 contest to find a six-word motto for the United States. In a reprise of last year’s contest, originated by Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner , more than 300 submissions were pared down to 50, then down to the final 6 before readers were allowed to vote for their fav. The final 6 were:

Consumption’s the Cure That Ails Us

We Will Get It Right, Eventually

We Are Too Big to Fail

The Streets Are Paved With CASH4GOLD.COM

Learn to Live Within Your Means

Wow, Can You Believe This Place?

And the winner is…(drum roll, please)….

We Are Too Big To Fail Can’t say it’s my favorite, as it seems like the attitude that got us into this mess in the first place. But then, the attitude of the contest is defiantly snarky. My personal favs didn’t even make the top 6. I was torn between  "Breathe in. Breathe out. Move on." And "Lets produce something instead of consuming" The Takeaway has reprinted the full list of the top 50. Some I considered:

Health before wealth, community before self

Spend your cash, make more change

Vast resources. Vast diversity. Vast promise.

America: scrounging for change

Incur no new debt today

Humility and economic justice for all

Land of Spree, Home of Knave

.No more tax cuts to nowhere!

Got a fav pick of your own? Or think you can do better? The contest is closed, but my comment box is still open for you.

Want to read Freaknomics for yourself? Check out Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything at–where else?–Amazon dot com…..

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When asked how she came by the photo, Ms. Boots gave few details other than to say, "Paul Myers asked for proof. I showed it to him. This is personal, private business between him and me."

Ms. Boots then showed this reporter an email she received directly from Mr. Myers in which he asks her "…if you can find proof that Mother Theresa (sic) did it?" Later in the letter, he says, "I’d consider it a "personal" favor."

It is unknown why Mr. Myers suspected Mother Teresa poked kittens with pins or why he asked Bonnie Boots if she could find proof of it. Ms. Boots speculates that Paul Myers may have wanted the photos as a means of drawing attention to himself. She pointed to a line in his email in which Mr. Myers writes "…lying "works" better than other creative and intelligent ways of getting attention."

Bonnie Boots describes herself as a "digital publisher." She has been repeatedly implicated in the production of images and material used in internet marketing.

Little is known of Paul Myers,  other than that the place he lives in is erie. He was unavailable for comment.

The release of the photo sent a shock wave of concern around the world, with many speculating that millions of people will now begin poking kittens with pins as a way of honoring the beloved saint. Asked for comment, the Vatican’s only response was "Monkey Holy See, monkey do."

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