Category Archives: ramblings

Articles about anything that doesn’t really fit any other category.

Earthquake!

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At 1:51PM eastern time we experienced a magnitude 5.8 earthquake. For the Californians out there this would probably be a minor blip but for us east coasters it was a major attention getter. An hour later it’s still impossible to get a cell call through and even calling landlines from a landline is spotty.

The shaking started slowly. I was typing at my desk and became aware of the desk and the floor shaking. As the shaking built, I stood up and could feel the floor moving under my feet. At the same time a low frequency rumbling became noticeable.

Given my office’s proximity to Dulles Airport, my first thought was that we had a very low pass from a jet but as the shaking increased and I became aware of the rumble, the thought that it had to be an earthquake began to percolate through my head.

After perhaps 20 seconds or so it subsided.

We evacuated the building briefly but it was quickly decided that there was no safety risk and they let us back in. I tried to reach people but cell phones were utterly useless. I did get a voicemail through and received a few but have only succeeded in getting one landline call through.

I’ve always wanted to experience a minor earthquake, something large enough to feel but not so large that it caused damage or casualties. After experiencing it, I’m not sure why I wanted to. It is truly unsettling to feel the floor moving under your feet. I don’t think I need to do that again.

Fortunately, everyone seems to be in one piece and there hasn’t been any major damage reported though I suppose reports will come in as more thorough inspections can be performed.

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Thoughts On Two Weeks Of Travel

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For most of the last two weeks I’ve been traveling. The first week and a half were vacation followed by a brief stay at home and then business travel. Today was my first day in the office for two weeks. It’s been a rough day thanks to jet lag. Hopefully one more good night of sleep will have me back on track.

The vacation part of the time away was in Massachusetts and Maine. In Massachusetts, I was able to spend two days doing genealogy related things and in Maine we visited with Lauri’s relatives. The business travel portion was a “new employee orientation.” Seems kind of odd to bo to an event with that name given I’ve been in my current job for three years. However, 11 months ago, the company I worked for was acquired and they’ve slowly been working us through orientation. My turn finally came this month.

The ipad featured prominently in all of this travel. We used it for traffic updates to supplement the Garmin GPS and it did a great job helping us navigate around the problems identified by Google Maps. It also gave the passengers something with which to pass the time when conversation and watching the landscape no longer sufficed. I used it to plan out my genealogy research and keep our itinerary.

Lauri’s niece and nephews loved the ipad and were sorry to see it go. As we were saying our goodbyes, Emmett looked into the car through the side window and called out, “Goodbye iPad!” They played lots of games and I was able to show lots of photos.

On the cross country flights to and from San Francisco, I was able to listen to music, read, and play games to pass the time. On the 6 hour westbound flight, I ended the flight with 54% battery remaining making the ipad a great way to pass the time.

Of course, one needs to keep one’s mind occupied on a six hour flight where the airline has the seats packed so tightly that people are literally rubbing shoulders. Air travel has become an incredibly painful form of transportation. First there is the security gauntlet where a lot of disruptive but not particularly effective security has us balancing shoes, removing belts and juggling all this with our carry on bags. Then we get loaded onto an airplane where the seats are sized for children. I had an aisle seat and my shoulders extended beyond the width of the seat and I’m not really a large human. As a result, I kept rubbing elbows and shoulders with the woman next to me (who was roughly my size) and getting bumped by the aisle traffic. Somehow we’ve turned air travel into a grueling experience rather than something fun. By contrast, the road trip up north took longer but was significantly more comfortable and entertaining.

I enjoyed the trips but it’s good to be back home!

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A Tale of Two Refrigerators

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In the beginning of March, Lauri and I bought a new refrigerator to replace a roughly thirty year old unit. The old fridge still ran but was beginning to make odd noises and the door wouldn’t always stay shut. It seemed likely that it was running on borrowed time and we began to search for a replacement. It was the last of the original appliances in our condo to go.

