If you're going to shovel, salt the fucking sidewalk. If you're not going to salt, don't fucking shovel. It's easier to walk on snow than a sheet of bare ice.
From a fellow native of Chicagoland, here's another:
When shoveling, don't try to take too much snow in one shovelful. It's really easy to let that load of snow tip too far one way or the other, and have it dump on the sidewalk you've just shoveled.
So, there's this chisel-type thing you can use on the ice, for when you shovel the snow off, @1, we have a few up north, I can send a few down if you guys need them...salt is bad for the ecosystem, don't ya know...
Dan, you must have a lot of experience with this growing up in Chicago. I wouldn't know my butt from page 2 about shoveling snow, being in sunny southern California for years and years and years. If it ever snows here, we are so screwed and no one will be leaving their house for days.
I don't know Seattle law, but I know here in my tiny little Illinois town it's (legally) safer not to shovel. The way the laws are, if you shovel and somebody slips on your sidewalk you are liable for it because hey, you should have done a better job. If you don't shovel and somebody slips it's not your fault because snow is a "random act of God" and you had nothing to do with it. Bullshit, yes, but it's reason enough for a lot of folks to be a dick and leave the snow there.
#9 exact opposite here. If you don't shovel and someone falls, you're completely liable.
If you do shovel and someone falls, they'll have a much harder time showing that it was your fault.
BTW, you are legally obligated to clear the sidewalk in front of your home or business. You can be cited if you don't (but the few cops we have probably won't do that) and if someone falls because you didn't shovel it they have a much easier time showing your negligence.
See all that scolding? Yep, that's what living next to Midwesterners is like. You don't wonder why so many people beat the fuck out of the Midwest the second they can plot an escape.
#1. Not if you do it right. If you're too much of a spaz to figure out how to operate a shovel in removing snow, then god help us all.
It's going to stay cold for a while so if you don't clear it now it will freeze solid under foot soon.
Another tip is that it's easier to clear the snow right away. Let everyone walk all over it and you'll need to scrape it off the sidewalk instead of just pushing it away.
@9 I'm in the Chicago burbs, here you're also liable if you shovel and someone slips, but you can also get a ticket for not shoveling because you're creating a public nuisance. Lose-lose.
I just walked home from work - all the people who didn't shovel (almost everyone)? Icy snow that was hard to walk on. The two places that shoveled? Perfectly normal to walk on the sidewalk. I realize that shovelling while it's still snowing means that you need to keep doing it - but it does make a difference.
I had no idea people were required to remove snow. Can you contract someone to do it for you if you're old and infirm? I'm new to the snowy climates and I'm glad right now I live in a big apartment building so I have nothing to shovel.
In California you are required to do certain brush clearance for fire safety, so I guess its a similar concept. But at least that is predictable every year. What are you supposed to do if you're out of town when it snows?
I hate to advertise commercial products on Slog, but Yaktrax are teh awesome (from snow-icy-ish Cincinnati, where businesses and residents rarely shovel, or if they do it rapidly turns into a sheet of ice).
'course, it's 70 degrees here now, but winter's coming.
@19 In Calgary, signs go up in the winter saying "be a snow angel" (I know, cheesy...) to remind people to shovel their elderly neighbours' sidewalks. People definitely look out for their neighbours, and if they were going away, they would plan ahead and hire someone for the season. I used to do that as a volunteer job when I was in high school, you'd have to go booking over to "your" elderly neighbour's house as soon as it snowed. ...but we teens had more free time back then, no one owned their own car for back seat sex, and there was no internet, so really, what else were you going to do?
That If you Shovel And They Slip You Are Liable thing is an urban/suburban myth, one that has been specifically addressed in Illinois State law. You do not have any legal liability if you shovel and someone slips.
@23 -- but what if you're just gone for a day or two, or even just stranded somewhere when it starts snowing? Would you hire someone ahead of time for that? Seems like ticketing people who don't shovel within a day could be unfair in a lot of situations.
I used to do that as a volunteer job when I was in high school, you'd have to go booking over to "your" elderly neighbour's house as soon as it snowed. ...but we teens had more free time back then, no one owned their own car for back seat sex, and there was no internet, so really, what else were you going to do?
And yeah, jeez, you must have had more free time back then. There's no way I could have made such an open-ended commitment when I was in high school. No free time and no control over it.
