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everdream

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The True North Strong and Free

well, this is a real life rant, but hey, it's fun all the same.

i'm getting sick and tired of hearing on the news about "deep-freezes" and "snow-storms" causing chaos in the northern united states, ontario and vancouver, bc, Canada! i can honestly say that people living in these areas of both countries must shove their heads somewhere when a snowflake hits the ground and the temperature drops below freezing. people forget how to drive, waterlines seize up, complete chaos occurs! it's pathetic and i'm sick of hearing about '60 car pile ups in detroit after an inch of snow'

i live in saskatchewan, canada. our temperature in celcius ranges from -50*C (-40 is where *C and *F meet) (even colder with a wind) to +37*C (over 100*F), we have had droughts in the summer and real blizzards in the winter with feet of snow, not just an inch or two and winds that would rip a southern house's roof off!. i've never, ever seen a massive car pile up, maybe 5 or 6 cars, but nothing like what happens in the USA or eastern canada. we're seasoned for all seasons here, tough as nails, and no matter how hot it is outside or chillingly cold, we work, not missing a day.

i'd just like to know why the rest of North America acts so 'challenged' when it comes to weather, i mean, damnit, it's not rocket science to slow down when it's icy or properly equip yourself for the elements.

here are some pics from Wollaston Lake, SK, i just arrived back from there last night, our original plane crash landed at one of its stops coming up to get us (it's front landing gear wouldn't go down so it did a semi-belly landing) so we needed to take a different plane, no biggy. anyway, here are some pics of Wollaston Lake, a place where in the summer time, Americans will pay up to $6000 for a fishing trip, this is almost an everyday thing for me, lol... suckers.

the green arrow point, there is no road here in the winter, you travel via ice road on the lake itself, dont wander off the path either, ice shifts and underwater currents affect thickness.

the truck i was using, a 2003 F-150 with 205,000 miles on it in some of the nastiest trails in North America, ran like a charm, the First Nations Band keeps track of all vehicles on their land, for trucks there are 394 F-150's, 3 Dodge Rams, 2 GMC Sierra's... No Toyota's, they wouldn't survive up here at all... the police use Super Duty F-250's.

all of them are 4x4's with V8's.

moving on!

yep, there was a snowmobile with a little "body" sled that it towed behind it, didn't have any dogs in it, but lots of frozen blood. 3-4 dogs are shot per week there.

a while ago...
there was an altercation at the school there, two boys were fighting, so the next day they both brought shot-guns to school and had a good ol' fashioned show down, the way it should be... you shouldn't be a wuss and just shoot unarmed people, these 2 kids squared off and started blasting away at eachother, dodging in and out behind a wall, the one kid got hit, ear shredded and is now deaf there, the other got hit with shrapnal from the wall in the eye and ran out of the school with pieces of wall and some shot in his eye, he ran into the bush up there (full of bears) and came out 5 days later and turned himself into the cops, he surprisingly wasnt infected or blind.

this is the north, this is where i work, there are no 'gangsta thugs' or 'punks' being posers, there's just a lot of ass kicking and tough people.

yep, sick of hearing about pathetic little stories hitting national news, makes me shake my head. hehe.

02/08/08 17:33

God is my Judge

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Joined: 04/03/2006
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RE: The True North Strong and Free

lol. sucks to live were you live.
I live on Long Island, New York. So all we ever get is rain, rain, and more freaking rain.

But, I still prefer rain to the crap you have to deal with.

Name: Kane
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02/08/08 17:39

smokebam_07

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

dang those people are cruel

02/08/08 17:46

everdream

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

QUOTE

lol. sucks to live were you live.
I live on Long Island, New York. So all we ever get is rain, rain, and more freaking rain.

But, I still prefer rain to the crap you have to deal with.

hehe, depends on what you're used to i guess. in the winter, friends and i Ice Fish and snowmobile, also play hockey and go off-roading, so it's not so bad with activities... oh yea, forgot to mention hunting, though that's over in december... also play GW and am on here, so life's really not too sucky.

hehe, i'd rather deal with cold than with heat, at least you can put more clothes on if you're cold, if you're hot you can only strip so far and not be arrested in public! LOL!

found a shot of the dog sled, here it is!

and about the car company comments, yea, i'm taking a shot at toyota there as they call their big truck a 'tundra' but you'll never see one near what 'tundra' really is... hehehe.

