"Bread & Milk Emma...It's A STORM !! "

[logbutcher]

Once again the media freaks the unwary: "STORM CENTER". "STORM"

"Quick Emma, gotta get bread and milk, bread and milk before the STORM hits." "STORM I tell you. "

With all our present day resources and comfort: " cocooned homes"; instant, constant, screaming world communication; morbid details about everything that we don't give a flying @#*&% about; levels of fear that the average rural dweller in any nation would find amusing; vehicles that can take people anywhere anytime in any conditions; and of course, the myriad of tools to tell others where you are what you are doing and how doing it......people still whine.

Right now it is the day before Thanksgiving. It is predicted that 8" to 10" of snow will fall here. Big F'in deal. It is near winter. It is normal. It is what happens when one lives in the world, especially north of certain latitudes. Normal. What is this frenzy ?

Flame you fools when ready----READY FIRE AIM. :confuse:

 

[Somesawguy]

They sensationalize everything these days.

I had stuff to do outside, so having snow is an inconvenience. That being said. It's Maine, be prepared for a blizzard at any time, and then don't worry about it.

I have come-alongs, a shovel and chains in the truck. Gas for the generator, and a pile of wood.

I'm all set. opcorn:

 

[slowp]

What we grew up calling puddles, is now called Urban Flooding and reporters like to stand in the puddles, waiting for somebody else to kick the leaves out of the drain.

We have too many people who moved here from somewhere else. The folks from CA don't like the rain, the folks from the mideast try to drive in our concrete snow like it was Ohio powder, and then screw up the mountain passes, because they don't know or want to put good tires and/or chains on or drive too fast thinking it is Ohio snow, and so on. The Californians just don't know about snow driving so drive like it was bare pavement.

I wish they would just Go Away!!:msp_angry: Please!

 

[lone wolf]

Once again the media freaks the unwary: "STORM CENTER". "STORM"

"Quick Emma, gotta get bread and milk, bread and milk before the STORM hits." "STORM I tell you. "

With all our present day resources and comfort: " cocooned homes"; instant, constant, screaming world communication; morbid details about everything that we don't give a flying @#*&% about; levels of fear that the average rural dweller in any nation would find amusing; vehicles that can take people anywhere anytime in any conditions; and of course, the myriad of tools to tell others where you are what you are doing and how doing it......people still whine.

Right now it is the day before Thanksgiving. It is predicted that 8" to 10" of snow will fall here. Big F'in deal. It is near winter. It is normal. It is what happens when one lives in the world, especially north of certain latitudes. Normal. What is this frenzy ?

Flame you fools when ready----READY FIRE AIM. :confuse:

It is because the Media puts this fear in people for what reason I do not know.When I was a small kid I used to go out on the Jetty in hurricanes and hold on to the bell tower and let the waves crash over me just for fun.Now if a Hurricane even threatens us the Media has people so scared they flee to another state

 

[Gologit]

What we grew up calling puddles, is now called Urban Flooding and reporters like to stand in the puddles, waiting for somebody else to kick the leaves out of the drain.

We have too many people who moved here from somewhere else. The folks from CA don't like the rain, the folks from the mideast try to drive in our concrete snow like it was Ohio powder, and then screw up the mountain passes, because they don't know or want to put good tires and/or chains on or drive too fast thinking it is Ohio snow, and so on. The Californians just don't know about snow driving so drive like it was bare pavement.

I wish they would just Go Away!!:msp_angry: Please!

Yup...you're right. We encourage our renegade California drivers to move north...and to take their Kamikaze driving habits with them. Sorry 'bout that. :msp_biggrin:

 

[logbutcher]

Since you asked...........

Since you all asked : why is he sitting on his butt indoors at 0930, here 'tis.

It is snowing hard and wet. There's near 6" on the flat and still falling. Predicted 8" to 10" now.

My breakfast was: scrambled eggs (2), 2 bacon strips (crisp ), one ( count 'em, "1" ) fried potato with white onions, and the endless cup of ground Starbucks French Roast with half-and half. Not bad for a lazy morning.

Now the chores: generator pulled out of the shop. Day's wood carried in. Some board details to finish writing up. Research fior a talk on local culture. Possible PT appointment late this morning (if it isn't postponed) for strengthening the new titanium Zimmer implant. Both cars moved so that Earl can plow the mile driveway.

Drinking will begin later. Not much later it looks like.

Thought you'd all want this info. Kinda like a mini Facebook, huh ? :redface:

 

[slowp]

Yup...you're right. We encourage our renegade California drivers to move north...and to take their Kamikaze driving habits with them. Sorry 'bout that. :msp_biggrin:

Well, you should just call them back.

