Without Government, Who Would Create A Shortage Of Road Salt?

The Detroit Free Press: Salt shortage has Michigan scrambling to keep roads clear

Yep, there was a clear lack of planning ahead and the governments expecting a mild winter and not ordering enough.  Likely they bought into the idea that  global warming was making winter a thing of the past - which it clearly is not doing.

Slippery-er than normal winter roads are the result with not enough salt being used due to the failure to stock up when demand (and prices) were low.  Now they're ordering salt at highly inflated prices and waiting on deliveries due to production and shipping bottlenecks.

Seriously, if we placed these same government officials in charge of the Sahara Desert, within a couple years they would be announcing a shortage of sand.

Mixing Alcohol And Cold Has Consequences

The Detroit News: Body of missing teen recovered in Ann Arbor

A completely avoidable death and waste of potential.

Leaving a party to go out in sub-zero temperatures and brutal wind chill at 1 in the morning on your own after consuming a lot of alcohol  -- while wearing just a t-shirt and jeans is not going to turn out well.

In this case it did not turn out well at all. 

Apparently, he made it all of two blocks and then wasn't found for almost a day.

If you're going to be drinking underage at a party (or out drinking in any case, really), at least use a buddy system so you can look after each other, and be sure wear some appropriate clothes in winter for your own protection - not to mention just take an Uber home.

It's a damn shame this happened, and this kind of bad decision-making unfortunately keeps happening.

Time To Sing The Cold Song

With the temperature now at -1 with a wind chill of -25 at the moment  -- and still dropping, it is time for the cold song:

It's Cold.  Cold.  Cold, Cold, Cold.

Colder than the frost on a champagne glass.

Colder than the hair on a polar bears a$$.

Colder than the nipple on a witches' t!t.

It's Colder than a pile of penguin sh*t.

Dress appropriately for the weather, and stay warm out there today folks. 

Brrr

It's a tad cold out there right now. Heck, it's downright chilly.

The Detroit News: Brutal cold keeps icy grip on SE Michigan

Some roads are closed in the area due to black ice and slipperiness.  Lone Pine Road with its hills is closed as you're an out of control roller-coaster in your car if you go on it right now - inclduign slipping backwards down the hills.

The roundabouts were just a treat to drive through today, as you slip sideways while going round the circle which is really not as much fun as it sounds.

It's almost cold enough to the point where you can throw a boiling pot of water up in the air and it is absorbed into the atmosphere before it hits the ground.  

We should hit that temperature soon and it'll be fun to do.

In short, yep, we officially are in winter conditions in Michigan.

First Solid Snowfall of Winter

So you know it's time for bad drivers and special idiot parking season.

What's wrong with this picture?

Mr or Ms. Mercedes is in the middle of the travel row and decided to make his/her own parking space, with tons of open spots available. Probably too entitled to walk an extra 3 feet. S/He will likely be very upset if the Cadillac pulls out and smacks the car as it is trapped by the Mercedes' front end with not enough room to get out (not that they are lined up nicely in their space either, but still).

On top of seeing the parking special when I arrived, it was fun just getting to the parking lot. A lady in a Lincoln decided the best way to drive was centered on the lane divider between two lanes while she toddled along at 23 mph on a 45 mph road. She endeared herself to everyone she was blocking in both lanes for over a mile.

Patience is certainly required when driving and indeed parking in the winter in Michigan, that's for sure.

Time For 3rd Winter

All that wind on Saturday was from a cold front blowing right on in.  

It has brought much lower temperatures and some snow with it.

Yep, we have snow in the air and enough to accumulate on the ground both yesterday and today.  

Yes right now it is below freezing and snowing here right now.  Not a lot, but enough to remind us it is still winter in Michigan even with the respite of the lovely t-shirt weather the last couple weeks.

That's weather in Michigan for you.

Happy 2022! Home Again, Now With Winter Storms

Made it to Toronto after a late start waiting for the delayed Covid PCR test results (all negative as expected).  Spent New Year's with Tash's family there.  The kids got to see their grandmother after being unable to see her in person fore the last two years due to the stupid border closing.

This was good and Tash was able to do a lot of shopping for her mom and help with New Year's preparations.

The preparations meant we had the traditional New Year's feast:

 That's just the appetizers.

Also, after the stroke of midnight, I got a nice New Year's present:

 

 A nice 12 year old single malt by Cardhu.  Since most of Cardhu's production gets blended to make Johnnie Walker, I'm interested to see how it tastes.

Not a bad way to ring in the New Year. 

Then weather reports of a major winter storm started rolling in, so we helped clean up this morning and with other things that needed doing and hot the road this afternoon.

Hit some rain on the way but only got caught in the snowfall in the last 45 minutes of the way home.  Even made it up the Driveway of Doom™ -  Barely.  Tash's car started to hesitate and lose traction when we were almost up, but we managed to get it into the garage with a little fishtailing.

Then I shoveled the driveway and we got our pups back and they were happy to see us.

