Aaaaand My Office is Closed.

"PatBateman" (PatBateman) 01/16/2018 at 10:29 • Filed to: Bullshit Yankee Weather

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So are the schools in the area. No snow, just skating rinks for flyovers and overpasses (of which we have many).

I just de-iced my wife’s car since she has to run into her office for a couple of minutes because real estate transactions are apparently matters of life and death. I broke a spatula in the process. I liked that spatula.

And if anyone would like to show us Texans how to drive up a solidly-iced incline without the aid of snow tires, salt trucks, or any cold weather infrastructure, please come on down. If you can do it, I’ll show you how to weather a hurricane without shitting yourself.

Winter is less than a month old, btw, and it’s already pissing me off.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 10:33

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Everything is closed over here in SA too. School was cancelled at 4 PM yesterday when it was 60 and sunny out. I laughed at the time but it looks like the right decision now. My road is a hill and a sheet of ice. With no snow/ice tires there is no way out. My work sent out notice first to come in at 10, now they are saying noon. If it doesn’t get above freezing, though, I don’t see how that is going to be possible.

PatBateman > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 01/16/2018 at 10:37

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My office was scheduled to open at 10 as well, but then they opened the front door and looked around.

My wife’s Expedition’s doors were frozen shut, so I had to crawl in through the back and shove the door open. Then the 30 minute de-icing procedure began.

Textured Soy Protein > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 10:40

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Hello from Wisconsin.

Milky > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 10:42

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... how to drive up a solidly-iced incline without the aid of snow tires, salt trucks, or any cold weather infrastructure

Momentum

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 10:45

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Sounds like last Saturday in Montana. Freezing rain, scattered snow, roads just looked wet but were greasy as hell. Yes most folks use real snow tires up here or good all seasons and AWD/4WD so not to many people getting stuck or sliding around. That being said I hate freezing rain. You can’t ever tell if it’s just wet or icy. So I end up driving on a wet road really carefully for that 15-feet of icy road that’s trying to kill you.

crowmolly > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 10:45

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Shit, that is dangerous

PatBateman > Textured Soy Protein 01/16/2018 at 10:50

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Put those summer tires on and come sledding.

PatBateman > Milky 01/16/2018 at 10:52

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Momentum doesn’t keep you straight, my friend.

Although, if I had a $500 car, I’d try it.

PatBateman > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 01/16/2018 at 10:56

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Pretty much this, without any kind of snow. Right before the freezing line got to us, we had a decent amount of rain mixed with sleet. Some people are braving the roads, but the powers-that-be are shutting overpasses down left and right.

I almost busted my ass getting the Expedition de-iced, and I’m pretty certain that my Cadillac is frozen solid as well.

Also, the accident reports are piling up like crazy.

shop-teacher > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 10:57

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I will be the first to make fun of southerners who treat a quarter inch of snow like it’s Armageddon, but ice is another matter entirely. Stay the hell home until it melts.

PatBateman > crowmolly 01/16/2018 at 10:58

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So, almost seven years ago to the day, we had an afternoon ice storm that shut down the city. My wife and I went home from work early, one thing led to another, and my youngest daughter was delivered nine months later.

We call her our “ice ice baby”. We’ll explain to her what it means when she turns 18.

Textured Soy Protein > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 10:58

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PatBateman > shop-teacher 01/16/2018 at 11:00

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Snow is no problem for me. This shit, though...

valis86 > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 11:00

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I’m down here in Houston as well, Willowbrook area, but I grew up and learned to drive in Colorado. Only way I’m getting on a freeway is with ice skates. And I’ve also been watching the accidents pile up.

http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/roadclosures/#freeway

My office is closing at 11:30, but I took one look at the weather report and decided today would be an excellent day to work from home.

shop-teacher > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 11:02

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Yeah, sheet ice is a freakin’ biatch.

crowmolly > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 11:04

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Ha. There are more than a few of girls named Sandra here in NJ for a similar reason.

PatBateman > Textured Soy Protein 01/16/2018 at 11:06

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Snow? We don’t have snow. Do it in the ice rink

PatBateman > valis86 01/16/2018 at 11:08

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The mayor is starting a press conference now. Spoiler: Don’t fucking drive on the freeways.

valis86 > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 11:09

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My office is in Greenspoint, and the poor souls who decided to go in are going to have a very adventurous drive home.

PatBateman > crowmolly 01/16/2018 at 11:09

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LOL. I bet their teachers giggle to themselves during attendance rolls.

PatBateman > valis86 01/16/2018 at 11:13

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Hope they know the backroads. My office is in Sugar Land (I live in Ft. Bend), but the flyover on 99 at the Westpark just north of me is closed due to black ice.

Hopefully, my assistant didn’t go in. She usually gets there at 6 am to use the office gym. She’ll be having fun in her Mustang if she did.

