A typical Portland winter commute: a Subaru and a Mini driving though a puddle of hipster tears.

Despite what Erik would have you believe, the weather isn’t bad everywhere. Out here in palatial Portland, Oregon, home to both myself and Derek, we live a more temperate lifestyle. Granted, this temperance comes with it’s downsides. We have a skyrocketing homeless population, an irrepressible influx of hipsters and a cavalcade of street performers clogging the streets at all hours of the day. Not even the rainy season deters these people.It doesn’t deter anyone else, either. For the most part, umbrellas are seen as a sign of weakness and not carrying your things in a bike messenger bag is a major fashion faux pas. Most of us may be midwest transplants, but we’re hipster midwest transplants.So, you can keep your -36 below temps. I remember what they felt like, I remember that kind of cold. The kind of cold that almost made you want to tempt fate and go outside in your boxers and roll around in the snow. Them’s insanity-inducing temperatures.Stay strong, Erik. Resist the temptation!