Venting.

[Obese Wan Kenobese]

Well, there's an inch of snow. Nobody's going to work for a few days. Just stay home and make memes about perishable products as if people are mashing them together.

[ThreadJack]

Here in PA, we get a bunch of snow each year that comes as early as October and as late as April. Yet every year between May and October, everyone forgets how it works and how you drive in it...every year.

And everyone tears the grocery store down as soon as the forecast calls for it.

[Obese Wan Kenobese]

How do you drive in it? Do you slow down and keep more distance or something? No, wait! I've got it! Follow as close as possible while spinning our tires, and all our tracks will keep the snow melted. That's it right? 

[Drahcir]

I'm not convinced snow even exists.

[Majobu5]

What is snow, or snowflakes? Is it the colder brother of rain?

It sounds pathetic, but to be outside while snow falls is on my bucket list. It rains over 200 days a year in some places, but we can't get 200 hours of rain in a year here. My favorite lake where we always went every summer is at 13% capacity. Depressing

[Duff Man]

Here in PA, we get a bunch of snow each year that comes as early as October and as late as April. Yet every year between May and October, everyone forgets how it works and how you drive in it...every year.

And everyone tears the grocery store down as soon as the forecast calls for it.

same in ohio

How do you drive in it? Do you slow down and keep more distance or something? No, wait! I've got it! Follow as close as possible while spinning our tires, and all our tracks will keep the snow melted. That's it right? 

You watch those with the 4X4 shoot past you as they laugh............then hit that Ice patch and spin out then flip as you laugh.

[Obese Wan Kenobese]

You watch those with the 4X4 shoot past you as they laugh............then hit that Ice patch and spin out then flip as you laugh.

That happened in Kansas. I didn't laugh. They passed, as I said, "You fool! You're endangering us both!" They attempted to cross a section that had an underpass. I watched as they spun out and went off the road. Thankfully, into the grass instead of over the side to their deaths.

[Rapine]

Oh my goodness.  YOU seriously have that problem where you are?  I would've thought in your area people might actually have some sense about the snow.  At least where I am, where it only snows a couple times a year and we have no real equipment to speak of to clear the roads, it makes at least SOME kind of sense why the city shuts down from snow.  But dang...in Canada?  At least when I visited up there you guys seemed a lot more orderly about it.

Well, it seems like folks simply forget how to drive in icy conditions.  Also, they usually have summer or all season (which should be called three season) tires on - which, once the ambient temperature drops low enough lose all flexibility and grip.  It normally takes a couple of weeks before people get into "winter" mode - and put on winter tires! (they actually work - imagine that O_o).  Until then; road rage!

[Noctis]

Here, we have hurricane season.  All they have to say is "tropical storm alert"  (which means there maaaaaaay be heavy rain but there maaaaaaay not be anything at all) and people PANIC.  They clean out all the milk, bread, water, and batteries.  Everyone lines up to pump gas.

I've seen 3 major hurricanes my entire life and all I can think of every time someone does this is, "Milk spoils, bread goes stale, and we've never had a problem where we couldn't drink the tap water.  What the hell are you people doing?"

If I know we're getting one for sure, I just buy a bunch of canned salmon/tuna, some crackers, and lots of raw fruit and veggies.  Nothing to put in the fridge, nothing to go bad.

[Darth Logos]

Well, there's an inch of snow. Nobody's going to work for a few days. Just stay home and make memes about perishable products as if people are mashing them together.

You can always tell how far south someone is by what they consider "a lot" of snow. For us it takes at least 18" to consider shutting the roads down.


In other vents.....



This is how I feel when my tablet starts giving me shell.

[Darth Justicar]

The water, at least, is something that can become a problem in a scenario where water pumps stop working in an extended power outage and you ultimately lose water pressure.  Or if there is damage to the system during the storm that results in a boil water order.  Both are rare but it can't hurt to be prepared within reason.

I'm no prepper, but since I'm single and it's easy to do, I do try to keep more than the average American's supply of only three days of water and food in the house.  (I'd guess that when I'm properly stocked, my reserve is two to three weeks.)  I've actually seen a massive "inland hurricane" here that hit without warning and took out power to parts of the city for a couple of weeks due to 100 MPH straight line winds.  It was actually worse than either of the tropical storms I've gone through.  But based on that, I don't entirely trust our power company in the event of a major emergency, and I'd rather be able to get through a couple weeks without playing the whole grocery store stampede game, in case we have another really ugly derecho, or a near miss with a tornado.

The whole thing with buying perishables though...that's dumb.  On that I completely agree.  Even if you put a bag of ice in your freezer to try to get through a power outage, it won't get you through 24 hours without power.  I tried that in college when a tropical storm was coming, and lost power thanks to a fallen tree.  I still lost everything in the fridge and freezer.  I probably could've gotten through a few hours without power, but not the full 24 hours it took for them to get the tree off the line and get power back up.

[Rapine]

I remember the blackout of '03.  The entire eastern seaboard - from the maritime provinces to somewhere near the Mason/Dixon (SC; WVA; MD?) went dark for 48 hrs.

We'd just returned from camping like 30mins before, so had all our coolers packed, and flashlights ready.

There were line-ups blocks long for gas, and store shelves had been severely picked over.  I went to a variety store to get a bag of ice, and the guy wanted to charge me $10.  I said: "Ok, I'll be back in an hour".

It's like that for a long-weekend too though.  People lose their freakin' minds, when the stores will be closed for an extra day.

[Jev Moldara]

I remember the blackout of '03.  The entire eastern seaboard - from the maritime provinces to somewhere near the Mason/Dixon (SC; WVA; MD?) went dark for 48 hrs.

We'd just returned from camping like 30mins before, so had all our coolers packed, and flashlights ready.

There were line-ups blocks long for gas, and store shelves had been severely picked over.  I went to a variety store to get a bag of ice, and the guy wanted to charge me $10.  I said: "Ok, I'll be back in an hour".

It's like that for a long-weekend too though.  People lose their freakin' minds, when the stores will be closed for an extra day.

Oh the joys of price gouging. I do believe that's highly illegal in most states. I know that in Texas during a natural disaster or other civil emergencies, price gouging on necessities (water, basic staples, fuel, ice, etc) falls under deceptive trade practices. Businesses have been forcibly shuttered and owners arrested for price gouging.

[Darth Justicar]

True.  And when Katrina came, I believe some states even imposed rationing of gas along with price controls.

That said, if you end up with a New Orleans style breakdown of law and order, all bets are off on stuff like that.  As the saying goes, any society is within three meals of anarchy.  (It may be something like three days, in modern times.)  Hence my thought that I should be able to shelter in place for at least a few weeks before having to venture out.

[ThreadJack]

What annoyed me most, when I worked at the grocery store, was the next day after the snow. Even when it was pretty bad, people would show up for the silliest things. The same people who would be in the store tearing it down the night before, would then proceed to drive in dangerous conditions to get artichoke heart and a bottle of KY Jelly.