Comments on: Twin Cities BoingBoing Winter Meetup: January 28

By: quickbrownfox

quickbrownfox — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:57:00 +0000

Common usage != correct usage. Also, the first result of that search supports my point. From Bryan Garner’s Modern American Usage:

careen; career, vb. Careen = (1) v.i., to tip or tilt [the sailboat careened and then sank]; or (2) v.t., to cause to tip or tilt [they careened the ship on the beach to scrape the barnacles and caulk the seams]. Career = to move wildly at high speed. E.g.: “His car overturned yesterday after careering out of control across three lanes of the motorway.”
…
It’s understandable why most people aren’t comfortable with this verbal usage of career. The word derived from a Latin term for road or path, and later denoted a racetrack, but today people think of it only as a noun: the path of a life’s work.

The point is not that the sleds will be tilted down a steep hill, it’s that they will be moving quickly.

By: Pirate Jenny

Pirate Jenny — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:01:00 +0000

That looks like the cold-weather equivalent of the Adult Soapbox Derby. It’s a shame we don’t reliably get a lot of snow in Portland (Oregon), or we’d probably steal this idea in a hot minute. Looks fun!

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:47:00 +0000

It was a scant 5 degrees colder than it was in Detroit.

We’ve had a few nights in the last month or so when it was colder in Palm Springs than in Boston, New York and Toronto. And we’re not having particularly cold nights this year.

By: Seraph

Seraph — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:35:00 +0000

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=+careening

By: quickbrownfox

quickbrownfox — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:10:00 +0000

Not to be a dick, but I think you really mean “*careering* down a steep hill.” But I’m just jealous because I don’t live in Minneapolis anymore.

By: IronEdithKidd

IronEdithKidd — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:48:00 +0000

That could be tricky this year. I was up visiting family for Thanksgiving. It was a scant 5 degrees colder than it was in Detroit. That’s 55 degrees! On Thanksgiving in Minneapolis! WTF?

Back in the day, we’d get 18″ storms immediately followed by 10″ storms the day before Thanksgiving (or maybe that was just 1983, I dunno). Bah. Get off my lawn, la nina!

By: GuyInMilwaukee

GuyInMilwaukee — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:47:00 +0000

Sounds like a blast. I bet we could put together something pretty fun with all the leftover stuff from past projects. Milwaukee will represent!

By: folkclarinet

folkclarinet — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:15:00 +0000

Dang…I won’t be able to make it this time. The band has a gig in Madison that night. :(

By: Kassie

Kassie — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:05:00 +0000

Think I’ll have to check this out this year. I live less than a mile away and have never made it. Usually because it is super cold. This will be the year. (And let’s hope we have snow.)

By: IronEdithKidd

IronEdithKidd — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:51:00 +0000

Out-o-towners (not from the Northlands) make sure you bring your absolute warmest clothing and boots. The last week of January/first week of February are notoriously cold in the Cities.

Never got to partake in any of the Winter Carnival fun growing up because it was always too damned cold for my mom to let me go. Especially to the parade. Why, oh why, is it always at least -20 that night?

By: techblog

techblog — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:48:00 +0000

I think I will come, great opportunity!