Friday

My planned trip to Scottsdale for a conference yesterday and today was a wash-out due to weather-related air-travel problems.  My flight out of MLI to Denver on Wednesday afternoon was delayed, making the connection to my scheduled PHX flight impossible. The alternatives offered by UAL were a joke, so I took the path of least resistance, and stayed home.  A real factor was my disinterest of stressing myself out physically by way of Airport Olympics and having a health relapse.

I'd say that this travel snafu was a product of the numbers game when it comes to air travel success.  Let's face it: a trip without issues is rare.  Most trips have at least a minor delay on one leg of the round trip.  Sometimes these delays make for interesting connection opportunities.  So I'm willing to have this all-business trip get scuttled if it makes my percentages on the next 3-4 personal trips more in my favor.  And for further advancement of The Glad Game, this problem happened before I even left town, much better timing than if it was on the return flights.

The most important electrical device in my house this week has been my sump pump.  The rain that started on Wednesday has saturated the ground, and if a basement is susceptible to taking on water, this would be the week to see it.  Fortunately, the pump kept on pumpin' and I've had no issues.  For the long term, I really need to make some adjustments outside my house to help channel the water away from the foundation.  Not sure if that's in the RCL or PN's job descriptions.

Duck Creek was out of its banks much of Thursday.  The bike path was submerged in many locations.  This usually happens once or twice a year, and the City crews need to then get out and either power sweep or blade the muck/mud left behind on the bike path.  The creek slices through farm fields North of town, so flood waters pick up lots of top soil that gets deposited on the flooded path.  If not cleaned off, this dirt can make some spots almost impassable, and others dangerous where turns are required.  Rule #1 doesn't need any extra help.

Other than a few flooded basements, there wasn't much damage from these latest storms.  I gotta believe that the drought from last year is now over.

I did have hail at my place right before I left for the airport around lunch time on Wednesday...enough for it to gather in spots around my house.  But I don't think enough (or of enough size) to cause any roof problems.

So much for the weather report on Maplecrest.

If there's any lesson for the public, in general, (and the criminally-inclined in particular) from the Boston marathon man-hunt, it's that a person should never think that they are entirely below radar.  It looks like the NCIS-type high-tech use of street cameras, facial-recognition software and other electronic tracking protocols are for real.  "Someone is watching" may always be a true statement.  Not sure if I like that.

You also have the lesson for TV viewers to turn off the sound when so-called experts are brought in to commentate (speculate?) extemporaneously on the status of the investigation.  These people are worse than campaign hacks.  The likelihood of them adding anything but heresay to the situation is remote.  Are they getting paid to go on-camera?  If so, they're being over paid.

The plan for the rest of my weekend remains the same.  Relax.  Blog.  Catch-up on rest.  Next week starts the post-April 15th period at the office.  Stuff needs to get done that had a pass while taxes were on the front-burner.

Have a great weekend.

BCOT