The season has changed, the temperature is dropping in Illinois, and water is starting to freeze.  Because I live far away from Illinois, I sometimes watch Chicago-based WGN news on cable television just to see the newscasters and President-elect Obama and his transition team bundled in winter coats so that I see how cold it is in Illinois.  Its not yet cold enough to skate but I'm starting to think about my plans.  Perhaps there will only be 24 hours notice, just like the Mavericks surf competition http://www.maverickssurf.com/Home/, and then everyone needs to show up in the Quad Cities to await the start the next morning.  I'm still looking for additional people to join me, so feel free to correspond.

On another note, the Elfstedentocht had an ominous report recently.  Because seemingly the entire country turns out to watch over 15,000 skaters in what is sort of a Dutch Super Bowl, the ice must be very solid to support the masses of humanity, or 6 inches (15.24cm) thick, which needs the average temperature to be approximately 5 degrees F (-15 deg. C).    The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency recently reported that the necessary frigid conditions to freeze the ice solid enough "...will likely occur only once every 18 years due to climate change. In further bad news scientists added that 'continuing global warming will lead to further diminishing chances of holding an Elfstedentocht'."  (http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-11/marathon-ice
)  In 2005, they had calculated once every 10 years (about the actual historical average since 1909).   Hope is never lost as there is an element of randomness--the race wasn't held between 1963 and 1985, a gap of 22 years, but then again in 1986 which was 1 year.  But the report is ominous given the last Elfstedentocht was 1997. 

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It appears that the Hennepin canal parkway will be one of four state parks that will have funding restored.  Sadly, 7 of the other 11 parks threatened with closure will indeed close Novemer 30.  But the entire Hennepin as well as Gebhard and Channahon (which are in the I&M canal area to the east) will be kept open

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