April Banter

[nj2va]

5 hours ago, C.A.P.E. said:

I agree. I pay some of the highest property taxes in MD, in one of the most rural counties.

The price of country livin and the smells of liquified cow shiit.

So Fozz- shut up dude. lol.

I was shocked when I saw my property tax rate in Garrett County is almost equal to the rate I pay here, for far fewer services. They do a helluva job with keeping the roads clear though. 

[psuhoffman]

5 hours ago, EastCoast NPZ said:

So, that is justification for abolishing the most fundamental rights set-forth in the Constitution?

 

Im not saying I think we should do it but if congress did ban private vehicles it probably would not be unconstitutional. There are plenty of items that we are not allowed to own privately for the public good. You can't own a nuclear bomb. You can't own a fully automatic weapon. You can't own some controlled substances. If we ever got to the point where a majority agreed that cars were equally detrimental to the public good they could be banned without violating any constitutional right. There is no right to a car anywhere in the constitution. 

Again im not advocating that and given congress there is no way it's happening but it wouldn't be a constitutional issue. 

[CAPE]

12 minutes ago, nj2va said:

I was shocked when I saw my property tax rate in Garrett County is almost equal to the rate I pay here, for far fewer services. They do a helluva job with keeping the roads clear though. 

Yeah you dont get much here. Tar chipped roads other than the major routes. Schools are old. Have to pay for trash pickup. They mow the sides of the roads maybe 2-3 times a summer. When we get big snows the farmers plow the back roads a lot of the time before the county gets to them. For all that I get to pay 3 grand a year. But, there is no one around to bother you because well, there is no one around! I think Caroline County is 20 out of 23 in MD in population density. About the same rank for income per capita.

[psuhoffman]

10 hours ago, North Balti Zen said:

This is where PSU will pop in and tell all of us in the beltways “what did you expect, all of those cities are better for snow than where you live even Raliegh and you chose to live in a snow hellscape so what did you expect just be happy anything fell”...

There are two different issues. Compared to a "normal" winter which I consider the median not mean we had a pretty typical snow total by the end in "most" of this region. 

However, ninas are ultra frustrating (as I said in my post yesterday in the storm thread) because we are typically going to be the worst location wrt normal. North and south of us tend to do better in a Nina. So while some ninas that are colder based ones (usually east based ninas) can end up being near normal snowfall for us they still end up frustrating because typically for us to get near normal snowfall everyone around us needs to get way above average and we fail so many times it still feels like a bad winter even though by the numbers it wasn't.  

I'm not denying any of that but I just try not to wallow in the down side of everything.  I was prepared for this.  Ninas suck.  Whenever we have a Nina I go in assuming it will be a struggle and just appreciate any snow we get.  

If we get a moderate Nino in the next few years during the solar minimum and a somewhat favorable pdo and still end up getting screwed then I will be royally pissed at the snow gods. But im not upset at this result in a Nina. As bad as it was this was about as good as we could hope for in a Nina. They suck. 

[CAPE]

1 minute ago, psuhoffman said:

There are two different issues. Compared to a "normal" winter which I consider the median not mean we had a pretty typical snow total by the end in "most" of this region. 

However, ninas are ultra frustrating (as I said in my post yesterday in the storm thread) because we are typically going to be the worst location wrt normal. North and south of us tend to do better in a Nina. So while some ninas that are colder based ones (usually east based ninas) can end up being near normal snowfall for us they still end up frustrating because typically for us to get near normal snowfall everyone around us needs to get way above average and we fail so many times it still feels like a bad winter even though by the numbers it wasn't.  

I'm not denying any of that but I just try not to wallow in the down side of everything.  I was prepared for this.  Ninas suck.  Whenever we have a Nina I go in assuming it will be a struggle and just appreciate any snow we get.  

If we get a moderate Nino in the next few years during the solar minimum and a somewhat favorable pdo and still end up getting screwed then I will be royally pussed at the snow gods. But im not upset at this result in a Nina. As bad as it was this was about as good as we could hope for in a Nina. They suck. 