BEG @26, it is fun to watch. I sent an email asking them to post pictures from the Stranger windows. I got an email back and sent another so maybe they will post some tomorrow.
Just a little PSA, it's actually kind of a mitvah to do your away-on-vacation neighbor's path to the door, too, because it makes it less obvious that the house is unoccupied and vulnerable.
Well, vitaminwater, I grew up on the East coast of the States, and it didn't snow quite as much there as it does in Calgary, and yeah, I had free time! I didn't play winter sports, I procrastinated about doing homework, and my mom was a bit of a hippie, so my time wasn't overly scripted. And as far as your first question, it's not like there are shovel bylaw nazis just waiting there with a ruler, but if you consistently didn't shovel, then you'd get a ticket. If you were planning on going away, you'd ask/pay a neighbourhood kid to shovel for you. But then there's a real "midwestern/rural" vibe in Calgary, where people look out for their neighbours, and there's also a bit of the "house pride" thing going on, too.
I see how it works if you're away on vacation -- just like we have neighbors pick up our mail when we're away on vacation instead of announcing to the post office and newspaper people that our house is unoccupied. But someone posted that sidewalks had to be clear by 9 AM in some town! I mean, what if you were just asleep till past 9 AM? Or working the night shift and not home yet?
Sure, when there is a giant wall of fire bearing down on your town in California in the middle of the night, neighbors go wake each other up before evacuating, but that's a matter of life and death. Some snow on the sidewalk just does not seem like that big of a deal to me. If its so important to have it clear right away, just have everyone in the town pitch in for a sidewalk plow. Seems much more practical. I'd rather pay a sidewalk plow tax than be expected to drop everything and shovel sidewalks early in the morning with no warning, no matter where I am, if I have the flu, if I have a bad back, whatever.
People where I live just make shoveling snow part of their routines. It snows for nine fucking months, so you get used to it. And people really do help each other out--my ex and I shovel for each other when one goes out of town, even. And often, when somebody's already clearing the walk, they'll go ahead and clear the neighbor's portion, too.
The unpredictability of snow and bylaw summons is what passes for entertainment in our part of the world, vitaminwater, but I'm sure that will change once we get the internet and movie theatres... :)
HA HA!!! No sidewalks no shoveling. Of course I broomed (sp?) the house steps and might have to go out later in the night to broom the slanted drive way of parents house.
So, is it a common thing for teenagers to start businesses based on shoveling their whole block? I guess the only problem is then you have to depend on THEM to notice when shoveling needs to be done, and to do it on time.
Seriously, given how unpredictable snow is, this seems like a terrible system. I'd say if its important to have it clear by 9 AM, have a tax that goes to a snowplow clearing the sidewalks as well as the roads. (I'm pretty sure the city takes care of both sidewalks and roads in downtown Chicago, for example, but I could be wrong...). And if its not important enough for a system like that, then whatever.
But then, I grew up in an area without any sort of neighborhood association telling you what to do with your own property or making you randomly responsible for city property near your property. The only exception was the aforementioned brush clearance (on your own property, not on the street nearby unless you feel like it), but again, that's a matter of life and death and its also not something that unpredictably has to be done on random mornings -- you take care of it once or twice a year at your leisure, so you can plan to either take the time to do it yourself or get someone else to do it.
I live about 400 km northeast of Canuck, so don't get those balmy chinook winds to melt all the snow.
vitaminwater, in places where it snows frequently, nobody is going to be ticketing a homeowner who doesn't get the snow removed just exactly when they should. It's a consistent lack of shovelling, leaving the snow all week, and just generally not giving a shit that will get you, first, a notice, and then a ticket. The "clear by 9 am" thing is mostly enforced on businesses, not private citizens who aren't jerks. Since it's a bylaw, there would usually have to be a complaint before anything would be done about it.
Now that all my kids are away at school, I have to do all my shovelling myself, and I'd say I actually get out there and clear the sidewalk maybe half a dozen times all winter. The rest of the time, it's just a little skiff of snow and half of it blows away and the other half gets packed down by people walking by. What you have to avoid are hills and valleys of icy snow, places where people go in halfway to their knees, that kind of thing. You allow much of that, and your neighbours are going to turn you in.
