Annual Northwest Weather Wimp Rant

[hausdok]

Hi All,

I might as well get it off my chest earlier this year. THESE FRIGGIN' NORTHWEST FOLKS ARE WEATHER PUSSIES !!!!

Temperatures dropped to the 30's in the day and 20's in the nights and we had a little snow - I think about 1/4 to 1/2 inch fell in Kenmore - and all the local news has had for three straight days is non-stop dramatic coverage of the (Gasp) ARCTIC BLAST !!! [:-scared]

They had some news reporter on TV all suited up like she was doing a spot from Antarctica in temps where I'm very comfortable in an ordinary unzipped down vest with long sleeve shirt. She was wearing so much crap it'll probably take her ten minutes to get enough off to be able to pee - what's the matter with these friggin' people!?

Tom, Rob, you guys need a good laugh, get on the internet and dial up Kiro7 or King5 news and watch the coverage. I swear, you'll be laughing so hard that you'll probably bust a rib.

These people think this is bad weather? Criminey, they should try spending a winter in upstate New York State or in Chicago or in New England or Ontario sometime. Gimme a friggin' break!

There was a light dusting flurry coming down the other night as I was on my way home from the afternoon inspection and 99% of the drivers were creeping along on the highways like nearsighted old ladies with dementia trying to find their way through a department store. Half of them sitting in one place with their tires spinning at 40mph and wondering why they weren't moving and the other half pulled off to the side of the road 'cuz they have no idea how to drive in snow. I just drove around them without a care in the world on my 5 year old all season radials.

I just find it so bizarre that I was practically idling by large 4WD vehicles that had tires designed for snow where the drivers were inching along at 5 mph and looked like they were about to have a coronary. What's the point of putting those tires on when you don't know how to drive?

They should make it mandatory that in order to get a drivers license everyone must go to a northern state and spend one month driving on snow-covered roads before they'll be allowed have a permanent license anywhere.

Got it off my chest. Hope I don't have to repeat this process again this year; but, given the frailty of our pioneering northwest types when it comes to these !!!ARCTIC BLASTS!!! it's my guess I'll be ranting again before too much longer. [:-timebm]

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jerry Lozier]

Agreed... whiney pussies

drove with westside drivers for over 30 years, they are the worst drivers in snow and ice...

-8 hear this am, but spectacular blue sky.

Schools shutdown here today because of harsh temps....go figure?

[Tom Raymond]

"Cars abandoned everywhere" That's a hoot. There'd still be a few bikers on the road in that kind of weather here.

[gtblum]

Maybe you should run a shuttle service to the mall on Black Friday. Think of the extra Christmas loot you could make!

[kurt]

Of course they're wusses.......it's all those lattes.

Morrison would fit right in.

[mgbinspect]

Ha! I'm praying for endless blizzards like last year, here in Virginia.. S N O W B O A R D I N G !.... Bring it on!!!!!

[Robert Jones]

Mike,

You are on point with this rant. I have been cracking up and road raging a bit:) I remember turning on the news yesterday and they were talking to a guy at SeaTac airport. He stated that it took him From 5:30pm Monday evening until 3am Tuesday morning to get from Harborview hospital to the airport. I immediately called BS, then thought abut it for a minute. We do have some of the worst drivers in this area when it comes to any type of foul weather. So that is 14 miles of all freeway driving and it took him over 9 hours. I still want to call BS on that one!

[John Kogel]

I can tell you that driving in Victoria BC on Monday afternoon was pure hell. I got a call in the morning could I fit one in , you bet. Left home early with a load of bricks in the Tacoma, 2 wheel drive four banger. Shovel and a rope are always on board. The highways were fine, dry, blowing snow. Approaching the city, I'm hoping the intersections are OK. No snowplows, no sand, no salt. They think it's Lotus Land. Stop and go became stop and spin pretty quick. All those spinning tires turn the snow into ice, and the best they can do is floor it and wonder why they're sliding sideways. A couple of semis lost traction. One guy was stopped facing oncoming traffic, chaining up so he can make the grade, and a lady in a brand new Acura coupe was spinning her wheels cross ways on the road. Traffic is piling up behind her at all kinds of crazy angles. I just crept by and got to the house with 10 mins to spare. You can be the best driver with the best wheels in town, but with idiots out there like that and no road crews to be seen, it was a relief to get out of there.

