Apropos of Nothing -3-

Shaun Barrett · 2005-01-12 07:10:51

I've heard of rain storms, dust storms, snow storms and hail storms.
But what's an ice storm, exactly? ???

Palomar · 2005-01-12 07:40:52

I've heard of rain storms, dust storms, snow storms and hail storms.
But what's an ice storm, exactly? ???

*Oh Shaun my dear...be glad you have to ask.

It's when the temperature during a storm isn't cold enough to form snow but not quite warm enough to produce only rain. In the Midwest this occurs generally when the temperatures hover around 33 degrees F, with minor fluctuations up and down during. The precipitation comes down in the form of raindrops with bits of ice in them -- what seems like a roughly 50/50 mix. This is called "sleet" if it's coming down quickly and "a drizzle" if coming down slowly.

The ice begins to gradually accumulate and if the precipitation comes down steadily and quickly enough, you get lots of water-ice. That's an ice storm.

Then the real fun begins when the temperature dips down a bit farther and everything freezes. I've seen power lines coated at least 3/4 inch thick with ice -- the wires are literally coated and encased with ice.

Around 12 years ago, near Des Moines, Iowa, they had such a severe ice storm that even the huge, heavy, sturdy and super-durable metal utility poles tipped over from the weight of the ice. It's horrible. I'd rather put up with an out-right blizzard. :-\

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2005-01-12 07:52:07

Then the real fun begins when the temperature dips down a bit farther and everything freezes. I've seen power lines coated at least 3/4 inch thick with ice -- the wires are literally coated and encased with ice.

But the real fun comes when you have to drive in it. If you can scrape the ice shell off the car, that is. Zipping down an ice-covered freeway at 06:00 will wake you up sure as anything. Controlled sliding is the key, it's like NASCAR meets figuring skating.

Palomar · 2005-01-12 08:31:22

Then the real fun begins when the temperature dips down a bit farther and everything freezes. I've seen power lines coated at least 3/4 inch thick with ice -- the wires are literally coated and encased with ice.
But the real fun comes when you have to drive in it. If you can scrape the ice shell off the car, that is. Zipping down an ice-covered freeway at 06:00 will wake you up sure as anything. Controlled sliding is the key, it's like NASCAR meets figuring skating.

*Yep...remember that too.

One morning, around 20 years ago, on the way to business college classes, my car suddenly went out of control for no apparent reason. Was traveling probably 20 mph, and always opted to shift down to slow (if need be), never touching the brakes (and then *lightly* so) until the very last moment for a stoplight or whatever. Anyway, I was on an open stretch of highway, traveling steadily along, and suddenly the back end of the car fishtailed sharply and abruptly to the right. My hands briefly and automatically let up slightly from the steering wheel and I was about to gently take hold of the steering wheel again to correct the swerve of the car when suddenly the steering wheel itself jerked violently to the left. I immediately knew I was in trouble. It was as if an invisible, malicious entity had taken control of the car -- the steering wheel cranked violently to the right and to the left again, and there was nothing I could do at that point except not panic, not grab the steering wheel and not touch the brakes. It scared the living hell out of me; there was nothing I could do and I had to wait until it stopped on its own. Unfortunately it was also foggy that morning and I had no idea what vehicles might be approaching from either direction. Fortunately -- none. I skidded off into an ice and hard snow-packed ditch, just a few feet off the highway, and came to a stop. I was trembling like crazy, and had to take a few minutes to catch my breath.

I wouldn't have been out that morning at all, except we had finals for the quarter at the business college and they were super strict, rarely allowing "make up" exams. I backed the car out of where it'd come to a stop and drove on.

That was the -only- incident I had in years of driving in that rotten weather. I'm a good driver and always handled Midwestern weather very well, so that day really took me by surprise. I still don't know how it happened. :-\

An ice storm in northern Texas one year forced my uncle to have to boil water and pour it over his car; it was coated in a shell of ice at least 1/2 inch thick -- it was so compact (like Midwestern ice storm) he couldn't even chip away at it in order to get the driver's side door open.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-01-12 18:10:48

Cindy:-

An ice storm in northern Texas one year forced my uncle to have to boil water and pour it over his car; it was coated in a shell of ice at least 1/2 inch thick -- it was so compact (like Midwestern ice storm) he couldn't even chip away at it in order to get the driver's side door open.

