The recent dry and warm weather are causing havoc today near my neighborhood. A brush fire started around 8am this morning and it spread fast northbound. We live just east of the Yorba Linda Blvd and north of Highway 91. We’re not in the path of the fire, nor in the evacuation area. However, the fire is less than 3 miles from here, and it bellowed a lot smoke in the air, making it difficult to breath outside. The air conditioning inside the house is on full blast, hoping to clear out the burning smell.
Traffic has pretty much come to a stand still here. I-91 is closed. Routes Northbound on Yorba Linda Blvd and East of La Palma are closed. Firefighters from Los Angeles County have showed up to help out. The fire trucks have been busy driving up and down the street.
The neighborhood school, Travis Ranch, is being used as an evacuation center.
This is a slightly different type of lunch bits edition for me. I felt like eating alone in my company’s cafeteria, but still let myself be connected via Twitter and Yahoo IM. It was a warm sunny day outside, when I learned about:
@periapex was trying to explain Twitter to his wife. I don’t know how my wife is going to react to Twitter. At least she understood why I blog and being on Facebook. So I guess it’s time to explain why I just sit here and send out “status updates” to people I barely know.
Network outage in the office. Here, the Sysadmins joke that a person was dumb enough to pull the proverbial plug. However, in the past, it has happened exactly that way in the data center: Someone did pull the wrong power plug, shutting down routers and switches.
My persistence with coffee. It gives me the jitters, yet I still subject myself to McDonald’s Caramel Ice Coffee. I may have been brainwashed by their advertising.
Being in a laptop computer industry, I found Wi-Fi to be essential! I had admitted in the past that I won’t be able to survive anywhere without an Internet connection. Now I can add Wi-fi as a must have survival equipment (though I will take 3G network as a good substitute).
Just when I thought television at 120Hz couldn’t be any better, they come up with 240Hz LCD TVs. Samsung and Sony are the current leaders in this race, but Sony has the head start by introducing the 200Hz+ TV first to market. In America, it looks like Sony Bravia 52″ LCD with 240Hz goodness is the unit they’re going to sell first. Since no one has actually got their hands on these sets for a more in depth review, it’s only a speculation how good they really are. The marketing brochure sure make it look good, but beauty is at the eye of the beholder. Personally, I think if I’ve enjoyed 120Hz TV, I wouldn’t make 240Hz a big deal. Unless it fixes the pixellation errors completely, I wouldn’t buy into it just yet.
Meanwhile, Sony is advertising the new 200Hz TV in Europe, using the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, as the platform. Here’s the rather nifty ad featuring Daniel Craig being bounced off various debris.
I originally got this in an email sent by a dear friend from Saddleback Church. I see it making its way to people’s blogs. It’s definitely worth repeating. I’ve added a few of my thankful thoughts at the end.
I am thankful:
For the wife who says it’s hot dogs tonight,
because she is home with me, and not out with someone else.
For the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato,
because he is home with me and not out at the bars.
For the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes,
because it means she is at home, not on the streets.
For the taxes I pay,
because it means I am employed.
For the mess to clean after a party,
because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
For the clothes that fit a little too snug,
because it means I have enough to eat.
For my shadow that watches me work,
because it means I am out in the sunshine.
For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing,
because it means I have a home.
For all the complaining I hear about the government,
because it means we have freedom of speech.
For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot,
because it means I am capable of walking and I have been blessed with transportation.
For my huge heating bill,
because it means I am warm.
For the lady behind me in church who sings off key,
because it means I can hear.
For the pile of laundry and ironing,
because it means I have clothes to wear.
For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,
because it means I have been capable of working hard.
For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours,
because it means I am alive.
For the crazy people I work with,
because they make work interesting and fun!
For too much e-mail,
because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.
and…
For staying up late working from home,
because of the modern technology that makes it possible.
For a boss who asks me to go to the office even though I’m tired in the morning,
because it means I have a job and I’m still needed by the team.
For the lack of fringe benefits by the company,
because they are trying to cut cost, so they can still retain me and my co-workers.
Whether or not I agree with Barack Obama’s stand on the current issues, it’s hard to ignore that it was history in the making when he was elected President of United States of America, yesterday. Not only he’s an African-American, he’s also wildly popular with the young Americans. Since I’m not in my 20’s, I tend to be more conservative, which is why I was concerned about his “playing both sides” strategy on tough issues like abortion and gay marriage. But, for this you-can-have-it-both-ways world, Obama seems like a good fit. Being young himself, his appeal to the youths of America gave him the critical advantage in this election. There was a huge turnout of young voters yesterday, and it made the difference.
America’s crying for a change. I sure hope Obama lives up to his promises, for everyone’s sake.
Traffic has pretty much come to a stand still here. I-91 is closed. Routes Northbound on Yorba Linda Blvd and East of La Palma are closed. Firefighters from Los Angeles County have showed up to help out. The fire trucks have been busy driving up and down the street.
Just when I thought 
I originally got this in an email sent by a dear friend from Saddleback Church. I see it making its way to people’s blogs. It’s definitely worth repeating. I’ve added a few of my thankful thoughts at the end.