After they go by, and you hope they go by, doing their 360 cookies on the ice, (you noted that they were going too fast on the ice to begin with, hence the trick driving) they get out of their car that is now in the ditch. You ask if they are OK, they mumble and say they are now going to get studded tires so trick driving does not occur. When you comment about their speed, and they might want to slow down when driving on ice, they reply that they were doing the speed limit.

This was an actual California transplant, and perhaps a future Darwin Award nominee.

 

[Somesawguy]

Since you all asked : why is he sitting on his butt indoors at 0930, here 'tis.

It is snowing hard and wet. There's near 6" on the flat and still falling. Predicted 8" to 10" now.

My breakfast was: scrambled eggs (2), 2 bacon strips (crisp ), one ( count 'em, "1" ) fried potato with white onions, and the endless cup of ground Starbucks French Roast with half-and half. Not bad for a lazy morning.

Now the chores: generator pulled out of the shop. Day's wood carried in. Some board details to finish writing up. Research fior a talk on local culture. Possible PT appointment late this morning (if it isn't postponed) for strengthening the new titanium Zimmer implant. Both cars moved so that Earl can plow the mile driveway.

Drinking will begin later. Not much later it looks like.

Thought you'd all want this info. Kinda like a mini Facebook, huh ? :redface:

Sounds good to me. It's a mixed bag here. So far so good. I think we might see some power outages though.

 

[Dalmatian90]

You know, there's probably a commentary somewhere here that involves:

1) That we're more dependent on networks (computer, electricity, stores, highways)
2) "Just in time" inventory isn't only for corporations anymore; how many folks are "just in time" either living pay check to pay check or too addicted to buying at convenience stores
3) Networks are interconnected. Look at Connecticut -- the electric grid goes down from neglect in most of the state, it takes the ATMs, Gas/Convenience Stores, and Grocery Stores with them. Even if the gas station gets power back, did their phone line to process credit cards get fixed yet?
4) Clueless Incompetence. The folks who are so unfamiliar with the stuff around them they don't know they should (or how) to drain their pipes if they lose heat for an extended time in winter.
5) Learned Helplessness. You can't possibly help yourself, call 911!
6) Too few people, too many black boxes -- when the technology fails, we don't have the number of people and/or knowledge of what to do until the black boxes work again.

If you don't build a society to be inherently resilient, as it becomes more complex and opaque...the more things can be a monkey wrench in the works.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

The media is/are creating a conditioned response from people. They show how the shelves are gettiing cleared out of daily essentials when bad weather strikes. What do people do then ? They go to the stores and clear the shelves too, before it is all gone. Flee the state for your safety, so they do. Must have been the right decision, they survived it to come back. " Run for your lives !", "Take Cover !" or "Buy More Ovaltine !" and they do.

Don't people keep more than 2 days worth of toilet paper and a pkg of cold cuts at their house ?
And why do people wait till a bad front moves in to buy firewood, groceries, essentials or new snow tires ?

My only answer is "They're conditioned not to think for them self, someone else will save them."

Why did people jump out of buildings the first time Invasion from outer space was aired on radio ? hysteria.

 

[CWME]

My issue is these idiots out in the snow without the proper tires on. Bald tires in the snow makes for some dangerous driving... FOR THE REST OF US! I get slowing down and being careful when the weather is bad but 15 MPH because you have crap tires is a bit much to take. If you can't be bothered to get snow tires on your car stay home.

I, for whatever reason, keep getting stuck behind this young girl who really can't drive on pavement let alone snow. The front and back end of her car is a mess. Following her down RT25 in good weather is like rolling the dice waiting to get caught up in her inevitable fatal accident. Swerving all over the road, speeding up, slowing down, running the stop signs etc. Anyway...
Last year I was lucky enough to be following her(at a real safe distance mind you) and she got into a roundabout crossing RT 202. Well she decided that she was going too fast upon entry(too late now) and locked up her brakes. Slid into the snow bank at enough of an angle so she bounced back into the road now missing a headlight and turning lamp. She kept on going. Got down to Mcclellan road where Gorham Country Club is. If you know the area you know there is a REAL steep hill there. Well again she decided at the top that her entry was a bit too fast for the hill. I believe she was on her phone telling someone on the other end that she had already wrecked once. Locked up her brakes going down the hill... Slid this way, then that way... Lucky no one was coming up the road... She let go of the brakes (guess it finally kicked in as to why she had NO control. she held it on the road for a few hundred yards and then left the road to run over a mailbox and hit a snow bank. I would give her a 4.5 for the flight and landing... She came skidding to a stop in the guys drive way. As I was passing her she pulled back out onto the road and then followed me from there.

