Ice, ice baby
Just survived the Great Ice Storm of 2005, which was very similar to the Great Ice Storm of 2000 -- same nasty conditions, same part of the year (late January). I think the conditions this time around were worse for me personally, mainly because I drove through the slop three times (twice coming home from work, once going to the office), probably averaging no more than 25 mph the whole time. And yes, that includes the school zone that I-85 became Friday night. I had one instance of skidding on the highway, but corrected myself and pulled over in time not to cause any problems -- it helps that it was 2:30 and only a few cars on the road. But at least I got home -- another co-worker had to stop at a motel on 85 overnight because of the conditions. And I nearly took up a friend's offer to stay at the hotel adjoining the office tonight before deciding to gut it out on the road. I had to think about it given the massive de-icing I had to do with my car this afternoon -- but at least I had a scraper. I lent it out briefly to one of my neighbors, while another used a spatula to cut through the Magic Shell the ice created on our cars.

The coverage of the storm was a bit odd to say the least. With CNN in Atlanta, it was very easy to get a photo of the weather -- just walk outside and take a shot of the street and the building you work at. With The Weather Channel also in the Atlanta area, it appeared that the reporter covering the Atlanta angle of the storm barely had to leave its headquarters to get a live shot.

On the other hand, the local stations that usually would go wall-to-wall with that type of stuff were noticeably absent. With a rather sparse Saturday afternoon of network-televised sports, there were plenty of infomercials instead of news. Granted, the weather started overnight, making it difficult for anyone to move around Saturday morning, but you'd think that if they are willing to preempt Jeopardy or Dr. Phil for thunderstorms, they might bump Ron Popeil for ice.

Going back to the Ice Storm of 2000, though, I think I was slightly less cautious driving -- zipping along I-75 on the way back from Chattanooga wasn't wise, and I'm still trying to figure out why we had an AAJA meeting in those conditions. Plus, I lost my power for a couple of days around the AFC and NFC title games (no issues this time, although I was a bit scared seeing a bunch of traffic lights out just outside my complex) but felt smug seeing all the people in town for the Super Bowl having to deal with the cold and ice.