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Ice, Ice, Go Away

22 Feb

Who is responsible for the ice and slush on the sidewalk of Babcock St. in Brookline not being cleared yet? The storm was more than a week ago, and yet, that long strip of sidewalk along the parking lot by Harvard Ave. is still covered by a mix of snow, ice, slush and just mess. It’s the only extended part of the street that has yet to be cleared, most likely because it’s not in front of an apartment building. And I know there are rules about this sort of thing if you own property. Well, if this is community property that doesn’t fall under the aegis of a landlord, then doesn’t this strip of sidewalk belong to the town of Brookline? And shouldn’t the town have done something about it by now? And if the weather’s been warm the past two days, wouldn’t it make sense to clear the sidewalk now? I’d love to see this get done soon, so I don’t have to walk in the street anymore to avoid slipping. Especially before the weather turns cold again and more snow comes. Thanks.

Free At Last!

17 Feb

And then, at 4:32 pm, my car rolled out of its parking spot.

I know I shouldn’t make such a big deal about digging my car out — or in this case, de-icing it — especially in light of the fact that we’re due to get another 2-4 inches of snow on Sunday, and because doing so only serves as a jinx and will guarantee I’ll be stuck again come tomorrow morning, but I don’t know … getting my car out of its spot today felt like a major accomplishment.

After clearing all the snow off my car, crushing the ice and packed snow around my tires, and rocking the car back and forth by shifting into Drive and Reverse over and over, I still hadn’t gotten very far. A neighbor came over and volunteered to put the car in reverse for me while I pushed, and that didn’t do much. Nor did it help when two other neighbors came over to help me push. And we all kept looking to see why I couldn’t move, but there was seemingly no good reason because all the wheels were clear and the mound of snow behind my car was low enough. It had to be something else.

And then, all of a sudden, without any help, after people had gone their own separate ways, my car just, uh, moved. Backwards. All the way over the ice and snow and onto the black pavement. And I could finally see what was holding it in place all that time. And the answer, plain and simple, seemed to be ice. But not just any ice — this must have been super powered ice from another world, whose grip on my car knew no limits. It was determined to not let me go to the Atrium, or Best Buy, or any of the other places I had to go today.

And yet, I can say that my patience paid off and I was able to go to those places and more (despite the late start to my day, mainly because I was waiting for the air and ground to warm up above freezing). Now we’ll see what happens in the morning when I go to move my car again. Still, today I feel a great deal of accomplishment.

Winter: 1, Martin: 0

15 Feb

To be honest, it wasn’t really a fair fight.

Even though I didn’t have anywhere to go, I decided to be smart for a change and go defrost my car tonight before the iced-up snow got any thicker. And at first I thought I was actually going to do a good job; the heat was up way high, circulating all over the car, I was able to push and release huge chunks of snow and lift them up with my hands, then foist them on the pavement and watch as they broke into multiple pieces, and everything was going well. A few times I actually stood there and laughed. “Winter won’t beat me this time. Look how I can lift the heavy snow off my car. This almost too easy.”

And yes, I spoke too soon, because not five minutes after I started, my ice scraper, my Extender Ice Scraper, which had served me well in the past, broke. In half. The brush and scraper came right off and I was left with that and a pole. So I tried to run the pole over the snow and create blocks that I could remove, but alas, this snow was too firmly attached to my windshield and I didn’t want to risk breaking the glass.

Eventually I got enough off so I could see clear across my windshield, and I thought now it would be time for me to at least try to get out of my parking spot. Well, if I moved two inches, that was a lot. And when I started to smell the foul smell of rubber burning, I knew it was time to give up and go inside.

So, winter, you may have beaten me this time … but it’s a long season and I’m not giving up yet. I’ll be back, with a better, stronger scraper and a better plan, and oh yes, I will beat you. Be ready.

[Full disclosure: that picture is not from this week. It’s from after a storm a couple years ago.]

Live-Blogging the Weather?

14 Feb

Some people live-blog award shows and others live-blog Super Bowl commercials. But how come no one live-blogs the weather, especially on a day like today? I mean, it may not be all that interesting by comparison (9:38 — It’s snowing really hard; 10:22 — Now it’s starting to turn to rain; 3:40 — The wind has really picked up) but wouldn’t it be infinitely more practical and useful? I mean, forget those weatherpeople on TV, stuck inside their comfortable studios with their computers, telling us how much rain has accumulated or what the forecast is. And forget the reporters all across the region telling us that, yup, it’s snowing out here in Worcester (or up in Marblehead, or out in Framingham, or wherever the reporters are stationed). What I want to know when I go out to lunch or home at the end of the day is, what is it really like out there? Are the winds really as bad as they sound? Is the rain coming down hard, or is it just misty? And how have the conditions changed over the course of the day?

