Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: K Frame on November 18, 2008, 01:10:29 PM
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I have such an urge to abandon my car in the travel lane and stock up on all the bread, toilet paper, and milk I can carry...
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It was 19 F this AM in Ames when I went off to work. Tomorrow is going to be 50 F for a high.
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Any inverted SUVs?
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No, not quite enough snow on the roads for a turtle.
But, that's always MY official start of winter.
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I have such an urge to abandon my car in the travel lane and stock up on all the bread, toilet paper, and milk I can carry...
Are you kidding!? People here FREAK about the FORECAST of snow. Not even the real stuff. (I'm in NOVA too)
My favorite example was my first winter here.
Now, I grew up in central Illinois. We knew it had to snow and snow HARD about 6 hours before school to get out of school that day. Otherwise the roads were cleared for the busses.
I went to college in Southern Michigan. We closed school ONE DAY (the four years I was there) because of an ice storm that knocked out power.
I wake up one morning to the radio broadcasting all the school closings in the area.
Excited (as I love snow) I get ready for an enjoyable day of the crunch beneath my feet, the large flakes floating down and other fun in the snow.
I walk outside. TO BRIGHT SUNSHINE. Not a cloud in the sky. Not a flake on the ground. Snow was forecasted for LATER IN THE DAY and the school districts all cancelled.
Now, I stay in every time it snows. This is because I know how to drive in snow. No one else seems to.
I just avoid them.
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I looked out the window and saw that and I wanted to cry. All I could think of was somebody plowing into me tonight on the commute home. An hour later I went outside and it was bone dry. There was much rejoicing.
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Tell me about it. I grew up in NJ and later PA. Stuff that shuts SC down wouldn't even have gotten my hopes up as a younger child.
The first snow while I was down here I show up for work and was like "Uhm,....wheres everyone?"
It was me, and the manager, everyone else called in because they couldn't get to work.
WTF?!? There was maybe an inch of the snow on the friggin ground.
The snow doesn't bother me, if I can drive an 80's camero in PA snow storms, I can drive down here in the coatings we get. It's the other drivers that scare the hell out of me.
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Tell me about it. I grew up in NJ and later PA. Stuff that shuts SC down wouldn't even have gotten my hopes up as a younger child.
The first snow while I was down here I show up for work and was like "Uhm,....wheres everyone?"
It was me, and the manager, everyone else called in because they couldn't get to work.
WTF?!? There was maybe an inch of the snow on the friggin ground.
The snow doesn't bother me, if I can drive an 80's camero in PA snow storms, I can drive down here in the coatings we get. It's the other drivers that scare the hell out of me.
Mine was Michigan snow storms. And an 80's Caprice Classic. Was THAT an experience!
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Imagine how well you would've done driving a Camaro... =D
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I grew up in Central Pennsylvania driving a Ford Maverick with a 302 V8.
I know all about how to get myself through snow.
Now I drive a Subaru Outback and things are even better.
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Mine was Michigan snow storms. And an 80's Caprice Classic. Was THAT an experience!
I just recall last winter watching a Mustang do ballet across an entire intersection.
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I just recall last winter watching a Mustang do ballet across an entire intersection.
I used to drive in the midwest winter with a 89 Mustang GT that had about 300 ponies under the hood, wasn't hard to get around if you keep your foot out if and it was a lot of fun when you did stomp the gas.
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I remember an S-10 two years ago going sideways through an intersection at 15mph.
I'd considered putting windshield wipers on the driver's side window after that little bit of excitement.
I installed a positraction 3rd member in the differential housing earlier this summer, instead.
Can't wait to try it out. =D
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Can't wait to try it out. =D
Make sure to pick a huge parking lot with out light poles. :)
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Imagine how well you would've done driving a Camaro
....oops
I used to drive in the midwest winter with a 89 Mustang GT that had about 300 ponies under the hood, wasn't hard to get around if you keep your foot out if and it was a lot of fun when you did stomp the gas.
