Very Near Catastrophe

I mentioned in the post 'Back to the Future' that my PC died last week. I am now a very happy mini-Mac owner. I am liking it very much. My original plan for the week was to catch up on things around the houses...mine and my mom's...on Monday after work, as I had been away for the weekend; then go shop for a new computer Tuesday evening. Those plans changed.

I had gone to the store Monday evening after work to get and take groceries over to my mom. After I left the grocery store I hit a traffic snag. Fire police were redirecting the traffic on the road to mom's house. Such situations create a traffic nightmare here. I decided I would just go back home and run the stuff over in the morning.

I got up early Tuesday morning, showered and walked the dog. I came down in the basement and smoked a cigarette before I headed out to face the new day. I got the dog some fresh water and made sure he had food in his bowl. I realized I had to 'get a move on' to get everything I had to do done before I went to work. Just before I headed upstairs I planted my cigarette into an 'overcrowded' glass ashtray. It needed to be emptied. I said good-bye to the dog and left the house for the day.

I went about my day and thought about whether or not I could afford the new computer that I really wanted. I have a nineteen mile/half hour commute in each direction. I am away from the house while working for nine-and-a-half hours. When I got home Tuesday evening I came home to a big surprise.

I opened the door to a heavy odor of smoke. Not cigarette smoke; it was a 'something's burning smoke.' I immediately went downstairs to investigate. What I found was stunning.

The smell of smoke was thick in the air of the basement as I descended the stairs. I looked immediately towards the ashtray that was sitting atop a printer adjacent to my chair here at the PC. The ashtray was shattered. My checkbook had two inches of charred paper; it had burned through all twenty five checks with the attached carbon copies. Jeff happened to call as I was surveying my initial discovery. I told him I was stunned. Our conversation was brief as he was home from work and his beautiful baby Pug Sophie was demanding his attention. After I talked to him I made an even more stunning discovery.

As I was talking on the phone I noticed that the lights were off on my DSL modem. I checked to be sure it was plugged in. I looked down towards the power strip to find that the power strip was burned, too. A four inch length of the plastic casing was melted and charred. There was an extension cord plugged into the power strip. The fire had burned through the insulation exposing bare wires. It was definitely one of those 'OMG' and 'WTF' moments all rolled into one.

It was clear the cigarette I stuffed in the ashtray this morning created a smoldering fire with all the butts it contained. The heat became so hot that the ashtray had shattered. When it did, the checkbook burned and some of the burning debris fell on the floor to melt/char the power strip and burn the insulation off the extension cord. When the gravity of the potential consequences sunk in, I immediately 'loved' the dog. His bed is but three feet from the power strip. He often throws a pillow around when I am not here. Had that landed on the burning extension cord, who knows? My God! The poor little guy might have been scared to death. I wondered later if he might have put it out somehow as he is really smart.

I immediately changed my plans, too. No shopping tonight. My God, how lucky could I be. Clearly, my house could have burned down; little Henry might be gone, too. Unbelievable!

I got in the car and drove to a local 'distributor.' I bought beer and lottery tickets. I am familiar with both of the people working there that night and I told them the story which explained why I was buying the lottery tickets. They agreed; I dodged a bullet. On one score I had to celebrate; on another I had to take a chance as I felt very lucky. Those that know me may chuckle at that. I was very lucky, indeed.

I talked to a local friend of mine Wednesday afternoon. As I told her what happened I got paranoid. I feared I hadn't found all the electrical damage. I feared I might have missed something. I was relieved when I rounded the corner on my drive home and the house was still there. The whole experience did 'spook' me and yes, Steve, it might be one more reason to quit smoking.

Just my drama of the week.

For now I want to stick to fires like the one featured at the top of yesterday's post below. No doubt, much safer when you are not home.

It's very cold here in the Northeast. No doubt, an early winter blast.

Hope everyone is staying warm and having fun.

Staying safe, too!

Christmas-time in Manhattan

I am very fortunate to live within little more than a two hour drive from Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, the beach and the mountains. I like the change of seasons, too. I suppose those two facts have contributed to my tolerance of the cultural shortcomings of this area. I am also very fortunate to have very good friends that have allowed me to get to be comfortable and familiar with Manhattan. It is always fun to go there and experience it. Things are much more alive there than here in Amishland.

I have traveled into the city during all four seasons. Perhaps the nicest time to be there is this time. The city comes even more alive in its expression of the Christmas spirit. Friend Steve may have said it best when he said, 'Ya know, New York is a city of neighborhoods like any other. It's just bigger...and so is everything else.' So it is. At this time of year it is almost magical.

