Spent an immensely enjoyable Saturday evening curled up on the sofa in my warm apartment with the current object of my infatuation: Volume III of History of the Civilizations of Central Asia, which contains an excellent section on the ancient country of Sogdiana, which from the 3rd to 7th centuries occupied most of the Transoxiana region in what is now Uzbekistan. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Sogdians, but more on that later . . .

This morning it is 39 degrees below zero F. in Ulaan Baatar. Oddly, it is also 39 below zero C. (for all you Europeans). 39 below zero is where the two types of temperature, F. and C. coincide. The good news is there is zero wind, so there is no wind chill factor. So it also feels like it is only 39 degrees below zero, F. or C. This reminds me of the notorious winter of '78 in Fairbanks, Alaska, when it never got above 40 below zero F. for the whole month of February and went down to as low as 65 below zero F. at night. Chilly . . .