Rant over sorry for the hijack...

 

[CJ1]

Once again the media freaks the unwary: "STORM CENTER". "STORM"

"Quick Emma, gotta get bread and milk, bread and milk before the STORM hits." "STORM I tell you. "

With all our present day resources and comfort: " cocooned homes"; instant, constant, screaming world communication; morbid details about everything that we don't give a flying @#*&% about; levels of fear that the average rural dweller in any nation would find amusing; vehicles that can take people anywhere anytime in any conditions; and of course, the myriad of tools to tell others where you are what you are doing and how doing it......people still whine.

Right now it is the day before Thanksgiving. It is predicted that 8" to 10" of snow will fall here. Big F'in deal. It is near winter. It is normal. It is what happens when one lives in the world, especially north of certain latitudes. Normal. What is this frenzy ?

Flame you fools when ready----READY FIRE AIM. :confuse:

I agree 100%. And alot of it is because the majority of people cannot think for themselfs and are a bunch of pansies. A good example was the people cought in the snow storm on lake drive in Chicago last year. I am thinking it is winter you should have coats and blankets in your car, right? Walk 200 ft to a house and bang on the door!!! Have enough gas in your car!!! AAHHH the list is endless. How about this? wind, snow, drifting? Maybe!! Take a different route!!! Away from the lake. Another good example was about 6 years ago, we got over 3' of snow in about a 4 hour period. I plow so I was up a 4:00AM got my clients plowed out and the shop where I worked by about 8:00AM. Just as I was finishing the local sheriff announce a snow emergency. Now thats being on top of things!! NOT! CJ

 

[mga]

hey, if things ever got that bad and a storm like "the day after" movie ever hit, you can always eat the family pets and when they're gone you can always eat the neighbors.

 

[Dalmatian90]

Take a different route!!!

People don't know any.

Hell, they don't even have a basic sense of direction.

With the fire company we occasionally setup extended road closures on a main state highway, and I've seen plenty of folks either clueless with basic direction finding (Hmm, if detoured right if you keep taking lefts that don't say dead end you'll probably come back out on your original route further down the road...) or the town they live in (never traveled any roads other then the one they do every day).

But the one who took the cake was one of my nephews. He missed his exit on the highway going to the movies one night. He had to call his dad to be told, "Well, get off at the next exit, turn around and get back on heading the other way, and get off at the right exit."

It's also humorous listening to the scanner sometimes. Folks call the dispatchers often when they get lost. If they have a GPS enabled phone, the dispatchers will simply guide them out following them on the map remotely. If they don't, and the State Police are tied up, then a fire company will get sent to help find them and that's when it gets amusing because I get to hear more of the conversations.

Listened one day as the dispatcher was relaying to the Fire Chief the descriptions of the homes the lost caller could see. Think about that for a moment.

 

[slowp]

I got caught a year ago. I drove my non snow tired, no weight in the back two wheel drive pickup to work.
The Subaru was in the car hospital getting alternator number 4 installed and some other work done. We can get good snow accumulations, but they don't happen too often.

Well, that day it snowed about 6 inches of heavy, stuff. I didn't have chains because I don't drive my pickup in the snow. I shoveled as much snow into the back as I could, for weight and took off. I had a 5 mile drive, most of it on a major highway. The highway was hard packed and washboardy. They hadn't plowed it much. I would not have been driving fast on it in my Subaru either. I barely made it up the Huff and Puff hill. I pulled into the mechanic's to check on the Subaru. It was not ready, so I got unstuck after a bit of rocking, and headed on home. I couldn't make it up the final hill, so parked at my neighbor's and hoofed it. Since I had lots of vacation time, and nothing much was going on in the woods, I stayed home until the Subaru was ready to go. Subarus are great snow cars.

 

[Gologit]

Despite what Slowp says, there are California drivers who know how to drive on snow.:msp_biggrin: Most of the people who actually live in the mountains, especially the Sierras, do pretty good. They have to.

The problem we have is with people from the cities heading up to Donner or Tahoe to go skiing. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so scary. People buy little 4wd econ-box cars and figure they can drive them like high speed battle wagons on any kind of road surface and get away with it. Slowp's remark about the driver saying "I was only doing the speed limit" is dead on accurate. They figure with 4wd they can go as fast as they want. And they do. For a while.

They call our snow Sierra Cement and that's pretty accurate. Its thick and heavy and dense. Drift off the road a bit, get your tires caught in what looks like a harmless little slush pile and you'll be sideways, spinning, and off into the deeper stuff before you know it. The tow truck drivers station extra rigs on the highways that go to the ski areas. They stay busy.