The pictures shown below in 'New Scenes from a Life' were taken this past weekend in Manhattan. The photo above is a warm Manhattan fireplace.

Hope all's well with everyone.

Enjoy the spirit of the season.

Back to the Future

This past weekend I found myself in Manhattan for a quick weekend trip. My friend, Jeff, flew in from Michigan and we met at our friends Steve-and- Nancy's apartment on W. 46th St. in Manhattan. As always, we had a good time. It's almost a tradition as I think for the past few years we have all been in Manhattan that first weekend in December; and have been together.

At some point in conversation over the weekend, I mentioned that my PC had died. I had the laptop; the tower was dead. Steve and Nancy had purchased an Apple laptop some months earlier and they loved it. I told them the first home computer I ever had was a MacIntosh...soon after they came out in the mid-80's. I loved it then but when Microsoft came to dominate the market and it was time for me to upgrade I jumped to a Windows-based PC. At the time, the Windows operating system seemed like a cheap imitation of the MacIntosh interface.

Steve's job is in technology and internet applications for a large corporation. He heard me describe my need for a new PC as old age and a virus had killed mine. He advised me to think about a Mac. He has some sense of what I do with my PC and online. We were all sitting around in their living room with our laptops connected to their home wifi. I got on Apple's website and he discussed the specs with me and advised me to consider it.

I got home from work tonight, put the dog out, then packed him up and the two of us drove to the big local mall. There is an Apple store there. I walked in and was greeted warmly. I told the woman the specific product I was interested in and she introduced me to Austin. Twenty minutes-or-so later I was walking back to the car hoping Henry hadn't hit the button for the emergency flashers. In my hands I had my brand new mini-Mac with sleek keyboard and cool magic mouse. I plugged it all together in minutes and here I am!

This is my first post using it. So far, so good. I am very happy with it.

Many thanks to Steve for his good counsel.

Many thanks to all three of them for everything else.

It's always great to be together.

I hope all's well with everyone.

Have fun.

Take Care.

The pictures posted in the entry below below were taken this past weekend in Manhattan.

New Scenes of a Life

Scenes from a Life

Just some random pictures that seemed uploadable.

The pictures above were taken from the rooftop of my friends' beautiful new apartment building in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan; just west of Times Square. The visible white glow in the distant foreground of the photo is the glow from all the neon and lights in Times Square.

On Monday I was on a route that had me running 'troubles' all day. They were mostly internet service problems. I showed up at one job and the guy led me down into his darkened basement where the computer, the router and all his equipment was located. I could see his wide screen monitor from across the room and was intrigued by the photo he had displayed on his computer desktop. I walked over and sat down as he described the trouble he was having. He was one of the few people I encounter in such situations that knew what he was talking about and had done and tried all the right things.

As I sat down and connected my equipment to the cable line I looked more closely at the picture on his PC. It was a night time shot; somewhat distorted. It was clearly NYC as the Empire State Building was partially visible to the right of the photo. As my meter was processing things, a process that takes a couple minutes, I studied his display more closely. I realized that his picture had to have been taken on the same street in Manhattan where my friends live; just an avenue east towards Times Square.

I mentioned to the guy that I was interested in the photo soon after I sat down. The scene looked 'vaguely' familiar to me. I have 4x6 prints of the pictures above paper-clipped with a bunch of others inside my metallic work clip-board. As I waited for my equipment to process the signal readings, I pulled those two photos from my clip-board and I showed him what I meant. I pointed to the distorted buildings in his picture and the real ones in mine. He could see that I was right, he laughed and said, 'That's pretty cool.' He had never been to the city; he just liked the picture he chose to display on his desktop.

I have been on that rooftop many times and, day or night, it is always somewhat 'magical.' For me, seeing his desktop reminded me how truly lucky I am.

Great friends, great times in a great city.
Life gets no better than that.

I look forward to seeing them all there very soon.

I hope all's well with everyone.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Missing Power Cord

Today was a beautiful late November day here in the mid-atlantic region. It was sunny and seasonally warm. I think it got up to 62 or so. Very nice day, indeed.

My day got off to a rough start as I arrived at my first job. I was connecting services in an apartment building at a retirement community. I don't know what was going on there, as I visit the place routinely to use their easy-access bathroom; but there was no place to park anywhere near the entrance to the facility. I also know that the facility has tight security. You need to gain access from someone inside. I parked the van, grabbed all the stuff I thought I would need for the first phase of the job and hiked to the entrance. There were people gathering in the chapel, in the hallway, and no one in the office where I would normally sign in during the week to gain access to the apartments and the electrical room where the connection box is located.

