Beware, the snow drivers are about

Despite all the snow & freezing conditions, it’s comforting to see that the roads are still infested with the arrogant, the selfish & the plain idiotic. I have often wondered where to buy a car that allows me to ignore the rules of the road, negate common courtesy or consideration for other road users & where the elements, no matter how adverse, simply don’t apply to me.
Today, as more snow sweeps relentlessly across the Midlands, additional chaos is wrought by those immune from treacherous road conditions, traffic jams & sensible driving.  The arrogant (usually in a big saloon or 4 x 4) maintain their pomposity by simply driving where they like – hurling slush & snow into the path of more careful drivers, weaving about & cutting in without indicating. Meanwhile the selfish ‘I can go faster than you’ vans or small delivery vehicles, career around because nothing is going to stop them – snow, traffic holdups, road works, traffic lights, even accidents.
Finally, of course, there are the idiots. They can be found driving anything that moves, though mostly cars. They have an inalienable right to behave in a manner that defies all known laws of motion, gravity, humanity & plain common sense.
Well, it’s still snowing, the roads are bad, there’s certainly a queue building up, so I think it’s time to see if I can get the 5 miles down the bypass in under 3 mins. I don't see why not.

High-speed gritter spotted in Milton Keynes

Surprising to see during the current bad spell, but a high-speed gritter (or that's what it seemed to be) was spotted last night in central Milton Keynes.
It appears to work on the principle of light and motion. Driving at a speed in excess of 50mph the gritter delivers an ultra-fine layer of grit to the road surface. This doesn't cause any problems as it is easily blown away by any other vehicle (other than a push bike) and doesn't interfere with the integrity of the icy road surface.
Any gravel or salt particles thrown out by the forward motion of the vehicle seem to be either fused into larger lumps - rather like asteroids, or vanish into the atmosphere. While the larger particles continue to impact the bodywork of other road users, the centrifugal motion means they can now reach across dual carriageways. Any remaining salt particles evaporate due to their excessive speed.
Is this the future for ice clearance?

The season of pathetic excuses?

First signs of frosty leaves on the line and the train companies are back with delays, cancellations and excuses - or at least they should be.
London Midland, who took up the challenge of making the west coast rail network worse than Silverlink, managed to avoid giving any reasons for delays yesterday. The ticket office at my local station had no idea why the trains were delayed other than that they were. No other reasons were given except by one character who blamed the impending London Transport tube strike.
Sadly the majority of passengers seemed to accept the fact that it was cold and frosty, therefore the trains would be late. In the past we have all poured scorn on excuses of frozen points, leaves on the line (too late autumn is over) and snow. It's going to be challenging to see how we can ridicule 'they're delayed because they're delayed'.

Well now that's a fascinating fact

For as long as there have been shops, some clown has usually decided that leaving the door open in winter is an excellent idea because potential customers will rush in to purchase. Now scientists have discovered that a violent difference in temperature between the inside of a shop and the pavement causes problems when the door is left open ie energy costs rise. Stunning isn't it.
Anyone who has the misfortune to work in retail, and be subject to the stupidities of senior management who insist that the door remains open on pain of death, could have saved the scientist costs a thousand fold.
Perhaps more useful research would be to measure the difference in common sense between the people who manage the shops and those who bask in heated offices issuing fatuous instructions.