Tommy Thompson is the only real governor I have ever known

[mantrakuh]

Today it was somewhat chilly, so I engaged in one of winter's greatest pleasures: standing over a steam pit. Perhaps you are somewhere there are no steam pits; or, perhaps you have never noticed them. These are possibilities! Let me therefore describe a steam pit. Here in the frigid north (Equador), we have large and frequently old buildings that need heating in the winter months. Hot air would be fairly inefficient in this case (in terms of space, if nothing else), so the task is accomplished with a network of pipes through the building which carry steam. This steam travels through radiators in each room, and this heats the room. But in order for this to work, the steam must be moving, which means it must exit the system somewhere. It can't be vented out the top (it would condense and freeze on the roof), and it can't be vented at ground level (it might scald someone important), so it is let loose in pits. The pits are open at the top, I assume to provide access, but covered with a grate. If you stand on the grate, the heat from the released steam will reach you, and you will not be cold. Good times!

Other news! There are trees on the corner that are very pretty right now, and I wish I had my glasses so I could see them better.

Also! My mom came back from DC today, and on the plane with her was Tommy Thompson. He once tripped her at a football game while she was pregnant! Also he was the governor. He seems to think he knows her; perhaps he recognizes her from somewhere. Maybe? I am uncertain. Maybe someone told him about her while he was Secretary of HHS.