I hiked back to the van and called the phone number listed on the order to ask for access. A woman answered the phone. I identified myself as the cable guy and explained my problem. I could tell she was somewhat 'grouchy' by a subtle tone in her voice. She told me she would come get me at an agreed-upon door. I walked up to the door and a smiling woman was walking down the hallway, she gladly opened the door for me. I asked if she was the woman I had just spoken with on the phone. She said, 'no.' I told her I was the cable guy and needed to get to apartment 111 and the electrical room. She gave me directions and I immediately went to the apartment. I knocked on the door to no answer. Ugh.

I was smart enough this time to have brought my phone with me. I dialed the number and the woman answered the phone. This time the attitude was palpable. She said, 'I walked all the way out to your truck!' I told her I was at the apartment door. Ugh.

She hiked back to the apartment and let me in. When I first spoke with her on the phone I advised her that I would not only need access to the apartment but the electrical room as well. I had never been to the facility before on a Saturday and had no idea who to contact for such access. That need of mine added to her morning angst.

A week from tomorrow I will have been on my job for twenty years. I still haven't completely wrapped my head around that. To me that is a REALLY long time. It kinda scares me. During this time I have met and had to deal with a lot of people; mostly in their homes. No doubt, it's been quite an experience; especially since I am NOT one of 'them.' <'them' = born/raised in Lancaster County...wink> I am sure I have mentioned here before that I am, thankfully, from a culture other than this local one. Over the years I have come to realize how open-minded I am and think I have developed some well-honed people skills. This first Saturday morning job was definitely going to present some challenge; I knew that from the first minute.

I wish there was an emoticon/avatar of a cowboy blowing off the top of a smoking pistol. I nailed it!

She and I ended up talking about skiing, Vermont. At one point she asked me, 'Anyone ever tell you that you look like Richard Dreyfus when he was younger?' I blushed and told her, 'no.' By the time I left she told me what a pleasure it was to meet me. It will always make me smile to turn things around like that. I'd like to think I am an inherently good guy and I thank my parents for that. I'd like to think they would be proud of the fact that by me just being me; it shows. I'm not a parent but I suppose there is no greater gift that a parent could pass along to a child.

Soon after this job I moved onto another. This job was in a very nice apartment/townhouse complex that I have worked in many times before. I was greeted at the door by a very nice and friendly man. He immediately introduced himself and shook my hand. I'm sorry to say, I don't pay much attention to names as I am conditioned by my military family back round to instinctively refer to people as either 'Ma'am' or 'Sir.' I told him that.

His friendly introduction was a giant red flag to me that he was not originally from 'around here.' As I went about the job we were very conversant. He talked about his many travels but mentioned that he returned here as, 'there is no other place like it.' He mentioned that he does not like the Amish people but he liked to hear the 'clip/clop' of their buggies on the road. No doubt, he was an interesting man.

Somehow in the course of the conversation he mentioned the name of the town in PA where he was born. Amazingly, it was a town up in the central mountains 50 miles or so north of here; five miles or so from the town where my mom was born and raised. In Pennsylvania that is a world away. Those of us with roots in that area will talk to anybody, unlike the locals here! Needless to say, we had a nice talk. He had moved to this area when he was a young child. I was some years older when I landed here but interesting how I connected with him personally; knowing we had roots in the same area.

I was there to connect him to the internet and provide high-definition TV service. I got everything all set up and then realized not only was the TV not plugged in; there was no power cord connected to it. The poor guy called his friends who helped him move and no one was sure where the cord was. I advised him that he could drive a mile up the road to Radio Shack to get one. His internet was good but I am sorry to say I never got to show him the TV as he was missing the power cord. He was a really cool and nice guy I felt bad leaving the job 'incomplete.'
Ugh.

He was one of those rare people I meet on the job that I would consider knocking on his door 'cold' someday if I was in the neighborhood. There can be no doubt that he is 'not from around here' as I am sure he would open the door, smile, shake my hand, call me 'Kieth' , and invite me in. He was one of those customers that I smile thinking, 'I got paid for that?' It was the same with the woman this morning.

I am very lucky to have a job where I can have fun while performing it. It's always good when the chemistry is good from the start. Fun to mix-it-up when it starts out poorly and make it turn out well, too. All's well that ends well, no doubt.

Just some reflections on my work day.

Hope all's well with everyone.