Post by: thebaldguy on February 23, 2007, 04:12:12 PM
The girlfriend and I have just finished all of our emergency prep. We're well stocked up on beer, wine, booze, and mixers. Went grocery shopping and got lots of emergency rations like shrimp, homemade pizza fixings, tex-mex fixings, blueberry muffins and croissants. Got some sushi to go for tonight, just in case. Might have to bake up some brownies as well for a chocolate emergency. Got an extra pack of smokes as well. The unviewed DVDs will get looked at, and lots of hockey on tv this weekend. Got The Weather Channel on the other tv.
The snowblowers are ready to go. We'll probably have a few beers with the neighbors in the alley during snow removal ala Hank Hill and his crew on King of the Hill. And of course, a run over to the tax guy in the snow with the 4x4 to pick up the completed taxes. We're already arguing about who gets to drive.
Eight PM, but no flakes yet. Let's see how much we'll get. My girl thinks this is way overhyped and we won't get much, but I told her you can never have too much shrimp in the freezer ready to go...
Post by: Standing Wolf on February 23, 2007, 04:44:55 PM
Post by: charby on February 23, 2007, 04:45:25 PM
I told me wife as long as I got booze and cigarettes I can ride out the storm this weekend.
-C
Post by: Sindawe on February 23, 2007, 04:47:16 PM
Post by: Gewehr98 on February 23, 2007, 05:51:17 PM
So I put an old blanket on the windshield and over the cowl air intakes, and used the doors to tension the blanket. (an old trick I learned as a kid 30years ago) Tomorrow, or whenever the snow stops, all I have to do is open the doors and remove the blanket, hopefully with no packed snow in the cowl air intakes to prevent the heater from working well.
I see the county has the plows running at regular intervals on the highway behind my house. Winter may have gotten a late start up here, but it looks like the crews will get a full season's worth of work.
Yeah, from the looks of what's accumulating outside my office window, and the radar summary, we're gonna get a bunch of the white stuff, and it's at the end of February. Wonder if the globular worming activists are paying attention?
Post by: Monkeyleg on February 23, 2007, 06:08:08 PM
God, how I hate this state. The politics, the taxes, the weather, the constant road construction...
Why am I here?
Post by: Gewehr98 on February 23, 2007, 06:30:07 PM
Quote
Why am I here?
The cheese, man, the cheese!
(Ducking and hiding) I came back to my beloved Wisconsin after a 20+ year hiatus, spending time in Kalifornia, Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Texas, Okinawa, Japan, Thailand, India, England, Germany, Venezuela, Australia, and Spain.
Despite the liberals in Madison and the deluge of snow, I'm happy to be home. I'm breathing real air, my AK and AR aren't threatened by the Kalifornia DOJ, and my new home won't be destroyed by two hurricanes in rapid succession. Life is good.
Post by: RadioFreeSeaLab on February 23, 2007, 08:33:20 PM
Post by: Monkeyleg on February 23, 2007, 09:09:25 PM
I'm surprised you left Texas.
I really hate this state. And I'm not alone.
Earlier last year, a state senator called me to talk about the CCW bill.
I told him that it was the goal for my wife and me to move down south. Tennesee, Mississippi, somewhere like that.
He said, "Dick Baker! I can't believe that you'd consider leaving Wisconsin!"
"Why not?," I asked.
He said, "because my wife and I are thinking about leaving, too. We're sick of the taxes, the politics, the weather, and everything else about this damned state."
I shot back at him quickly. "Ok, Dave. One of the most senior members of the WI state legislature wants to move somewhere else. What message should that send to us peons?"
The answer was that maybe we could all live close to each other in AR, TN or another southern state.
God, I hate Wisconsin.
Post by: J.J. on February 23, 2007, 09:25:20 PM
I'm surprised you left Texas.
My thoughts exactly. All this talk of a snow storm.. and I enjoyed the heck out of the 80 degree weather we had today.. Ahh Texas....
Post by: Gewehr98 on February 23, 2007, 09:51:40 PM
I love the snow, and love having four distinct seasons each year. I hunt in November, ski, snowboard, and snowmobile in the winter, and wrassle in the white fluffy stuff with my big St. Bernard/Catahoula Leopard mix until he tires of it. (He loves the snow, too) That's one factor in my returning here after my first career. The other factor is I promised Wife #2 I wouldn't keep her in Florida if she didn't try to drag me back to Kalifornia. Texas was a wash for me, my Spanglish ain't so good, and you really need it around San Angelo way.
When I get up to Dick's age and my blood thins out (right around the time I start wearing black socks with sandals and Bermuda shorts), then maybe I'll pine for the warmth of Phoenix or Scottsdale, AZ, and that beautiful Airstream trailer on a concrete slab with Astroturf for a lawn - weekly shuffleboard matches and potluck get-togethers optional.
