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| TimFox:
I also took the train to Narvik in the mid 1980s. It was February, and I thought it would be cold like Minnesota, but it was only cold like Chicago (Narvik is on the Gulf Stream). The carafe of water at each end of the car was needed because the water in the car's plumbing is non-potable. I completed the trip back to Copenhagen through Sweden; I obtained two certificates attesting to my travel north of the Arctic Circle. The Norwegian certificate was stamped by the stationmaster in Narvik, but the Swedish one was merely purchased at the gift shop in Kiruna. |
| tggzzz:
--- Quote from: TimFox on July 03, 2023, 02:10:29 pm ---I also took the train to Narvik in the mid 1980s. It was February, and I thought it would be cold like Minnesota, but it was only cold like Chicago (Narvik is on the Gulf Stream). --- End quote --- But go inland and uphill to the Hardangavidda in January: frost giants rule! As we were taught in school geography lessons: spot the 0C isotherm crossing Crimea and the Balkans east-west, then going due north for >1500 miles :) If you look at the UK's latitude, and then at the polar bear range in Canada, you will notice that without the Gulf Stream polar bears would range across the whole of the UK :) Shame the Gulf Stream will disappear, albeit not in my lifetime. --- Quote ---The carafe of water at each end of the car was needed because the water in the car's plumbing is non-potable. --- End quote --- That's true in all trains! Only on Norwegian trains have I seen the carafes of water. --- Quote ---I completed the trip back to Copenhagen through Sweden; I obtained two certificates attesting to my travel north of the Arctic Circle. The Norwegian certificate was stamped by the stationmaster in Narvik, but the Swedish one was merely purchased at the gift shop in Kiruna. --- End quote --- Ditto, but I didn't bother with any bits of paper. The bus ride from Fauske to Narvik was during a glorious high pressure blocking event. I saw the offshore islands from a distance, thought "wow, they look different", decided I wanted to go there, and later discovered just how strange the Lofoten Islands really are. Still haven't been back, but have been other strange places. |
| Zero999:
--- Quote from: tggzzz on July 03, 2023, 05:50:23 pm ---Shame the Gulf Stream will disappear, albeit not in my lifetime. --- End quote --- Oh, not the old Gulf Stream myth again, which will never die. West coasts are always milder in winter because they're downwind of large ocean basins. Nothing to do with the Gulf Stream. The UK has had plenty of mild winters, when the North Atlantic has been colder than average and mild winters, when the ocean has been warmer than average. The difference is the weather pattern being more conducive to cold easterlies, or mild westerlies. The grain of truth is, sea surface temperatures do affect the weather patterns, but with other factors and it's very unpredictable. --- Quote from: Monkeh on July 02, 2023, 09:35:04 pm --- --- Quote from: PlainName on July 02, 2023, 09:28:51 pm --- --- Quote ---I don't follow why you think reducing the number of miles driven, would increase the death rate per mile. --- End quote --- Might, not would. And it's not just my idea. The thinking is that with less traffic drivers drive more carelessly (because there's nothing to get in the way) and when something does get in the way the resulting damage is worse because of the higher speeds and lack of attention. There was actually quite a lot on this in the papers at the time, because the police were picking up serious speeders where normally congestion would tamp it down. So, fewer vehicles implies fewer miles for a given period, and higher carelessness can lead to more incidents per driven mile (even though the absolute number of incidents might reduce). Anyone else not able to grasp that? Like is it me unable to explain an idea or am I being played? --- End quote --- You're pretty much on the money, and the statistics in most countries I've looked at follow that trend - fewer total accidents due to less driving, more accidents per mile. During and immediately after the lockdowns around here was.. bizarre and dodgy. Between the people who'd got used to ignoring speed limits and give way signs because nobody else was on the road, and the ones who hadn't driven for several months, things were quite exciting. Quite why the rate has remained so high in the US I can't say. The numbers are, however, beginning to fall towards their usual unacceptable levels. --- End quote --- The pandemic, along with the poor response to it by many governments, has reduced the quality of the health system in many countries, so perhaps more of those who have been involved in road collisions are dying now, when they would have survived before? |
| Nominal Animal:
--- Quote from: tggzzz on July 03, 2023, 07:50:13 am --- --- Quote from: Nominal Animal on July 02, 2023, 10:15:21 pm ---I noticed the safe road culture in Norway back in 1993, on a bicycle trip from Kilpisjärvi to Tromsø and back. Even the fully loaded ore trucks gave plenty of way, moving clearly to the other lane when passing us bicyclists. --- End quote --- That's easier if the only other vehicles are on the horizon :) Less easy in London, Palermo, ... --- End quote --- Actually, the ore truck traffic was quite heavy part of the way, and they did drive fast on those not-so-wide roads. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the altitude difference between Kilpisjärvi, Finland and Skibotn, Norway, is about 550 m; distance is about 50 km. The view during the descent, including the biome change, is amazing, though. I admit, me and my friends took the bus back, instead of trying to pedal that uphill. --- Quote from: TimFox on July 03, 2023, 02:10:29 pm ---I obtained two certificates attesting to my travel north of the Arctic Circle. --- End quote --- I was born well north of the Arctic Circle, around latitude 68°N, but had already moved to Helsinki by that time. The difference in road culture between Norway and Finland was notable, even though Finnish roads aren't dangerous per se, and weren't back then either. Here in Helsinki, at pedestrian crossings where there are no traffic lights, about half of the drivers assume pedestrians will stop and wait, even though the law says the opposite should happen. I live on a residential street with 30 km/h (20 MPH) speed limit, and some drivers do like to show their 'displeasure' when they have to slow down to let pedestrians cross. Luckily I look like an angry potato, so a quick evil eye tends to give them the heebie-jeebies back. I don't drive, myself, though, so my viewpoint is skewed. I must say that some cyclists here have a death wish: I've seen a cyclist take a four-lane crossing diagonally against a red light during rush hour (Haapaniemenkatu – Sörnäisten rantatie).. and a lot of pedestrians really don't perceive anything around them, their face glued to their cellphones, or just talking to someone else and not watching at all where they are going. So maybe it's cultural? I think it might be. |
| PlainName:
--- Quote ---Here in Helsinki, at pedestrian crossings where there are no traffic lights, about half of the drivers assume pedestrians will stop and wait, even though the law says the opposite should happen. --- End quote --- Here in the UK the rule is that drivers should give way to pedestrians waiting to cross, and must give way to pedestrians on a crossing. There are strict meanings for 'should' and 'must', so if one is 'making progress' then a waiting pedestrian is fair game whereas one with a foot on the crossing wins. Most drivers seem to either not know the detail of the rules or just generally considerate. edit: source --- Quote from: https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-for-pedestrians-crossings.html ---Zebra crossings. Give traffic plenty of time to see you and to stop before you start to cross. Vehicles will need more time when the road is slippery. Wait until traffic has stopped from both directions or the road is clear before crossing. Remember that traffic does not have to stop until someone has moved onto the crossing. Drivers and riders should give way to pedestrians waiting to cross and MUST give way to pedestrians on a zebra crossing (see ?Rule H2). Keep looking both ways, and listening, in case a driver or rider has not seen you and attempts to overtake a vehicle that has stopped. --- End quote --- |
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