All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

02/08/08 17:46

maddog199

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

QUOTE

I live on Long Island, New York. So all we ever get is rain, rain, and more freaking rain.

I live in a simulair climate =] rain s*cks when it is supposed to be snowing!!

But, I think EverDream forget a twist here and their.
For Example, Detroit is (+/-) 45°24' you're home (approximately ) is 59°29'. That's about 14° difference... And a hole climate.

While you're Ice Fishing their 'coldest' average degree is a mere -9°C (and that's during January).
True, perhaps if a little more preparations were taken those '60' cars wouldn't get stuck (although you have to consider it's 'tha newz' broadcasting 'tha thruth'). And not to forget the average American is no longer picking those big trucks (like yours) anymore but are choosing more ecological and economical cars (and more imporantly smaller).

And that's constructive criticism people, be amazed!! =O

02/08/08 18:08

everdream

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

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And not to forget the average American is no longer picking those big trucks (like yours) anymore but are choosing more ecological and economical cars (and more imporantly smaller).

And that's constructive criticism people, be amazed!! =O

hehe, yaris' and prius' suck though! lol... they look like eggs, you can buy a 4 cyl truck too!

i'm sure people would buy small cars up here, but they simply wouldn't make point B, wages up north are good and most people couldnt care less about gas mileage and being ecological, that's the truth though, i do accept your remarks as valid, and i know the states is awash in tiny little cars and people worried about the earth.

my truck, even my personal 4x4 isn't big! LOL, i wan't an F-350 SRW 6.4L Diesel! bruhaha (tim allen noise)...

even with my current 2007 Ford, i've found myself boosting more and more small cars in our weather as their battery and block heater isn't near as big and powerful.

big trucks have their advantages you know, in my flirty years you can pull up to a girl in a car and get a much better 'view' from a big truck than a small or lowered vehicle. ;) you can also go over mediums and ditches and through mud and tow a boat, and do all the things i like doing, i'm a truck guy, i respect car guys, but fuel prices will never change me.

take no insult to this, but a slogan on a buddies truck once read. "the higher, the better, fat chicks can't jump"

All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

02/08/08 18:20

maddog199

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

QUOTE

big trucks have their advantages you know, in my flirty years you can pull up to a girl in a car and get a much better 'view' from a big truck than a small or lowered vehicle. ;) you can also go over mediums and ditches and through mud and tow a boat, and do all the things i like doing

take no insult to this, but a slogan on a buddies truck once read. "the higher, the better, fat chicks can't jump"

Right, right off course. *specially first bits*
But when 99.9% off what you're driving on is asfalt would you still choose the same?

And whatever happend to 'I'd hit that, with my bumper.'?!

02/08/08 18:45

everdream

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

if i did 99.9% of my driving on asphalt, then yea, i'd have a car, with snow and ice i'd said i'd get an AWD car, likely a Fusion or a Subaru Legacy.

back to how cold it is though! :P

All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

02/08/08 18:55

barlauja

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

I have yet to figure out why everyone seems to forget how to drive every year myself, and I'm only in Minnesota. Of course, you can't expect much when idiots buy 4x4s and think that means they can drive through anything.

02/08/08 19:49

Laidy Rayne

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

I know how you feel ED, the same goes for Maine. We have Massachusettes people come up here to go to Sunday River, a skiing mountian with huge amounts of condos and whatnot., anyway, these Mass ppl CANT drive in the snow. I have an '02 Mitsubishi Lancer, I get up everyday to drive in the snow, my car goes perfect! Even when there is 7 inches of snow, I can still drive fine, like you said, it's all common sense, slow down if there's ice. Yes the schools might close but my job doesn't stop, if all else fails, I have a snowmachine that I can drive to work, the trail goes right by it. It's very irritating to find one of those drivers that NEEDS to go as fast as they can and take up the road when you're about to meet them, and you are the one that gets sucked off the road. I even see local OLD women out driving in 7 inches of snow, we know how to handle all the situations around here.
The summer isn't our "tourist" season so we don't have as many chaotic drivers, but they're is always a few.

