pbray

I adore the weather warnings on NY State TV stations, and find them consistently hilarious. Is that wrong? ;^)

This week there's been actual accumulation of snow in both Vancouver and Victoria, which is essentially the Canadian equivalent of IT FREAKING SNOWED IN LAS VEGAS. My correspondents in Vancouver report that although the city responded magnificently to snowfall #1 last Sunday (i.e., they managed to plough the streets), yesterday's snowfall #2 utterly defeated the forces of municipal order. Which doesn't bode terribly well for the next Winter Olympics, but I guess they've still got a whole year to work on their snow-clearing routine...

I should note that I live in a city which has frequently been mocked by the ROC* for our failure to cope with snow; some years ago my mother phoned me in a panic from Germany because it had been reported on CNN that the Army had been called in to help dig Toronto out of the snow, which made her think that Something Really Terrible must be happening. She has lived in Calgary (where it was -35°C on Tuesday) since 1971, so when I told her how much snow there actually was -- I don't think it was more than a couple of feet, though I don't recall exactly -- she was much relieved and cheerfully joined in the mock-fest.

I need a snow icon!

* Rest of Canada

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Would have been fun to be in Las Vegas and watch everyone flip out over the snow.

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It's always interesting to see local priorities. In Denver where my sister lives, the city is often brought to its knees by large snow storms, while in big cities in the Northeast, failure to clear the streets within a couple of days after a blizzard is considered grounds for overthrowing the city government.

And in the town where I live, most residents know exactly where their street is in the plowing order... and how that order changes whenever there's a new town supervisor elected :-)

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libwitch.livejournal.com

I think someone needs to look at a map and point out to our weather service that there are number of well, things, that mean that if snows clear across the country, it won't necessarily snow here.

You know, river valleys, mountains. Air flow. LAND MASS.

(but, just to be on the safe side I suppose this means I should finish my shopping tonight, instead of betting I can get it done tomorrow, which is why I took the day off from work. GRRRR)

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I'm in the same boat. Had scheduled a half day tomorrow afternoon and planned on finishing up shopping then. Instead I'll be out tonight after work.

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Denver? Huh. I figured, being up so high, they must get lots of snow. Ya learn something new every day. :)

In Toronto there's this weird phenomenon where home- and business owners expect the city to clear the sidewalks when it snows; people shovel (or snowblower) their driveways but almost never shovel their sidewalks, which makes walking around most neighbourhoods after a heavy snowfall pretty challenging (naturally, the city gives priority to ploughing the roads rather than the sidewalks, because a stuck pedestrian causes a lot less hassle to other people than a bunch of stuck cars and transport trucks). You'd think that when it takes more than a day for the dude with the tiny snowplow to come round people would get off their behinds and shovel the snow, already, but no: instead they whinge about what a lousy job the city's doing.

(In case you hadn't guessed, where I come from it's considered everyone's civil and moral duty to Shovel Your Own Snow.)

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Denver does get a fair amount of heavy snowstorms, but they spend less per capita on snow removal than cities like Chicago or New York. And they have weird weather patterns where even in the winter they'll get stretches of warm weather, so sometimes the only solution for blocked side streets is to let things melt. Having grown up in the Northeast my sister still can't quite wrap her head around why the citizens don't all revolt.

Having the city clear sidewalks just sounds wrong to me. Next thing they'll be waiting for the city to scrape the ice off the windshield. Here you have to clear your own sidewalks or you'll be sued by the first person to slip & fall which will then cost you $$$$. Some cities ticket property owners for failing to clear sidewalks, and there's a number in my town you can call to complain about people who habitually misbehave, though generally it has to be pretty egregious before they'll bother actually fining them.

On the other hand, there are nice folks like my neighbor down the street who will come by and snowblow everyone's sidewalk in a heavy storm. I generally take care of my own (with shovel) but I have elderly neighbors for whom this is a real blessing.

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kristine-smith.livejournal.com

We're supposed to get pounded starting tonight. My neck of the woods (northeast Illinois) could get anywhere from 7-13 inches through tomorrow.

I hope they're wrong, but, gearing up for the worst.

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cedunkley.livejournal.com

We're expecting heavy snow here as well (I'm in the same general region as you, I think). Luckily for me, I've already planned on taking tomorrow off, so that works out well.

I was planning on buying myself a new computer desk on Saturday but I'll have to wait and see just how bad it is tomorrow. Oh well. I've got books to read, and a character to kill off in my own WIP. All I have to do tonight is stock up on some food and some good beer and I'm set.

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They've been wrong here twice in the last week, but as they say, third time's the charm.

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Ditto here on the food and beer run (tonight was already shopping night, but now it will be "battle the hordes for that last gallon of milk" night.)

And killing of a character sounds like an excellent way to pass the time. I may have to try it myself.

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Killing a character is always fun. Except when the wrong one dies. I have one who has repeatedly refused to kick the bucket. Dude was created to betray his people and die. Did neither. Then, I set up another death scene for him, that was going to make his wife start kicking butt and taking names. Nope.

I tried it a third time, but I knew it wouldn't take halfway through.

I had a fourth attempt planned, but at this point, what the heck?

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Here in the not-so-sunny Finger Lakes, it is expected to start 8am and keep going, and going, and going...

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scbutler.livejournal.com

I did that in Richmond, VA once. A fellow New Yorker and I shoveled happily from dusk till dawn. It was a long time ago, when I could still do that.

Send us downstaters some of that!

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princejvstin.livejournal.com

We're due for *two* snow events in the next few days up here in Minneapolis.

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Yup, we have our second one coming Sunday, or so they say....

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The ol' 1-2.

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Having grown up in the Northeast my sister still can't quite wrap her head around why the citizens don't all revolt.

~~Lots of illicit substances?~~ I'm sure they're just very mellow people there... ;^)

I also feel that expecting the city to clear one's sidewalks is completely aberrant behaviour. But that's how it is here, for some reason. In Calgary where I grew up, OTOH, the system is very much as you describe, and lo: people are out at six in the morning with snow shovels (and when they've done their own walks they go round to their elderly neighbours' and do theirs). Or, at least, that's how it was when I lived there. I keep forgetting that things may have changed with the ginormous influx of people from Other Places over the past 15 years -- but I promise you my 67-year-old mum is still out there with her snow shovel on snowy mornings...

Edited Date: 2008-12-19 01:20 am (UTC)

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What puzzles me is how the custom of urchins offering to shovel your walks has completely died out. Even in a neighborhood with kids, it's rare to find one with the ambition to go door to door pitching their services. But when it does happen, I always favor free enterprise and hire the kid, and add a tip if they do a halfway decent job.

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kythiaranos.livejournal.com

Pretty much every school system in the Buffalo area is out for today. And . . . so far no snow.

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Yup, schools canceled here and no snow yet, but from the radar map looks like it will be coming in around noon.

I'm actually declining telecommuting in favor of going to the office, so I can meet a friend for lunch before we split for the holidays. Then I'll be spending my planned 1/2 day vacation at home watching it snow.

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OK, it's snowing here now. Quite hard, actually. And sideways.

Yay for working at home today! (That was mostly so I could go see the kid's Xmas/Chanukah assembly at school, but less waiting for buses in the snow is a nice bonus.)

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