In the meantime I've got more than enough intestinal fortitude to stick it out up here while others whimper, whine, and gear up to emulate Gawd knows how many other migratory Snowbirds. I've been to a lot worse places...
Post by: Strings on February 23, 2007, 10:32:16 PM
Hmmm... that might be interesting: can you imagine the block parties possible with you, Dave, and I ?
We just have to keep the squirrels away form ya... :neener:
Post by: bedlamite on February 23, 2007, 10:38:23 PM
Bill, let me know where you want to move to, so I can go somewhere else
Post by: 280plus on February 24, 2007, 01:37:25 AM
Quote
my big St. Bernard/Catahoula Leopard mix
I'd like to see a pic of that!
Post by: gunsmith on February 24, 2007, 02:42:07 AM
Post by: El Tejon on February 24, 2007, 03:14:35 AM
There's so much salt on the streets that I bought a soft pretzel from a push cart yesterday and I intentionally dropped it on the street to get extra salt.
Post by: 280plus on February 24, 2007, 03:48:36 AM
Post by: charby on February 24, 2007, 04:00:27 AM
-C
Post by: Manedwolf on February 24, 2007, 04:53:41 AM
In northern New England, a foot of snow means you get up a half hour earlier, shovel and go to work. So does everyone else.
Post by: El Tejon on February 24, 2007, 05:48:53 AM
"Yaaah, this weather is wicked. I gotta drive my cahhhhr to the bahhhr."
Post by: Gewehr98 on February 24, 2007, 06:26:26 AM
Think about a 100-pound oversized Border Collie-looking thing, that still falls asleep with his lower jaw on my sternum every night. (He somehow feels/hears my heartbeat and it puts him to sleep, how weird is that?)
Bernie at 12 weeks:
Bernie at 2 years, in Florida:
Bernie this winter, playing "catch me" in the snow:
Blizzard warning in effect now from 6PM tonight until noon tomorrow. I have to go shovel the driveway, there's a big white lump where my truck used to be...
Post by: Lee on February 24, 2007, 07:05:52 AM
Quote
"Yaaah, this weather is wicked. I gotta drive my cahhhhr to the bahhhr.
Thehs a flar in your Bostonian. R's are only used wheh they don't belong. It would be, I dropped my keys on the flah of the cah.
Confusing Boston Real Estate Ad - FS "Flawless Home"
What do you walk on, if it has no flaw.
Post by: Car Knocker on February 24, 2007, 08:28:20 AM
There's so much salt on the streets that I bought a soft pretzel from a push cart yesterday and I intentionally dropped it on the street to get extra salt.
Being next to the Great Salt Lake, we use a LOT of salt. UDOT, a few years ago, stated that in an average winter we use 4.5 tons of salt per lane/mile. On a 12-lane freeway, that's 54 tons of salt every mile, every winter.
Post by: thebaldguy on February 24, 2007, 08:40:14 AM
The girlfriend wants to break into the emergency tex-mex rations for some homemade goodies; oven baked flautas with rice and beans. Tequila rations in the form of margaritas may be in order. The U of MN Gophers got beat by the St. Cloud State Huskies in hockey last night, but tonight they're home against 'em. Should be another good game to watch. Maybe we'll get out and do some snow removal sometime today. We'll see what happens. A good weekend to relax and hang out.
By the way, we're thinking of retireing in Texas; winters down south and summers up north. Maybe Texas residency to avoid high taxes in Minnesota. Only 19 more years to go!
Post by: 280plus on February 24, 2007, 10:47:57 AM
Post by: lee n. field on February 24, 2007, 12:35:36 PM
Quote
The girlfriend and I have just finished all of our emergency prep. We're well stocked up on beer, wine, booze, and mixers. Went grocery shopping and got lots of emergency rations like shrimp,
Hey, don't forget videos. The wife said Bustblocker was unusually crowded. Pre storm frenzy (storm hasn't ammounted to hardly squat here yet, though they;re talking snow and sleet tonight.)
Post by: charby on February 24, 2007, 12:35:51 PM
Storm update here....
So I decided to go for a drive and pick up some gas for the snow blower. Realized that all I had was what was in the tank plus I wanted some apple flavored iced tea the filling station has in the coffee area.
It was sleeting/raining at the time and the trees were getting weighed down, all the pines look so sad and droopy. The roads were wet but there was no one out driving around.
The trees in my yard have shed some branches from the ice so I'll have some clean up when the snow melts.
Just started snowing, supposed to get up to 8" of wet snow, oh well another February storm. If tomorrow was Monday I'd get up on time, clean the drive and walks and show up to work half hour late but still before everyone else shows up. No one really ever cares about start time on snowy mornings.
