I am in Calgary this week and I couldn’t help but notice something that struck me as odd… electrical posts in parking lots!

All kidding aside - at hotels, businesses, store parking lots, there are posts with electrical outlets just standing there. Why? Those not used to the cold Canadian winter weather will wonder who wants to plug-in a coffee maker, or surprised that we have electric cars. Nope, no electric cars here, but plenty of electric block-heaters for your car’s engine.

Yessir, it gets so cold here so frequently, that the community feels it is necessary to provide free electricity for anyone who wants to keep their car’s engine nice and toasty. Being a Montrealer, I am familiar with the process, but we typically do it quite rarely and only at our homes. Then I realized that even my rental car came with a complementary extension cord. How thoughtful. Imagine doing this in California where brownouts are frequent… to keep your car’s air conditioning nice and frosty? Somehow I don’t think that would fly.

When I was in Dubai and Bahrain, do you know what I noticed they have in their parking lots for your car’s convenience? Canopies to shield your car from the scorching sun.