@32 - Its not just about it being fair, its also about a system that has a chance of working. If the goal is to have the sidewalks shoveled, this is a stupid system. Sure, it makes money for the city by writing tickets, but it doesn't get the sidewalks cleared. Would make more sense to have a system where you could pay a low rate to have someone shovel your sidewalks for you all the time, or you could choose to do it yourself -- but if you didn't do it by the time that group came around, they'd do it and you'd be charged more than the lower rate. Like sidewalk-shoveling insurance! I'd go for that. Or just insist that everyone pay a tax to get it done, and not give the option of people doing it themselves.
Is there a reason people have to actually do the work of shoveling, and not just pour salt outside? That seems like less work and easier for someone with a bad back or other health problems to do.
I was in Chicago last winter, and since downtown is all huge buildings I don't know if the buildings do the sidewalks or the city does, but I suspect the city does it when they do the streets (earlier than I was up and about). Seems like they just pour some sort of salt stuff (not the same as table salt, but same idea). Seems much more impractical to require random people to go out and do it on short notice. Like having a town that doesn't have garbage collection, and insists that every person drive to the dump separately (except, they're not allowed to plan ahead on it).
I've also seen streets that say you can't park there when it snows more than some number of inches, and I also wonder what you'er supposed to do about that if it unexpectedly snows in the middle of the night. And I guess you can say weather prediction is getting more accurate, but it sounds like all these rules were around back when it was completely inaccurate.
Y'all are calling it Snowpocalypse 2010 :) Cute...
jennifurret tweeted this http://youtu.be/dooKpdIwwR4, which appears to be from the last time Seattle had snow. I accidentally had my earphones in (from listening to Graeme Taylor's appearance on Ellen's show -- understood him, not her so much) and jumped about three feet when the crashing noises started...
Dude, if you don't want to read random people's opinions, don't read comment threads ;-)
I thought this was interesting, but I'm done with the internet for now, so don't worry, you're free of it (even if you decide to keep reloading this comment thread).
Dan,
Nice touch referencing Vice's "Do & Don'ts". I love those photos and the accompanying captions. Spot on regarding the shoveling advice. I, too am from Chicago. I remember shoveling many a sidewalk/driveway. But, I remember the little old ladies and little old men usually of Eastern European stock shovelling away. I genuinely recall some of them declining my offer of assistance. I believe they liked the workout. Seriously.
To sort-of echo a few others and "from the land of ice not snow - except for last winter," if it's going to snow a little, then freezing rain within a few hours, leave the snow until the freezing rain hits, then shovel it all off at once. Safer and easier to remove (especially on brick sidewalks). Also, heed the Midwesterners...we know what we're doing, you (Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma neighbors, I'm looking at you) don't.
And if you're the owner of a major business (Giant, BET, Home Depot (!!! WTF !!!) I'm looking at you) don't think I won't keep calling the city about your messy, dangerous sidewalks until you clean them (and are fined mightily)! Hot damn there's no excuse for businesses with so many assets to be so lazy...you do realize that someone could sue you for A LOT over that, right?
Here's to hoping we don't have another record-breaking winter on the East Coast. I'll be booking the last flight out for any snow predicted to be more than 5" this winter...
What the fuck is the point of shoveling in Seattle? It's only 3 inches and it'll only be here for 48 hours. Shoveling sounds like a waste of time.
Now, if we lived in Chicago, apparently the land of all winter knowledge, where snow routinely stuck around for long periods, it might make sense to shovel. But here? Not so much.
Don't shovel a parking space and then shoot somebody for taking it like they do in Chicago.
Do warm fingers under cool water as opposed to hot so you don't burn numb fingers.
Don't try to drive anywhere without a full tank of gas in case you get stuck.
@ 51-- In Dayton, those who clear street-parking spaces often put lawn chairs in the space while they're gone to keep others from parking there. I had heard of this before I moved here, but hadn't actually *seen* it.
Former Wisconsinite here. If you are expecting a lot of heavy snow, 6" or more, shoveling a few times during the storm is way easier than waiting until the end. Not that I am wishing more snow on you all in Seattle.
In Chicago if you're parked on a snow route when the snow begins to accumulate, the city will head out with lights and loud-hailers to tell you to move your vehicle. On some streets you have until 9AM the next morning to move, and if you don't you get a ticket or a tow-which can be easier to deal with than getting plowed in. For a while my town of Evanston would tow your car to a local school lot, then tow it back and charge you, but I don't know if they still do this. (I use my garage and don't have to think about it.)
Clearing the sidewalks is just common decency.
Businesses are required to clear their frontage, but there are some sweepers that come through once in a while. They may be city owned, they may be a private firm, but they do a pretty good job.