I think it’d actually be fun to have a regular Joe (or Jane) post a dispatch from his or her experience of being outside every so often (like, say, every hour) saying what the conditions were like. For example, when I went out to lunch earlier today, it really wasn’t so bad walking down Summer Street toward Downtown Crossing. But as soon as I turned the corner on Chauncy St. onto Franklin, that’s when the wind and rain became a bit of a problem. That’s valuable information. If I had documented that here, in a running commentary that I updated often, maybe I could have provided a service. Not that such a thing would have to be so exact so you knew exactly where the person went. But at least you’d know what the weather was like downtown.

I know Mike Wankum, from channel 5, has a blog and I’m sure there are other weatherpeople who do, too, but I want someone down on the ground, one of the “real” people out there, to give me an actual weather report, not a forecast. I think that’d be a good read.

The St. Valentine’s Day Mess

14 Feb

I don’t know what’s lamer: that there’s a big storm on Valentine’s Day, or that all the snow we have waited all winter for and that was only on the ground for, like, an hour is already getting washed away by all this stupid rain. Are we ever going to get a real snowstorm this year?? You know, one with accumulation that stays on the ground for at least a day? I’d say at this point we’ve earned it.

Just Wondering …

22 Jan

* Is this what the Yankee fans felt like in 2004?

* When radio execs first heard the chorus of Fall Out Boy‘s cool new single, “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race,” why did they decide to silence the word “God” and not “Damn?”

* Is the first real snow of the season not the best part of winter? I mean, walking home, as it’s coming down, hearing the crunching of your steps as you push down on more of the finely-packed snow … there aren’t too many pleasures to be taken from this season, but that’s one of them. Hopefully we’ll get more of this soon.

* Are you on the list?

* Why did I go all the way to IKEA on Saturday for a DVD tower, when I found exactly what I wanted at Best Buy the very next day?

* Is it Friday yet?

Burrrrrrrr …..

16 Jan

I think winter is finally here. And I don’t like it one bit.

It’s amazing to me that I’ve lived in the northeast all my life, and yet I’ve never gotten used to the cold.

Let It Snow!

15 Jan

For some reason, “I’m dreaming of a white Martin Luther King Jr. Day” doesn’t roll off the tongue like “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” does. So I guess it’s a good thing that “Let It Snow” is a song that can be sung on any holiday, and since there’s snow in the forecast today, even if it is just a slight chance and not until tonight, I thought I’d post this video of Jamie Cullum singing it on what looks like some British TV show. (And maybe by posting this, it’ll work magic and we’ll actually get a substantial snow storm. This has been a really lame winter so far.) Enjoy!

Martin’s Miscellany

25 Oct

It’s Wednesday — hump day — and I don’t have enough for a long posting, so here are three shorter items all in one …

Bundle up … Today is my least favorite day of the year. It’s the first really cold day, when all of a sudden my fall jacket isn’t warm enough and I should have put on more of a coat (and maybe also used a scarf). Still, I’m stubborn (if you couldn’t tell from previous postings) and I refuse to wear a coat until November. So I’ll tough it out for another week.

Bring on the bride … It’s nice to go to the dentist and have your hygienist tell you “Your teeth are always uneventful.” Shows that even though I may not floss every day, I generally do take good care of my teeth. Now, if only I could do something about the tartar build-up … But anyway, so now I’ve been to the dentist. I’ve gotten my hair(s) cut. I have new glasses. I have a new tuxedo shirt. My tux has been cleaned and pressed. My shoes have been shined. I’ve found my cufflinks. I’ve (mostly) written my speech. You know what this all means: I think I’m ready for Mitzi’s wedding this weekend.

If it ain’t broke … Cosi has added to its menu and now offers pizza and melts in addition to the basic sandwiches and salads. I tried the cheese pizza today and I have to say: eh. (Yeah, it hasn’t been a good week for trying new lunch things.) Sure, the dough was awesome (and even better than usual since it was toasted and crustier), but the sauce was chunky with tomatoes. And more importantly, there was too much of the sauce and not enough cheese. I say there was nothing wrong with the menu before, so Cosi should stick to what it already did well.

Yuck

20 Oct

Ugh. This weather sucks.

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