Everyone is tired so it's going to be an early night.  Good to be home.

That White Stuff On The Ground Means It's Time To Slow Down

Just enough snow and ice present on the streets this morning to present a problem for the morning commute.

It's not a lot and the streets look pretty clear, and that is the problem.  A lot of clear ice abounds.  

A lot of people have forgotten how to drive in the winter, and with driving skills already degraded by the Covid shutdowns, it really shows.

Saw a couple decent traffic accidents on the way to work already due to cars not being able to brake in sufficient time on ice.  In short, ice just laughs at your brakes, and inertia is not your friend at an iced-over intersection.

Winter is a time to give yourself more space and increased stopping distance, and to plan to give yourself more time for your commute due to the need to drive in a more careful and controlled manner.

There's more coming in tonight to create a slippery layer on the morrow, so plan ahead for your morning drive.

New Tires Have A Remarkable Effect

There's been even more snowfall in the past few days, and I've been stuck driving while its falling more often than not recently. 

In regards to slipping in the snow, I found I needed to have new tires as my previous set was down to 2-3 mm, which partly explained some of why I was having problems getting up (and down) the driveway.

I then got some new Michelin tires installed and the difference is rather remarkable.  Much, much more control and traction.  Even with them tires being all-season they're acting like a winter tire.  Drove home in a snowstorm last night with nary a problem and even made it up the Driveway of Doom™and into the garage with over an inch of snow upon it.  Very nice and the old tires would not have done that.

Replacing tires is expensive, but the increase in traction and handling over worn out tires makes it well worth it.  The bank account is not happy, but the safer handling and control is very happy making.

A Little Stuck

So Abby got stuck in the snow with her car this morning.

How stuck?  Completely stuck with wheels spinning fruitlessly stuck.

I first tried to dig around the snow she was stuck in to give the wheels some purchase, but no dice, even with me pushing the car as she tried to move it forward and back and forward again.

I then grabbed some of the extra gravel I had stored that was leftover from the parking pad project and I scooped copious amounts of gravel under the front of her tires to help them get some traction.

That did the trick combined with my pushing the car forward.

A great and freezing cold way to start the morning it's about 6 degrees Fahrenhit out there right now,  which made the whole experience extra pleasant.

Sunday Skating

So this evening we took the kids to go skating at Blake's Cider Mill for an outside outing.  Good to get off the screens and do some outdoor activities.

We got them some skates and they hit the ice.  Unfortunately they were required to wear masks on the ice even though they were outside.

Sometimes they really hit the ice.

 

Still they would get up and keep on going and enjoyed themselves.

Interestingly enough, the ice wasn't made from water.  It was synthetic ice.

First time I've actually heard of and seen the stuff.  It acts and kinda looks just like ice but according to the kids didn't quite feel like ice, but it was slippery enough and it worked to skate on.  It works for skating without refrigeration and handles above-freezing weather with no problems.

Of course this evening was rather chilly at 26 degrees Fahrenheit.

Everything was solely outdoors so it was rather cold.

While they went skating Tash and I got some adult beverages.

Hard ciders made by Blake's on the premises.  Really good stuff.

The kids had a good time skating for an hour and then we had some doughnuts, and Blake's Cider Mill doughnuts are the ne plus ultra of doughnuts.  

A very successful, if rather chilly, outdoor activity.

More Michigan Corona-idiocy

So Governor Half-Whit has announced restaurants can open on February 1

At 25% capacity and with restaurants being required to close at 10pm, because Science! and Data!

We will note that 25% capacity is not profitable nor sustainable for a restaurant, and is even more restrictive than her prior 50% capacity orders.

The 10pm curfew apparently is because the virus becomes much more contagious at the stroke of 10:01, or something.

In related news, now that Gov Half-Whit has dictated that High Schools may reopen, the kids will be going back to a hybrid program of two days there, one day off in the middle for studying, and two days virtual.

There's a minor fly in the ointment though. For the days there will be in the building they are being told, in addition to even more draconian separation rules from other students than the last re-opening, to bring their computers with them as the live classes will also be on Zoom.  So basically they will be virtual without the comforts of home.

But wait, there's more!

Most importantly, they've been told to wear winter jackets and bring blankets to wear in class.

This is because the school is going to have all the windows open to increase airflow to prevent the coronavirus from spreading among the students.

In Winter in Michigan.

This idiocy has apparently been dictated to the school as a best practice that they must follow.

How well students will learn while shivering and wearing costs, hats, jackets, gloves and masks is yet to be determined.  At least the laptops won't be at risk of overheating.  

This is either a clever psychological ploy to have parents decide to keep their kids at home so they don't have to offer live classes, or they really believe this nonsense is a sensible approach to reopening.

The kids are certainly going to have one helluva high school experience to reminisce about when they're adults.

It's Not Winter Until I Go Sliding Down The Driveway of Doom™

So yes, as you might expect from the title, it is now officially winter. 

Got back from jitsu last night to a very light snowfall.

Didn't look too bad, so I headed up the driveway.

