The Silver Screen Oasis

movieman1957 wrote:If all the weather wasn't bad enough they are calling for 10 to 20 inches more tomorrow into Wednesday. I can't throw the snow high enough to get it out of the way anymore.

When we have heavy snow storms in Manhattan, when the plows come through they create mountains of snow at the sides of the roads that cannot remain there. I've seen two methods used to remove the mountains: 1) shovel the snow up into dump trucks and then drive over to the river and toss it in, and 2) run big, loud machines that melt the snow as it's scooped in, draining the water down into the sewers.

Professional Tourist wrote: 2) run big, loud machines that melt the snow as it's scooped in, draining the water down into the sewers.

We have one of those machines in Bellows Falls - we call it the town selectboard; it's just cheaper to plow the snow away rather than funneling all that hot air.

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Professional Tourist:

Chicago and most of it's suburbs use the dump truck method. It's the most reasonable way. Those mountains are dangerous when they line the house driveways, you can't see over them when backing out of your drive, and you can't see the car coming out if you're driving on the street.
.

Glad to read that my American friends are fine. I hope that everyone will continue to be safe and sound and that the snow, storms and blizzard will end. My sister in law in Raleigh has told me that she hasn't seen something like this in years. I also talked with a friend who lives in Connecticut and another in Montana and they are OK. This means that our winter in Santiago de Chile (June through September) will be quite rough. Take care you all. Fernando from the sunny Chile & currently on vacation.

Me too currently on vacation. I'm taking another vacation day tomorrow. It's still snowing, has been for twenty-four hours now. It's supposed to stop shortly before dawn, but I think the streets and sidewalks will be rough-going for the morning commute, so I'd rather take another day. I've got the time accumulating, so why not.

PT, are you in New York City, or one of the surrounding areas? Judith is in Brooklyn, we haven't heard from her today, maybe she had a snow day, too.

Be safe! It just isn't worth a broken bone or bruises to get out in this mess you're having....

Hi, all.

Although my office was open for part of the day yesterday, I decided slogging through the storm is not my thing, and took the day off. The snow was coming down so fast and hard, you couldn't see more than a foot and a half out the window. The official word is that my area, usually lumped in with the "South Shore of Long Island" (that means worse weather than in Manhattan), got 12 inches, but it looks like more to me.

A Fedex truck got stuck in the street outside my building, and even with the help of another FedEx truck, US Post Office truck and a neighbor with a little snow plow, they were there for hours. I don't know how he finally got out, but I bet none of them were having fun.

Today it is a lot milder than I thought it would be, although still chilly. Unfortunately, out my way, it isn't so much snow on the ground as it is a really thick layer of ice, and walking to the train this morning was quite an adventure. The packed down ice/snow is all lumpy and uneven, making it ideal for mountain goats, but not for old nanny goats like me. Even with my trusty removable cleats, I felt really nervous, and would have loved to have some ski poles as well. I stayed close to the fronts of homes and held on to the garden fences wherever I could. Getting across the streets is particularly treacherous, since there's nothing to hold on to. And now, with the milder temperatures, the top layer of ice will certainly melt, only to re-freeze overnight into new and more dodgy configurations I'll have to negotiate tomorrow morning. Come onnnnnnnnn weekend!

JDB1, why not ask for a vacation day or personal day for tomorrow?

I've taken two vacation days this week, but since my office ended up closing at noon yesterday, I may only be charged for one of them.

Unless the time off needs to be saved for an upcoming trip or something like that, to me it's not worth the risk of injury.

Professional Tourist wrote:JDB1, why not ask for a vacation day or personal day for tomorrow?

I've taken two vacation days this week, but since my office ended up closing at noon yesterday, I may only be charged for one of them.

Unless the time off needs to be saved for an upcoming trip or something like that, to me it's not worth the risk of injury.

Thanks for the thought -- however, it's not my upcoming trip, but the boss'. He'll be away all next week, and of course he has to rush and finish up everything he left lying around for the last six months. Tomorrow will probably be the most hectic, but next week I'll enjoy the lull his absence creates.

6" here but i'm on sick leave till next week, watching it melt and refreeze from the window

4 more inches here - I'm taking one more day off!
ican type a little better now!
B

Well, New York is getting plenty of snow today.

When I talked to my boss early this morning, his area (Staten Island) had received two feet of snow overnight.

My office is officially closed, thank goodness.

We only got a foot and a half of snow overnight. I had to push my way out of the front door this morning in order to get out of the house thanks to a drift of the white stuff that had blown up against the egress. It took me longer to clean off the jitney than it did to drive to work. The roads are really quiet with little traffic since everything seems to be closed except for important stuff like the grocery and liquor stores!

Thank goodness the local deli-restaurant was delivering this morning; I'm full and warm. I think this would be a good day to watch Barefoot in the Park.

Branches and whole trees were falling in Central Park yesterday, from the weight of the snow. After a man was killed by a falling branch the police were ordering people out of the park. Story here.