Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/11/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 05:53 PM 11/27/2006, Lawrence Zeitlin wrote: >Going in snow is no big deal. It's the stopping that is the problem. Absolutely. I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home to a LOT of snow -- rarely anything heavy, but it was not uncommon in my youth for us to have 10" (25cm) over two or three falls in a week, with the next week doing the same. I now live in Virginia, where we tend to get a LOT of snow at once -- every four or five years, we'll get 20" (50cm) over a 36-hour window. It will melt within a couple of days as some 68F (20C) (and just who notes the photographic connection here?) -- but we do have fun in the meantime, with all of these folks who just do not understand that to drive in snow, you get to a speed, maintain course, and pick your course so that you do not need to stop. Avoid major roads. Avoid stoplights. Be VERY careful but, whenever possible, ignore stop-signs: if you drive at night, you can see if there is oncoming side traffic by looking for headlights. DO NOT STOP: once you stop, getting started again may be a bitch. Once you are going, stopping can be a horror. The trick is to drive four or six blocks ahead and to plan very carefully. Plan on dropping your speed when you come to your house or else you might end up plowing through that plate-glass window in your living room and confusing your dog no end! And, for God's sake, do not go to the Grocery Store This is the great Social Occasion for the un-snow-cool USians. When the Weather Guys tell us a snowstorm is coming, the Lemmings all tromp off to the local Kroger or Fred Meyer to load up on bread and eggs and bacon as if the new Ice Age is coming: guys, this IS the age of Global Warming! Now, if you want to pick up some really good raw oysters or escargot or kippered herring at your nearest Fresh Market, well, that is a totally different thing, AND they play classical music in the background, generally Mozart or Hayden or Bach, and not the Golden Oldies favored by Kroger. Stay dry. Stay warm. Avoid getting stuck. Avoid a horizontal divergence malfunction. And always check out the Weather Channel or Accuweather some days in advance and arrange a prompt visit to the Class VI store as appropriate! Marc msmall@aya.yale.edu Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!