-C
Post by: Monkeyleg on February 24, 2007, 01:44:47 PM
That may not seem like a lot to somone in Connecticut, but it's definitely a lot for Milwaukee.
OTOH, up in Michigan's UP, where my parents grew up, they'll often finish out the winter with over 300 inches on the ground.
So, take that, Connecticutters.
Post by: charby on February 24, 2007, 02:10:32 PM
I'm bored at home...
Post by: 280plus on February 24, 2007, 02:27:25 PM
Post by: charby on February 24, 2007, 02:48:26 PM
Phuh,,, we ain't hardly seen a LICK o' snow this winter. But I'm not complaining because the dang snowblower is busted again. Every year the thing won't start, no matter what I do. I even tried it at the beginning of the season and it ran fine, but come the first real shitstorm we had and nope, not gonna run anymore. Arrgghhh...
Mine had that problem last year, problem ended up being I filled the gas tank with fuel in October and by December the octane dropped so much that I couldn't get it started when the temps were below 20 degrees. So now I use a 1 gallon can, purchase fresh fuel before the storm and only fill the tank up part way. (put what is left in the can into my trucks gas tank) I only fill the tank up part way to try and keep the amount of fuel held over between snowfalls to a minimum. I also started putting a squirt of PRI in the fuel and only buying the highest non oxygenated octane fuel, here in Iowa that is 93 octane.
So far it started everyday I needed it and one day it was -5 F. Mine is a pull start only 10 hp, even with Mobile 1 for oil it is still a bitch to pull the rope when it is below 10 F.
PRI is like stable but I have only seen it sold in marine catalogs/stores. With my boat it keeps the fuel good until I run out, sometimes two season depending how much I actually use the boat. The last time I bought it it was $16 for a bottle that was good to treat 256 gallons of fuel.
Post by: 280plus on February 24, 2007, 03:03:23 PM
Post by: Gewehr98 on February 24, 2007, 03:04:05 PM
The manager at the local Pick-n-Save was our bagger tonight. There were a lot of bare spots on the shelves, and he said it's been madness since the blizzard warnings Friday. Likewise, Blockbuster here has been besieged. But I did see both Glass Nickle Pizza and Pizza Hut delivery cars cruising through the neighborhood. I hope they get extra tip money tonight...
Yup, people think Bernie is a Bernese Mountain Dog. He's not, just a total accident between a St. Bernard papa and a really butt-ugly Catahoula Leopard Dog mama. I saw his mama, she was nursing Bernie and his siblings at the Humane Society when I first fostered him and his current housemate. He never went back at the 12 week point, and the Humane Society never called me telling me to bring him back. So here it is, 3+ years later, and I have both Bernie and Quinn.
Post by: charby on February 25, 2007, 04:41:45 AM
My bird feeder pole is all bent to hell from a plum tree falling on it. I may keep it can call it modern art.
-C
Post by: thebaldguy on February 25, 2007, 07:47:10 AM
Hopefully roads will be clear for rush hour Monday morning.
Post by: El Tejon on February 25, 2007, 07:49:04 AM
Freezing rain which turned into rain as it warmed up overnight. I guess they got snow up around Lake Michigan. Beverly Shores where I go during the summer got a bunch of snow, but down here we got rain, buckets of it.
Washed away the snow except for the mounds in the parking lots. It's now 45 and I'm off to the range which will be mostly quicksand with all the mud. Blek! Maybe I should have taken that AUSA gig in Houston in '95.
Post by: Gewehr98 on February 25, 2007, 09:39:43 AM
I don't think it really snowed that much, but instead drifted in some places thanks to the wind gusts. If I open the vertical blinds to our back sliding door, you'll see 2 feet of snow up against the glass, level at the same amount all across the back deck.
Around midnight last night we had "thundersnow", which was kind of like one huge flashbulb going off in the opaque cloud deck, vs. distinct lightning bolts. The power flickered when it happened, and my first reaction was to head to the garage and get ready to fire up the generator and switch over to my 24v inverter backup system as needed.
We dug the truck out, and freed our mailbox from the county-plowed berm. The plow came screaming through once again as we were finishing up that end of our driveway, so we all stood at the end of the driveway waving our shovels at him like angry villagers chasing Frankenstein's monster. He got the hint, and gave us our space vs. plowing us in again.
Right now as I look out the office window, I see #2 stepson has his snowboard out and is using the berm we created on the side of the driveway, as well as the county-created berm, for a personal ski-jump ramp.
Post by: charby on February 25, 2007, 12:04:13 PM
I have a Siberian Elm in my side yard that lost about 1/3 of the branches, probably have to come down this spring becuase who knows what stress fractures happened to what is left of the tree. Plum trees out back are probably gone also. The white pines lost some branches but probably be okay.
