Hooray for Alaska weather

Three-day weekend full of snowstorms. This morning it's melty and slushy and rainy and disgusting. And I had thirty-two messages on my phone. Awesome.

Some highlights:

• The dude who claims to be looking for "someone at the city with the balls to pick up their phone", because he keeps getting voicemail and "call another number" messages, and someone from this number needs to call him back right now. Apparently nobody explained to him that city offices are closed on the weekend...
• A woman who calls demanding to know why she hasn't seen any of our plow trucks out working (...maybe she's blind?) and yells for about five minutes about how we need to get our act together before telling us she's Very Angry about how we never called her back when she left a message last week. And then hangs up. Without leaving a name or number. Ah well. Somehow I doubt anyone would have wanted to talk to her anyway.

And off I go to burrow into the heap again...

Hooray for Alaska weather

Three-day weekend full of snowstorms. This morning it's melty and slushy and rainy and disgusting. And I had thirty-two messages on my phone. Awesome.

Some highlights:

• The dude who claims to be looking for "someone at the city with the balls to pick up their phone", because he keeps getting voicemail and "call another number" messages, and someone from this number needs to call him back right now. Apparently nobody explained to him that city offices are closed on the weekend...
• A woman who calls demanding to know why she hasn't seen any of our plow trucks out working (...maybe she's blind?) and yells for about five minutes about how we need to get our act together before telling us she's Very Angry about how we never called her back when she left a message last week. And then hangs up. Without leaving a name or number. Ah well. Somehow I doubt anyone would have wanted to talk to her anyway.

And off I go to burrow into the heap again...

Temptations resisted

• When leaving a message for the "you don't have the balls to pick up your phone" dude, I did not tell him that I had found my balls and was returning his call.  Nor did I ask him if he wanted to see my balls, nor did I make any references whatsoever to balls.  Despite the fact that it sounded like a household with small children and the results would likely have been hilarious.
• Even though I've had four different calls from people regarding the fact that the street in front of City Hall is flooded and in danger of overflowing into the building, I haven't once suggested that anyone block off the street and start a gondola service, complete with straw hat, striped shirt and pole.  Not once.
• When speaking, for the third time, to the woman who was Very Concerned about the state of her street and the fact that we Never Plowed It (despite the fact that, were that the case, she wouldn't be able to *see* the street) and how this was a problem Every Year and we Needed To Get Our Act Together or she would Lodge a Complaint with the City Manager, I managed to keep all sarcasm and flippancy out of my tone, and remain polite, and resist the urge to gently suggest that perhaps she should move to a different street, if the maintenance of this one bothered her so much...
• When one person insisted on telling me all of the different ways he had noticed that we were creating busywork and wasting City resources and all of the things we should be doing instead, I did not suggest to him that he should apply for the job of streets superintendent, since the current one was obviously doing such a poor job that his dismissal was imminent.  *rolls eyes*

More very likely to come...

Temptations resisted

• When leaving a message for the "you don't have the balls to pick up your phone" dude, I did not tell him that I had found my balls and was returning his call.  Nor did I ask him if he wanted to see my balls, nor did I make any references whatsoever to balls.  Despite the fact that it sounded like a household with small children and the results would likely have been hilarious.
• Even though I've had four different calls from people regarding the fact that the street in front of City Hall is flooded and in danger of overflowing into the building, I haven't once suggested that anyone block off the street and start a gondola service, complete with straw hat, striped shirt and pole.  Not once.
• When speaking, for the third time, to the woman who was Very Concerned about the state of her street and the fact that we Never Plowed It (despite the fact that, were that the case, she wouldn't be able to *see* the street) and how this was a problem Every Year and we Needed To Get Our Act Together or she would Lodge a Complaint with the City Manager, I managed to keep all sarcasm and flippancy out of my tone, and remain polite, and resist the urge to gently suggest that perhaps she should move to a different street, if the maintenance of this one bothered her so much...
• When one person insisted on telling me all of the different ways he had noticed that we were creating busywork and wasting City resources and all of the things we should be doing instead, I did not suggest to him that he should apply for the job of streets superintendent, since the current one was obviously doing such a poor job that his dismissal was imminent.  *rolls eyes*

More very likely to come...

Here we go again...

From KINY radio's local news website:

Avalanche knocks down Snettisham tower

Juneau was struck by an areawide power outage this afternoon when the line to Snettisham tripped off when an avalanche knocked down a tower that was among those knocked off last April 16th.

The power went out at about 1:51 p.m. and was restored to most areas in about an hour.

Scott Willis of Alaska Electric, Light and Power says power was brought back through diesel generation.

They sent a line crew aboard a chartered a helicopter to inspect the line in attempts to isolate the problem.  That's when they found Tower 35 down.

He didn't know at this report how serious the damage is, but says the town will be on diesel generation "for days or more."

Willis says avalanche danger is high.

The utility has contracted with Alaska Avalanche Specialists which has been monitoring conditions along the line all winter. They've also been conducting control work in the avalanche zone to bring down small slides so large ones don't develop.

Frankly, at this point I feel bad for AEL&P.  The grumbling has already begun; if this turns out to be anything like the disaster that drove our utility bills up 500% last spring, there's going to be a lynch mob headed their way.

Here we go again...

From KINY radio's local news website:

Avalanche knocks down Snettisham tower

Juneau was struck by an areawide power outage this afternoon when the line to Snettisham tripped off when an avalanche knocked down a tower that was among those knocked off last April 16th.

The power went out at about 1:51 p.m. and was restored to most areas in about an hour.

Scott Willis of Alaska Electric, Light and Power says power was brought back through diesel generation.

They sent a line crew aboard a chartered a helicopter to inspect the line in attempts to isolate the problem.  That's when they found Tower 35 down.

He didn't know at this report how serious the damage is, but says the town will be on diesel generation "for days or more."

Willis says avalanche danger is high.

The utility has contracted with Alaska Avalanche Specialists which has been monitoring conditions along the line all winter. They've also been conducting control work in the avalanche zone to bring down small slides so large ones don't develop.

Frankly, at this point I feel bad for AEL&P.  The grumbling has already begun; if this turns out to be anything like the disaster that drove our utility bills up 500% last spring, there's going to be a lynch mob headed their way.

I think I see a pattern, here...

Those of you who've been around a while will probably remember how I've complained in the past about the fluffiness of the "MSN Today" links that pop up on Hotmail, a significant proportion of which are celebrity-, beauty-, or fashion-related. But I have to admit, some cold, black, cynical little portion of my heart has really enjoyed watching the following progression of link titles over the past year or so:

See new dresses from Pierre Cardin, Prada

Which was followed, some months later, by:

Updating your fall wardrobe on a budget

The fashion-related headline today?

New ways to wear old jeans

We poor Americans. Whatever will we do without a constant stream of credit offers and rising home equity to fund the constant consumption of ridiculously overpriced goods that fuels our economy?

I think I see a pattern, here...

Those of you who've been around a while will probably remember how I've complained in the past about the fluffiness of the "MSN Today" links that pop up on Hotmail, a significant proportion of which are celebrity-, beauty-, or fashion-related. But I have to admit, some cold, black, cynical little portion of my heart has really enjoyed watching the following progression of link titles over the past year or so:

See new dresses from Pierre Cardin, Prada

Which was followed, some months later, by:

Updating your fall wardrobe on a budget

The fashion-related headline today?

New ways to wear old jeans

We poor Americans. Whatever will we do without a constant stream of credit offers and rising home equity to fund the constant consumption of ridiculously overpriced goods that fuels our economy?