Yes, yes it was =D Of course, my mother and grandfathers "This is how you drive in the snow" lesson was a large, open, empty parking lot in a snow storm making me do dough nuts till I was absolutely sick of them. Why? When you learn what sliding in snow feels like, you don't panic and do something stupid when it does start to happen. You also know what it feels like when you are about to start slipping. Part two of the lesson is how to avoid doing the spin out. Was great fun and has served me well.
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Yeah I learned to drive in snow living in Utah. Learned real quick.
Owning 2 4x4's helps.
Evil spawn #1 and I were out running errands in the "snow" today.
Me "Look, Scott, it's snowing"
Him "Where? I don't see snow" :lol:
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It was around 60 degrees here in MT today. I can't complain.
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I went to college in Southern Michigan. We closed school ONE DAY (the four years I was there) because of an ice storm that knocked out power.
I wake up one morning to the radio broadcasting all the school closings in the area.
Excited (as I love snow) I get ready for an enjoyable day of the crunch beneath my feet, the large flakes floating down and other fun in the snow.
I walk outside. TO BRIGHT SUNSHINE. Not a cloud in the sky. Not a flake on the ground. Snow was forecasted for LATER IN THE DAY and the school districts all cancelled.
Now, I stay in every time it snows. This is because I know how to drive in snow. No one else seems to.
I just avoid them.
I *almost* wish my college was like that. But then, if it was it'd probably be closed through most of the winter.
The only time I remember them closing for snow was when it was coming down so thick you couldn't see five feet out in front of you. That's the only time I remember campus closing for snow. Hell, they don't even close it when snow chains are required to get up the hill to get to campus.
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The only time I can remember my college in Central Pennsylvania suspending classes was because of a very heavy snow storm that overwhelmed the system. Many of the professors simply couldn't get to campus.
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Its offically winter here, saw a 4x4 turtle today in the median. 3" wet slick snowfall and the a-holes think they can still drive 65mph on Hwy 30.
Even saw a 4x4 pickup in the ditch with tire rolled off the rim.
I actually had to use 4x4 to get up a hill out of the Des Moines River bottom.
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The problem in SC and NC is not snow. The problem is snow followed by partial thaw followed by hard freeze. You can spot the idiots fairly quickly. I just stay inside and try to keep out of the way.
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I remember an S-10 two years ago going sideways through an intersection at 15mph.
I'd considered putting windshield wipers on the driver's side window after that little bit of excitement.
I installed a positraction 3rd member in the differential housing earlier this summer, instead.
Can't wait to try it out. =D
My truck's got a limper in it. Mtnbkr can attest that it can be a fun ride on ice..... :laugh:
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My brother warned me straight up that a positraction differential can be good in snow and ice, but also very, very, bad.
I hope it works ok this winter, because I installed the version that makes a slight clicking sound when cornering on dry pavement, based on his recommendations. Putting up with all that noise had better have its benefits. =D
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My brother warned me straight up that a positraction differential can be good in snow and ice, but also very, very, bad.
I hope it works ok this winter, because I installed the version that makes a slight clicking sound when cornering on dry pavement, based on his recommendations. Putting up with all that noise had better have its benefits. =D
Er, Limited Slips work better in Snow & Ice than Posi-Trac's do...
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We'll see.
My brother and I put a Detroit Locker in my little truck's 7.5", 10-bolt rear end, hence the faint clicking heard when going around corners.
Installation was actually quite easy, although it took a little getting used to, especially accelerating out of a turn, etc.
I figure I have another couple of weeks or so before the roads here give me the chance to really try the investment out.
At the worst, I'll have my wife drive the S-10 the 3/4 mile to her work, and I'll drive the Jeep Liberty the 15 miles to mine. =D
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I had my '65 GTO in the early 1970's when Milwaukee was getting hammered with snow. It was pointless to drive it.
