Absolutely Pathetic, but proves the point.

What a ridiculous state of affairs we find much of the UK in, Only 1 ft of snow falls and chaos rules.
Less than five days of bad weather and they are running out of grit for the roads, thousands of schools remain closed and shops are running out of food as people panic buy.

Total gridlock in hundreds of area as motorists fail to adapt their driving to match the weather.

Thousands of calls to 999 saying people are starving and have ran out of food in only two days.

Power lines down in many areas and the linemen say they can not cope with the repair backlog.

Hundreds of gas stations running out of fuel as the tankers from the refineries can not reach them.

Hundreds of morons ( only suitable title) phoning the emergency services saying they set off in their cars on long journeys without warm clothing , or even topcoats and they are stranded with only light clothing, no emergency supplies or way of staying warm.

The only good point is the morons of the green lobby are suddendly not complaining any more about people driving 4x4s.

What a pathetic nation we have become.
NR

[edit on 6-2-2009 by Northern Raider]

reply to post by Northern Raider


Things like that me me happy that I am who I am and do what I do.
The general public are idiots who rely on others to take care of them.

reply to post by Northern Raider


yes iagree a ridiculous state of affairs indeed star and flag



[edit on 6-2-2009 by audio assasin]

i rely on the system also

but i am not an idiot, i actually stock up on a week or more worth of food

but then agian i live in an area where tons of snow falls yearly, and its normal everyday life here

I hear ya's!

How right you are.

It's funny, because England is having a Scottish winter this year, and what is even funnier, this is the sort of weather the UK used to experience (on a regular basis in the winter) about 20 years ago.

The 'normal' British winter has returned!

Why is it some parts of the country can't cope and yet other parts can?

Case in point (not sadly weather related):

Was in my local hardware shop today (local, not a chain) and I'm chewing the fat with the guy behind the counter and tells me,

"Some guy comes in and asks if I have the key for 98, Vortex Road". Yes, he thought this places stocked keys for specific addresses.

and,

(and this one is priceless)

"A woman comes in and says she doesn't know how to wire a plug, can I put it on her microphone for her." (Yes, a mains plug on an audio mic.)

Gives a whole new meaning to phantom power.

Back on topic...

Actually, that was on topic. People are stupid, people are unprepared, people are herd animals (whether we like it or not).

To quote Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff, "Things I learned this week"...

1) Check your boots are weather-proofed BEFORE you need them.
2) If you have to go out driving prepare for EVERYTHING. You might be laughed at but,
3) The consequences of not being prepared aren't as funny as being prepared and nothing happening.
4) If you get a freak thunder storm at 6am it's the probable cause of temporary internet loss.
5) Most of England WILL grind to a halt for the slightest reason - again and again.
6) Most people are idiots.

Who am I kidding, we knew 6 all along.

er... and 5.

[edit: to un-split my infinitives.]

[edit on 6-2-2009 by Nirgal]

Our neighbors to the north [or south, for Detroiters], on the other hand, deal with:




...

God send the Queen a Ski-Doo.

reply to post by ItsTheQuestion


Just one day I hope I wake up to that.

That is "proper weather".

reply to post by Nirgal


With the job I have you would not believe the amount of stupid people stories i have.
I can go on forever.
Heres just one for you.
There is a spill of a liquid.The person looks around and sees a stack of newspapers and a mop.
What would you choose in that situation???
She chose the stack of newspapers!!!
See what I mean??
The general public are complete morons.

Originally posted by Nirgal
reply to post by ItsTheQuestion

 

Just one day I hope I wake up to that.

That is "proper weather".

When I used to go the the US a lot to see my American survivalist friend, I used to say to him, " I really want to see one of these thunderstorms you keep going on about, theres no way they can be as bad as you make out". Boy was a I wrong, bout two years later I was in liberal and found out why everyone parks their vehicles under galvanised corrugated tin roofs when a T storm is forcast. the hailstones were bigger than golf balls, the wind scared the # out of me, and the rain turned 11 AM sept 6th into midnight in five minutes flat.

Slightly off topic I know, but ....... would you rather have everyone clued up with a survivalist/peppper nature or have most people as sheep?

I know this is selfish, but I kind of like being 'one of the few' and as long as my family are okay, then every thing is hunky dory.

Back on topic, I think you will find that it is mostly (not solely) the post 1970's/1980's generations that are ill-equipped mentally for these kinds of situations. They have never had to endure hardships of any kind, generally speaking.

reply to post by Northern Raider


Northern Raider,

Weather indeed.

The weather in many places in this world is a difficult taskmaster. No matter what we think and boast of our technological prowess..many many tasks boil down to the weather as the final decision as to whether a thing will be accomplished.

I am oft reminded of the US Space Shuttle. The myriads of decisions and tasks to be accomplished and signed off..before the word to go is given and in the end all this can be held up by weather...though all else has been done and ready.

When we move a ship in this shipyard..large ones at that..many a time it has boiled down to the weather. Ship movements have been delayed here for tides and or wind as much as three days. Once again myriads of checks and sign offs are done and in the end...it is weather.

