The Great Flatlander Panic Attack of 12/13/07

[billski]

unimaginative

Further proof that the vast majority of people... are dumb...

-w

replace "dumb" with "unimaginative." When I lived waaaaaaaay up north, we always found ways to entertain OURSELVES. no videos, no tv, no 'puters, no gameboys.

Hockey on the pond, even without skates if you can't afford. Sledding on giant pieces of cardboard, snowball fights, snowmen, shoveling elderly neighbor's driveways (we always got $ even when we didn't ask), trips to the store for essential candy, and on and on. We would spend the whole day outside and Mom only worried if we had gotten frostbite yet.

Even today, sledding we always go out and do. If you're too old to participate, go watch from your car.

 

[billski]

Massena!

Ho Hum its all just another snowstorm in NNY -- sno-big deal
DON' mean sheeeeeit
Bilski you remember massena

just means the roads get plowed a liitle more often --

Ah, Massena, my birthplace and formative years, a special place in my heart.
Where snow is a PITA when it gets to be 6" or more
Where snow is NEVER an excuse to go home early or miss work/school
Where snow is ONLY an excuse to be late, maybe a half-hour or hour (and you 'd better have a damn good story to go with it!)
Where snow enables us to build the LARGEST snow forts a child could ever dream of.
Where we ran around outside in T-shirts when it hit 20F. We thought we were having a "heat wave."
When the going gets tough....wait for the plow....then go.
A town that doesn't draw out of town tourists who try to do dumb things. At least not in the winter....

People around here are absolutely astonished that I make it to work. (I have a theory about why our nation has degenerated so, but I'll save it...)

When I hear people panicking over 4" of snow, I think of three things, "wimps," "paranoid" and "feeble excuse". Sorry if I've offended many....

 

[WJenness]

replace "dumb" with "unimaginative." When I lived waaaaaaaay up north, we always found ways to entertain OURSELVES. no videos, no tv, no 'puters, no gameboys.

Hockey on the pond, even without skates if you can't afford. Sledding on giant pieces of cardboard, snowball fights, snowmen, shoveling elderly neighbor's driveways (we always got $ even when we didn't ask), trips to the store for essential candy, and on and on. We would spend the whole day outside and Mom only worried if we had gotten frostbite yet.

Even today, sledding we always go out and do. If you're too old to participate, go watch from your car.

I was referring to the concept of going out in the middle of the storm as opposed to before it... when all you're doing is renting a movie so when you're 'trapped' you have something to do... not to mention that they are obviously not trapped as they just went out in it...

-w

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Ah, Massena, my birthplace and formative years, a special place in my heart.
Where snow is a PITA when it got to be 6" or more
Where snow is NEVER an excuse to go home early or miss work/school
Where snow is ONLY an excuse to be late, maybe a half-hour or hour (and you 'd better have a damn good story to go with it!)
Where snow enables us to build the LARGEST snow forts a child could ever dream of.

People around here are absolutely astonished that I make it to work. (I have a theory about why our nation has degenerated so, but I'll save it...)

When I hear people panicking over 4" of snow, I think of three things, "wimps," "paranoid" and "feeble excuse". Sorry if I've offended many....

Whenever it snows more than an inch or two I get out of work early..which is sweet..

 

[billski]

I was referring to the concept of going out in the middle of the storm as opposed to before it... when all you're doing is renting a movie so when you're 'trapped' you have something to do... not to mention that they are obviously not trapped as they just went out in it...

-w

9 months after one blizzard, I forget which one, there was a little "boom-let" of childbirths. Now that sure beats watching DVDs.
:beer:

 

[nelsapbm]

Like Massena, you don't see any kind of "panic" in Vermont for a big storm. People come to work but may be a little late. No big rush at the grocery store. No hype on the news. Just another day.
Hope you're all having fun down there!

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

9 months after one blizzard, I forget which one, there was a little "boom-let" of childbirths. Now that sure beats watching DVDs.
:beer:

They should have stocked up on condoms before the Blizzard..:razz:

 

[billski]

They should have stocked up on condoms before the Blizzard..:razz:

I wonder if the drug store has run on them in the middle of the snowstorm?

 

[WJenness]

I wonder if the drug store has run on them in the middle of the snowstorm?

Thankfully, I (quite literally) have a CVS in my backyard... :smile:

-w

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I wonder if the drug store has run on them in the middle of the snowstorm?

Possibly..it's better to be safe than sorry and stock up..and they sell Jimmy-hatz at other places like grocery stores and bowling alley bathroom vending machines..lol..or hit up the local planned parenthood for freebies..