I've tried every year to get my wife to do the parking lot training, but she just won't, so she'll never overcome her fear of driving in snow.
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My truck's got a limper in it. Mtnbkr can attest that it can be a fun ride on ice..... :laugh:
Remember. When you turn it turtle, that is the OFFICIAL start to winter in the DC metro region!
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A bump for this video of horrible winter driving (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-roeYQPscSc&feature=related) from Seattle a year or two ago. ( I know it says Portland, but it's really Seattle.)
People here have no idea how to drive in the snow and ice. We get about two or three nasty icy days a year, and everything shuts down for it. School gets canceled for a 1/2" of snow on the ground.
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Remember. When you turn it turtle, that is the OFFICIAL start to winter in the DC metro region!
I've got a couple Utah winters under my belt....not much around here that can ruin my day.
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I've got a couple Utah winters under my belt....not much around here that can ruin my day.
Oh, just wait. You'll be doodling along, all smug and secure in your knowledge that YOU know how to drive in crap weather, when some yutz, whose native language has 782 words for sand, but ZERO words for snow, does something INCREDIBLY stupid right in front of you, forcing you to take the kind of drastic measures that you would never even have to contemplate in a place where everyone knows how to drive in crap.
Cosmopolitan Washington, DC.
Home to Congress, the Smithsonian, and more people who should never be behind the wheel of a car than anywhere else on the face of the earth.
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Oh, just wait. You'll be doodling along, all smug and secure in your knowledge that YOU know how to drive in crap weather, when some yutz, whose native language has 782 words for sand, but ZERO words for snow, does something INCREDIBLY stupid right in front of you, forcing you to take the kind of drastic measures that you would never even have to contemplate in a place where everyone knows how to drive in crap.
Cosmopolitan Washington, DC.
Home to Congress, the Smithsonian, and more people who should never be behind the wheel of a car than anywhere else on the face of the earth.
Now that there is a good point.
:laugh:
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I'll tell you, it was a shock and a half when I first moved down here from Central Pennsylvania, where people knew pretty much how to drive in crappy weather.
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The entertaining part is the overreaction by the local media. Every little storm comes on like TEOTWAWKI.
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The entertaining part is the overreaction by the local media. Every little storm comes on like TEOTWAWKI.
And toilet paper and water fly off the grocery store shelves.
Honestly, when is the last time ANY storm in the DC area shut things down for more than two days?
Do people REALLY need that much toilet paper to last TWO DAYS?
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And toilet paper and water fly off the grocery store shelves.
Honestly, when is the last time ANY storm in the DC area shut things down for more than two days?
Do people REALLY need that much toilet paper to last TWO DAYS?
I really wonder why they don't already have enough TP for two days.
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"Honestly, when is the last time ANY storm in the DC area shut things down for more than two days?"
2003. President's Day, IIRC.
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpic80.picturetrail.com%2FVOL856%2F932748%2F1714717%2F20273295.jpg&hash=65c8a0b5791682c209b16d423789241f6c9f3810)
It snowed for over 30 hours.
I was able to get around in it, but things were pretty much shut down in Northern Virginia for quite awhile. There simply wasn't enough equipment to deal with the amount of snow we had. Some people didn't have their streets plowed for nearly a week.
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"Honestly, when is the last time ANY storm in the DC area shut things down for more than two days?"
2003. President's Day, IIRC.
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpic80.picturetrail.com%2FVOL856%2F932748%2F1714717%2F20273295.jpg&hash=65c8a0b5791682c209b16d423789241f6c9f3810)
It snowed for over 30 hours.
I was able to get around in it, but things were pretty much shut down in Northern Virginia for quite awhile. There simply wasn't enough equipment to deal with the amount of snow we had. Some people didn't have their streets plowed for nearly a week.
I remember that storm. I was only snowed in for a couple days. Apparently some people were stuck longer.
