Don, those block heaters are a heckuva marketing/survival device.

Thinking about the differences in our worlds.

Minus 10 or 15 is the coldest I've ever been in. Those were either hunting trips to Colorado or as a kid at Muleshoe in NW Texas. When I got out of the USAF I went back there and told my Grandparents that I was heading South to Fort Worth. I had been through my last simultaneous sand storm and blizzard. They thought about it, sold the place, and also headed South. Except hunting trips to Colorado and New Mexico, I haven't used tire chains since. Few people here would even recognize chains.

We sometimes get a "minor" ice storm here and it paralyzes the D/FW area and most of North Texas. Everything shuts down including schools, business and churches. Vagrants are rounded up and taken to shelters, church's and soup kitchens.

Mike Otto and I were thinking about going to some conference up North in the Winter. We declined because we didn't want to have to buy heavy coats.

It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP