Wednesday, January 31, 2007

I want to believe.

It was a dark and stormy night. Although no rain was falling the wind was whipping violently. There I was, not on some lonely country road but going south on 217 in rush hour traffic.

Suddenly, there it was. When you expect a visit from a monster, a myth, a legend you expect it in a creepy mansion or a deserted gas station on a dark desert highway. Not in rush hour traffic. But I could not deny what my eyes had seen.

You see, I saw a sea bat. I did not know that they ventured this far inland. Black as the night, with a wingspan of about 3 feet across it hovered I'm guessing about 15 feet above the highway. Wings gently flapping and using the force of the wind it looked like it was about to swoop down on an unsuspecting automobile and rip its victims right through the roof. My heart skipped a beat as terror began to pump raw adrenaline into my body. Fight or flight? I was ready to fly, guy!

Now, lest you accuse me of highway hallucinations let me say that it could have been just a garbage bag flapping and floating in the breeze. Sure, it could have been the overactive imagination of a stressed out rush hour minion. Sure, it could also have been the pepperoni pizza from lunch.

However, I'm not the first to experience the terror that a sea bat can visit upon an unsuspecting soul. The first known sighting of a sea bat has been documented by my friend Steve here.

You may say there is no such thing as a sea bat, but as for me and Seaman Murphy - we believe.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Putting the Quality in Assurance

I use a networking tool that I find very helpful called LinkedIn. Every now and then I surf former places of employment or do a name search to see if anyone I know is a member.

A few days ago I found a person whose profile indicated proficiency in quality assurance. In the software development world QA provides the function of checking work that the engineers produce to ensure that the specifications were met and to undercover any potential "bugs" or defects. I tell you that because QA is a very precise endeavor and attention to detail is paramount.

This particular individual (I did not know him) had provided his job title as:

Quality Asserance Manager

I feel reassered that the software he is in charge of testing will werk jest fine.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Oh the weather outside is frightful....


We had a storm yesterday. Now, here in Portland we're used to rain. Lots of rain. Rain, rain, rain rain. But this was a snow storm. Our USPS team lived up to the motto of "neither rain nor snow...." in admirable fashion.


Well, we just don't do snow. That's not how we roll. Our daring denizens were not dismayed and dashed into the winter wonderland with nary a care nor caution. Turns out that maybe a little care and caution could have been perhaps a better idea.

Examples you ask? Examples I provide. In any city it is probable that encounters of road rage will present themselves. But here in Portland we have snowball rage. Let's suppose that you are driving down the street. Some teenagers are throwing snowballs at each other. What a picture of wintertime bliss! But wait - what if a random, not even intentional, snowball hits your car? What should you do? Of course! Jump out and stab one of the little hooligans. Welcome to Portland.

Well, at least our school systems exhibit the proper precaution. Very quickly schools planned and communicated their closures. Except for the suburb of Beaverton. In the face of impending snow and ice the district determined that they would take a stand against nature. The schools would remain open and the buses were sent to fetch the students. And then the district realized that, well maybe they should not have done that. Several chained up buses slid off the road, and nature had her revenge when the superintendent drove out to fly the flag and rescue some of the kids. Her car slid off of the road and into the bus.

But that's not all - among the dozens of kids that were injured in sledding accidents is the tragic story of a young girl that was being towed behind her father's pickup. He lost control and she was flung into a concrete school bench and suffered fatal injuries. Reports indicate that he was drinking and could face criminal charges. Sad, so very sad.

Well, you may think that I'm exaggerating but check this video clip out. Oh yeah, add to the list that we don't stay inside where it is safe. Just like the faithful postal workers mentioned above (Lisa, Al - you rock!) we know how to drive in bad weather and aren't afraid to show it.