 

[skijay]

I work when the NYSE is open. People in the surrounding buildings have fled the area. It is 1:45pm and I am the only car in the lot. The lot will not be plowed until Friday morning. I am going to leave at 4:30pm. The worst part is when the town plows the street I may have to dig a little to drive out. I am glad I got the Blizzaks and a shovel in the vehicle. I am also glad I did not drive the Scion today.

When I used to work in Hartford, CT I would rather stay late and avoid the mass exodus in Hartford as the businesses start to let employees leave early. I use to dread that as the gridlock on the unplowed streets getting to the highways was incredible. A normal 10 minute drive from the parking garage to I91 was 45 minutes to an hour. I learned my lesson and would just stay and wait until 5 - 5:30 and have no traffic to deal with.

 

[WWF-VT]

It took me 6 hours to drive my 18 mile commute on 128 outside of Boston yesterday. Left my office at 2 PM and home after 8 PM. At the three hour markl I had only driven 10 miles. I can get from my house to Sugarbush in 3 hours !

 

[Warp Daddy]

Awful that rots ---------no excuse I live in snow belt country and we manage with no difficulty at all .

When i worked for 35 years my commute was 17 miles and i never missed a day of work because of snow or whiteouts . Our staff was used to winter driving whiteout conditions Once in 33 yrs i had to bunk in overnite at the college i worked at but that was it

What's the problem ?? Inadequete Removal equipment ? Lack of planning ? Crazy drivers ? Panic ?

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

it really is insane the news coverage for 2-4 inches of snow....and the panic.....its winter in the northeast, it snows, get used to it!!!!! I just dont get the hystaria.....if its really dumping, i just stay at work, let the morons go sit in traffic or if the office closes (which it doesnt 'cause i own the joint) we'll go to a restaurant, have some food, let the traffic go, let the plows do thier thing and get home as usual....

 

[cbcbd]

When I used to work in Hartford, CT I would rather stay late and avoid the mass exodus in Hartford as the businesses start to let employees leave early. I use to dread that as the gridlock on the unplowed streets getting to the highways was incredible. A normal 10 minute drive from the parking garage to I91 was 45 minutes to an hour. I learned my lesson and would just stay and wait until 5 - 5:30 and have no traffic to deal with.

I used to commute in/out of Stamford (now live here) and I would do the same. Everyone freaks out and would leave at around 1-2pm during big storms and traffic would be INSANE getting on 95 or the Merritt. I'd stick around 'till 5 or a little after - chill out, do whatever other things I had to do and then have a much better commute out with maybe a little bit more snow on the ground but a lot less cars.

On snow days when my company would advise us to stay and work from home I'd usually drive in because it was one of the few days there was almost no traffic!

Love the snow and those who fear it - they are too predictable

 

[WJenness]

Awful that rots ---------no excuse I live in snow belt country and we manage with no difficulty at all .

When i worked for 35 years my commute was 17 miles and i never missed a day of work because of snow or whiteouts . Our staff was used to winter driving whiteout conditions Once in 33 yrs i had to bunk in overnite at the college i worked at but that was it

What's the problem ?? Inadequete Removal equipment ? Lack of planning ? Crazy drivers ? Panic ?

Everyone knew the storm was coming... It seems everyone decided "I'm going to head home as soon as it starts snowing", as a result, EVERY ROAD (Highways, secondary roads, back roads) was jammed to the gills with cars as soon as the snow started falling. The snow didn't taper up, it went from nothing to puking in about 20 mins. Since the roads were littered with cars, no one could move, hence, plows couldn't plow, cars were running out of gas, getting stuck while trying to inch up a hill, panicking and creating their own lane (a woman I work with was telling us about a woman who created her own lane and took out three different cars' side view mirrors, and then when called on it flipped everyone off and kept trying to drive in her non existent lane as "I live right there".

My 12 mile commute took me 3 hours (including my stop at the liquor store).

A crazy day on the roads.

Plus side... no one on the road this morning for my drive to work.

-w

 

[severine]

My 12 mile commute took me 3 hours (including my stop at the liquor store).

If I had been out driving in that crap yesterday, I think I would have needed a stop at the liquor store, too! :beer:

 

[Zand]

Like I said in the snowstorm topic, I think yesterday's commute might be almost as legendary as the Blizzard of '78. Kids in some Boston schools didn't even get on the bus till after 9PM because their busses were stuck in traffic. They had to shut down 128 for a time just so they could get the cars off a little bit of it to start plowing because on the rest of the road cars were stuck in 10" of snow.I also heard 84 was shut down in Hartford. People abandoned their cars on 128 and the Pike.

 

[hammer]

This whole experience makes we want to put an air mattress and sleeping bag in my car on snowy days just in case I need to camp out at the office overnight...:roll:

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

i keep an extra set of clothes/toothbrush etc at the office...ya never know...the gym is across the street with showers etc...so if we are out locally with customers and i cant drive home..i crash in the office for the night....