Smart people on here who have stocked up and left themselves some options rather than squandering thier time and moneys on Amusements and entertainments as do most out here.

A-without
Muse-thinking

Without thinking...Amusement. Something designed to keep us from thinking while we depend on non thinking and entitlement beliefs for our sustinance.

Some on here seem to instinctively know the difference. I salute you folks.

Off which of these paradigms or templates are many in the UK operating thier daily lives??

Someone here in the USA would like us to follow suit to maintain their political power base...just as is being done in the UK.

Nice images someone has posted of the weather. Also I know about the hailstorms of which someone else posted. Makes a believer out of you when first you see it.

Oh..and this is Hurricane country. Interesting how many people around here can get ready for this weeks ball game but not for a hurricane. Many of them fell flat on thier faces when a small hurricane came through here years back. Some have gotten wise since and many have not.


Thanks,
Orangetom

[edit on 6-2-2009 by orangetom1999]

I'm not sure about it being solely the young 'uns. It's more to do with the "Wall-E esque" type humans who don't understand how to stand and walk across a room to change TV stations.

I don't think anyone is without sin however. I learned lessons this week; synthesis is a good thing.

I think this national air of outrage at government for not doing enough is typical of the "blame-ocracy" we now live in.

How people have become so short-sighted as to think it's their duty to blame others and demand help, rather than take responsibility for their safety and those of others is a thread for a more conspiracy-orientated forum. Here we deal with preparation and aftermath, not blame (mostly).

Originally posted by Northern Raider

What a pathetic nation we have become.
NR

[edit on 6-2-2009 by Northern Raider]

World my friend, world, its not just you guys over there with the boneheads who cant think ahead. Stupidity knows no national boundry.

Originally posted by Woton

would you rather have everyone clued up with a survivalist/peppper nature or have most people as sheep?

If they leave me alone, sheep are just fine. Maybe people who are prepared are selfish, maybe as a general rule we dont much care for the masses. Either way, Im with you. If I am okay and those I care about are, the people not wearing a coat at -25 and get stuck in the ditch are really no concern of mine.

Who was it who said we're only two missed meals away from total anarchy? (It was somebody British I believe).

reply to post by Northern Raider


In all fairness this is a complete over reaction either by media or the public.

People are not "starving", if there are thousands of calls to 999 it's not due to lack of food.

The shops at the end of our road is perfectly well stocked. The roads are a bit splashy but meh.

As for the lack of grit. This is the UK, if local authorities had spent millions on grit and it just sat there, they'd come under fire for wasting money. This is a freak amount of snow that rarely happens in the UK. I saw it stated that the last time we had this was over ten years ago. So there is no justification for councils and government to spend money on gritters and salt for something that happens maybe once a decade.

What's really embarrassing is the complete lack of intelligence by the people here.
This is nothing, and yet we all act like we're made of glass.

People don't know how to drive in this country, and they don't know when they're beaten and should give up. People are still driving the few hundred yards to a local shop!

Power out for a few days? Candles and torches. Yes it's frustrating but come on! Get out and go for a walk, find other ways to entertain yourself.

Seriously, anyone would think we have life difficult in this country. We don't!

Originally posted by detachedindividual
reply to post by Northern Raider

 

I saw it stated that the last time we had this was over ten years ago. So there is no justification for councils and government to spend money on gritters and salt for something that happens maybe once a decade.

Don't think I'm singling you out. You were pretty much spot on with everything else you wrote.

Either you are under 35 years old or have selective memory. This "once a decade" occurrence was once the rule rather than the exception. This statement is (once again) perhaps a subject for another thread but relevant given the current *ahem* climate.

Erm, hello, what has this got to do with the topic?

Well, at the risk of stretching what I suggested was a topic for another thread it highlights the pathetic nation we have become because some have either no knowledge of the prevailing climate or have sent that knowledge down the memory hole.

Back on topic now Thistled?

Originally posted by NirgalEither you are under 35 years old or have selective memory. This "once a decade" occurrence was once the rule rather than the exception. This statement is (once again) perhaps a subject for another thread but relevant given the current *ahem* climate.

I am not under 35, nor do I have selective memory, but I have to say I agree with the point made. This was highly unusual weather for recent times.

Yes, it used to be normal to have this amount of snowfall (and I wistfully look back at those "proper winters"), but the simple fact is that we as a nation, especially in the south, have grown complacent in mild winters with little snow and no need for large quantities of grit and snow plows. Companies and councils seemed to forget the great snowfalls of the seventies, eighties, and early nineties and instead of preparing for winter it was business as usual.

I suspect that not one of them expected 8 inches of snow to fall on the capital. Everyone seems to forget that they are subject to this hype about "global warming" as much as we are.

Yes, it was completely mismanaged, but woah, how fun was it to play in that snow?

Edit for single spelling error, how Murphy.

[edit on 6/2/09 by AngelInterceptor]