Data Points

So after four days of record temperatures, Seattle is returning its more pleasant but still warm summer.

So of course today the HVAC at work conks out.

No, it had nothing to do with the stress on local resources, though most of the US is still laboring under the heat and parts of LA and NY are without power. Rather our outage is because we are expanding our digs, which involved some modifications to the AC, which in turn knocked it out for a little while. So we worked in the dark, shut down unneeded power sources (but kept the fans aimed at the servers on) and the problems were readily fixed by the competant building staff. No, really.

But this was the second time tech failed me this week. The first was on Monday, when I forgot my cell phone (we don't have desk phones, a blessing since we work in a bullpen environment), and Tuesday, when I brought it, my battery died in mid-conversation. But as a result of this and the previously mentioned HVAC situation, I'm feeling how precarious our hold is on the modern world.

And yes, it is climate change, as I've noted before. If you call it global warming you're just setting youself up for heartbreak when we get the first cold snap. I mentioned earlier that a hot summer is just a data point, and this has been a significant point for the future. Things were stressed here, but not overloaded, and I hope that as things calm down we can help sent our hydro energy to other places that really need it.

Speaking of data points, I notice that both the Mariners and Pirates are in last place in their divisions. That's a data point. But Seattle is still excited about its team, while the Pittsburgh Press is looking forward to the first heavy snow and the season coming to a merciful end. The difference is another set of data points - the Mariners are only four games back, while the Pirates are 20+ games out of the hunt (everyone else the Mariners' division are also having the same levels of success as the M's). I just mention it because its data.

And lastly, the DOW have plunged up and down around the 11000 mark several times since I last talked about it. But it has not been anything resembling the soft rise and fall of a few years back, but rather huge, sweeping leaps upwards and plummets downward. I have noticed that every major rise gets heralded by the business section, while the 100+ point drops are quietly mentioned as they move to cheerier, more profit-oriented news.

Any point here? Not at the moment. I've just been following this set of numbers for a while, and thought I would check in.

More later,