San Diego blackout

Hassayampa switchyard

One of my enduring memories of visiting Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines twenty years ago was passing by the base’s power plant. There was row after row of semi-truck-size 250kw diesel generators, all roaring away and belching unfiltered black smoke into the thick tropical air. The civilian power source frequently suffered brownouts so the base had to generate its own electricity.

I never thought that Naval Base San Diego would suffer the same conditions, but yesterday millions of San Diego residents lost power when a problem at a switching station in Arizona sent the San Diego County’s electrical grid crashing down within minutes. Being an electricity geek with a fascination for electrical malfunctions, I had to find out more about this situation.

According to the Arizona Public Service press release:
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Point Roberts – America’s most exclusive “gated community”

I just hung up our new map of the San Juan Islands and became curious about a little sliver of America at the end of a peninsula that’s otherwise Canadian: Point Roberts, Washington. It’s one of a handful of quirky American places that aren’t connected by land to the continental United States. I’d like to check it out someday!

Point Roberts (known locally as “Point Bob” or “The Point”) is an unincorporated community in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It has a post office, with the ZIP code of 98281,[2] whose ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) had a population of 1,314 at the 2010 census.

A geopolitical oddity, Point Roberts is a part of the United States (that is not an island) that is not physically connected to it, making it a pene-exclave of the U.S. It is located on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen Peninsula, south of Delta, British Columbia, Canada, and can be reached by land from the rest of the United States only by traveling through Canada. It can be reached directly from the rest of Washington and the U.S. by crossing Boundary Bay by sea or air.

via Point Roberts, Washington – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hasher run through Raleigh

Tonight a neighbor sent an email to the CAC list, alerting our neighbors to unusual activity. People were running through the neighborhood but they weren’t up to no good and the cops (as far as I know) weren’t chasing them.What were they up to? They are “hashers” on a hasher run, an activity that combines drinking and running.

My neighbor describes it as:

an extreme fun-run club that chases a ‘hare’ thru odd locations and they started their run at the Oakwood Dog Park tonite.

Some clubs describe themselves as “a drinking club with a running problem.”
It sounds like my kind of running club! According to The Wikipedia:

At a Hash, one or more members (Hares) lay a trail, which is then followed by the remainder of the group (the Pack or Hounds). The trail often includes false trails, short cuts, dead ends, and splits. These features are designed to keep the pack together regardless of fitness level or running speed, as front-runners are forced to slow down to find the “true” trail, allowing stragglers to catch up.

Apparently, hashers are given nicknames, many of which are bawdy.

If you’d like to engage in this irreverent foolishness, sign up with Carolina Larrikins Hash House Harriers or find another group near you!

Plugging away

Things are going very well on the job hunt front. I had a phone interview last week with a network management software company. I don’t think we ‘clicked’ on that one, so I don’t have high hopes that we’ll be speaking again. That one aside, I had a nice talk this morning with a recruiter for a local company. While there isn’t an immediate opening there, I’m hopeful something will come out of it.

This afternoon I had yet another phone interview with another local company. This conversation went very well. I’ve got a good feeling about this one.

Tomorrow I have another phone interview with another local company. I also have high hopes for this position as well. And if that weren’t enough there’s another interview on the horizon with yet another local company.

The bottom line is that I want to work in Raleigh for a company that values my contribution, both to the company itself as well as the city of Raleigh. I’m well on my way to finding this winning combination!

Dumb crook of the year

The Brainiac Burglar


I had to laugh when I saw this dumb crook had been arrested. He’s possibly the dumbest crook of the year. Walter Lee Martin, Jr. was arrested for breaking into the North Carolina Museum of Art, but not because he couldn’t get tickets to the latest touring exhibit. And Martin wasn’t intent on stealing the millions of dollars of art that adorn the museum’s walls. No, Martin allegedly broke in because he wanted to steal scrap metal.

I suppose Martin never visited the museum. If he had, he would’ve noted that it’s covered with video cameras and has its own armed security force that guard the museum day and night. He might as well have tried breaking into a police station.

Thigh volumes affecting trash pickup!

Just got this from Raleigh’s Solid Waste Services Department:

“Collection Update: The following YARD WASTE routes were not completed due to thigh volumes: NE4 NE10”

I know many Americans struggle with obesity but I had no idea it has gotten this bad!

Raleigh incubator, part deux

In my job quest, I began checking into Adzerk since I’ve got connections there. On Adzerk’s blog, Andy Schrader bemoans the (perceived) lack of pizazz that Raleigh offers startups:

Problem is that we’re barely considering a move to Raleigh because of its perceived lack of culture (we’re not a law firm or a government office).

Raleigh has made great strives to rejuvenate Fayetteville street and bring businesses back downtown but why no attention to startups?

Here’s your proof that Raleigh’s “stodgy” reputation is driving away promising startup companies.
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The “Mugged in London” scam

I was sifting through my Gmail spam folder when I found a message purporting to be from my friend. Let’s call him Bryan:

Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2011 02:02:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: Bryan bryan@bryansHackedEmailAccount.edu
Reply-To: Bryan scammersFakeEmailThatLooksLikeBryans@ymail.com
Subject: Urgent help…Bryan
To: Bryan bryan@bryansHackedEmailAccount.edu

How are you doing? This has had to come in a hurry and it has left us in a devastating state. My family and I had a visit to (UK) for a short vacation unannounced some days back, but unfortunately we were mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed by some thugs, all cash, cell phones and credit cards were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.
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Smart guy

I was pushing a cart through Costco today when a man motioned to me from across the aisle. “Excuse me, sir,” he said politely with an Italian accent. “Could I get your help with something?”

“Sure,” I said, curious. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m having trouble figuring this out. You look like you’re smarter than me, maybe you can help,” he said.

“Well, I don’t know about that, “ I said, walking over.
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