We settled on a 20 cubic foot LG french door style refrigerator in Stainless Steel from Sears. Our space for the fridge was very small and we didn’t have many options, particularly for nicer units. The woman at Sears in Fair Oaks pointed out this unit and after a couple of weeks of checking around and doing some research we decided that was the unit we wanted. Home Depot had it at a cheaper price but we wanted to give the commission to the woman who pointed out the unit to us. Sears matched Home Depot’s price and we set a delivery date for March 23rd.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, the new fridge was delivered and all seemed well. The next morning we began to realize that something might be wrong. Both the refrigerator and freezer sections seemed warm. We cranked down the temperature control to their coldest settings and hoped that things would cool down. Later that afternoon, Lauri called me to say that the food in the freezer had thawed out. We definitely had a problem.

We called the woman who sold us the unit and explained the problem. She directed us to another number where they would arrange an exchange. All went well until we asked about the lost food. They offered us $50. This was only a 1/3 of the actual value. They said they would have to send a technician out to verify the loss. Also, it would take two days for us to get a new fridge.

The next day the tech came out and asked if I wanted him to try to fix the unit. I said that I was willing to accept a repaired unit so long as we had confidence that the unit would continue to run. He opened the back panel and exclaimed, “Oh my god!”

The compressor was completely off its mount. It was clear the refrigerator had been subject to some pretty strong physical forces. He tried to set things right but the compressor would not work. He verified our food loss and in a few weeks I should get a check.

The next morning the new fridge came and it worked. The only problem is that the delivery guys have scuffed up and in a couple places gouged the walls in the stairwell. The stairway is tight but the first delivery crew made it without incident. No other delivery crew has caused damage. It’s fixable but this new purchase has had a lot of collateral damage associated with it.

I am a bit peeved that Sears would transfer us around to three different people to deal with getting a replacement and then question us on the cost of the food loss. Particularly when the tech who “verified” the loss simply asked me for the number. Now I have to contact Sears again to let them know the damage their delivery people have done to the walls.

It will be a long time before Sears gets my business after this.

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Is the Media Doing Its Job?

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As the news media enters a frenzy of action heading towards the November election, I am left wondering if, collectively, they are doing their jobs properly. Not that I’m accusing most journalists of bias, but I am wondering if they report on the actions of politicians differently than they report on other types of news.

It seems to me that when a politicians stands on a stage and makes a claim, whether it’s about an opponent or a a group or an issue, the media has some responsibility to validate the claim before they report it. Otherwise they are not reporting news; they are becoming proxies of the politician’s campaign. Politicians know that the statements they make don’t need to be true. They do know that if they proclaim them loudly enough and often enough that the statement will take on a life of their own, even after the truth comes out. To allow this practice to continue in the misguided application of “reporting the news” does a major disservice to all of us who are trying to actually learn what is going on.

I’m not talking about policy decisions but about claims of fact, of history. If a politicians says his or her opponent did something, the media should validate that claim before they report it. If the claim is true, then report it. If the claim is false, then it seems to me the story is the lie (or mistake). Granted, there is a lot of gray area there but there ought to be more to journalism than putting a microphone in front of a politician.

Take some of the hype out of the process. Stop being used and start doing your jobs as journalists!

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I Hate Office Buildings

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It seems to me that one of the primary purposes of a building is to protect its inhabitants from the outside weather. Whatever the outside weather, the building is supposed to keep us comfortable. So, then why can’t the typical office building manage to keep the temperature regulated?

The building where I work has had a temperature that is suitable for polar bears for the last three weeks, at least. I can only recall two days where the temperature in the quadrant of the building where I sit hasn’t been uncomfortably cold. There’s something wrong when you walk into a building and put on a jacket or sweater to protect yourself from the building’s environment. Indeed, even that sweater or jacket hasn’t been sufficient. My hands have been getting so cold that they hurt. I go to the restroom to run warm water over them.

I’m beginning to understand why people go postal (with apologies to postal workers). We tell the building staff over and over and over and over, yet nothing happens. Perhaps if we start calling in frozen then something will get done.

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