Remembering Snowpocalypse…
3 minute read
December 19, 2019, 11:40 PM
This weekend marks ten years since the “Snowpocalypse” storm came to the Washington region and blanketed the area with a couple of feet of snow. It was my first big snowstorm living in the Washington DC area, and it gave me my first snow day since college. While I was stuck at home, I photographed the snow quite a bit. After all, what else was I going to do while I was snowed in?
Snow coming down on Hewitt Avenue, seen from my apartment balcony, about four hours after the storm began.
Continue reading…Categories: Silver Spring, Snowpocalypse
Snowzilla!
5 minute read
January 24, 2016, 10:55 PM
So the “Snowzilla” (as named by The Washington Post) storm has come and gone, and it left a large pile of snow in its wake – enough to kill part of the roof of the Safeway in Bel Air, Maryland, and the roof of Wayne Lanes in Waynesboro, Virginia. Thankfully, I came through this storm just fine, and it was just a matter of digging out. This storm dropped light, powdery snow (as compared to wet, heavy snow), and there was a lot of it. I got more snow on my balcony in this storm than I did in 2009 and 2010’s major winter storms, for one. Check this out:
Categories: Kia Soul, Winter weather
Digging out of the snow…
4 minute read
February 13, 2014, 6:55 PM
So considering that the pool is closed tonight due to the snow, I still got my exercise today, pool or no pool. For those not familiar, the east coast of the United States got hit with a pretty significant snowstorm. This is the biggest snowstorm that I’ve seen since Snowmageddon in 2010. And hitting in the same week as Snowmageddon did back in 2010, no less. However, this snow has mostly been the light, fluffy kind so far, and that’s the stuff that you can clear off the car with the brush part of the scraper with little effort (and really get some distance when slinging it). However, when more than a foot of it falls in a short time, it does start to compress a bit. But it looked very pretty while coming down last night:
The parking lot at the Safeway in Olney at around 10:00 on Wednesday night.
Categories: Kia Soul, Winter weather
Getting some action out of this snow…
3 minute read
January 22, 2014, 11:37 PM
Let’s admit it: between the wet, heavy snow and the light, fluffy snow, I will always fall on the side of the light, fluffy snow. Powdery stuff is just nicer snow than the wetter stuff. And with the recent snowfall to come over the DC area, we got the fluffy stuff. It’s more likely to blow around and hit you in the face, but it’s easier to clear off of your car, and easy to shovel off of the balcony.
And like any good snowfall, I got pictures. Of course, I got the obligatory off-the-balcony photo:
Categories: Kia Soul, Winter weather
I can now add “commode critic” to my resume…
4 minute read
March 28, 2013, 12:44 PM
So I got back Tuesday night from a trip to Stuarts Draft. That was fun, though not the fun that I was expecting. I got to visit my friend Bergit in Charlottesville, and then spent two days spending time with my parents. The original plan was to go to Roanoke with Mom on Monday and also visit friends and see transportation-related stuff, but that unfortunately got snowed out.
But first, though, in case you’re wondering what the deal with the title is, let me explain. My trip started out with proof that my kidneys do great work, and that having a cup of coffee before a three-hour road trip is inadvisable. Yes, I took far more restroom breaks on this trip than I normally would. I ended up stopping at the rest area on I-66 near Manassas, Sheetz in Madison, the new Trader Joe’s in Charlottesville, and then the rest area on I-64 near Ivy. Usually I can make it on one restroom break. But, noooooo… my body decided that this was the perfect time to unload a bunch of water. And I was not shy about discussing restrooms on social media on the entire trip. This from the Sheetz in Madison:
And I accompanied this on Instagram with the following caption: “This road trip has been brought to you by the letter P, and by the number 1.” Yep… that kind of day.
Categories: Driving, Family, Stuarts Draft, Winter weather
Wednesday’s commute home was perhaps one of the most challenging driving experiences I’ve ever had…
9 minute read
January 28, 2011, 9:09 PM
It was also the most unpleasant, for that matter. Wednesday, January 26, you see, the DC area was hit by a fairly large snowstorm. I think the area got about eight inches of snow, which, by last winter’s standards would be just a dusting, but by this year’s standards so far was a major snowstorm.
