aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Friday, December 22, 2006

Snow tires

If i were to live in, say, Minneapolis, MN rather than somewhere near Macon, GA, I’d need to keep this in mind:

ADVANCES like electronic traction control and all-wheel drive make it possible for many cars to get through winter on all-season tires, which provide good grip in a wide range of conditions. But in regions with heavy snowfall and prolonged low temperatures, a set of specialized winter tires may be the difference between getting to your destination or spinning off a slick road.

About 20 years ago, winter tires were much the same as summer tires except for a tread pattern that was deep and blocky - a design intended to help the car claw its way through snow. But winter tires have improved a lot in the last decade or so.

Elf Yourself

St. Nixed

The sex-offender panic is evidently a global phenomenon:

In a development that would make the Grinch smile, Santa Claus is said to be in danger of disappearing from British homes, stores and streets—a victim of the fear surrounding child sex abuse.

According to the Manifesto Club, a free-speech group, stringent British child protection laws are threatening to ruin the traditional Christmas custom.

In recent years, the British press has focused increasing attention on the threat sex offenders pose to young children. Because of pedophile scandals, the group said in a new report, most adults playing at Santa in schools, churches and stores are now required to undergo costly criminal background checks before donning the red suit.

Concern about lawsuits has prompted many department stores to ban children from sitting on Santa’s knee, touching him or visiting him in the traditional grotto (Santa’s workshop).

Via Joe Gandelman.