I moved to Minnesota a few months ago, and coming from a warm state, I don't know any of the etiquette involved in snow-living. I'm been reading everything I can find about the right way to shovel, where to put the snow, and every terrifying health warning out there. (Apparently, if you listen to "the news," shoveling snow causes death in 100% of people)
For those of you who have lived with snow, I keep hearing people say it takes them hours to shovel their driveways, does it really take that long? Good God, what have I done?
@58: Yeah, if you get a good snowstorm (a foot or two), it's slow going. It can easily take an hour or more. You need to pace yourself - it's hard work. (Imagine digging a two-foot hole in the ground that size.) My advice? Start saving up for a snow-blower.
Do: Get a push shovel. The key is to use your legs to "push" the snow, not to lift it with your arms or back. The ideal shovel will be shaped like a quarter barrel and have a long handle.
Don't: Use a coal shovel. Anyone even suggesting that a coal shovel be used should be beaten about the head with it (A coal shovel is a large wide metal shovel that after a couple of minutes will feel like it weighs 100 pounds).
Do: Go out and shovel multiple times, including after dinner, before you go to bed and when you wake up. It will seem like a pain in the ass, but if it's going to snow for eight hours or so, it will be very tough to move all the snow at once. Plus, it's what your parents did.
Don't: Wait until the end of the day to shovel. People will walk over the snow and pack it down into ice.
Don't: Pay anyone to shovel your walk, especially if they ask to shovel your walk while you're halfway through. They won't do a good a job as you would.
Do: Shovel to the street, and shovel the parking spot just like it's a suburban driveway.
Don't: Worry about putting orange crates and parking cones on your spot. While it is a tradition, ultimately, the spot will open up eventually, and since most of your neighbors are from Michigan, Ohio, or Schaumburg, they won't understand anyway.
Done and the drive way too. Finished my elderly next door neighbors too. Took awhile, not because of the volume, but because we got more freezing rain on the snow and it was an enchanting 23 degrees F. Now, I'm going to go bake some pies, Buttered-rum Lamingtons, and traditional ones too for Thanksgiving. I love this weather.
Ha! Love this! I live down South now, but grew up in Montana and went to law school in the Midwest. So funny to see people try to handle snow down here (not that we ever get the amount that calls for actual shoveling of sidewalks).
@61: In Toronto, the elderly (and the disabled) can call the city. I think a decent majority have nice neighbours though.
Anyway, the heart attacks aren't just the elderly -- from my observation, a lot are just ordinary middle-aged men. I imagine the elderly also have more issues than heart attacks -- extends to joint & bone problems, etc.
In my part of Portland, there are no sidewalks, which simplifies things. Although I have a huge driveway so I'll still have my work cut out for me when we get some serious snow. But I bought a snow shovel this summer so I'm prepared (they sell out quickly when the snow comes).
Odd. A fucking lesson in manners from someone who can't fucking write without fucking using the fucking word 'fucking.'
Try learning something about decorum before lecturing others on it, Danny Boy.
Here's a tip, gratis. English is an amazingly versatile language. Immediate recourse to the lowest elements of it just shows your poor language skills.
I think butter-rum lamingtons are an American twist to your sublime lamingtons there in Australia. Basically, it is little rum-spiked cakes with rum-spiked butterscotch icing and rolled in desiccated coconut that has been toasted.
Your wish is my command, but keep in mind that the measurements are in those annoying teaspoons, etc. I do wish we would embrace metrics here.
Cake:
21/2 cups sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs (room temperature), beaten
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 cup whipping cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
11/2 cup granulated white sugar
Icing:
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup dark rum (divided)
5 to 6 cups of desiccated coconut toasted. I spread mine on a baking sheet and place it in the oven (350F), stirring it once or twice. Keep an eye on it, and look for the smell of it toasting.
To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and place rack to the middle position.
Butter and flour a cake tin, I used a 9 by 13 inch one, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Sift together the dry ingredients. Combine the rum, cream, and vanilla together. Using an electric mixer beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (2-5 minutes). Dribble in the eggs, a little at a time until fully incorporated.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the rum/cream/vanilla mixture in three additions beginning and ending with flour.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched and the sides of the cake begin to pull away from the pan (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean).
Cool the cake in its tin for 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool. Once the cake is completely cooled cut it into 2" (5 cm) squares. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. I like to refrigerate them overnight.
