Iowa really needs to get its s&~~ together when it comes to snow removal.
8-10 inches of snow came down between 5 PM and midnight on Monday. Plow trucks didn't even start plowing the highways and main roads until after 6 AM on Tuesday, and they didn't put down any salt or grit, which means that, yeah, there's no massive snowdrifts on the roads, but there's also now a one-inch-thick sheet of slick hard-packed ice. On my way in to work around 3:30 PM on Tuesday, I counted upwards of 40 vehicles in the ditch (including an 18-wheeler) along a 20-mile stretch of highway.
Some of the private snow removal contractors were so poorly-equipped that their plow trucks got stuck, and their lists just didn't get done. For example, I spent the first hour of my shift at my second job (4-5 PM on Tuesday) helping my boss push other employees' cars out of the parking lot when they inevitably got stuck. The contractor had jumped a curb within five minutes of showing up, had two tires buried in mud, and didn't have chains or a tow strap.
The guy who was supposed to plow the parking lot of my apartment building actually showed up on time yesterday (around 6 AM), but had to abandon the job because his truck tires were almost completely bald, and left my landlords to find a replacement, who wasn't able to show up until after 3 PM.
Seriously, what the f&%$.
I thought Iowa of all places would be excellent when it comes to snow removal.
I am hungry.
It is amazing how much stress a deadline can put on you. The Celica's registration is due January 20th, and the sticker is through January so I really have through the 31st before I absolutely, positively, HAVE to get this whole, "You can't total my car!" thing taken care of.
But the whole, "It takes 24-48 hours for anyone to respond to each and every communication you send," pipeline makes it incredibly stressful. I've got a message in with the Progressive claims agent, but she's proven useless so far. And I've got a message in with my legal company, but they need to track down a lawyer who's willing to take on the case, which usually takes a day or two. And the Prius is trickle charging to fully restore its battery, but that takes 16-18 hours.
So today is nothing but, "Sit around and wait for nothing to happen with regards to your cars, and stress about it the whole time."
Honestly, what's the worst case scenario? I'm out of luck and we have to pay the $94 salvage fee on the Celica and get it inspected to verify that it's drivable. Plus whatever the insurance increase is for driving a totaled car. Not the end of the world, but a PITA, a huge amount of time, and an incredibly frustrating incidence of, "You trusted a large company to not be incompetent. Shame on you." I'm really hoping I can find a lawyer who'll get this all resolved for me quickly.
I am no longer hungry.
Have you also removed the snow?
Should I start getting brownie points with our inevitable robotic overlords by sucking up to them even before the AIpocalypse?
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Well...step 1 accomplished. Unofficial verbal approval from my boss to take 3 weeks off this June.
I start work in about an hour and a half. Only a couple of inches of snow this time.
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I finally remembered my password!
1234... 6?
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All I know is I ended up working 27.5 hours yesterday and i only had 2 people threaten to quit (but no one actually did).
Of course, we have another 1-3 inches of snow arriving tonight and then another 6-9 arriving Friday so we'll see how they hold up the rest of the week.
Also I saw a semi truck slide off the road and take out a power pole (no injuries).
Listen, I'm usually down for the mild exaggerations about your work schedule, ethic, and performance but inventing another 3 and a half hours onto the twenty-four-hour day is where I draw the line, okay? On the other hand... that would explain why it took so long to get my son to actually sleep in his own bed last night if he got a magical extra 3.5 hours in the middle of the previous night that I didn't notice.
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And there you go. I complained to the state insurance commissioner and started lawyering up. All of a sudden Progressive is all over itself trying to get this resolved ASAP. They're hoping to have it fully taken care of by either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. I'm still grabbing an attorney for when they f*** this up.
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I finally remembered my password!
And got a super swanky new hat, too, I see.
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I've finally reached Paul Bunyan levels of legend shoveling snow.
The guy that plows the snow for the neighborhood I shovel off brought his teenage son with him to help him with clearing off sidewalks and he's driving around showing him the whole place and he says to his son "ONE GUY does this whole place! By himself!!".
