We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2007 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:05:29 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2008 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place... Time to add a new caveat, because from email it's not clear to some folks (mind you, if you don't read this it won't matter...) Being an open post, people (collectively, the Denizens) other than I post in the H&I. They sign their work (most of the time) - keep that in mind when you want... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:59:39 -0600 Frozen-freezing water on the roads? Hey, I spent my youth in southern FL and didn't see snow until I was 20, or so. I mind the Great Atlanta Snowstorm of the mid-eighties. I practiced in the parking lot, a bit, let the tire pressures down to 20 PSI or so, put some ballast in the back of the truck, and had no problems with road conditions. Except for the Doo-Dahs. Maybe they all had power steering, and had no feeling for when they were about to lose control? I also remember the time I drove my Chevy Vega (please don't hit me) from FL to GA back in the seventies, and I was doing Ok, but the other people on the Interstate were acting all crazy, and rotating their cars rapidly about the Z axis while sliding in random directions. They did not seem to understand the concept of "black ice", either. I got off of the interstate and holed up at my cousin's house in McDonough; I could have driven to ATL at a reasonable speed, but those other people had very little sense. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69386 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69386 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:42:24 -0600 KCSteve makes a great point with the water cup. It's also a great learning tool for proper (advanced) driving (smoothness is next to godliness). http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69385 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69385 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:34:03 -0600 Hey, I'm not that bad. When I spun out the other day it was to avoid someone doing 20 on a freeway that had been plowed fairly well(you could see the blacktop thru a thin veneer of snow, and there were grooves worn thru that veneer) but had half foot snow furuoughs on the line markers. I hit that and had to play stuntman, John. I wasn't driving to fast or out of control. Trick of the geography and a huge honkin' Ford truck blocking my sight lanes(it may be nice to be in that truck but it sucks being behind you) gave me only about a 1/4 mile to change before I over ran the moore-on. What i should've done was come of the accelerator and pushed in the clutch until I dropped 10-15 mph before trying to cross into another lane. We small car drivers aren't all idiots. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69384 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69384 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:53:25 -0600 Just pouring rain here in Cleveland, though I always wonder why people seem to forget how to drive come ice and snow. It's only been about 9 months. I also don't know how people can stand a lack of AWD/4WD, might be a cultural thing (even the cheaper Kei cars in Japan have it). http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69383 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69383 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:39:20 -0600 full of water on your dashboard (or just imagine one). Drive so it doesn't slosh. You don't have to go slow but you can't make any sudden changes so make sure you've got enough room to slow down / stop / turn (in other words, don't go too fast). As an addendum to not making any sudden changes, try not to break traction. Once your wheels start to spin you can either stop and try to get them to grab or spend some time polishing the ice to make sure they never will. Cheap kitty litter is a wonderous traction aid. Ziplock baggies can be hurled out of an open window as 'traction bombs'. Or you can fling handfulls off across your hood to help a front-wheel drive vehicle get going from a stop. If you want to be able to drive in winter spend one up in the Dakotas. At the start 85 - 90% of the drivers know how to drive in the winter. By the end, everyone still driving knows how.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69380 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69380 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:08:07 -0600 OMG, Sir, you have it worse than we do less than an hour west. Snow here is about a quarter to half inch of icy slush under 6 of snow. It took me a while to dig out this morning (and I missed the early Ash Wednesday mass for the first time in years). I did see a couple of small mishaps, but not even a fender bender on the way to work. Our city sand trucks are doing a stellar job. On the flip side, the Marine!Goth is home on leave, but he's over in Manhattan with his fiancee (she's a student at KSU) so I still had to dig out my walks and my mom's. What good is a son if you can't put him to work *G*? http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69379 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69379 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:24:05 -0600 **** "Hello everyone; my name is Boquisucio, and I am an ED sufferer" **** **** "Hi BOQ" **** I too am recovering ED Co-dependent; however, there is no great motivator to drink the kool-aid than THIS little pill. Specially if it comes all dressed in blue.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69378 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69378 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:10:03 -0600 NETCOM is blocking *all* blogspot addresses, because of security issues. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69376 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69376 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:07:50 -0600 Electile Dysfunction... I wish that I could read the entire article, but for some reason the Army network that I am on is not allowing my to reach ANY blogspot addresses. I am going to give credit when I use that line in my daily conversation with a moderate Dem who sleeps in the same room as me. Oh to be young and foolish again. (Poor guy, he thinks that Hillary is somewhat good for the country.) http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69375 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69375 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:04:01 -0600 ED - Electile Dysfunction...... no little blue pill, but Jack Daniels (or Maker's Mark) helps. You still don't get excited, but somehow it just doesn't seem to matter as much. CHEERS!!! ML http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69374 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/hi_fires_06_feb.html#comment-69374 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:56:54 -0600