To make the icing:
In a medium saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, cream and salt. Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, add 1/4 cup of the rum and continue simmering for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup rum. Cool completely before frosting the cakes.
You assemble these as you would traditional lamingtons. I dip and roll mine in batches in order to keep the cake cold and avoid crumbling.
-Adapted from "The Simple Art of Perfect Baking" by Flo Baker
I've thought of substituting a whisky for the rum, a whisky-caramel lamingtons. But, I'm exceedingly fond of my bourbons. To do it I would likely substitute a Kentucky Whisky (which is not a bourbon, because bourbons must be matured in new barrels, but is similar in taste (79% corn, 11% rye, 10% barley), because sweet soft bourbons like Woodford Reserve, Blanton's, Maker's Mark are all too pricey for experimental baking. Plus, I tend to enjoy my bourbons with more rye in them (think Wild Turkey 101) and the higher rye can give add a bit of bitterness to the bake goods.
@70: Wow, that is amazing, thank you so much for posting that, Kim! The only measurement thing that regularly throws me off in American recipes is when it calls for a stick of butter and I have to look up what weight that is. Just curious, when you need 1/2 cup of butter, do you actually put softened butter in a 1/2 cup measure then scoop it out again, or is it marked on the butter wrapper? (Recipes here always give weights for solids, as you probably know.)
Since lamingtons supposedly originated in Queensland, using Bundaberg Rum would be a nice touch. Must try that!
One of my favorite memories of being a kid in the Twin Cities was shoveling snow. Seriously. I loved playing in it, of course -- especially snowball fights -- but I also loved shoveling. If my father didn't get to it first, I'd shovel our sidewalks and then I'd go shovel the sidewalk of the sweet old lady, Esther Drake, across the street from our house (she'd pay me a $1 for it, a bit more around Christmas.) The only time it sucked was when we'd get wet snow. A shovelful of that stuff was effin' heavy. And it was commonplace, in our neighborhood anyway, to do what Dan suggested: shovel the sidewalks of neighbors (even when they weren't away.)
I'm not as cranky as a lot of my fellow former Midwesterners about how people here drive when it snows. It's much more dangerous and difficult here due to all the hills. Just the same, a lot of people here drive like shit even in nice weather and bad conditions just magnify their cluelessness and lack of skill.
@71: I use butter in sticks or cubes, FeralTurnip. Double check my math, but a US stick of butter is 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons as marked on the wrapper, and that would be 113 grams. So, then 3/4 cups of butter would be 169.5 grams at room temperature for the cake. And, 113 grams for the icing. (I've never been to Australia, but lived in Denmark, so I guessed that weights for solids would be the case for you as well.) I wish I could convert it all for you, but I'm knee deep in whisky pecan pies and pumpkin pies now.
I hear that Bundaberg Rum is lovely and I agree that it would be a very nice touch. The cookbook that I use to make the traditional chocolate frosted version does mention that they suspect the name has a connection to Lord Lamington (Governor of Queensland from 1896 - 190l).
As another transplanted midwesterner, albeit one who also lived in New York City for a short time (one of those)....I have to say to y'all, please be spare with your very generous offers of help. I know that you want to be nice and helpful, but when I'm trying to deal with getting my car out of a situation which is easily dealt with the last thing I want to see is a bunch of very nice concerned citizens converging on my car. I would be an asshole and say "Mind your own business, don't fuck with me", but I'm nicer than that.
I forget where I read it last year, but I believe it was here... something about Bostonians shoveling out parking places and leaving lawn chairs to save the space they so carefully carved out? Anyone here ever do that?
How to be a midwesterner who now lives in Seattle: step 1) shut the fuck up about how much better you shovel snow, drive in snow, fuck in snow, shit in snow etc
That's here in Chicago too. A kicker last year was I went out to the spot that I shoveled out and found that someone had put a lawn chair and a milk crate in it to "dibs" the spot. The chair was beat so it went in the dumpster. The milk crate was in perfect shape and went on the rack on my bike.
I think this happens in every residential urban area that gets snow and has street-only parking. I'm from Pittsburgh and it definitely happened there and understandably. You'd wake up, dig your car out, then go to work and afterwards not be able to park anywhere if someone took your spot.