02/08/08 19:54

Cross

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Joined: 05/06/2006
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RE: The True North Strong and Free

LOL Everdream, you think its bad in the northern US you should see how the crazy people here in the Southern US act with just the word of "possible" snow. Just hearing that there is a chance they go nuts and storm the stores to get toilet paper, bread, milk, and eggs. I've seen 4X4s stuck and stop and help with my little two wheel drive. I agree on trucks. I loved my F-150 4X4 it was a good work truck but I loved my little Dakota more and it was just a v6 2 wheel drive but would out pull the v8 F-150.

I can go on about traction and ways around it without having 4 wheel drive and how to handle steering in slick areas with 2 wheel drive. But they are pretty common knowledge for most that work in harsh conditions whether snow or very muddy. I'd get 4 wheel drive if I was going to be in those types of situations all the time but when its only a few times a year I can handle anything that comes my way without it.

I admit though since I got married I do always have at least one vehicle thats 4X4 for my wife just in case she goes off the road she can get back on. lol I liked the little Kia Sportage I got her several years back. That thing we would run it up four-wheeler ATV trails. It was like the old VW Bugs, small and sat up and pretty much go anywhere and if it rolled over you just rolled it back over and keep going lol (except I wouldn't advise rolling the sportage over or the newer bugs).

I'm neither here nor there but everywhere. I am who I am and nothing more but yet I'm nothing less than what I strive to be.

02/08/08 19:57

lani

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

Cars/Trucks is like Operating Systems.
You start with what you'd like to do, then find out what vehicle best supports you in that. Which is why I have a bicycle and no driver's license.

...

I like to be driven around :-)

Anyhoo, we're suffering here too with our temperate sea-climate. It was +6 (celcius) today and my radiator's "stift" was stuck. The stift controls the flow of hot water through the radiator so I had to bang on the piping with a hammer to get it unstuck. The neighbors in my appartment building love it when this happens as we're on one communal piping system. That was pretty heroic (in a not playing Superman for 40 feet kind of way) wasn't it?

Seriously, here in the Netherlands misty season is generally announced by the annual Blues Brothers car-crash reconstruction on one of our highways. Pretty much the same happens at the first frozen up thaw (what's the name, we call it "ijzel") of the season. That first day the people who get flustered and the people who (think they) can handle the sudden change both do stupid things. After that everyone's a bit more cautious / less likely to panic though.

Oh, and night-shift on Friday night sucks. Nothing much ever happens.

02/08/08 20:02

Belshazaarswrath

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

It's better than having a weather system with A.D.D.

Snow!
Drought!
Tornado!
Rain!
Hail!

The thermometer are going on strike.

02/08/08 20:08

everdream

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Joined: 01/02/2006
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RE: The True North Strong and Free

QUOTE

*Coughs, soccer mom's in SUV's...

no, seriously, glad to know i'm not the only one who thinks this and verifies it's pathetic-ness.

Lani probably has the best method of transportation there is for his situation, a bike, hehe, i've got 2 of em, a road bike that keeps up (sometimes faster) than city trafic and a down-hill with big tires and disc brakes for those times i want to just have fun and hit some trails. bikes are awesome. if i didn't need a vehicle i wouldn't own one, they are the worst investment by far, more like a tool.

maybe part of the reason i think a lot of other drivers suck is i've never owned a Front-Wheel-Drive car, always been Rear-Wheel or a 4x4, which is rear wheel until the hubs lock up front. RWD's handle predictably in my opinion and are easier to control if you lose it on ice. 4x4's or AWD's on ice are hard to recover, as are front wheel cars. dunno, maybe RWD's are harder, but again, been on em all my driving life and on the farm before i could legally drive, so i dunno.

again, thanks for the input all.

All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

02/09/08 09:36

Xaviak

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RE: The True North Strong and Free

Arf, quit talking about V8's. Such a sexy thing but 1.4+€ for a liter of gas....not a gallon, a liter. /Cry.... T.T

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02/09/08 10:03

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