by Elio — To a ther­mophilic South­ern Cal­i­forn­ian with an an­thro­pocen­tric bent like my­self (I live in San Diego), life in the cold seems both im­plau­si­ble and dis­agree­able. I jest. I am aware that fish, in­sects, plants, and above all mi­crobes can thrive in ex­tremely cold cli­mates and make use of a va­ri­ety of strate­gies to over­come the harsh con­di­tions.