Bring on the snow damnit!!!
 

You can tell that a possible snowstorm is coming (and I say "possible" b/c you just never know these days). I was at the grocery store earlier...supplies of milk and toilet paper were depleted (and the bread supplies probably were too).

The numbers keep going up...5-8 inches possible as of 10 minutes ago. And I'm prepared...food on hand, along with toilet paper, boots, gloves, and plenty of gas in Putt-putt. No need to worry about shoveling and salting...that's why I live in an apartment. I'll probably get up a tad earlier tomorrow, since SEPTA starts acting up the minute a rain drop falls. But given how I feel about my job (and the fact that I'm supposed to leave early tomorrow anyway for a doctor's appointment), I'll get there when I get there.

I know that the snow is a bitch for many...shoveling, salting, trying to commute to and from work, what to do with the kids if schools are closed...but I love the snow. We only got one damned snow last year...4 inches...and it disappeared in a day. The last good storm I saw was 3 years ago in DC...12 inches of snow in January, then 19 more in February...I was snowed in a total of 4 days. :)

I'll probably go out and make a few snow angels in the field out back. Then I'll head up to the State Liquor Store to see if they have any Pennsylvania Dutch Egg Nog in stock...that's pretty good stuff...and it has a hell of a kick too (20% alcohol, IIRC).

So anyway, you peeps in Philadelphia take it easy out there tomorrow, and if you see a man in black with a silly grin on his face roaming Center City or Torresdale tomorrow, just wave. :)

My opinon on snow is, if it's going to be cold it had better snow.

Is Philly shut down?

This storm is tracking all wrong, I promised my Canadian sister-in-law significant snow after Christmas, when they visit from the left coast. We would've kept that snow around till spring... don't waste this storm people.

Not quite...some schools and businesses are still open from what I've seen. My company is officially closed, but unless they send security personnel to drag me out of here, I'm staying until 2:15. I don't get paid for snow days...although, I could claim unemployment for today...nah.

This much snow is pretty much within what the town has historically be able to handle, although it's a bit unusual to have this much this early in the year; big snows are more typical for Jan-Feb. All the schools are closed, though.

There's gonna be somewhere between 5-9 inches on the ground depending where you are in the area...I'm guessing about six or seven here in the northwest suburbs around the Valley Forge area.

They are dismissing the rural schools early here. It used to take a significant snowfall to shut 'em down back in the day.

...uphill, both ways... :-)

...after working my shift in the mine.

No snow days for me either ...
 

I'm just kicking back, waiting for the ambulance to come get me ...

to take me TO WORK, gang!! I'ts "my" ambulance.

(I've always wanted to get that ride into work from the national guard, but so far our own crew has been able to get around in every storm)

Ya know what's even more fun? Ice storms. I used to live in Nashville TN where the snow never stayed long (the ground was generally too warm. But, we would get cold snaps that would cause the top 1/2 inch of water everywhere (roads, trees, powerlines) to freeze in place. Havoc everywhere. Of course, this is also the same state that closed schools on the threat of snow as well, so take that as you will.

20 miles each way, right? :)

They told us to go home at 12. Stopped at the bank, the liquor store, and the grocery store...got home just after 2.

Read this shit though...

The company I temp at has two buildings--5th & Market (operations...where I'm at) and 16th & Market (corporate). When I arrived at work this morning, there was an e-mail saying that both buildings were closed. About half the staff had arrived at work, so many stayed to do some odds and sods work. My whole plan was just to do some extra work, since I'm swamped right now.

Apparently, the vice president of operations was pissed about the closing...b/c he had not been informed of it. He then said that staying was voluntary but that the office would remain open. He left a short time later.

(Look buddy...HR is trying to avoid lawsuits as is corporate. If they say we're closed, you shut the fuck up and play ball...fucking piece of shit.)

So, another e-mail comes out...1601 Market is closed, but 400 Market is open.

What?

WHAT?!

Do they realize how incredibly bad that looks? Okay, so the corporate bigwigs who can't get out of their mansions in South Jersey and Chester County can stay home, but us operations peons who live in the city and the inner suburbs are being asked to stay? As one employee sarcastically put it, "I guess that snow up at 16th Street is really bad if they're not opening."

At 11:30, another e-mail...400 is voluntarily open. 20 minutes later, I get a call from my co-worker...they're shutting us down...go home. Approved by the managers who were still there. We're supposed to get paid for the whole day, so fuck it...I'm leaving.

I'm now comfortably at the crib. I have my bottle of egg nog and some food in my belly, so I'm set.

another uphill both ways story:
the first year that I came to school here (University of Minnesota Twin Cities) was one of the worst winters in state history (winter of '95-'96). The entire state shut down. Except for the U. At 7.30 in the morning on a Tuesday (when the temp was down near -30F and the windchill put the temp down at -70F) the President of the U stated that the U would remain open for normal business and that students were required to go to class.

And then he didn't show up for work the rest of the week.

Stupid jerk.

This is what we're getting right now here in Arkansas.

It rains, and then it freezes. Then, there's this thick coating of ice over everything. The bad thing about this is that we have trees everywhere, and the branches extend out over the powerlines nearly everywhere you look. So, whenever this happens, the branches all break and fall onto the power lines, and then the whole damned town is without electricity. Last year it was exceptionally bad, and I was without power for a week! We eventually had to go and get a hotel room while the power company tried to repair all the downed power lines.

I took some pictures of the ice yesterday. I hope you guys don't mind me showing them. :) I'm sure it looks much more spectacular in Philadephia, though.

http://comp.uark.edu/~dmorton/images/misc/ice0006.jpg
http://comp.uark.edu/~dmorton/images/misc/ice0010.jpg

Heh...

Right now, in Astoria Oregon, there's a fair deal of sunny blue sky outside. Some assorted clouds floating around, but nothing threatening or particularly cold-looking. Unless, of course, you consider 50 degrees 'cold'.

MN has a dusting, but we need more!
I remember one great icy storm as a kid living in Mechanicsburg, PA- the roads were totally coated with ice. No school! We could ice skate around the block, hills and all. This is in the prerollerblade 70s so it struck us as particularly amazingly cool. yea! enjoy!