WOWW!
Even though I lived in southern England for years, I never saw anything like that. That Gulf Stream sure helps to protect England from the worst excesses of winter at those latitudes.
Thank you for participating in my ongoing education about the world. It's much appreciated.

BWhite · 2005-01-12 21:51:47

If the morning after an ice storm is clear (and it often is with cloudless blue skies) its almost impossible to go outside because the sunlight reflects off everything.

Ice storms will down trees fairly easily, too.

GraemeSkinner · 2005-01-12 22:34:00

Four days of local radio - arghhh!!!

Due to recent storms we spent just over four days without electricity - cooking over a coal fire is fun for about two seconds! You can cope with stuff like that, but why oh why does the loca radio think it has to announce the schools open/closed due to the storms every half hour (it takes nearly that long to list them all) - we just got power in time to watch Deep Impact take off, but I missed it (think it was the excitement of running round turning lights on and off )

Normal service will now be resumed I hope :blues:

Graeme

Shaun Barrett · 2005-01-13 06:37:13

Bill:-

If the morning after an ice storm is clear (and it often is with cloudless blue skies) its almost impossible to go outside because the sunlight reflects off everything.
Ice storms will down trees fairly easily, too.

Hmmm, yeah Bill - I hadn't thought of that. The glare coming off, or even focusing through, all that ice must be unbearable. No doubt polarising sunglasses would be the order of the day but, even so, it would be pretty intense light I guess.
I assume the destruction of trees is caused by the sheer weight of accumulated ice on the limbs (?).
Very unpleasant conditions.

Graeme:-

Four days of local radio - arghhh!!!
Due to recent storms we spent just over four days without electricity - cooking over a coal fire is fun for about two seconds!
... - we just got power in time to watch Deep Impact take off, but I missed it (think it was the excitement of running round turning lights on and off

Ha-ha!! :laugh:
You can say that again! It's amazing how exasperating the loss of a taken-for-granted 21st century amenity like electrical power can be .. and what a relief it is to have it back again.
We can lose power relatively often here in Cairns during cyclones and even after exceptionally heavy rain. In the latter case, it's often intellectually-challenged drivers losing control of their cars or trucks by assuming they can brake and accelerate in their usual manic fashion even though the road surface is awash with thousands of litres of water! Needless to say, every so often one of these half-wits will leave the road at high speed and take out a power pole on the way into a ditch.

We've been watching news of your horrendous flooding, Graeme, in places like Carlisle. What a cold wet mess it looked, with cars submerged to their roof lines and elderly folk being rescued from upstairs windows by Emergency Services personnel in boats! Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Hope everything's cleaned up soon.

GraemeSkinner · 2005-01-13 08:15:42

We've been watching news of your horrendous flooding, Graeme, in places like Carlisle. What a cold wet mess it looked, with cars submerged to their roof lines and elderly folk being rescued from upstairs windows by Emergency Services personnel in boats! Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Hope everything's cleaned up soon.

The worst bit is (for me at least) on the saturday morning I was coming home from a night shift just after 6am. The route I normally take is over a bridge, as I got to the end of the bridge a van was parked up, the driver unable to get through the flood water. So I parked up nearby and thought I'd wade through the flood as my house was only a couple of miles away and the other roads were by then blocked.
I walked back across the bridge and stood next to the water I had no idea the extent of the flood in the dark with only a torch to see by but in the end I decided against the walk and looking at the pictures afterwards it was a good idea not to attempt it http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/im … l?45]IMAGE LINK

I did get the shakes afterwards when they said on the radio that the bridge may have moved due to the flood - and I was standing on it trying to pick a route.

Cowardice does have its rewards some times!