The plows don't get the sides of streets in those types of neighborhoods because there are always parked cars there, and the plowing makes it worse by dumping extra snow into all of the parking spots. It's not like you can just hop out of your car and shovel out a spot if you are stuck, so the chair thing is something that kind of becomes obvious to people in that situation.
Are you kidding me? Any sidewalk with any traffic that doesn't get shovelled quickly turns into the most treacherous surface you can imagine: a bumpy sheet of ice interspersed with icy holes. You sure as heck aren't going to be walking on "snow" by any stretch of the imagination, unless you consider snow packed into ice, "snow".
Also, use sand, not salt. Sand provides traction. Salt just makes holes in the ice and kills your lawn in the spring.
Jesus christ I don't give a shit how you shovel. Would you please shut the fuck up about how superior than thou you are? The worst part about this blog is how goddamn arrogant the posters and commenters are.
Seriously, I am from the Midwest and live in Seattle. Why are you giving Midwesterners such a bad name by being such a jerk and trying to tell Seattleites how to live? The climate here is different, the road grades are different, even the road mixtures for de-icing are different. Seriously, the snow will melt a lot more quickly here than in the Midwest. Dear God if you are going to move here just to bitch about how dumb you think the people here are, then go back to the Midwest. It's people like you that make it more difficult for people like me to assimilate and become a part of the state I love. Yes, I understand I posted two years late but hopefully someone will accept my apology for this person being so hateful. Not all Midwesterners are that way.
When shoveling, don't try to take too much snow in one shovelful. It's really easy to let that load of snow tip too far one way or the other, and have it dump on the sidewalk you've just shoveled.
Move to Palm Springs November 1st, and move back to Seattle on April 30th. Repeat until dead.
But since I can't afford that, I will second Dan's advice.
If you do shovel and someone falls, they'll have a much harder time showing that it was your fault.
BTW, you are legally obligated to clear the sidewalk in front of your home or business. You can be cited if you don't (but the few cops we have probably won't do that) and if someone falls because you didn't shovel it they have a much easier time showing your negligence.
http://www.yelp.com/topic/chicago-does-a…
It's going to stay cold for a while so if you don't clear it now it will freeze solid under foot soon.
Another tip is that it's easier to clear the snow right away. Let everyone walk all over it and you'll need to scrape it off the sidewalk instead of just pushing it away.
In California you are required to do certain brush clearance for fire safety, so I guess its a similar concept. But at least that is predictable every year. What are you supposed to do if you're out of town when it snows?
'course, it's 70 degrees here now, but winter's coming.
More snow please!
That If you Shovel And They Slip You Are Liable thing is an urban/suburban myth, one that has been specifically addressed in Illinois State law. You do not have any legal liability if you shovel and someone slips.
http://www.law.siu.edu/selfhelp/newslett…
But it's fun to watch from down here.
And yeah, jeez, you must have had more free time back then. There's no way I could have made such an open-ended commitment when I was in high school. No free time and no control over it.
Jealous.
but enjoy your sidewalk shoveling, people.
Yeah, this snake baby doesn't do snow!
Sure, when there is a giant wall of fire bearing down on your town in California in the middle of the night, neighbors go wake each other up before evacuating, but that's a matter of life and death. Some snow on the sidewalk just does not seem like that big of a deal to me. If its so important to have it clear right away, just have everyone in the town pitch in for a sidewalk plow. Seems much more practical. I'd rather pay a sidewalk plow tax than be expected to drop everything and shovel sidewalks early in the morning with no warning, no matter where I am, if I have the flu, if I have a bad back, whatever.
Seriously, given how unpredictable snow is, this seems like a terrible system. I'd say if its important to have it clear by 9 AM, have a tax that goes to a snowplow clearing the sidewalks as well as the roads. (I'm pretty sure the city takes care of both sidewalks and roads in downtown Chicago, for example, but I could be wrong...). And if its not important enough for a system like that, then whatever.
But then, I grew up in an area without any sort of neighborhood association telling you what to do with your own property or making you randomly responsible for city property near your property. The only exception was the aforementioned brush clearance (on your own property, not on the street nearby unless you feel like it), but again, that's a matter of life and death and its also not something that unpredictably has to be done on random mornings -- you take care of it once or twice a year at your leisure, so you can plan to either take the time to do it yourself or get someone else to do it.
vitaminwater, in places where it snows frequently, nobody is going to be ticketing a homeowner who doesn't get the snow removed just exactly when they should. It's a consistent lack of shovelling, leaving the snow all week, and just generally not giving a shit that will get you, first, a notice, and then a ticket. The "clear by 9 am" thing is mostly enforced on businesses, not private citizens who aren't jerks. Since it's a bylaw, there would usually have to be a complaint before anything would be done about it.
