Jesús Gil II (c'mon, how can you defend Jesús Gil I? He dissed Luis Aragonés, the coach and lifetime colchonero, in public, and Luis Aragonés is much more the heart and soul of the Atlético than some sleazy corrupt building contractor who bought the team to increase his notoriety) of Atlético Rules would like everyone to know that it's cold in Madrid, and that the Madrid cold is more unpleasant as that back home in interior Oregon. The Barcelona cold can be just as unpleasant as that in Kansas City, because in KC inside your house and anywhere else you might go it's nice and warm. We've got central heating in the Midwest. We've got butane space heaters in Barcelona. You can't really justify central heating because the cold isn't too bad most of the time, so you put on the space heater in the living room when it gets chilly--it never gets below about 35º F here, but when it's 35º outside it's 55º inside, unless you're sitting in front of the space heater, where it's like 80º. The cats hang out around the space heater, especially when Remei is sitting in front of it eating roast chicken. Here in the back bedroom it's about 55º right now. I'm perfectly comfortable wearing a regular shirt and a cotton sweater, blue jeans, and two pairs of socks, except that my hands are getting cold. Fortunately, the faster I type the more exercise my fingers get.

Anyway, next week the weather will get back to normal, mild and sunny. I hope.