Graeme

Palomar · 2005-01-13 11:19:15

The worst bit is (for me at least) on the saturday morning I was coming home from a night shift just after 6am. The route I normally take is over a bridge, as I got to the end of the bridge a van was parked up, the driver unable to get through the flood water. So I parked up nearby and thought I'd wade through the flood as my house was only a couple of miles away and the other roads were by then blocked.
I walked back across the bridge and stood next to the water I had no idea the extent of the flood in the dark with only a torch to see by but in the end I decided against the walk and looking at the pictures afterwards it was a good idea not to attempt it http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/im … l?45]IMAGE LINK
I did get the shakes afterwards when they said on the radio that the bridge may have moved due to the flood - and I was standing on it trying to pick a route.
Cowardice does have its rewards some times!
Graeme

*Wow. Well, I'm also glad you didn't make the attempt. I've seen how flood water looking like that can sweep away a heavy U.S. vehicle -- never mind what it could have done with you. :-\

I'm miffed right now at U.S. news services which, based on my viewing/listening, aren't even mentioning the flooding in your area. Everything here is focused on the mudslides, torrential rains, etc. in California.

Anyway, sorry about the situation there in England.

--Cindy

P.S.: I used to (up until recently) check BBC news online a few days out of the week...guess I should start doing that again -- better overall worldwide reporting than U.S. news services, generally speaking.

BWhite · 2005-01-13 13:52:19

Bill:-
If the morning after an ice storm is clear (and it often is with cloudless blue skies) its almost impossible to go outside because the sunlight reflects off everything.
Ice storms will down trees fairly easily, too.
Hmmm, yeah Bill - I hadn't thought of that. The glare coming off, or even focusing through, all that ice must be unbearable. No doubt polarising sunglasses would be the order of the day but, even so, it would be pretty intense light I guess.
I assume the destruction of trees is caused by the sheer weight of accumulated ice on the limbs (?).
Very unpleasant conditions.

Chicago gets at least one ice storm per year, but the really big ones are more sporadic.

Not that big a deal, really.

But chipping 1/2 inch of ice away from your car lock so you can start the de-frosters is annoying.

Heh! Chicago might get a mild ice storm tonight. After 50 F melted all the snow and flooded streets.

I assume the destruction of trees is caused by the sheer weight of accumulated ice on the limbs (?).

Exactly! Every exposed surface gets coated in ice, just like its painted on with a giant sprayer - - which is true enough, I guess.

And if it's windy at the same time, one side of atree can have a 1/4 inch later of ice runing up the entire trunk while the other side is bare bark. Cool!

But weaker trees and branches do fall down, occasionally onto (and into) houses.

Edited By BWhite on 1105646124

Palomar · 2005-01-13 14:24:25

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s … _21]Prince Harry's Costume

*Well, that sure is some mistake. :-\ I am vastly disappointed in this young man. Just a few months ago he was shown in a documentary, visiting poor African villages. He's a natural with children -- genuinely interactive, affectionate, etc. Can't believe he'd pull a stunt like this, but I guess he's young (which often is linked to another word, starting with "s"). ::shakes head::

Still don't know how this could have been a simple "mistake" though. I'm trying to imagine the son of a Dixie-state governor dressing up like a member of the KKK and then trying to explain it as a "mistake."

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2005-01-13 14:51:18

Hmm, my inclination is to say to the young prince "what the hell is wrong with you?", wind up for a backhand, "what kind of idiot would believe it was a mistake! What, you just fell into a Nazi uniform? Have the spine to tell the critics to bugger off!"

I call it bad taste, but wait:
"I think anybody who tries to pass it off as bad taste must be made aware that this can encourage others to think that perhaps that period was not as bad as we teach the young generation in the free world," he told reporters.

Yeah, okay. Horrible, unspeakable crimes were committed, by enemies and allies alike. Still I stand by the initial statement, bad taste, poor judgement. Nothing more. And as for what we're teaching the young generation about that period... Perhaps there should be a little re-examining?