Pushed a car out with Arizona plates that got hung up on the side street in the plow berm. He didn't have a clue how to get out, plus I guess in Arizona the don't understand you go to keep momentum up to get out the snow gumbo. Took him about a dozen attempts with me and 2 neighbors across the street to get him out.
I had my slowblower running at the same time and it ran out of gas, so I filled the tank about half full to finish and the pull cord broke but luckily the motor caught and started. Finished up and took Mrs Charby on a see storm damage/4x4 on side streets tour.
John Deere dealership was closed on Sunday so I went to Lowes to get a replacement pullcord, they wanted $7 for one, so I went and bought 50' of 5/16" nylon rope for $2.50. Got home and fixed it, now my green snowblower has a purple pull rope.
Called my parents in the AM and they had been without power since 2PM on Saturday and Dad was called out to an emergency 60 miles from their home. I guess the railroad needs electricity to work.
-C
Post by: Gewehr98 on February 25, 2007, 01:01:21 PM
I was reading the Wisconsin DOT road reports at midnight and 3 AM today, with stretches of the Interstate labeled "Ice Covered and Hazardous" or even "Impassable".
It saddened me to hear that a woman, her teenage daughter, and 8 year-old nephew decided to head somewhere during the blizzard, then lost control of their minivan on a curve and hit a county snowplow truck head-on. The mother and daughter died instantly, the nephew was declared dead at the hospital. The snowplow driver escaped unharmed, but was seriously traumatized by the event.
So what was so damned important that they had to go buzzing around in their minivan during the worst blizzard of the year?
Highway 151 runs behind my back yard. Earlier this morning, my wife and I had the dogs out back for a potty break when we heard the distinctive crunch of metal-on-metal coming from the highway. One driver got squirrely, and another ran right into him, sending both of them into the shoulder.
If there's anything ironic about the storm and how people handle it, it's looking in the medians and shoulders for vehicles that spun out, and seeing Explorers, Suburbans, Tahoes, Cherokees, Durangos and other big 4x4 vehicles, some flipped on their sides or even upside down. They seem to have an invincibility thing going...
Post by: grislyatoms on February 25, 2007, 01:17:23 PM
If there's anything ironic about the storm and how people handle it, it's looking in the medians and shoulders for vehicles that spun out, and seeing Explorers, Suburbans, Tahoes, Cherokees, Durangos and other big 4x4 vehicles, some flipped on their sides or even upside down. They seem to have an invincibility thing going...
Coming back from Colorado Springs through the storm that hit a couple days before New Years I saw this all too frequently. I was in the granny lane doing about 30-35, hubs locked in, switching in and out of 4x4. The granny lane had recently been plowed, the hammer lane had not.
Toyota pickup passed me in the hammer lane doing 50-55!
5-6 miles down the road, there it was, same Toyota on it's side in the median. I didn't stop, a snowplow and a couple other vehicles had already stopped. Saw quite a few others in the median and off the shoulder, too. I guess folks think that 4x4 will make up for lack of driving skill and common sense.
Post by: Monkeyleg on February 25, 2007, 01:26:31 PM
Yes, 4x4 enables one to get a faster start in snow. But some drivers forget that those vehicles have the same humble braking systems as two wheel drive vehicles.
The best winter car I ever had was a 1972 Buick LeSabre. That car would go through just about any amount of snow, provided the driver had the skill. It also had the largest ashtray I've ever seen in a car. Could probably hold two packs of butts.
The worst winter car was my '65 Pontiac GTO. If there were more than three snowflakes on the ground, I'd just sit at the stoplight with the rear tires spinning.
Post by: Manedwolf on February 25, 2007, 01:58:02 PM
If there's anything ironic about the storm and how people handle it, it's looking in the medians and shoulders for vehicles that spun out, and seeing Explorers, Suburbans, Tahoes, Cherokees, Durangos and other big 4x4 vehicles, some flipped on their sides or even upside down. They seem to have an invincibility thing going...
Coming back from Colorado Springs through the storm that hit a couple days before New Years I saw this all too frequently. I was in the granny lane doing about 30-35, hubs locked in, switching in and out of 4x4. The granny lane had recently been plowed, the hammer lane had not.
Toyota pickup passed me in the hammer lane doing 50-55!
5-6 miles down the road, there it was, same Toyota on it's side in the median. I didn't stop, a snowplow and a couple other vehicles had already stopped. Saw quite a few others in the median and off the shoulder, too. I guess folks think that 4x4 will make up for lack of driving skill and common sense.
Yes, they seem to think they're invincible, until the combination of a high CG and stupidity in using BRAKES ON ICE causes them to end up rubber-side up. Every winter here, turn on the news, there's an inverted SUV.
Post by: charby on February 25, 2007, 02:50:33 PM