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Aliens have taken over the DMV.
It's my only explanation. I wanted to find out how hard it is to remove a salvage title from a car and whether I can drive it while it's got a salvage title on it. So I went to the DMV chat.
After a 6-minute wait for a live agent, the agent gave me exact instructions to give to Progressive to clear the salvage, then exact instructions on how to get a "moving permit" to drive until the dispute is resolved.
All my fears allayed in 10 minutes in a chat window. It was amazing. (Shiro guesses AI, but there were too many "humanisms" that AIs are so bad at, especially with me because I write quirkily.)
And the legal group got back to me and seems like they smell blood. Progressive just might want to get that salvage cleared sooner rather than later, 'cause I am NOT going to hire an attorney and then say, "Oh, please hold back! They only made my life miserable for 5 months! Don't hurt them too badly."
I think lawyers like legitimate cases against large corporations. Who'd've thunk?
Hey, that way they can lawyer with clear conscience!
Weather Report, central Arizona: It’s been really cold (for us) temps in the low 20s in the morning, then warming up into the mid 40s. But sunny. But this morning it was warmer, in the 30s and raining. The temperature felt about the same actually. The storm blew over around noon. It’s been sunny, windy and cold. Anyway, look out Midwest USA, it’s headed your way…
The news isn't as great as I'd hoped -- turns out that for a salvage vehicle you can only get a 1-day "move it" permit, but we got that, so we have one "get out of jail free" card for the first time we get pulled over.
Not spectacular, but not nothing, either.
I finally remembered my password!
wow. That's some password.
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I thought Iowa of all places would be excellent when it comes to snow removal.Iowa really needs to get its s%&* together when it comes to snow removal.
8-10 inches of snow came down between 5 PM and midnight on Monday. Plow trucks didn't even start plowing the highways and main roads until after 6 AM on Tuesday, and they didn't put down any salt or grit, which means that, yeah, there's no massive snowdrifts on the roads, but there's also now a one-inch-thick sheet of slick hard-packed ice. On my way in to work around 3:30 PM on Tuesday, I counted upwards of 40 vehicles in the ditch (including an 18-wheeler) along a 20-mile stretch of highway.
Some of the private snow removal contractors were so poorly-equipped that their plow trucks got stuck, and their lists just didn't get done. For example, I spent the first hour of my shift at my second job (4-5 PM on Tuesday) helping my boss push other employees' cars out of the parking lot when they inevitably got stuck. The contractor had jumped a curb within five minutes of showing up, had two tires buried in mud, and didn't have chains or a tow strap.
The guy who was supposed to plow the parking lot of my apartment building actually showed up on time yesterday (around 6 AM), but had to abandon the job because his truck tires were almost completely bald, and left my landlords to find a replacement, who wasn't able to show up until after 3 PM.
Seriously, what the f&%$.
Part 2: unexpected storm dumped about three inches everywhere just east of Des Moines as I was leaving work yesterday (around 8:30-9:00 PM). No plows in sight past the edge of the city limits, even on the interstate, so I camped out at a gas station for a few hours. Still no plows. I ended up having to crash out on Woodraven's spare mattress until around 5 AM, at which point I finally managed to make the rest of the 20-mile drive home, shower, change, then immediately turn around and go back to work. Gotten a grand total of two hours' sleep since around 6 AM on Wednesday.
We're expecting another 8-10 inches starting late tonight and into tomorrow. People are panicking like it's the end of the universe, and no one (especially the surrounding counties) is doing anything to prepare for it. I absolutely cannot comprehend this. I just want to grab people on the street, shake them vigorously, and shout into their faces, "DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHEN THIS HAPPENED LAST YEAR?"
Managing to out-dysfunctional central New York State, even if it's only on one thing, is a monumental achievement.
1. Stop hogging all the snow
2. Tell woodraven I said "hey".
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I thought Iowa of all places would be excellent when it comes to snow removal....