I suppose any costume making a historical reference that could be deemed disrespectful to victims should get the same treatment? Imagine the outrage if he'd shown up in a cowboy hat.

:hm: Or maybe I'm just desensitized to undisciplined hooligans in makeshift Nazi uniforms. <shrug>

Palomar · 2005-01-13 15:02:42

*There might be deeper issues at play, though -- as the outrage goes. His great-uncle, the former (abdicated) King Edward VIII, was accused of being a Nazi sympathizer. And there are rumors dear old grand-dad (Prince Philip) is quite the racist. I can't verify those assertions, but there's been plenty of accusations and perhaps some proof to back them up.

Poor form regardless.

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2005-01-13 15:14:23

*There might be deeper issues at play, though -- as the outrage goes. His great-uncle, the former (abdicated) King Edward VIII, was accused of being a Nazi sympathizer.

The Edward VIII abdication is one of the rare cases in which I'll entertain conspiracy theories, in this case revolving around his alleged sympathies with both Nazi Germany and Britain's own fascists. Something about the "abdicating to marry a commoner" story doesn't quite jive. I just try to picture him sitting there thinking "I could marry her, or I could be King of England, what to do...?" :hm:

Like the friggin' King couldn't hook something up.

Poor form regardless.

Without question.

GraemeSkinner · 2005-01-13 22:35:38

I suppose any costume making a historical reference that could be deemed disrespectful to victims should get the same treatment? Imagine the outrage if he'd shown up in a cowboy hat.

The last time I was in a costume hire shop, you could hire Nazi uniforms, pirate costumes, cowboy outfits, KKK, grim reaper, the list goes on and on. It was bad form for him to wear the nazi uniform, sure, but I think the media as usual takes things was out of proportion. He's a young lad, that unlike me and the majority of others is making his mistakes in a very public stage - I'd have hated to make my mistakes in public like that, with every gaff photographed and plastered over the front of newspapers and on TV. You'd think he'd have a PA that would help prevent such public errors, but I don't think the lad should get so much stick for a mistake that many of us could have made.

As for Edward VIII and his abdication, it was a different time, a different era, he did what he thought was right for the crown. It does show though that people just love to point at the famous and pick faults, if he'd stayed and married, people would have been outraged and the status of the crown lessened, so he went, and people start on with conspiracies that his love life had nothing to do with him going - some times you just can't catch a break.

Graeme

Palomar · 2005-01-14 09:41:13

*Yeah, I'm not much into conspiracy theories either, but Cobra might be onto something.

There was also the issue, though, of both Edward and Albert reportedly being painfully shy and both brothers (particularly Albert, IIRC) having very bad stammering troubles, maybe even stuttering. Public speeches, addresses before foreign dignitaries, etc... :-\

However, considering the throne being tossed at you via birth, and all the headaches which go with it (particularly nonstop public scrutiny)...I don't doubt Edward rather happily gave it up. He and Wallis were loyal to the end, apparently -- and very much in love. Their stationery monogram was "WE". (And no, I'm no big romantic -- just relating what I know).

Not everyone is up to the job. Understandably.

--Cindy

clark · 2005-01-14 13:20:04

It was a private party of college kids where the theme of the party was "Colonizer and Native". It's not like he showed up at the Holocaust Gala Costume Party.

Just newsies making hay.

For Halloween, can I dress up as a drowned victim of a tsunami? What, too soon?

clark · 2005-01-18 21:16:56

whatever you do, don't mispell.

Shaun Barrett · 2005-01-19 06:06:07

I think that's 'misspell', Clark.

clark · 2005-01-19 09:03:01

it's a joke.

dicktice · 2005-01-19 19:22:07

I remember, from Sweden, that: Swedish is difficult to begin to learn by Anglophones but easy to master, whereas English is easy to begin (by Scandinavians) but impossible to master.

Shaun Barrett · 2005-01-19 19:35:31

Indeed.
I've been discussing the peculiarities of English with a friend recently, particularly with regard to the fact that there are Anglicised v. Americanized ways of spelling, plus modern v. archaic ways.

