Office Ghost Town

[bjarvis]

There's me and one other sysadmin in the Urbana data center today. After a quick exchange of e-mails, I've found precisely two others in our Reston data center. I'm now frantically reassigning work tickets to the available bodies --myself included-- so we don't have to reschedule a lot of work.

Traffic was light although the few commuters on the road were clearly terrified of the slush. In a couple of spots, I'd agree: I270 northbound effectively was two lanes wide the entire distance to my office, even though there's 3 lanes and 4 lanes of physical pavement... the MVA simply hasn't plowed some lanes at all. There's also one major spot where the drains are clearly blocked: there's a swimming pool of water across all lanes which could easily trap small vehicles.

It was a source of great amusement to see that all of the vehicles --and there were lots-- which had spun out and were abandoned in the snowbanks and medians were all SUVs. :-)

Comments

SUV's

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

People either forget or simply don't realize that all an SUV is good for is getting one going in slippery conditions and that's it, outside of going off road to some degree.

Slogged in from Rockville to Georgetown

[rockvillewoof.livejournal.com]

It was awful on the way in at 630am...and let's not forget not all drivers in DC are Northerners with oodles of experience with this slop - some of us are from warmer climates.

Re: Slogged in from Rockville to Georgetown

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

To a degree, I have sympathy: I do expect folks to move a little slower and be a little more cautious than usual. However...

I absolutely demand people clear the snow from their vehicles before driving them on the roadways. The other drivers on the road have enough to worry about without flying snow & ice from fools who couldn't be bothered. There is no excuse.

I also am insistent that if one must travel 15 mph on the highways because omigod there's a snowflake! that they not drive at all. There's a minimal level of competence required to drive a vehicle, especially under less-than-ideal conditions: it behooves people to know their limits and stay off the roads if they're not qualified to deal with the situation. I can forgive a lot, but I can't forgive risking the lives of other people for personal convenience.

I'm not asking much... I just want people to act like sensible, responsible human beings.

OK, maybe I am asking too much. :-^

[kent4str.livejournal.com]

You know, every time I see "sysadmin", at first I read it as "sadism". Can't say why, but can't say it's inappropriate in this case, either.

[moofedct.livejournal.com]

It was a source of great amusement to see that all of the vehicles --and there were lots-- which had spun out and were abandoned in the snowbanks and medians were all SUVs. :-)

Now there's a surprise! I did better in my Honda Prelude in the snow than some SUVs when I lived in Colorado. I'm amazed at the lack of common sense that most drivers choose to employ.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

My Civic and I were positively gleeful with vehicular shadenfreude... :-)