"One benefit, that I can see, to snow in a place like New York city is that it gives everyone the chance to slow down a bit from that ceaseless dance of Brownian motion that is the pulse of the big city"

You say that like there is something wrong with the pulse of the city. We kind of enjoy that ceaseless dance and thrive on the pulse of the big city. Not everyone needs to slow down!

Yes Ranger1, it does look pretty in the light of a full moon. That is why cameras were invented.   I would love to look at a picture of one when I sit outside in a lounge chair nursing a cool frosty with the warm sun beating down.

Actually, winter is one of my four favorite seasons. Snow is fine - for about a week. After that it becomes a public nuisance.