It's been a degree or two below freezing for the last few days. Coldest 
it's been for years. (Let's face it, these days summer is hardly any 
different from winter - even the trees can't tell the difference any 
more!) And this morning, there was snow.

As in, about 3 cm of snow. More of a thin covering than a serious 
problem. (No doubt the entire country will grind to a halt regardless.)

Unsurprisingly, along the motorway the road was clear, with only patches 
of snow on the surrounding fields. (Actually by then much of it had melted.)

Oddly, when I finally arrived at work, there was no snow anywhere *but* 
on the roads. I hypothesize that the road has been sprinkled with 
anti-salt, a special chemical which raises the freezing point of water. 
(If you've seen the maintenance people round here, you wouldn't be 
surprised that they would do this!)

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OK, so there's been no more snow, but the temperature has reached an 


Man, it's *years* since it's been that cold. I mean, it used to be like 
that every winter, but it hasn't done it for about a decade now.

Fortunately, I came prepaired. ;-)

The building at work, however... seems to be making several 
"interesting" noises. The air conditioning unit in Fathead's office is 
making loud gurgling sounds. And a little while ago, an area of the 
ceiling had a sound like leaking gas... and then it went quieter, and 
finally stopped. Very random!

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And lo On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:37:30 -0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> did  
spake thusly:

> OK, so there's been no more snow, but the temperature has reached an  
> impressive -8°C.

-9°C in Brum apparently and I heard talk of -11 somewhere.

> Man, it's *years* since it's been that cold. I mean, it used to be like  
> that every winter, but it hasn't done it for about a decade now.

And yet the papers can still dust off the headlines from last year about  
Britain being gripped by winter/snow/ice. Apart from the increase in  
traffic (brats are back at school) the roads were better than they were  
yesterday though.

> Fortunately, I came prepaired. ;-)

Gloves, thick coat, ...bobble hat?

> The building at work, however... seems to be making several  
> "interesting" noises. The air conditioning unit in Fathead's office is  
> making loud gurgling sounds. And a little while ago, an area of the  
> ceiling had a sound like leaking gas... and then it went quieter, and  
> finally stopped.

> Very random!

Yeah totally unlike computers then

Well in the hour and half I've been in the temperature has finally reached  
13°C in the office and that's with all the heaters on.

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

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Phil Cook v2 wrote:

> -9°C in Brum apparently and I heard talk of -11 somewhere.

Heh, that's pretty mental.

My mum dragged me out of bed early becuase of the "wickedly bad" weather 
outside. Personally, apart from being very cold, I didn't find much 
wrong with it...

>> Man, it's *years* since it's been that cold. I mean, it used to be 
>> like that every winter, but it hasn't done it for about a decade now.
> 
> And yet the papers can still dust off the headlines from last year about 
> Britain being gripped by winter/snow/ice. Apart from the increase in 
> traffic (brats are back at school) the roads were better than they were 
> yesterday though.

Yeah, not much problem with traffic. But hey, it sounds more dramatic if 
you make out that it's a major crisis, eh? (It's quite irritating, 
actually...)

Yesterday we found yourselves behind possibly the most nervous driver 
EVER. Got to a roundabout. Stopped. Wait for the cars to go past. Uh... 
why are we still stopped? That other car is going left. Finally, the 
leader moves forward... 8 feet, and then stops (half way over the line). 
Why are you stopping? Oh yeah, there's a car 400 yards away approaching 
the aroundabout. WTF? In the end my dad got bored of waiting for this 
person to actually enter the roundabout and just took another route.

Yes, there's a tiny bit of snow. No, I'm sure your car will still grip 
the road if you drive sensibly. You don't need to move at walking pace! 
Tires have tred *for a reason*. Sheesh...

>> Fortunately, I came prepaired. ;-)
> 
> Gloves, thick coat, ...bobble hat?

Super-saturated salt solution. ;-) Just in case.

> Well in the hour and half I've been in the temperature has finally 
> reached 13°C in the office and that's with all the heaters on.

Damn! And I thought it was bad that the toilet seats have condensation 
on them... o_O

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And lo On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:21:35 -0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> did  
spake thusly:

> Phil Cook v2 wrote:
>
>> -9°C in Brum apparently and I heard talk of -11 somewhere.
>
> Heh, that's pretty mental.
>
> My mum dragged me out of bed early becuase of the "wickedly bad" weather  
> outside. Personally, apart from being very cold, I didn't find much  
> wrong with it...

As with most things if you're careful it's not a problem; I'll agree it's  
cold, but it's certainly not as bad as it has been in my memory. I recall  
snow up to my knees when I was eight and my mum having to instruct the  
taxi (to get to my cousin's birthday party so mid-December) to wait at the  
top of the road because they wouldn't get back up it if they came to  
collect us.

>>> Man, it's *years* since it's been that cold. I mean, it used to be  
>>> like that every winter, but it hasn't done it for about a decade now.
>>  And yet the papers can still dust off the headlines from last year  
>> about Britain being gripped by winter/snow/ice. Apart from the increase  
>> in traffic (brats are back at school) the roads were better than they  
>> were yesterday though.
>
> Yeah, not much problem with traffic. But hey, it sounds more dramatic if  
> you make out that it's a major crisis, eh? (It's quite irritating,  
> actually...)

Well it is when you've been used to sailing through the roads without  
pause and it coincides with everyone driving like the person below.

> Yesterday we found yourselves behind possibly the most nervous driver  
> EVER. Got to a roundabout. Stopped. Wait for the cars to go past. Uh...  
> why are we still stopped? That other car is going left.

Yeah well around here at least that means absolutely nothing, and if  
you're worried about having to come to a sudden halt after an attempt at  
acceleration I'd be cautious too.