Last winter we were on our way to work about half way up Donner Pass. There were three pickups from our outfit, 3/4 ton, 4wd, and chained up front and back. We don't chain up unless we have to but when we have to we chain up everything. We were chugging along about twenty miles an hour in the right lane on solid glare ice with a skiff of new snow on it.. The left lane hadn't been plowed yet and there was probably a foot of new snow there. A Subaru was following us and he was getting impatient with our slow progress. He whipped out to pass, hit the unplowed snow, bounced off the guard rail and did a couple of 360's, ending up in our lane, ahead of us, but stuffed into the snow bank that lined the road. The Subaru looked like somebody had beaten it with a baseball bat. We stopped to make sure everybody was okay. The Subaru driver was angry...really really angry. He ranted about the money he'd spent on buying a 4wd rig that was just totally useless in the snow...even with the cutesy litle cable traction devices on the tires that he'd paid somebody to install. He demanded that we pull him out of the snow bank since our slow pace had caused him to have to pass and was responsible for his wreck. We declined. We called the Highway Patrol for him, though. And, after seeing that nobody was hurt, we went to work. And left him there.

 

[Steve NW WI]

We get the annual driving in snow recertification test about this time of year, body shops and tow companies love it, cops and plow operators cringe. After that, 99% of the population remembers how to drive on snow.

Bread and water? Doesn't anyone have a cupboard anymore? I have enough food here to keep me going for months usually, I buy non perishable stuff in bulk, and only buy meat, eggs, milk etc. on a weekly basis. Water? I've got a clean, deep lake just down the road if I can't run the well. Worst case = ice auger and buckets.

If there's a STORM a comin, I'll check the beer fridge, but if they're calling for less than 2 feet, chances are the local is open feeding the snowmobilers and serving grog till closing. One of my friends owns a tavern and says his busiest day shifts are during snowstorms, people call in to work and go to the local instead.

Power outages are not the problem here that they are in other parts of the country, I don't know if it's better ROW maintenance, a sturdier transmission system, or just the fact that ice storms are less common up here, but I don't even own a generator. If needed I could rig something up with car batteries, but I've never been without power for more than 24 hours here.

I've not missed a day of work in the last 10 years due to weather, even with 45-60 mile one way commutes. As much as we like to complain about our road crews, they really do a great job of keeping things rolling up here. I do budget a LOT more time to get to work when the roads are bad, and watch 360° constantly for idiots threatening the sheet metal on my car.

OPE dealers LOVE the weather hype, lots of snow blowers and ATV plows and such get sold at full retail in the days before a storm, but the people calling wanting theirs fixed NOW can be a pain.

 

[colin.p]

Up here, in Eastern Ontario, a 6-8 inch snowfall is a pretty big storm. I always chuckle when people say "You live in Canada? You must get alot of snow". Actually, I find that east of Montreal to the east coast gets a heck of alot more snowstorms than we do here. Even down south of us in upstate New York (especially around Syracuse and to the Great Lakes) get quite a bit more than we do.
I work in a local grocery store (meat cutter) and one day last year, I over heard two old ladies talking about a forcasted upcoming icerain storm. One lady said she wasn't sure why she came into the store, as she really didn't need anything and had no room for the stuff she had in her basket, just because of the storm, she felt she had to stock up in more food.
I swear that retailers probably pay the weather department to come out with dire warnings of impending doom, just to get people to spend more money.

 

[turnkey4099]

Well, you should just call them back.

After they go by, and you hope they go by, doing their 360 cookies on the ice, (you noted that they were going too fast on the ice to begin with, hence the trick driving) they get out of their car that is now in the ditch. You ask if they are OK, they mumble and say they are now going to get studded tires so trick driving does not occur. When you comment about their speed, and they might want to slow down when driving on ice, they reply that they were doing the speed limit.

This was an actual California transplant, and perhaps a future Darwin Award nominee.

Couple years ago my housecleaning lady was mumbling about her 17 yoa son who had made flying 50mile trip. Said he'd been doing 65. roads snowcovered and slick. She ha got on him about "But Moooommm. I didn't ahve an accident and drive better than you do".

I live right on a major highway and get lots of slide offs, rollovrs etc near. Last count is 5 through the gaurdrail into a deep ditch directly in front of my house. I've lost track of how many within a mile each way. First snow always gets them. Seems they don't remember their experience last winter.

T'aint just the southern tansplants. Natives do it also, too fast, to close together, eyes firmly locked on the bumper directly ahead of them... And those are the "good" drivers.

When asked about how fast to drive on bad roads, I tell htem. Slow down till you feel comfortable and then cut that in half and you'll be about right.

Harry K

 

[beerman6]

It's always...bread,milk and eggs.

Do people crave french toast during a storm?