[ale] OT: Driving in snow...

[Sean Kilpatrick]

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On Thursday 02 December 2004 10:54 am, tfreeman at intel.digichem.net wrote:
| I tended to prefer a flat bladed shovel with a full wooden handle. I would 
| give out before the shovel would, where I tended to destroy the snow 
| shovel with too large a load.

<chuckle>  And now you know one of the principal reasons
I moved to Atlanta: I got seriously tired of shoveling 
snow.
Having driven in the snow and yuck from here to the Canadian
border, I think it is easier to drive in the snow that
falls in more northern climes.  It's colder there, much
colder, and the snow is much dryer as a result. Dry, _cold_
snow is actually slightly sticky compared to the wet, slushy
stuff that falls here. It also helps that more northern states
do a _much_ better job of getting the stuff pushed off the
roadways. And they are willing to use a lot of salt. Those
of us who have traveled north of the Mason/Dixon Line have
seen those onion-shaped, concrete structures at DOT maintenance
shops -- the ones that store the salt. You won't see any of
them this far south.  All the Georgia DOT can spread on
slippery roads is some sand. The last time a major ice
storm was forecast for Atlanta DOT officials bragged that they
had 500 trucks standing by to sand down the roads.  That's nice,
I guess, but that was 500 trucks for the entire state! 

Sean

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