Now that all my kids are away at school, I have to do all my shovelling myself, and I'd say I actually get out there and clear the sidewalk maybe half a dozen times all winter. The rest of the time, it's just a little skiff of snow and half of it blows away and the other half gets packed down by people walking by. What you have to avoid are hills and valleys of icy snow, places where people go in halfway to their knees, that kind of thing. You allow much of that, and your neighbours are going to turn you in.
Is there a reason people have to actually do the work of shoveling, and not just pour salt outside? That seems like less work and easier for someone with a bad back or other health problems to do.
I was in Chicago last winter, and since downtown is all huge buildings I don't know if the buildings do the sidewalks or the city does, but I suspect the city does it when they do the streets (earlier than I was up and about). Seems like they just pour some sort of salt stuff (not the same as table salt, but same idea). Seems much more impractical to require random people to go out and do it on short notice. Like having a town that doesn't have garbage collection, and insists that every person drive to the dump separately (except, they're not allowed to plan ahead on it).
I've also seen streets that say you can't park there when it snows more than some number of inches, and I also wonder what you'er supposed to do about that if it unexpectedly snows in the middle of the night. And I guess you can say weather prediction is getting more accurate, but it sounds like all these rules were around back when it was completely inaccurate.
jennifurret tweeted this http://youtu.be/dooKpdIwwR4, which appears to be from the last time Seattle had snow. I accidentally had my earphones in (from listening to Graeme Taylor's appearance on Ellen's show -- understood him, not her so much) and jumped about three feet when the crashing noises started...
I thought this was interesting, but I'm done with the internet for now, so don't worry, you're free of it (even if you decide to keep reloading this comment thread).
Nice touch referencing Vice's "Do & Don'ts". I love those photos and the accompanying captions. Spot on regarding the shoveling advice. I, too am from Chicago. I remember shoveling many a sidewalk/driveway. But, I remember the little old ladies and little old men usually of Eastern European stock shovelling away. I genuinely recall some of them declining my offer of assistance. I believe they liked the workout. Seriously.
And if you're the owner of a major business (Giant, BET, Home Depot (!!! WTF !!!) I'm looking at you) don't think I won't keep calling the city about your messy, dangerous sidewalks until you clean them (and are fined mightily)! Hot damn there's no excuse for businesses with so many assets to be so lazy...you do realize that someone could sue you for A LOT over that, right?
Here's to hoping we don't have another record-breaking winter on the East Coast. I'll be booking the last flight out for any snow predicted to be more than 5" this winter...
Now, if we lived in Chicago, apparently the land of all winter knowledge, where snow routinely stuck around for long periods, it might make sense to shovel. But here? Not so much.
Do warm fingers under cool water as opposed to hot so you don't burn numb fingers.
Don't try to drive anywhere without a full tank of gas in case you get stuck.
Clearing the sidewalks is just common decency.
Businesses are required to clear their frontage, but there are some sweepers that come through once in a while. They may be city owned, they may be a private firm, but they do a pretty good job.
For those of you who have lived with snow, I keep hearing people say it takes them hours to shovel their driveways, does it really take that long? Good God, what have I done?
Salt is a total problem, poor dogs and fish.
Don't: Use a coal shovel. Anyone even suggesting that a coal shovel be used should be beaten about the head with it (A coal shovel is a large wide metal shovel that after a couple of minutes will feel like it weighs 100 pounds).
Do: Go out and shovel multiple times, including after dinner, before you go to bed and when you wake up. It will seem like a pain in the ass, but if it's going to snow for eight hours or so, it will be very tough to move all the snow at once. Plus, it's what your parents did.
Don't: Wait until the end of the day to shovel. People will walk over the snow and pack it down into ice.
Don't: Pay anyone to shovel your walk, especially if they ask to shovel your walk while you're halfway through. They won't do a good a job as you would.
Do: Shovel to the street, and shovel the parking spot just like it's a suburban driveway.
Don't: Worry about putting orange crates and parking cones on your spot. While it is a tradition, ultimately, the spot will open up eventually, and since most of your neighbors are from Michigan, Ohio, or Schaumburg, they won't understand anyway.