Textured Soy Protein > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 11:16

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I think you think I’m going to have some kind of thoughtful conversation about the particulars of this situation.

valis86 > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 11:18

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Can’t even imagine that drive home she’s going to have. One of my co-workers lives up Magnolia way, and while he does have an Audi, with the mess on 249/BW8, he’s going to have ‘fun’.

Spanfeller is a twat > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 11:23

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Is it like when you hit a large ice patch skiing and you shit yourself?

In my grandparents village they call that black ice, because it doesn’t contrast with the color of the asphalt and thus cannot be spotted. It normally has water running underneath it.

PatBateman > Textured Soy Protein 01/16/2018 at 11:29

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No, I’m not trying to have a meaningful conversation. I just want to see something cool. :)

PatBateman > valis86 01/16/2018 at 11:29

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Take the side roads, stay off the highways... That Audi might earn its keep today.

PatBateman > Spanfeller is a twat 01/16/2018 at 11:30

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Yup, that’s the shit-inducing stuff that we have right now.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 11:32

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I would’ve been fine going in, but coming home is a different matter.

I didnt want to be taken out by some “hero” on the freeway.

facw > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 11:44

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My office is closed, and my Dr appointment was cancelled as well. Just as well. Even if I could manage driving cautiously on ice, trusting other drivers to do so is too much. I was out driving around a little bit during that 2014 storm (I was in Austin), and I saw six crashes on just a tiny stretch of highway.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > shop-teacher 01/16/2018 at 11:47

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Ditto. Ice is bad news. Snow, not so bad, until it gets packed down into ice, then see previous sentence.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 11:49

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Yup, there are times when it’s just not worth going out there.

PatBateman > facw 01/16/2018 at 12:33

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Back in 2003, I was working in the senate when Austin had a bad ice storm. Since most of the legislators stayed across the street from the capitol, we were expected to come in. And I had to drive in from Westlake.

Let me tell you how slippery those roads get.

PatBateman > valis86 01/16/2018 at 12:36

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Check this shit out. 99 and 290. Look at all that sleet.

BigBlock440 > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 12:56

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Momentum does, in fact, keep you straight. It’s when you try to change that momentum that things go sideways.

valis86 > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 13:12

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Yeah, it’s pretty bad here in Willowbrook. The bosses want the shop re-opened tomorrow at 9 am, I can easily do that remotely. No way in hell I”m going to be there tomorrow at 9 am. And IMO, that is wildly optimistic.

PatBateman > BigBlock440 01/16/2018 at 13:14

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Slight deviations in the road’s surface will spin you.

PatBateman > valis86 01/16/2018 at 13:15

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Yeah, it’s not looking good. Unless somehow the ice disappears, this is going to be a long few days.

valis86 > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 13:21

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On the flip side, supposed to be 70 by Saturday.

PatBateman > valis86 01/16/2018 at 14:02

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Yeah, I saw that. Welcome to Texas.

valis86 > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 14:13

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Started sleeting here again. This reminds me of my first winter in Portland, OR, where there was a massive ice storm. I had put my studded tires on (PDX gets a few ice storms per winter) but going down to the car was an adventure. Ended up wearing my golf spikes (this was when you could still play with metal spikes). Fun times.

valis86 > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 01/16/2018 at 14:15

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My dad’s best friend (and my namesake, for that matter) lives in SA. Talked to him this AM and he is totally hunkered down for the duration.

Stay safe out there.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 14:17

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Not even my Subaru can handle ice. It causes it to lose its mind if I hit a patch of ice and all of the wheels will operate at random until it gives up trying to find grip.

valis86 > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 01/16/2018 at 14:18

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My ‘boss’ (site boss; I work for corporate, so my true boss is in Atlanta) was ticked when I told him I was working from home today; last I heard he was in a ditch off of I10 and SH6. And yes, he was returning home at the time.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > PatBateman 01/16/2018 at 14:24

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We’re getting pellets here in the Spring area.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > valis86 01/16/2018 at 14:43

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Thanks. I’m not going anywhere. A few people made it to work. I think they are nuts. I’m staying put until it thaws, which might be tomorrow mid-day at this point.

valis86 > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 01/16/2018 at 16:36

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Houston is supposed to remain below freezing throughThursday afternoon. No way in Hades Im going in until its above freezing. Ive lived here long enough to know how the movie ‘Southern natives driving on ice’ ends. 4wd will still obey the laws of physics regardless ofwhat the owner thinks.

PatBateman > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) 01/16/2018 at 17:52

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It seems we’ve been getting that all damned day long. My kids are amazed by the accumulation of the “snow” (aka sleet) in our yard.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > PatBateman 01/17/2018 at 00:00

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I’m fascinated by it too, but the magic’s mostly worn off now.

I don’t mind that I don’t have to go into work for two days though.