Almost made it.

Turns out that snow was hiding a slick layer of pure ice beneath it, covering the entire driveway

Momentum ran out about 4/5ths of the way up.

Then I started sliding backwards.

No control.

The brakes, they did nothing. I mean nothing.   Acceleration was unchanged.

Turning the steering wheel, it did nothing.   Velocity unchanged.

This was not good.  

This was the most complete out of control slide I've ever done down the driveway.  Normally there's at least some friction from the brakes and turning the tires gives some control.

All the way down I went, rather impressive it was.

Thankfully, I narrowly missed Abby's car on the parking pad at the bottom of the driveway by pure luck.

After a bit of choice language, I parked the car on the parking pad and then made my way up the hill, careful to stay off the iced over driveway.  The ice was not going anywhere with the freezing temperatures, and not until later this morning did it finally melt off in the sunlight and use of ice melter.

So yes, it is now officially Winter.

Snow Day!

Another snow day was declared today at 6:23 am, unfortunately after Abby had already gotten up and ready for school at 6am.

Even with that late announcement, there was still much rejoicing.

Breakfast choice of the day is old-fashioned oatmeal from scratch.

Snow clearance from the Driveway of Doom™ continues apace, and I will have it completed timely and we will be to work on time.

On the upside, it's nice to get all the snow in one continuous storm rather than the annoying and typical daily 1/4" that is just a slippery mess that has to be cleared before the driveway can be safely used.

The real reason for the snow day today? Remember how I said it was very wet and heavy snow yesterday? Well, that wet snow has turned to solid ice under a layer of fresh snow, making the roads an icy, slide-y mess. Lots of fun.

Snowstorm Season

We're finally getting a decent winter storm.

Last night they decided to schedule a school snow day for today, which the ids certainly appreciated as there's been a distinct lack of snow days this winter season until now.

In the morning there was less than a quarter inch dusting of snow on the ground.

Well, it wasn't the morning they were worried about, but the afternoon school let-out. Turns out they got that part right.

It's been coming down steadily since 2pm. Roads have been a complete mess.

Lots of wet snow, so the snow blower doesn't blow, it just sucks.

I've done the driveway thrice by shovel already to keep up, and its still coming down at a good clip.

We may indeed hit the forecast 7-inch snowmageddon.

Snow Joe: Not Ready For Prime Time

As I've written before, I have a Snow Joe Pro Model snow blower.

They were rather over-optimistic (or outright lying) calling it a pro model, or even a snow blower for that matter.

Today with 2-3 inches of packing snow down, it would immediately clog every single push and shut itself off moving less than even a foot before clogging up, becoming a snow pusher rather than a snowblower.

While it works for dry powdery snow, any packing snow makes it absolutely useless.

In short, cannot recommend, at all.

An electric snowblower should have power and torque to spare to get through packing snow. This one doesn't - at all.

That they call it a pro model is a joke.

In short, I need to go buy an actual snowblower that can clear 2-3 inches of snow off a driveway. An electric snowblower is a great concept and should work well given the power an electric motor can and should provide - but this one clearly isn't ready for prime snow time.

Just When You Thought It Was Spring...

Yes, this morning we woke up to Third Winter:

Spring, would ya mind sticking around for awhile, please?

Odd that, I was told that snowfalls were just a thing of the past only a few short years ago.

Winter Is Coming...Again?

Probably as an effect for the Game of Thrones Season 8 opener, Winter is not done with us yet.

From temperatures that were downright Spring-like, yesterday it rained all day and then in the early evening the rain turned to snow.

This morning the temperatures have dropped even further and snow covers the ground.

A few Canadian Geese were rather put out by the sudden reappearance of winter, and one of the two pictured was rather loudly vociferous about it.

Dammit Carl!  You said winter was over and we could fly back to Michigan!

Winter Isn’t Giving Up Quite Yet

The past couple days were warm and wet, with rain and snow melting and beginning to feel like spring.

So of course this morning winter decided to get another hit in.

Heading to Abby’s forensics competition the roads are a complete sheet of ice, cars in ditches everywhere and slippery as hell.

Now it’s starting to snow, and heavily.

Traffic has slowed to a crawl and adding stress before even arriving at the competition.

Winter can’t be done soon enough and it’s really worn out it’s welcome if it ever had one.

Yes School Wednesday - Snow But Without The Snow Day

Breaking precedent, school was surprisingly not cancelled today.

By 6:00 2 inches had already fallen and the snowfall is continuing.

Surprised they didn't continue the run of no-school Wednesdays, but I think the teachers and administrations have figured that they are out of bad weather days and they don't want to be tacking additional school days on in June.

Short of the governor resetting the bad weather day count and "pardoning" the missed days, they will have to extend into the summer, and they don't want that.

Plowed the Driveway of Doom™ twice already so the kids and Tash could get out. Roads suck yet again, but thankfully we fully chipped the ice off the driveway yesterday, otherwise we would have been well and truly hosed today and it would have been impassable.