ARMS... LIKE... NOODLES

[solarbird]

So annathepiper had a doctor appointment today and we went out in This Mess by car (because transit to this hospital doesn't work) and going down the hill I said "okay there is no way we're making it back up this thing," and while we did make it most of the way back up, after the turn onto our street it was HAHAHAHAHANO, so I started shoveling out the street hoping that a track for one side's tires would be enough. And that only took like 15 minutes because I'd dug that out previously (on Thursday) and mostly it came right up.

But then that didn't work AT ALL because I guess the weight distribution was wrong, so I started working on a path for the other wheel and that's when I discovered what happens when I don't do the mid-storm digout, which is to say EVERYTHING IS MADE OF ASS ICE, and it takes me plus two neighbours over an hour and a half to dig out the same distance - actually a bit less - than I'd dug out on my own in 15 minutes before.

But it work and I drove the last block home and put the car in the garage where it can bloody well stay until May as far as I'm concerned. My arms are like noodles.

No FedEx again, of course. Overnight package due last Thursday with my ink cartridges so I could send out my new year's cards. SOMEDAY MAYBE argh.

Comments

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Ow, I sympathize. I've been shoveling snow, too -- see my LJ for photos -- but it's on flat ground and not nearly as much of it. I figure I've moved snow equivalent to a rectangular solid with dimensions 0.3 x 1.0 x 100.0 meters. My back is telling me this is too much work.

[solarbird]

So 30m^3, that's nontrivial. I wonder what that weighs in snow? (Were it water, it'd be no problem. ^_^ )

Quick and dirty math estimates about 120 m^3 (very, very roughly) so far here.

[westrider.livejournal.com]

Some quick searching has the density of fresh fallen snow at somewhere between 5-15% of the density of water, depending on an absurd number of variables. In the absence of melting, it compacts eventually to about 30% of the density of water, increasing when partial melting and refreezing is going on to about 50% of the density of water.

So, taking a ridiculously rough average, Kevin's shoveled something like 4.5 Metric Tonnes of snow, and possibly as much as three times that. Unless I screwed up my math somewhere, which is entirely possible.

BTW, the fact that there are people on my FList who are not only somewhat interested in calculating stuff like this, but use the word "nontrivial" to describe it makes me very happy :D

[silussa.livejournal.com]

I remember when I was in Chicago the small plows used to clear the sidewalks. Cleared 90% of the snow off, packed the rest down into dirty, VERY slippery ice.

I found it safer to walk in the snow alongside the sidewalk instead. :)