Forbidden Planet

A bit of snow fell yesterday in Montreal (Ottawa too). I am still in Montreal. I have to dig out my car first. Then drive 200Km over icy and snow covered roads to get to Ottawa. I may choose not to go. Normally, we don't get this much snow. Photo credit: Richard of Forbidden Planet (and, yeah, that is my car in the driveway)

What is a blog from Canada without some Fall pictures. I didn't manage to get too many shots off this Fall. The sun seemed to conspire against me. Everytime I was out with my camera, it seemed to be cloudy. Nonetheless, I did manage to snap a few and here is a selection. Photo credits: Richard of Forbidden Planet

Since yesterday, it has been cold outside. Not cool, nor fresh, nor brisk, nor bracing, just cold. Curling up in a comfy armchair, by a bright, sunny window with a hot cup of tea seems like a good idea.

It was dark yesterday morning. Very dark. Unable to sleep, I was out of bed at 05:00 and, well, it is pretty dark at that time of the morning. I wasted some time on the computer and then headed upstairs to the kitchen at 07:00. Something was wrong. It should have been light outside, but it was not. I then realized they set the clocks back on Sunday. Only ... I didn't remember doing that and if the clocks had been set back an hour, the mornings would get brighter, not darker. Not only that, but I had taken my car for servicing the previous morning at 06:30 and it was reasonably light outside. I took a closer look outside and confirmed it was indeed night time dark. I double checked the clocks and they all agreed. The clouds were heavy and low and blocking out a substantial amount of light. I called Sofia in Montreal and she confirmed that it was very dark there as well. Even around 09:00, it was still a near dawn dark, though grey instead of red and gold. Image nabbed from here . It...

I heard there was a 40% chance of rain this morning and a 60% chance of rain this afternoon. Does this mean there is a 100% chance of rain some time today? Assuming rain in the morning and rain in the afternoon are completely independent events* (they are not). We calculate the probability of rain in the morning AND the afternoon to be 0.4 * 0.6 = 0.24 (or 24%). We calculate the probability of rain in the morning AND no rain in the afternoon to be 0.4 * 0.4 = 0.16 (or 16%). We calculate the probability of no rain in the morning AND rain in the afternoon to be 0.6 * 0.6 = 0.36 (or 36%) Adding up all the probabilities of some combination of rain and not rain we get 24% + 16% + 36% = 76% chance of rain today. Alternatively, it tends to be more commonly calculated as the (1 - probability of no rain**), which is 1.0 - 0.6 * 0.4 = 1.0 – 0.24 = 0.76 = 76% chance of rain. * Independent events are events whose outcome (result) has no relationship to previous outcomes (results). For example, to...

Winter. Spring. Summer. Fall. Normal grammar rules state these words are not to be capitalized (unless used at the beginning of a sentence, naturally). I think that is wrong. I love to capitalize the names of the seasons. So, I often, deliberately, break the rule when writing. Yesterday was a very warm Spring day. It got up to 25C (77F).

Seeing as it is still officially winter, why not post a few more winter pictures from Canada? All shots are taken in either Montreal, Ottawa, or somewhere in between. Photo credit: Richard of Forbidden Planet

In Canada, in the Winter, from time to time, it snows. Like today. It is more of a snowstorm, actually. The morning began with strong winds and frozen ice pellets looking very much like styrofoam beads (the sort you might find in Floam or a stuffed toy). There are still strong winds and the ice pellets have changed to snowflakes - briskly driven snow flakes. Looking out the window I can faintly see the outlines of the pine trees across the parking lot in the blowing whiteness. It is the sort of image one imagines when thinking about the barren, windswept expanses of Antarctica. It is the sort of day that makes you want to go out and brave the elements. The video is not mine, I grabbed it off YouTube. It is claimed to be Oswego, New York during a snowstorm 05-Feb-2007. [Updated @ 13:31, just recieved an e-mail saying that because of the poor weather, they are shutting the office down early today. Which is good for me, since I get to leave for Montreal earlier. It should be an interestin...

One of the things I notice when driving long distances in the winter is that my toes get cold; even if I am directing the warm air to the floor. The car gets toasty, but my toes are still cold. This only happens when the temperature outside is below –20C or so. It was –24C when I left this morning from Montreal to Ottawa - felt like –37C with the wind chill, but that is of little consequence while inside the car.

That was how the guy who sold me my snow tires described the difference between driving with snow tires or all season tires. I have never had snow tires before and, given that I do a lot of driving, I decided maybe it was time I tried them. I bought them 22-December-2006 and got to try them out during the freezing rain that fell that evening. I have Yokohama Ice Guard tires. They were the best quality Winter tires the tire shop had – given that they were significantly cheaper than the lowest grade tires the auto dealership would sell me, it was a no brainer to go with them. I have to confess, that I see no difference between driving with snow tires and all seasons. Maybe if I could do a side by side comparison (rather than relying on my memory from last Winter) I might notice a difference. On ice, there is very little traction. If there is snow on the road, the wheels still slip. Granted, it is better than driving on bald tires. Is the difference Winter tires and all seasons like nigh...