Rabbit stew cooked on a wood fire in Balclutha.

[Jim]

I got hailed on fairly solidly today. Like tiny needles piercing my face. Lovely! Now of course it's having a go at blowing a gale.

At least if it snows we'll have something to show for all the cold crap.

[rwh]

The trouble is that even NIWA admit that their climate predictions are only 48% right, and they claim to be among the best in the world. http://nzclimatescience.net/index.ph...id=25&Itemid=1
This means that there is a 52% chance that it won't get warmer.

I have trouble believing that. The weather is not like a coin toss, so false doesn't mean the opposite is true. They could be predicting 50% warming and only get 45%, and still be 'wrong' .

Otherwise, having observed this, why don't they just reverse all their predictions for a 4% improvement?

Need much more info than that excessive simplification.

Richard

[Deviant Esq]

Hey Scummy, how does having the roads liberally coated in ice and snow affect your work? Do you end up having to do a lot more work because there are many more accidents due to the slick conditions? Or is there less work because more people are staying at home, but still have to go out yourself?
Do you leave the car at home and go out on foot... or just stay at home? Just curious how the snow and ice affects the police's ability to carry on working in places where it snows regularly... like Queenstown at the moment - haven't heard how bad or otherwise it is in Balclutha. Keep warm regardless

[terbang]

Absolutely hideous weather here in jaffa, pi$$ing down and blowing. I'd rather a crisp cold than this damn wet. Oh yeah and the hare stew too...

[scumdog]

Hey Scummy, how does having the roads liberally coated in ice and snow affect your work? Do you end up having to do a lot more work because there are many more accidents due to the slick conditions? Or is there less work because more people are staying at home, but still have to go out yourself?
Do you leave the car at home and go out on foot... or just stay at home? Just curious how the snow and ice affects the police's ability to carry on working in places where it snows regularly... like Queenstown at the moment - haven't heard how bad or otherwise it is in Balclutha. Keep warm regardless

Last night was not too bad - only one 4 car pile up and a couple off the road.

And the guy with a three-year-old heading from Gore to Dunedin who ended up skidding off the road twice due to snow and ice and was last heard of 'somewhere' heading to Clinton 'in the middle or the road in low gear' with his cell-phone battery dying....sheesh!

But we have 4X4s which helps - but we have big long uphill sections that tend to ice up and then even the 4X4 is no use.

Generally people stay at home (well the ones with brains do) but you do get the odd brainless ones who don't - and then want us to bail them out.

Snow is bad enough, it makes people slow down but people in their nice warm a/c equiped cars (4X4s on street tyres often) have NO idea how cold it is and anything about black ice and whoops, over they go into the ditch......

"But I've got four-wheel drive" seems to be their line of thought and then they get all surprised when it doesn't stay on the road....