He still wont like your answer because you got 35" and he got 15.

#knowyourclimo

[psuhoffman]

I guess today is why I don't care so much if it's a cold pattern in April. Yesterday sucked when it was cloudy windy and in the 30s. But today even though it was only in the 40s it felt great out with the sun. I cleared some brush in the back corner of my property and then made a good fire. My son roasted left over peeps from his Easter basket. It was a nice day outside. 

 

[CAPE]

Just now, psuhoffman said:

I guess today is why I don't care so much if it's a cold pattern in April. Yesterday sucked when it was cloudy windy and in the 30s. But today even though it was only in the 40s it felt great out with the sun. I cleared some brush in the back corner of my property and then made a good fire. My son roasted left over peeps from his Easter basket. It was a nice day outside. 

 

Turned out to be a great weekend overall. Was cloudy and cold yesterday but no precip other than a few spits. Today was awesome. Got much more done outside than I thought based on the forecast a few days ago.

[psuhoffman]

2 minutes ago, C.A.P.E. said:

He still wont like your answer because you got 35" and he got 15.

#knowyourclimo

Those two numbers are almost exactly comparable wrt climo. I know you know that just saying. My mean is around 43" but my median is around 35. His mean is around 20 but median is around 15. We both got the same winter essentially. 

[CAPE]

Just now, psuhoffman said:

Those two numbers are almost exactly comparable wrt climo. I know you know that just saying. My mean is around 43" but my median is around 35. His mean is around 20 but median is around 15. We both got the same winter essentially. 

That was exactly my point. He complained as usual and made a snarky post to troll you. I wish you had ignored it. His game is weak and obvious.

[psuhoffman]

8 minutes ago, C.A.P.E. said:

Turned out to be a great weekend overall. Was cloudy and cold yesterday but no precip other than a few spits. Today was awesome. Got much more done outside than I thought based on the forecast a few days ago.

It was a good day 

[psuhoffman]

16 minutes ago, C.A.P.E. said:

That was exactly my point. He complained as usual and made a snarky post to troll you. I wish you had ignored it. His game is weak and obvious.

I don't think he is trolling. I think that's how he really feels. And that's ok. He isn't bothering me. 

[psuhoffman]

5 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

I'm used to working outside for work and it felt pretty chilly when I was in the yard for a hour around 9am. Stuck in the 30s till 1230 . Winds been picking up all day gusting to 26 mph. It was better then yesterday.. true.

High of 42 here . I'm sure you were similar 

According to my weather station it got to 44 here.  Not sure how accurate it is because it always runs 1-2 degrees warmer then my car and my car is always spot on when I'm able to check to with another source. 

[CAPE]

11 hours ago, psuhoffman said:

I don't think he is trolling. I think that's how he really feels. And that's ok. He isn't bothering me. 

Nah he is a troll. I can ignore stuff but at some point its time to call a spade a spade. I wont walk on eggshells to appease anyone IRL, and I sure as hell wont do it on a forum. He can take his passive aggressive routine and shove it.

[vastateofmind]

50 minutes ago, psuhoffman said:

It was a good day 
(Pics of @psuhoffman's "back 40," removed for scrolling reasons...)

Gorgeous views. I grew up in Williamsport, PA, where those kinds of rolling hills and valleys are common in northcentral PA. I miss that.

The thermometer said 53 this afternoon in my SE FfxCo backyard, but winds made it feel definitely chillier than that. I mowed the backyard, tossed the ball too many times to count for our relentlessly fetching Lab, and I was pretty cold after about 45 minutes outside. Ready for warmer temps this week.

[psuhoffman]

13 minutes ago, WxWatcher007 said:

Oooo a constitutional question  

Just thinking out loud, I think you're right depending on the type of law Congress passed. If Congress banned private vehicles prospectively, allowing for previously purchased cars to be on the road but for no more to be produced or imported, that'd probably be fine, though I expect it'd probably end up being a SCOTUS case before going into effect.