[Brandon Whitmore]

I was hoping that I wouldn't have to talk my way out of a ticket while on my 1.5 hour commute today. I was livin' in the left lane while passing all of the "white knucklers". I figured it wasn't illegal since the snow and ice was covering the painted lines on the road.

[Richard Moore]

But, but, but, it's so scary out there!

I was out on Monday afternoon when the wind started. The 300 yards from Fisherman's Terminal to Ballard Bridge took about 40 minutes. The elevated ramp and the overpass were basically sheets of ice. Most cars were fine, with just a little side slip now and then, but it only took a few spinning idiots to clog up the whole thing.

I live halfway up a steep hill and, I confess, I didn't try to go anywhere yesterday. Didn't need to, fortunately. All roads off our hill were full of kids (and adults) on toboggans and sleds. Made it to the supermarket and back today by a bit of doubling back, block by block, to find the lowest pitch roads.

While I agree about the wuss element, there is also the other extreme... the dingbats who have no fear (or sense) at all and end up creating accidents like the one that closed down the Aurora bridge.

I, for one, doubt this will be Mike's last rant of the winter. Maybe, next snow storm, we can clear the roads for his exclusive use? I'll look into it. []

[gtblum]

Around here, there's a Recurring pattern. The first snow is wet sloppy crap nobody can drive in.

The white knucklers are scared, and the cowboys are idiots out to prove they can fly by everyone. That is, until they crash and take the others with them.

Then there's the suv drivers. They just don't seem to understand that four wheel drive will not help you stop.

Then there's ABS brakes. An absolutely usless POS of an idea for this part of the map. You can stop straight, if you ever stop. Wish we could deactivate them. They're junk.

Seems like every year, people have to learn all over again.

It's a busy season for the body shops.

[hausdok]

I, for one, doubt this will be Mike's last rant of the winter. Maybe, next snow storm, we can clear the roads for his exclusive use? I'll look into it. []

Well, that won't be necessary but they should at least hire a snowbelt guy to honcho the snow clearing around here. I used to drive a snowplow parttime nights in my hometown and with our 1100 citizen tax base and far deeper and heavier snowload, I think we did a far better job of clearing the roads in a timely manner, and keeping them clear, than any of the numbnuts down at city hall are doing.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Richard Moore]

What's snow clearing? Actually, I do know that one as I used to live in Toronto. But, in my current hilly neighborhood, snow "response" simply entails moving the pre-positioned Road Closed signs from the sidewalk to the middle of the road at the top and bottom of the hills.

The problem here, I guess, would mainly be justifying a budget for the very infrequent need for a larger fleet of snow plows. You know how it goes..."Hey, I've been inconvenienced so why aren't there more plows. Oh, you want me to pay for them with taxes? Nope!"

[hausdok]

You know how it goes..."Hey, I've been inconvenienced so why aren't there more plows. Oh, you want me to pay for them with taxes? Nope!"

Man, ain't that the truth. So many of our fellow citizens have moved here from far larger cities with huge budgets compared to Seattle and King County'. When something like this happens they all start caterwalling and demanding to know why a city with less than 10% of the population of the place they came from doesn't have all of the 'stuff' they're used to. However, as we just saw during the election, the mere mention of any tax puts them all into a tailspin. Roads are a good example; they all bellyache about gridlock but when one proposes adding some more north-south movers the same folks start squawking about the environment and not-in-my-neighborhood syndrome kicks in.

During that big storm in January of 1996 they had only 13 snow plows for all of King County. It's been about 40 years but I think we had either 11 or 12 in my home town.

Oh well, such is life in the Emerald City I suppose.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Nolan Kienitz]

Also ... the "talking heads media folks" all want camera time and wishing/hoping/praying for the "big story". it has gotten worse over recent years with so much news/information possibilities available for use due to technology.

Recall a few years ago the young lady in a canoe during a flood in New Jersey posting a shot about rising, dangerous flood waters and in the background of the screenshot were a couple of people "walking' in about six-inches of water.

She was quickly slammed across the new-media system and (if I recall correctly) quickly terminated from that job.

From 1970 to ~1990 I was with The Associated Press (I was in the technical/communications side in charge of AP's worldwide delivery of news) I was able to watch/see many very good, but also many very prima donna reporters operate. It was good and bad.