I think my biggest mistake was that since I had the car with me (due to work-related errands that I needed to run), I decided to wait to leave until it was likely too late. So I ended up getting a six-hour snow tour around Washington DC, watching transformer explosions light up the sky and testing every nerve in my body in the process. And both the car and I came out just fine, thank you.
I left the office around 5:30 on Wednesday, sending a tweet to announce my departure:
I’m outta here: LSMFT @capitalweather: Heavy snow overspreading entire region http://wapo.st/gp0zP2
January 26 5:27 PM
It was in the early stages of being dark, and I figured I was doing fairly well. Traffic was heavy, but moving, albeit slowly.
Categories: Commuting, Driving, Some people, Winter weather
This morning’s commute was a time that I would have liked to have been Luigi.
3 minute read
January 18, 2011, 11:08 PM
Yes, that Luigi.
You have to realize, you see, that when it comes to Mario games, I am in the minority on which one I like best. My favorite of the early Mario games is Super Mario 2, which, based on what I see on the Internet, most people don’t like. So when I say that today would have been a good Luigi day, I’m thinking of that version of Luigi. I’m talking about the one who kicks his legs when he jumps way further and higher than everyone else.
See, coming to work today, it was icy, being on the heels of a bout of sleet, snow, and freezing rain (in that order) overnight. And so getting to the bus and then to the office were both a little treacherous this morning. So if I were Luigi, you see, I would look like this going to the bus on a morning like this morning:
Categories: Commuting, Video games, Winter weather
So why don’t you just tell us what you really think?
2 minute read
January 11, 2011, 10:02 PM
So I drove to work today, and then going home, I put the phone in my GPS mount and did a Video Journal entry from the driver’s seat. And here it is:
Categories: Driving, Middle school, Video Journal, Wikipedia, Winter weather, WMATA
Well, isn’t that a beaut…
3 minute read
February 17, 2010, 7:14 PM
Today was one of those days where it could only get better considering the way it started. Take a look at this:
Categories: Myself, Snowmageddon
And that’s the end of the gutter.
3 minute read
February 11, 2010, 8:52 PM
Ah, the joys of record snowfall. Cabin fever and collapsing gutters. And today, the gutter collapse went ahead and finished itself off. First of all, this is what we started with:
Categories: Snowmageddon
And snowed in again.
3 minute read
February 10, 2010, 3:08 PM
Winter certainly is packing a punch this week, isn’t it? First the snowstorm on Friday, and now today. And meanwhile, the collapse of the gutters continued, as the gutter that had collapsed under the weight of the snow over my neighbor’s balcony now collapsed over my balcony, leaving this board with nails in it hanging ominously overhead:
Categories: Movies, Snowmageddon
More snow? Ayyyyy…
2 minute read
February 8, 2010, 4:59 PM
I can’t get over that they’re forecasting even more snow for tomorrow. But that’s what the folks at Capital Weather Gang are saying. And this after I finally accomplished something:
Categories: Snowmageddon
Okay, that’s enough…
2 minute read
February 7, 2010, 3:08 PM
Well, I got the windows cleared. That’s probably enough for now, since the maintenance folks are going to need to do some more plowing before I can even think about moving the car. There’s more than six feet of two-foot-deep snow (some of which can support my weight) behind the car that I can’t move with the tools that I have.
But just to show you the epicness of this snowfall, here are pix:
The snow next to the car is up to my knees.
Categories: Snowmageddon
Another gutter bites the dust…
4 minute read
February 7, 2010, 1:36 PM
Categories: Snowmageddon, WMATA
The snow caused a gutter to collapse!
3 minute read
February 6, 2010, 8:11 PM
Yes, the wet, heavy snow (compared to the light, powdery stuff in December) caused a gutter on my apartment building to collapse. And I happened to get before-and-after photos. Take a look:
Categories: Snowmageddon