Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Aerie Report, January 6, 2010

I got up early this morning to drive over to Sayre to have the "secondary air injector pumps"--whatever the hell they are--replaced on the Tundra. Under warranty by a few miles so I didn't have to pay the $2200 plus labor it would have cost me. Mechanic's report said something about water intrusion into the pumps. Not so hard to figure out how that might happen with the extremely wet weather we had this past summer and the mud that generated.

Not a bad way to spend the morning except for the inch of snow I had to sweep off the truck before I began, the icy/slushy highway I had to traverse to get there and back, the fearful drivers I had to endure, etc.

I don't mind cautious drivers when the weather calls for caution as this morning's did, however I do have problems with drivers so afraid of the road that they will travel 20-25 miles below the speed limit on flat, straight roads. I'm sure these drivers (I came up behind two of them) have been on these roads before. I'm also sure that they were on their way to work (it was 7 to 8 AM, after all) which would mean they know the road pretty well. Therefore, it must have been their own skill in which they lacked confidence. Fine, slow down around curves or going down slopes when there's some meltwater on the road that could become ice. Watch out for those bridges and overpasses that "freeze before roadway" as they say. And remember to go straight when you go across one of those bridges--curves are not your friend. But for goodness sakes do not keep hitting your breaks when you "accidentally" find yourself going 36 mph in a 55 mph zone.

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I mentioned that it snowed overnight...again. At least it was slightly warmer. It only got down to 17 degrees. Of course it only got UP to 24 during the day. While the snow stopped early in the day and didn't return, the winds did pick up and made it sown right nippy out there even at 24.

The temperatures will take a dip for the next few days but are supposed to get up to near freezing on Sunday. Which is also the first day they say we will see Old Sol. Two inches of snow expected from showers each day between now and then. Not enough to do much with at any one time. Can't shovel it, can't blow it, can't snow shoe on it, can't ski on it. Totally worthless except as an annoyance. THAT it's real good at.

1 comment:

Rev. Paul said...

"Totally worthless except as an annoyance." Agreed. Our only advantage is that we rarely get wet snow; it's usually powder or fluff, either of which will blow off the vehicles as soon as they start rolling.

Today we're getting wet snow (grumble, grumble).