Preparation

There are all sorts of things which require preparation:  snow tires for winter (when should we have them installed? Will it snow this week? Next week? Not 'til next month? It's a guessing game - wait too long, and then have to stand in line to get it done... and go slip-sliding away while waiting) is one such thing.

Packing for a trip requires at least a cursory review of info available on the cortex: what will the weather be like at the destination?  Leaving Alaska in late fall/early winter, or in the spring, requires at least two different seasons' worth of clothing. A few years ago, we flew to Seattle in March. There was a blizzard in progress in Anchorage, with 8 or 9 inches of fresh snowfall while we waited to take off. In Seattle, it was 55 and raining. Snorkel parkas were a bit of overkill for their weather, but raincoats were a necessity. Our response to a tour guide's question did occasion a laugh from the group:

Q. "What are you doing in Seattle?"  

A. "Thawing out."

UPDATE: Leaving for work this morning, I had to first scrape ice off of both windshields. The rain last night was frozen this morning; it was 30 degrees at my house. I failed to check the temp before leaving the house, or else I might have gotten out just a bit earlier.

Speaking of preparation, one of the many corollaries to Murphy's Law of Military Preparedness is:

Whenever you have plenty of ammo, you never miss. Whenever you are low on ammo, you can't hit the broad side of a barn. 

Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

Like the Boy Scouts teach: always be prepared.