If Congress passed a law tomorrow saying cars could no longer be produced, imported, or driven, that'd probably be a law in much greater constitutional jeopardy because effectively the federal government has seized personal property and rendered it worthless. That seems like a real test of the 5th Amendment. 

If an individual state decided it wanted to take either of the options above my guess is that it'd probably be struck down under the commerce clause. 

Interesting to think about (without discussing the merits or politics of banning vehicles) 

I agree with your interpretation 

 

[Fozz]

54 minutes ago, WxWatcher007 said:

Oooo a constitutional question  

Just thinking out loud, I think you're right depending on the type of law Congress passed. If Congress banned private vehicles prospectively, allowing for previously purchased cars to be on the road but for no more to be produced or imported, that'd probably be fine, though I expect it'd probably end up being a SCOTUS case before going into effect.

If Congress passed a law tomorrow saying cars could no longer be produced, imported, or driven, that'd probably be a law in much greater constitutional jeopardy because effectively the federal government has seized personal property and rendered it worthless. That seems like a real test of the 5th Amendment. 

If an individual state decided it wanted to take either of the options above my guess is that it'd probably be struck down under the commerce clause. 

Interesting to think about (without discussing the merits or politics of banning vehicles) 

I think banning the ownership of cars would be a blatant violation of the Constitution, but there’s probably an easier way to effectively ban cars: by prohibiting them on public roadways.

In any case though, I think it’s a terrible idea regardless of constitutionality.

[Fozz]

8 hours ago, EastCoast NPZ said:

Well, we already pay annual taxes on the value; it's called real estate taxes.  And, how would that somehow curb AGW?  And, please make an argument as to the fairness of such another tax that would solely target those living in the rural environments whose population density is LEAST responsible for the choking air pollution and CO2 emissions?

A land value tax would be a bit different from a property tax since it wouldn’t include buildings or other personal property. But it would encourage land to be utilized more efficiently and prevent sprawl (which is a serious AGW contributor), and also prevent rich landowners from owning too much land without paying a price.

But in any case, I’d only favor it fully if other taxes are drastically cut. Tax land value and carbon emissions, and cut everything else.

Probably a pie in the sky idea considering our current system (which I think is oppressive), but yeah that’s my view.

[psuhoffman]

1 hour ago, Fozz said:

I think banning the ownership of cars would be a blatant violation of the Constitution, but there’s probably an easier way to effectively ban cars: by prohibiting them on public roadways.

In any case though, I think it’s a terrible idea regardless of constitutionality.

What part of the constitution?  How would banning cars be any different then when they arbitrarily decide to ban other items for public good?

it would have to be worded carefully to avoid a due process violation but it could be done.  It's been done before just not with anything as drastically widespread as cars.  But legally there is no difference.

Again im not in favor just not sure about the constitutional  issue.  

[Cobalt]

Cool stuff by Tomer Berg & his winter storm archive!

 

[Cobalt]

 

[AfewUniversesBelowNormal]

By 6am-7am, I expect a lot of cloudy stuff. Such are these days, clear at night. 

[North Balti Zen]

14 hours ago, C.A.P.E. said:

...

 Deleted response in deference to h20 and mappy and WXUSAF. But you are wrong, and you are cruel.

 

[H2O]

yikes, man.  Is this the best way to handle this? 

[North Balti Zen]

1 hour ago, H2O said:

yikes, man.  Is this the best way to handle this? 

Deleted in deference to you, and mappy and WXUSAF.

[Interstate]

[WxUSAF]

Can we not do the same damn conversation for the 733rd time this winter?

[CAPE]

4 minutes ago, WxUSAF said:

Can we not do the same damn conversation for the 733rd time this winter?

Finally got to use the Ignore feature.

I apologize for my part in cluttering up banter.

[North Balti Zen]

10 minutes ago, C.A.P.E. said:

Finally got to use the Ignore feature.

Makes sense. You would call someone names and then run away.

[mappy]

sigh. 

[North Balti Zen]

15 hours ago, psuhoffman said:

I don't think he is trolling.

I'm not and I wasn't.