We're expecting another 8-10 inches starting late tonight and into tomorrow. People are panicking like it's the end of the universe, and no one (especially the surrounding counties) is doing anything to prepare for it. I absolutely cannot comprehend this. I just want to grab people on the street, shake them vigorously, and shout into their faces, "DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHEN THIS HAPPENED LAST YEAR?"
Sounds about right. My mom and one of her colleagues travelled together for a conference in Dubuque a couple of winters ago, only for this conversation to happen on picking up their rental car at the airport:
“So, this thing does have winter tires, right?”“Of course, ma’am! All our vehicles are equipped with all-season tires!”
*Glances exchanged between visiting Canadians.* “Oh, you sweet, summer child.” :/
Awhile back I did get the fancy Michelin cross climate 2 tires.
Part 2: unexpected storm dumped about three inches everywhere just east of Des Moines as I was leaving work yesterday (around 8:30-9:00 PM). No plows in sight past the edge of the city limits, even on the interstate, so I camped out at a gas station for a few hours. Still no plows. I ended up having to crash out on Woodraven's spare mattress until around 5 AM, at which point I finally managed to make the rest of the 20-mile drive home, shower, change, then immediately turn around and go back to work. Gotten a...I thought Iowa of all places would be excellent when it comes to snow removal.Iowa really needs to get its s~%# together when it comes to snow removal.
8-10 inches of snow came down between 5 PM and midnight on Monday. Plow trucks didn't even start plowing the highways and main roads until after 6 AM on Tuesday, and they didn't put down any salt or grit, which means that, yeah, there's no massive snowdrifts on the roads, but there's also now a one-inch-thick sheet of slick hard-packed ice. On my way in to work around 3:30 PM on Tuesday, I counted upwards of 40 vehicles in the ditch (including an 18-wheeler) along a 20-mile stretch of highway.
Some of the private snow removal contractors were so poorly-equipped that their plow trucks got stuck, and their lists just didn't get done. For example, I spent the first hour of my shift at my second job (4-5 PM on Tuesday) helping my boss push other employees' cars out of the parking lot when they inevitably got stuck. The contractor had jumped a curb within five minutes of showing up, had two tires buried in mud, and didn't have chains or a tow strap.
The guy who was supposed to plow the parking lot of my apartment building actually showed up on time yesterday (around 6 AM), but had to abandon the job because his truck tires were almost completely bald, and left my landlords to find a replacement, who wasn't able to show up until after 3 PM.
Seriously, what the f&%$.
Yeah, Iowa's incompetent highway department is well known in the Midwest. Or at least in Wisconsin.
I thought Iowa of all places would be excellent when it comes to snow removal....
We're expecting another 8-10 inches starting late tonight and into tomorrow. People are panicking like it's the end of the universe, and no one (especially the surrounding counties) is doing anything to prepare for it. I absolutely cannot comprehend this. I just want to grab people on the street, shake them vigorously, and shout into their faces, "DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHEN THIS HAPPENED LAST YEAR?"
Sounds about right. My mom and one of her colleagues travelled together for a conference in Dubuque a couple of winters ago, only for this conversation to happen on picking up their rental car at the airport:
“So, this thing does have winter tires, right?”
“Of course, ma’am! All our vehicles are equipped with all-season tires!”
*Glances exchanged between visiting Canadians.* “Oh, you sweet, summer child.” :/
Perhaps it's from growing up driving in the Sierras (they don't call our snow "Sierra cement" for nothing), but I'm of the approach, "If it ain't chains, you're not ready to drive in the snow."
Every year we'd see at least 3-4 full-sized pickups (and in later years SUVs) with 4-wheel drive and snow tires piled up on the side of the road as we drove by with our chains.
(1) 4-wheel drive has very little impact on turning on slippery surfaces; it's to make sure you don't get stuck when you stop.
(2) Snow tires don't work on ice, which is pretty much every Sierra road because the temperatures are ideal for thawing during the day, then freezing during the night.
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Yep!