Nevertheless, people tend to over-react. Again, why does toilet paper disappear?
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We were at Massanutten for that storm. We got home a few days after the snow stopped falling and our street would still be tough to navigate by a regular vehicle.
I learned how to drive in the snow, in the mountains, with a 2wd vehicle, yet I frequently stay home for the day when the snow is bad because of "them".
Chris
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"Again, why does toilet paper disappear?"
My personal theory is that snow is a laxative.
I was taking my Subaru into parking lots that hadn't been plowed, and it was doing a fine job. I was leaving a 7-11 lot when a full-size pick up got stuck.
I felt smug.
The previous big snow we had that really impacted the area was in 1996.
I was snowed in with the ex in the midst of a marriage that was melting down.
That was uncomfortable as hell.
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yet I frequently stay home for the day when the snow is bad because of "them".
Chris
I don't blame you there, I still don't get how folks that live outside the snowbelt get so freaking worked up over a little snowfall but don't do shot when a hurricane is coming there way.
Speaking of that, I need to gather up a few supplies for the winter in case of extended power outages due to ice storms.
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"I still don't get how folks that live outside the snowbelt get so freaking worked up over a little snowfall but don't do shot when a hurricane is coming there way."
It's what you know and are used to.
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A bump for this video of horrible winter driving (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-roeYQPscSc&feature=related) from Seattle a year or two ago. ( I know it says Portland, but it's really Seattle.)
People here have no idea how to drive in the snow and ice. We get about two or three nasty icy days a year, and everything shuts down for it. School gets canceled for a 1/2" of snow on the ground.
Wow it looks like someone repealed half the laws of physics.
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Hell, when I was in college, they *never* cancelled classes because of snow.
Then again, I did attend UC Santa Barbara. =D
Sawdust
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I don't know why people outside the snowbelt get freaked out, either.
A few years ago I was driving through Indiana, doing 80 to 85 mph. It was snowing a bit, but light by Wisconsin standards. A trooper pulled me over and was acting as though I'd been doing 180 mph. He was ranting about all of the cars off the road, the interstate closed ahead (what?) and everything short of a nuclear attack.
When I got to Indianapolis, I was shocked to find the interstate closed. It was maybe 4-6" of snow, and they closed the interstate?
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I'm now in Central Pennsylvania. Had the wintery mix on my way up. No one was doing anything stupid.
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A bump for this video of horrible winter driving (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-roeYQPscSc&feature=related) from Seattle a year or two ago. ( I know it says Portland, but it's really Seattle.)
People here have no idea how to drive in the snow and ice. We get about two or three nasty icy days a year, and everything shuts down for it. School gets canceled for a 1/2" of snow on the ground.
Actually, it is Portland. The outside of the old Civic Stadium downtown is shown in the last part of the video. I used to work at KPTV many years ago when the studio was just a few blocks from there.
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"Honestly, when is the last time ANY storm in the DC area shut things down for more than two days?"
2003. President's Day, IIRC.
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpic80.picturetrail.com%2FVOL856%2F932748%2F1714717%2F20273295.jpg&hash=65c8a0b5791682c209b16d423789241f6c9f3810)
It snowed for over 30 hours.
I was able to get around in it, but things were pretty much shut down in Northern Virginia for quite awhile. There simply wasn't enough equipment to deal with the amount of snow we had. Some people didn't have their streets plowed for nearly a week.
I remember that one. I was in Central VA, still working at the nuclear plant, and not even dating the woman I'm now married to (but we were friends by that point). She was at a convention near Baltimore - and was snowed-in there for 2 extra days, IIRC (the attendees ended up making up a T-shirt to commemorate the event - "DonnerCon 2003" :lol:). I was held over at work that night, the double-time pay started about the time I went to sleep at 11PM and carried through until I was able to leave at the end of the next day's shift, at 7PM. That was nice... =D Driving home was still interesting, but doable.