Winter 2014/15

[jim]

I can fill my gas tank up! All week, I guess because of the cold, I couldn't put gas in it. Well I could, I could put a couple of drops and then it would shut off. Took me 10 minutes in below zero the other day to put 2 gallons in. Sensor or something. Because it's above 0 I guess it fixed itself.

Kid lost his keys (car and dorm room), credit card, drivers license in the snow at work last night. He had them on a chain (don't ask), and because he works outside he has to wear 98 layers of clothes and I guess he didn't notice them falling out of his pocket. Wife had to take him to get new license, pick his car up (he got a ride home). Everything is 100x harder in this cold.

Can't get the driveway clear because of the way the rain/super cold/snow/blowing snow sequence of events happened. Treacherous.

The parking lot at the health club is a disaster. I walked past Ray, an 80-90 year old guy that I see every morning and really like. Former HS basketball and football coach and just an all around good guy with a positive outlook every day and everyone loves him. Ee was stuck standing in the parking lot. He was afraid to move. He said he kept slipping, and he didn't have the balance he used to have in his younger. I did my good deed of the day, had him put my arm around me and I walked with him holding him up. He told me he was embarrassed. I told him not to be. I hope I have the class and outlook this guy has when I am his age. It broke my heart to see him like that. Falling could have really been serious.

Flu season is in high gear.

My Mustang is a sled. This is the last winter with it. No more. I saw cars crashed off the road both going to work and coming home. It's so cold the salt isn't working, and they just can't completely get the roads clear. Almost - which is worse because people are over confident. Sucks.

All this crap being tracked into the house, car, buildings ... it's disgusting.

I know St. Louis has been a good 20+ degrees warmer than us, which makes all the difference. If it was 30, or 25, or even 20 - annoying but tolerable. But this deep freeze is nuts.

[stlouie_lipp]

With every four wheel drive vehicle that is sold dealers need to include a sign, in all caps, that says "FOUR WHEEL DRIVE DOESN'T HELP YOU STOP ON ICY ROADS. IF YOU ARE STUPID AND DISREGARD THIS WARRING OTHER MOTORISTS ARE AUTHORIZED TO SHOOT YOU IN THE HEAD"

[Diddy]

Lol I can't get me wife to understand that unless there is enough snow to cause clearance issues she's a lot better off in her fwd car then borrowing my 4x4 truck.

My bfg's may look sweet and perform great n mud but they suck at stopping on ice and snow.

[jim]

I'm getting a Jeep Wrangler next fall, I've always wanted one and they get around good in the snow. I've owned plenty of 4x4 vehicle, and what 4x4 is good for is getting you out of the ditch. They aren't an excuse to drive like an idiot, and they don't stop any better than my Mustang. When I had a Jeep Liberty - you have to manually put those in 4x4 - I would usually keep it in two wheel drive. I figured if I ever went off the road - THEN I would use the 4x4.

[jim]

Can't get a duplicate key until Wed. We have been to two Ford dealers. Not only that, the one key that we have that won't work remotely wouldn't open the door this morning and we have no lock unfreeze stuff around.

But it's double digits! And something else on my car was fixed - the drivers side windshield sprayer. I had to rely on the passenger side one spraying enough on that side and pushing it over before it froze, which wasn't working out so good until today. Now I'm getting a little fluid - just a dab. It's like an 80 year old man with prostate cancer taking a whiz. But it's on it's way!

[jim]

My index finger is now bleeding because I moved it.

[Freed Roger]

We were in Wisconsin this weekend. Some of it was timing of our trip, -but we saw temps drop on the car ride up there from 24 Friday early evening in STL, to -6 by time we got up there. Then a temp reversal on the drive home Sunday. Feels tropical back home in STL.

I could feed jim's angst with some observations of the cold comparison of only 5 driving hours away, quick errands become an expedition. constant kicking your shoes on/off every time you go in/out the door because of the snow on it. Too cold to keep beer in the garage. with all the extra clothing, easier to go out without your wallet/phone when heading out the door. Also, I notice they drink a lot more hard stuff up there.

[thrill]

I'm getting a Jeep Wrangler next fall, I've always wanted one and they get around good in the snow. I've owned plenty of 4x4 vehicle, and what 4x4 is good for is getting you out of the ditch. They aren't an excuse to drive like an idiot, and they don't stop any better than my Mustang. When I had a Jeep Liberty - you have to manually put those in 4x4 - I would usually keep it in two wheel drive. I figured if I ever went off the road - THEN I would use the 4x4.

I drove a Wrangler in my teens. It was awful on the ice and snow. Very light and high center of gravity combined with relatively small wheel platform made it spin out pretty easily.

I'm sure they've improved immensely since 1991, which was the model year I drove.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

We were in Wisconsin this weekend. Some of it was timing of our trip, -but we saw temps drop on the car ride up there from 24 Friday early evening in STL, to -6 by time we got up there. Then a temp reversal on the drive home Sunday. Feels tropical back home in STL.

I could feed jim's angst with some observations of the cold comparison of only 5 driving hours away, quick errands become an expedition. constant kicking your shoes on/off every time you go in/out the door because of the snow on it. Too cold to keep beer in the garage. with all the extra clothing, easier to go out without your wallet/phone when heading out the door. Also, I notice they drink a lot more hard stuff up there.

There is a bigger difference between 20 and 35 than there is between 35 and 70. 35 to me is still comfortable. I can run in shorts. Go to the store with shorts and a jacket. Etc. The only thing I can't do is grill or stay outside for extended periods in shorts. Whatever. 20 is miserable. Below 20 is even more miserable. Just...cold, nonstop. Have to wear pants all the time. Too cold to run. Any precipitation is a problem. Can't even be outside without pants and a jacket and probably have to be protected from the wind to even do that. Just blah.

[jim]

We were in Wisconsin this weekend. Some of it was timing of our trip, -but we saw temps drop on the car ride up there from 24 Friday early evening in STL, to -6 by time we got up there. Then a temp reversal on the drive home Sunday. Feels tropical back home in STL.

I could feed jim's angst with some observations of the cold comparison of only 5 driving hours away, quick errands become an expedition. constant kicking your shoes on/off every time you go in/out the door because of the snow on it. Too cold to keep beer in the garage. with all the extra clothing, easier to go out without your wallet/phone when heading out the door. Also, I notice they drink a lot more hard stuff up there.

Yep yep yep yep and yes they do. This morning was just pain in the ass locking the door of the house, I dropped the keys in a snow drift next to the door and it was dark still. Fun fun.

Yesterday was 30 (before it snowed and messed the roads up again), and I really would not find winter that miserable if it would just do that 5 out of 7 days or so. It's this extended period of 0 or near 0 temperatures that just get to me. It would still suck, but not like what we experience. People in Canada and [expletive] - or like Barrow, Alaska - that's nuts. I see St. Louis weather on my iphone and - not terrible. The misery functional grows exponentially when the high temps only hit about 15, and we spend a lot of our winter under that threshold. 18 where I am now, 34 in St. Louis. That's the different between hitting that misery zone and something that is a pain in the ass but tolerable. Beer in the garage? I was worried about leaving a coke in my book bag this morning for 1.5 hours while I worked out. No beer the garages here.