I can spell 'colour' as 'color', 'humour' as 'humor', and 'neighbour' as 'neighbor'. Both systems are in use and neither is actually wrong.

But it doesn't end there. I could say to you: "Methinks, stout fellow, thou art forsooth privy to knowledge most arcane". Or: "Hey dude, I think you really know what's goin' down". Again, neither version is actually wrong, though someone learning English would be completely confused that these two sentences mean the same thing!

In many ways, the English language itself is almost a joke.

GraemeSkinner · 2005-01-20 05:13:07

But it doesn't end there. I could say to you: "Methinks, stout fellow, thou art forsooth privy to knowledge most arcane". Or: "Hey dude, I think you really know what's goin' down". Again, neither version is actually wrong, though someone learning English would be completely confused that these two sentences mean the same thing!

Well...
Methinks - it seems to me. Middle English me thinkes, from Old English m thyncth : m, to me; see me + thyncth, it seems;

Stout - Having or marked by boldness, bravery, or determination; firm and resolute.
Strong in body; sturdy.
Strong in structure or substance; solid or substantial.
Bulky in figure; thickset or corpulent. See Synonyms at fat.
Powerful; forceful.
Stubborn or uncompromising. Middle English, from Old French estout, of Germanic origin. See stel- in Indo-European Roots

Fellow - n.
A man or boy.
Informal. A boyfriend.
A comrade or associate.
A person of equal rank, position, or background; a peer.
One of a pair; a mate: found the lost shoe and its fellow.
A member of a learned society.
A graduate student appointed to a position granting financial aid and providing for further study.
Chiefly British.
An incorporated senior member of certain colleges and universities.
A member of the governing body of certain colleges and universities.
Obsolete. A person of a lower social class.
adj.
Being of the same kind, group, occupation, society, or locality; having in common certain characteristics or interests: fellow workers.

Middle English felau, from Old English folaga, from Old Norse flagi, business partner, fellow, from flag, partnership : f, property, money; see peku- in Indo-European Roots + lag, a laying down; see legh- in Indo-European Roots

Thou - pron. Used to indicate the one being addressed, especially in a literary, liturgical, or devotional context.
[Middle English, from Old English th, second person nominative sing. personal pron.. See tu- in Indo-European Roots.]

Art - v. Archaic. A second person singular present indicative of be.
[Middle English, from Old English eart. See er-1 in Indo-European Roots.]

Forsooth - adv : an archaic word originally meaning `in truth' but now usually used to express disbelief

Privy - adj. Made a participant in knowledge of something private or secret: was privy to classified information.
Belonging or proper to a person, such as the British sovereign, in a private rather than official capacity.
Secret; concealed.
Middle English prive, from Old French, from Latin prvtus, private, from prvus, single, alone. See per1 in Indo-European Roots

To - from Old English

Knowledge - n.
The state or fact of knowing.
Familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study.
The sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned.
Learning; erudition: teachers of great knowledge.
Specific information about something.
Carnal knowledge.
[Middle English knoulech : knouen, to know; see know + -leche, n. suff.]

Most - Middle English, from Old English mst, mst; see m-3 in Indo-European Roots.

Arcane - adj : requiring secret or mysterious knowledge; "the arcane science of dowsing"

____

So the message could be...
It seems to me sturdy boyfriend, you are in truth concealed to carnal knowledge most arcane.
It sort of ties in with your second version :;):

Graeme

clark · 2005-01-21 10:30:25

I think it is, "It's a joke", Dicktice. :laugh:

But now we are quibbling on proper grammatical structure.

So, in proper form, "It was a joke." The "joke" long since having passed, at least the original that is. As is were, or was, unless it depends on what you mean as "is", as a popular politician once quipped to a throng of lookie-loo's.

I ain't no grammar nazi, nor be I one of them thar properly right spellers of that multi-faceted language called Emiercan.

Double meaning through the use of syntax and mispronounced or misspelled words is one of the oldest forms of humor- right after slapstick. But hey, what do I know.

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