San Francisco Media Agog Over Cold Weather

Wow, 37 degrees! How ever did you manage, sir?

​Donald Rumsfeld confused a lot of people when he rambled on about "known knowns," "known unknowns" and "unknown unknowns." But, flipping on the morning news and watching, in quick succession, a trio of stories featuring man-on-the-street interviews with Bay Area commuters explaining how they managed to survive 40 degree morning weather -- it all begins to make sense.

For Bay Area residents, the fact that it gets kinda cold in the winter is hovering somewhere between a "known unknown" or "unknown unknown." For any city dweller who has ever received the icy glare from a resident of the Midwest or East Coast when complaining about not-quite-freezing Novembers ("Yeah, you've got it tough there in the Bay Area!"), it's a known unknown. The weather's mild here. We know that. It's one of the reasons we choose to live here. 

But the fact that cold -- real cold -- is ubiquitous elsewhere seems to be a total unknown for our microphone-wielding morning news reporters -- or at least their assignment editors. 

In a gig only slightly less foolish than the "Go stand in the torrential rainstorm and tell everyone it's raining" bit, put-upon morning news reporters bundled up in the thirtysomething weather, proclaimed it to be chilly, and interviewed fellow chilly people.

The verdict? Wear a hat! Wear a jacket! Wear layers! Dress like it's cold -- because it's cold!

Also:

• Look both ways before crossing;

• Keep your eye on the ball;
  

• Don't sleep on the subway, darling;

• Don't stand in the pouring rain.

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