Beautiful, blustery days

That strange Genevan speciality "la bise" has been blowing these past few days. The skies have been clear and blue and the sunshine still strong but I still don't understand why this icy wind is called the kiss when its strong, cold blast is more like a slap in the face. And I've still not quite worked out the difference between la bise noire and the ordinary seemingly colourless bise. But I like the idea of giving local winds names - even if le mistral and the sirrocco are sometimes used to package fast forms of transport or overpriced technology.