My mom's originally from BC, and my aunt spent quite a few years in the interior, and both are very glad now that they don't have to face the Coquihalla (or worse, the old highway) in winter. Even in our neck of the woods, which is mostly flat, there are valleys in our hills that even 4WD won't help you get out of after a decent snowfall, let alone a shabby job clearing the roads that leaves, as you say, a gloating sheet of ice. :)
Made all the worse because my mom doesn't even like to drive. Although when her job started to take her out into the boonies, she did have the pleasure of taking refresher winter driving lessons with a moonlighting F1 racer, who would constantly encourage her to go faster!, and test her ability to regain control in a pinch by slamming the emergency brake for her on icy patches.
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Pick up trucks are also terrible for driving in the snow because there's no weight in the back. At work we used to throw sand bags back there, and my bring to work bag included a blanket and matches because the radios didn't work in half the park.
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Although when her job started to take her out into the boonies, she did have the pleasure of taking refresher winter driving lessons with a moonlighting F1 racer, who would constantly encourage her to go faster!, and test her ability to regain control in a pinch by slamming the emergency brake for her on icy patches.
Wow... that seems to be a standard training technique!
My father grew up in Michigan and was an incredible ice driver -- at one point in a fully-loaded 1970 Volvo he did a perfect 270° spin into a parking space on ice.
And his entire technique for teaching us was to put us behind the wheel, let us start driving, and at random points yell, "Brake!" so that we'd go into skids and have to figure out how to recover.
I have to admit, it made all of us very good snow drivers -- to this day going into a skid is just an, "Oh, I guess I was going too fast, better correct for this," moment.
Once our finances recover from the 2022-2023 apocalypses, I want to send both kids to emergency driving school. Because I think they'd enjoy it, and I'd feel a lot better knowing they were trained.
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As a final note, it's truly sad that I'm still planning on lawyering up on Progressive.
Why?
Because I know bureaucracy. The claims agent knows they made a mistake. The totaling department knows they made a mistake. But correcting that mistake would take 15 minutes of a manager's time. And at the moment, there is no motivation whatsoever for the manager to take this time. They're not losing access to their vehicle. They don't face any financial penalties for not doing it. In fact, doing it will take them away from other tasks that they might get in trouble for. I've been working at major corporations for FAR too long not to recognize it: If it's not something that I have to do, then I'm not going to do it.
So until someone at Progressive gets the red flag, "A lawyer is now involved!", they have no motivation to help me.
So... lawyer.
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Snowstorm incoming.
They're using the dreaded two word phrase this time and I COMPLETELY believe them based on the wildly varying severity forecasts with regard to snowfall... lake effect. I'm expecting it to be a full blown ice storm and to lose power, with how miserably wet and warm December has been and the fact that the front moving in on us stalled out over Lake Michigan for so long I think it's going to be nast-teeee indeed.
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The district has decided not to cancel the wrestling meet tomorrow, which means I've gotta work concessions. But we're going to sell pancakes and hot cocoa/coffee, so we should make a killing.
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OK, I haven't even heard from a lawyer yet, but Mission Accomplished.
I filed a complaint with the California Insurance Commission. Typically it's much like the Do Not Call list -- you feel better filing a complaint, but nothing ever comes of it and it's more of a "feel good wastebasket".
The state decided to take up my case and I have an investigator assigned and everything.
This alone is going to cost Progressive more than it would have to just fix the da**ed problem in the first place.
EDIT: And let me be honest. I would love to be a fly on the wall when Progressive's lawyers first get the request for information from the State Insurance Commission, THEN get the letter from my lawyer. "Who the **** pissed this guy off so much for something so trivial?!?!!?"
Snowstorm incoming.
They're using the dreaded two word phrase this time and I COMPLETELY believe them based on the wildly varying severity forecasts with regard to snowfall... lake effect. I'm expecting it to be a full blown ice storm and to lose power, with how miserably wet and warm December has been and the fact that the front moving in on us stalled out over Lake Michigan for so long I think it's going to be nast-teeee indeed.
