[SGVLUG] OT: Snow

[Dustin]

On Wed, 16 Nov 2005, John Riehl wrote:

> always get dressed for being outside a long time.   You never know when 
> you could be stuck outside for a real long time.

Good advice.  Here is more: when you drive in your car, stay bundled up
and don't get comfortable by removing some of your winter gear and turning
up the heater.  Sometimes people survive an accident but freeze to death
before help arrives.  Admittedly, more of a problem in Eastern Montana,
but it's still good advice and especially important on long trips when you
aren't in a city near help.

If you drive out of the city at all, have winter gear in your car for the
same reason.  Blankets (for longer trips, also water and things like trail
mix or chocolate bars) for you, chains (and practice putting them on)  
and a bag of cat litter or sand for the car.  If you took a Southern
California car up there and it has trouble starting on cold mornings, have
a mechanic install a block heater so you can plug it in overnight (less
likely in Chicago where it is wetter but not nearly so cold as Montana).  
Have all-season tires on your car--some tires aren't safe to drive on when
there is ice on the road.

Oh, yeah--learn what black ice is and be careful!

Here is one last piece of advice that nobody ever takes but maybe should:  
sometime when there is packed snow everywhere go out to an empty parking
lot and purposely slide your car around a bit (carefully).  Since you're
not used to driving in slippery conditions, you want to get a feel for
what it takes to break your tires loose (probably less than you think),
what is going to happen when you do, and what you can do to recover (turn
the wheels into the slide!).

Dustin