Case in point I'm on an untreated road and want to turn right, and I've a  
big square skip in my lane just before the turn. I slow as I approach and  
someone turns out of that road without looking in my direction. I've  
spotted them and slunk to a halt and just about to move on when another  
car comes along towards me on the main road. Now in theory I can overtake  
this skip and turn right before it gets to me, if I mis-time it I can  
snick in behind the skip and wait to turn... provided there isn't  
something parked behind the skip, which I can't see. So I wait, the  
oncoming car slows and flashes me to turn; I gently apply my foot and  
listen to my wheels spin. Good job I didn't try to attempt the turn.

<snip>
> Yes, there's a tiny bit of snow. No, I'm sure your car will still grip  
> the road if you drive sensibly. You don't need to move at walking pace!  
> Tires have tred *for a reason*. Sheesh...

Exactly there's a degree of care you need to take, but on main treated  
roads it shouldn't be to that much of a degree.

>>> Fortunately, I came prepaired. ;-)
>>  Gloves, thick coat, ...bobble hat?
>
> Super-saturated salt solution. ;-) Just in case.

And that'll keep you warm how? ;-)

>> Well in the hour and half I've been in the temperature has finally  
>> reached 13°C in the office and that's with all the heaters on.
>
> Damn! And I thought it was bad that the toilet seats have condensation  
> on them... o_O

It's sitting at 21 now which is just right, typical that I'll be off out  
in half an hour for some lunch.

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

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>> My mum dragged me out of bed early becuase of the "wickedly bad" 
>> weather outside. Personally, apart from being very cold, I didn't find 
>> much wrong with it...
> 
> As with most things if you're careful it's not a problem; I'll agree 
> it's cold, but it's certainly not as bad as it has been in my memory. I 
> recall snow up to my knees when I was eight and my mum having to 
> instruct the taxi (to get to my cousin's birthday party so mid-December) 
> to wait at the top of the road because they wouldn't get back up it if 
> they came to collect us.

I too can remember layers of snow multiple inches deep occurring *every 
winter* when I was a child, and staying on the ground for days or even 
*weeks* on end.

Doesn't seem to happen any more... And yet, a tiny bit of snow and 
everybody goes mad. *sigh*

>> Yeah, not much problem with traffic. But hey, it sounds more dramatic 
>> if you make out that it's a major crisis, eh? (It's quite irritating, 
>> actually...)
> 
> Well it is when you've been used to sailing through the roads without 
> pause and it coincides with everyone driving like the person below.

Heh, yeah!

>> Yes, there's a tiny bit of snow. No, I'm sure your car will still grip 
>> the road if you drive sensibly. You don't need to move at walking 
>> pace! Tires have tred *for a reason*. Sheesh...
> 
> Exactly there's a degree of care you need to take, but on main treated 
> roads it shouldn't be to that much of a degree.

Indeed. Some people seem to overestimate how dangerous the conditions 
are. Caution is required, but you don't need to crawl along at 4 MPH.

>>>> Fortunately, I came prepaired. ;-)
>>>  Gloves, thick coat, ...bobble hat?
>>
>> Super-saturated salt solution. ;-) Just in case.
> 
> And that'll keep you warm how? ;-)

Because, old chap, when I snap the small metallic band, the entire 
solution will crystalise, releasing heat. >:-D

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And lo On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:46:26 -0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> did  
spake thusly:

>>> Super-saturated salt solution. ;-) Just in case.
>>  And that'll keep you warm how? ;-)
>
> Because, old chap, when I snap the small metallic band, the entire  
> solution will crystalise, releasing heat. >:-D

Oh one of those, I get you now; I was thinking of some sort of ultra  
de-icer. Those are quite neat I picked up three on some trip, they also  
had huge ones to put behind your neck too.

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

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>>>> Super-saturated salt solution. ;-) Just in case.
>>>  And that'll keep you warm how? ;-)
>>
>> Because, old chap, when I snap the small metallic band, the entire 
>> solution will crystalise, releasing heat. >:-D
> 
> Oh one of those, I get you now; I was thinking of some sort of ultra 
> de-icer. Those are quite neat I picked up three on some trip, they also 
> had huge ones to put behind your neck too.

Neat, eh?

[Actually the ones I have are infuriatingly reluctant to work properly, 
but still...]

Plus, every time you say "super-saturated salt solution" you get +4 
aliteration points! :-D

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And lo On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:29:18 -0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> did  
spake thusly:

>>>>> Super-saturated salt solution. ;-) Just in case.
>>>>  And that'll keep you warm how? ;-)
>>>
>>> Because, old chap, when I snap the small metallic band, the entire  
>>> solution will crystalise, releasing heat. >:-D
>>  Oh one of those, I get you now; I was thinking of some sort of ultra  
>> de-icer. Those are quite neat I picked up three on some trip, they also  
>> had huge ones to put behind your neck too.
>
> Neat, eh?
>
> [Actually the ones I have are infuriatingly reluctant to work properly,  
> but still...]

Hmmm mine work fine with a simple snap.

> Plus, every time you say "super-saturated salt solution" you get +4  
> aliteration points! :-D

Double that if you know what it means :-)

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

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>> [Actually the ones I have are infuriatingly reluctant to work 
>> properly, but still...]
> 
> Hmmm mine work fine with a simple snap.

Mine seem to require several snaps before they "work". Depending on how 
lucky you are. (The brand-name one my mum used to have always seemed to 
work first time.)

>> Plus, every time you say "super-saturated salt solution" you get +4 
>> aliteration points! :-D
> 
> Double that if you know what it means :-)

Even if you say "super-saturated sodium sulphate solution" it works! :-D

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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