Some "First Day of Spring"...
Mar. 20th, 2006 08:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseSo yesterday dumped a good foot of snow on us...guess it doesn't want to be spring yet. On the other hand, today's fairly warm and most of the snow is melting, and really it feels more spring-ish than it has in some time. So maybe spring will get here after all. Given that I live in Alaska (even in the banana belt of AK, as it were), I suppose I must make allowances...
On the upside, I learned this morning that my new car (whom I have tentatively dubbed "Kitty", due to her kittenish enthusiasm) handles fairly decently in slushy conditions, even with what are most definitively summer tires. It really shows that the anti-lock brakes are from the current generation (as opposed to when they were fairly new like with my old car) - when they engage, you can feel them adjusting each wheel independently. They're really quite efficient. I'm hoping to invest in some Michelin Blizzak tires over the summer - they're expensive, but they're purported to be better than summer tires in the summer and better than studded tires in the winter, with the implied bonus that you don't have to change them over each season. Plus they come with a 75,000 mile warranty - I can get behind that.
Dinner last night was interesting. Brian and I had invited Chris and Jeanne for corned beef and boiled vegetables, but right about the time I was going to transfer the beef to the oven (and, coincidentally, right when they knocked on the door), the power went out. So we ended up putting dinner on hold and playing Dread Pirate for an hour or so until the power came back on. I went to put the beef in the oven, set the oven, set the timer, etc...and the power went out again. And on. And out. And on. Eventually we did get dinner cooked, but it was kind of annoying having to reset the oven and timer five times. Joys of living in a place where it can snow three feet in an hour, I suppose...
Speaking of which, it occurs to me that in fifteen minutes or so (once people start getting into the office and discovering that their phone systems have been blown from the multiple power outages) my phone's going to start ringing like crazy. (Come to think of it, I'm really not sure why this is - lots of people seem to have their systems blown when the power goes out, but we never do. I'm guessing the difference is probably that we have ours hooked to a UPS or some such, but I wouldn't really know.) So I guess I'd better get set for when the inevitable "MY FONES R BROKE COME FIX THEM NOW!" calls start rolling in...
Though I guess I should be grateful. Last time the power went out over the weekend two of our techs were sick and we weren't able to get to everyone as quickly as we needed to. :s
On the upside, I learned this morning that my new car (whom I have tentatively dubbed "Kitty", due to her kittenish enthusiasm) handles fairly decently in slushy conditions, even with what are most definitively summer tires. It really shows that the anti-lock brakes are from the current generation (as opposed to when they were fairly new like with my old car) - when they engage, you can feel them adjusting each wheel independently. They're really quite efficient. I'm hoping to invest in some Michelin Blizzak tires over the summer - they're expensive, but they're purported to be better than summer tires in the summer and better than studded tires in the winter, with the implied bonus that you don't have to change them over each season. Plus they come with a 75,000 mile warranty - I can get behind that.
Dinner last night was interesting. Brian and I had invited Chris and Jeanne for corned beef and boiled vegetables, but right about the time I was going to transfer the beef to the oven (and, coincidentally, right when they knocked on the door), the power went out. So we ended up putting dinner on hold and playing Dread Pirate for an hour or so until the power came back on. I went to put the beef in the oven, set the oven, set the timer, etc...and the power went out again. And on. And out. And on. Eventually we did get dinner cooked, but it was kind of annoying having to reset the oven and timer five times. Joys of living in a place where it can snow three feet in an hour, I suppose...
Speaking of which, it occurs to me that in fifteen minutes or so (once people start getting into the office and discovering that their phone systems have been blown from the multiple power outages) my phone's going to start ringing like crazy. (Come to think of it, I'm really not sure why this is - lots of people seem to have their systems blown when the power goes out, but we never do. I'm guessing the difference is probably that we have ours hooked to a UPS or some such, but I wouldn't really know.) So I guess I'd better get set for when the inevitable "MY FONES R BROKE COME FIX THEM NOW!" calls start rolling in...
Though I guess I should be grateful. Last time the power went out over the weekend two of our techs were sick and we weren't able to get to everyone as quickly as we needed to. :s