Anyway, the heart attacks aren't just the elderly -- from my observation, a lot are just ordinary middle-aged men. I imagine the elderly also have more issues than heart attacks -- extends to joint & bone problems, etc.
Try learning something about decorum before lecturing others on it, Danny Boy.
Here's a tip, gratis. English is an amazingly versatile language. Immediate recourse to the lowest elements of it just shows your poor language skills.
I think butter-rum lamingtons are an American twist to your sublime lamingtons there in Australia. Basically, it is little rum-spiked cakes with rum-spiked butterscotch icing and rolled in desiccated coconut that has been toasted.
Your wish is my command, but keep in mind that the measurements are in those annoying teaspoons, etc. I do wish we would embrace metrics here.
Cake:
21/2 cups sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs (room temperature), beaten
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 cup whipping cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
11/2 cup granulated white sugar
Icing:
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup dark rum (divided)
5 to 6 cups of desiccated coconut toasted. I spread mine on a baking sheet and place it in the oven (350F), stirring it once or twice. Keep an eye on it, and look for the smell of it toasting.
To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and place rack to the middle position.
Butter and flour a cake tin, I used a 9 by 13 inch one, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Sift together the dry ingredients. Combine the rum, cream, and vanilla together. Using an electric mixer beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (2-5 minutes). Dribble in the eggs, a little at a time until fully incorporated.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the rum/cream/vanilla mixture in three additions beginning and ending with flour.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched and the sides of the cake begin to pull away from the pan (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean).
Cool the cake in its tin for 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool. Once the cake is completely cooled cut it into 2" (5 cm) squares. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. I like to refrigerate them overnight.
To make the icing:
In a medium saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, cream and salt. Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, add 1/4 cup of the rum and continue simmering for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup rum. Cool completely before frosting the cakes.
You assemble these as you would traditional lamingtons. I dip and roll mine in batches in order to keep the cake cold and avoid crumbling.
-Adapted from "The Simple Art of Perfect Baking" by Flo Baker
I've thought of substituting a whisky for the rum, a whisky-caramel lamingtons. But, I'm exceedingly fond of my bourbons. To do it I would likely substitute a Kentucky Whisky (which is not a bourbon, because bourbons must be matured in new barrels, but is similar in taste (79% corn, 11% rye, 10% barley), because sweet soft bourbons like Woodford Reserve, Blanton's, Maker's Mark are all too pricey for experimental baking. Plus, I tend to enjoy my bourbons with more rye in them (think Wild Turkey 101) and the higher rye can give add a bit of bitterness to the bake goods.
Enjoy.
Since lamingtons supposedly originated in Queensland, using Bundaberg Rum would be a nice touch. Must try that!
Cheers.
I'm not as cranky as a lot of my fellow former Midwesterners about how people here drive when it snows. It's much more dangerous and difficult here due to all the hills. Just the same, a lot of people here drive like shit even in nice weather and bad conditions just magnify their cluelessness and lack of skill.
I hear that Bundaberg Rum is lovely and I agree that it would be a very nice touch. The cookbook that I use to make the traditional chocolate frosted version does mention that they suspect the name has a connection to Lord Lamington (Governor of Queensland from 1896 - 190l).
Take care.
Um, like from salt shakers?
That's here in Chicago too. A kicker last year was I went out to the spot that I shoveled out and found that someone had put a lawn chair and a milk crate in it to "dibs" the spot. The chair was beat so it went in the dumpster. The milk crate was in perfect shape and went on the rack on my bike.
I think this happens in every residential urban area that gets snow and has street-only parking. I'm from Pittsburgh and it definitely happened there and understandably. You'd wake up, dig your car out, then go to work and afterwards not be able to park anywhere if someone took your spot.
The plows don't get the sides of streets in those types of neighborhoods because there are always parked cars there, and the plowing makes it worse by dumping extra snow into all of the parking spots. It's not like you can just hop out of your car and shovel out a spot if you are stuck, so the chair thing is something that kind of becomes obvious to people in that situation.
Are you kidding me? Any sidewalk with any traffic that doesn't get shovelled quickly turns into the most treacherous surface you can imagine: a bumpy sheet of ice interspersed with icy holes. You sure as heck aren't going to be walking on "snow" by any stretch of the imagination, unless you consider snow packed into ice, "snow".
Also, use sand, not salt. Sand provides traction. Salt just makes holes in the ice and kills your lawn in the spring.