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Pass the pizza, please...
Oct. 30th, 2003 11:15 pmI made good progress today on the 31-pager from an East Coast client. I am, in fact, 27 pages through the thing, and I only stopped for the evening because one of the images sent to me appears to be a duplicate, meaning that I'm actually missing a page. So, I've sent off a query to the project manager, and decided to take it easy for the "rest" of the night.
I am astounded to learn that military firefighting assets in California are deliberately not being engaged in the overall effort to save lives and property there. The stories I've read thus far lay the blame on commercial firefighting interests, who rue the possible "competition" that military assets provide. They may have a valid point, for ordinary circumstances, but if the situation is grave enough to warrant declaring affected areas as "disaster areas," it would seem to make sense to consider circumstances as extraordinary, and to ask for those assets to be engaged immediately.
The mountains around here were screened by some kind of haze today. Some folks say it's from the California fires, but I tend to doubt that, especially since the blazes in California are being fanned by the Santa Ana winds, which blow offshore. If, on the other hand, one looks at a map of current wildfires burning around the country (Drew had one up at the store this afternoon, so its URL escapes me), it's possible we're getting some smoke visiting from fires much closer to home, though still far away.
I'll never forget where I first heard of a "Santa Ana wind." It was in a story by Raymond Chandler called Red Wind; a classic. It starts like this:
According to people who track such things, we're going to be (or already are) on the receiving end of yet another solar flare. I may stay up tonight (or set the alarm for the wee hours) to see whether any Northern Lights are visible from our modest latitude.
Actually, it's been a long day. Time for dreamland; I'll think about when to set the alarm on the way upstairs.
Cheers...
I am astounded to learn that military firefighting assets in California are deliberately not being engaged in the overall effort to save lives and property there. The stories I've read thus far lay the blame on commercial firefighting interests, who rue the possible "competition" that military assets provide. They may have a valid point, for ordinary circumstances, but if the situation is grave enough to warrant declaring affected areas as "disaster areas," it would seem to make sense to consider circumstances as extraordinary, and to ask for those assets to be engaged immediately.
The mountains around here were screened by some kind of haze today. Some folks say it's from the California fires, but I tend to doubt that, especially since the blazes in California are being fanned by the Santa Ana winds, which blow offshore. If, on the other hand, one looks at a map of current wildfires burning around the country (Drew had one up at the store this afternoon, so its URL escapes me), it's possible we're getting some smoke visiting from fires much closer to home, though still far away.
I'll never forget where I first heard of a "Santa Ana wind." It was in a story by Raymond Chandler called Red Wind; a classic. It starts like this:
There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.Ahh, that smooth-talking Philip Marlowe!
According to people who track such things, we're going to be (or already are) on the receiving end of yet another solar flare. I may stay up tonight (or set the alarm for the wee hours) to see whether any Northern Lights are visible from our modest latitude.
Actually, it's been a long day. Time for dreamland; I'll think about when to set the alarm on the way upstairs.
Cheers...
