TCC for 2/17/08

The Caretaker's Concern 2/17/08
Ghetto temp. 50 F. and steady.
Island tmp. 32 F. Yesterday's L/H: 13/24.5 F.
Current conditions: Windy from the South and cold, but not cold enough--it's raining.

Today was mostly uneventful. The Caretaker spent much of the day in the Ghetto doing further work on images for his portfolio. Late afternoon the Caretaker skied over to the mainland to help G. hook up his new printer. Not far from the mainland the Caretaker noticed that some weather had rolled in, a bit of a mix of rain and sleet. After some heavy wrangling with G.'s somewhat antiquated computers the Caretaker was able to get the printer to work. After a few printouts the Caretaker decided it was time to head back to the Island, skiing in rain and sleet is not much fun.

By the time the Caretaker hit the ice for his return trip, the precipitation had stopped, but the wind had picked up considerably from the South. If the Caretaker wasn't careful he ran the risk of being blown down the Lake, which given the condition of the ice that would have most likely ended up being a rather wet and cold experience. Although there were a few times when the Caretaker did a bit of side-sliding due to the wind, he was able to either keep his position or make some headway and eventually made it back to the Island without incident. The Caretaker wasn't all that worried about being swept down the Lake. For those who are interested, should one ever find oneself in such a predicament as being swept down a frozen Lake here is what you do: If you have ski poles or ice spikes, fall to the ice, drive them into the ice to get ahold and lay flat until the wind lets up. If you have no poles or ice spikes, fall to the ice, splay yourself out flat and try catching an edge with both your boots and your elbows, drive the inside edge of your elbows into the ice--unless you can catch an edge with your hands, do not try to stop yourself with your hands. If neither of the above things work, well then the wind is blowing so strong that you're pretty much out of luck, so think pleasant thoughts and enjoy the ride for as long as you can.

Back at the Island, the Caretaker notices during his walk across the Island to the Ghetto that if the rain of late keeps up he won't have to worry about trying to skate on the Lake, he can just skate around on the Island. Meh.

--The Caretaker