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And wrestling meet cancelled.
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Hey, even here we're getting lows in the high 30s and nearly 3/4" of rain tomorrow. That's a downright winter catastrophe for the Bay Area.
(And similar to David M Mallon's tirade, every time it rains around here it's an apocalypse. As far as we can tell, everyone throws their hands in the air and shrieks, "There is water! Falling! From the sky!!!")
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Hey, even here we're getting lows in the high 30s and nearly 3/4" of rain tomorrow. That's a downright winter catastrophe for the Bay Area.
(And similar to David M Mallon's tirade, every time it rains around here it's an apocalypse. As far as we can tell, everyone throws their hands in the air and shrieks, "There is water! Falling! From the sky!!!")
It's interesting, thinking back on living for 30-odd years in upstate New York, that I must have just gotten used to living in an area where something is always falling from the sky (rain, snow, hail, railroad bridges, etc). There's a lot of general instability and dysfunction, but people tend not to panic much over the weather.
I remember at one point just after the big storm of 2014 dumped seven or eight feet of snow on the Buffalo area, some national TV news network brought in a reporter to do a story-- she was dressed up like she was venturing into the Antarctic, talking about all of the devastation... and in the background of the shot, you could see one of the native Buffalonians casually strolling down the street in shorts and sneakers, carrying two 30-racks of Labatt's.
It's interesting, thinking back on living for 30-odd years in upstate New York, that I must have just gotten used to living in an area where something is always falling from the sky (rain, snow, hail, railroad bridges, etc). There's a lot of general instability and dysfunction, but people tend not to panic much over the weather.Hey, even here we're getting lows in the high 30s and nearly 3/4" of rain tomorrow. That's a downright winter catastrophe for the Bay Area.
(And similar to David M Mallon's tirade, every time it rains around here it's an apocalypse. As far as we can tell, everyone throws their hands in the air and shrieks, "There is water! Falling! From the sky!!!")
All you need to know about the Bay Area: Lows under 40, highs over 75, or more than 0.25" of rain in a day are all catastrophic, newsworthy events.
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We're supposed to get snow flurries here in Dallas Sunday to Monday, and it's supposed to be below freezing (barely) from sundown Saturday until midday Wednesday.
I will bet good cash money that schools here are canceled Tuesday, delayed start on Wednesday, because Texas.
EVERYBODY PANIC! THERE'S WHITE STUFF IN THE SKY, AND IT ISN'T FROM THE COTTONWOOD TREES! WE'RE DOOMED!
Pfft. Southerners.
I've got a gas stove and chili fixins, and I just restocked the bar. We're good.
OK, I have to ask, and I've been wondering this for years-- what does this mean?
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Hey, even here we're getting lows in the high 30s and nearly 3/4" of rain tomorrow. That's a downright winter catastrophe for the Bay Area.
(And similar to David M Mallon's tirade, every time it rains around here it's an apocalypse. As far as we can tell, everyone throws their hands in the air and shrieks, "There is water! Falling! From the sky!!!")
Wait... That's California... Shouldn't they all be ecstatic that water falls from the sky?!
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Wait... That's California... Shouldn't they all be ecstatic that water falls from the sky?!Hey, even here we're getting lows in the high 30s and nearly 3/4" of rain tomorrow. That's a downright winter catastrophe for the Bay Area.
(And similar to David M Mallon's tirade, every time it rains around here it's an apocalypse. As far as we can tell, everyone throws their hands in the air and shrieks, "There is water! Falling! From the sky!!!")
They should be, but they still can't drive in it.
3/4s of an inch? Thats just making the mountain FUN.
OK, I have to ask, and I've been wondering this for years-- what does this mean?
Wune is my campaign setting.
I dance to summon the snow.
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I have bought new shoes.
I might have waited until the first paycheck, but the ;old left shoe was leaky, wetting my sock and foot while stepping on water or snow.
Leaky shoes are bad.
Wet feet are the second worst thing, next to wet and cold feet.