Comments on: Today’s Deep Thought

By: Bozo the Clone

Bozo the Clone — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:48:33 +0000

SOME would argue that the fact that you’re out on an icy back road in the middle of an ice storm with a minivan full of kids means that you’re in too much of an all-fired hurry already.

Since I’m another Floridian, I will not judge, despite that remark about hurricanes. It’s a valid trade-off. If you live in the US east of the Rockies, you get at least two types of dangerous weather no matter where you live: Ice-storms, hurricanes or tornadoes.

By: Alisha

Alisha — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:15:16 +0000

But some of us appreciate that you did the drive!

By: Ostron

Ostron — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:14:38 +0000

Frictionless isn’t really the issue – it’s the line between “car stops as fast as I think it should” and “why am I not slowing down?” Any minute evidence of friction in case #2 can be safely ignored.

Mr Jarpe: Been there, except I had the bruised elbow and a minor concussion when my head connected with my front steps as my legs decided they were in more of a hurry than the rest of me. The sound was interesting, though; previous to that I’d only heard it on a pool table.

By: dave

dave — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:07:28 +0000

After the terrible storms in Northwest over Christmas, I heartily second this. Among my other adventures, I did a 135 degree turn into a faster lane on the freeway due to black ice and shoveled out my entire (only about 500′) road so that my car wouldn’t bottom out on the 2+ foot drifts of snow.

On the first, everyone was following John’s maxim and there was no crash. And, yes, I have AWD with chains and ABS. A frictionless surface is a frictionless surface and irregularities in that surface can cause serious problems with your direction of travel (although then it isn’t probably completely frictionless -hmm)

By: truscifi

truscifi — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:47:19 +0000

I’ll take the occasional hurricane over ice storms any day. And I lived through the bad hurricane seasons in central Florida (3 hurricanes in a row one year).

By: Skip

Skip — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:41:59 +0000

Well, here in Texas we know that if the roads are icy you should just cancel your life and stay home. I mean, it’s what, 2-3 days a year max? Maybe 4 or 5 if Al Gore flies into town on a private jet to talk about Global Warming?

By: John Scalzi

John Scalzi — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:35:30 +0000

Did that already, Elaine. Don’t need to do it again.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:27:10 +0000

Alternatively, you can drive in tule fog with drivers who seem to think that visibility is 50 miles rather than about 50 feet.

By: John Scalzi

John Scalzi — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:04:24 +0000

Pegkitty: Since 2003, actually.

By: Pegkitty

Pegkitty — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:47:45 +0000

Wait – the Scalzis have a minivan?

Somehow my worldview feels off-kilter now.