So… the Diminishing Pest, the only local paper, is now unavailable on-line, unless you are a paid subscriber.

Hello? DP? Your paper SUCKS. Which is why I refuse to buy it (except for the pre-election candidate information.) And the website is also awful, however it was one of the only ways to keep up with local news.

Now, we’ll have to look to on-line papers from the surrounding area (Fairmont Times West Virginian, The Charleston Daily Mail, The Charleston Gazette,) and keep up with The Daily Athenaeum, which I do like, and read regularly, however it is a student newspaper, which means that it’s not always published.

Here’s hoping that advertisers switch their money to the DA, which will remain available to everyone.

I’ve pointed this out before, but I went back, and there are MORE!

MORE!

Giant Microbes

I can’t decide if I like Ebola or Black Death better.

So today’s question is:
How does the elevator get into the elevator shaft.

As best as I can tell, the elevator is built in the shaft.

Elevator installers and repairers—also called elevator constructors or elevator mechanics—assemble, install, and replace elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters, moving walkways, and similar equipment in new and old buildings. Once the equipment is in service, they maintain and repair it as well. They also are responsible for modernizing older equipment.

To install, repair, and maintain modern elevators, which are almost all electronically controlled, elevator installers and repairers must have a thorough knowledge of electronics, electricity, and hydraulics. Many elevators are controlled with microprocessors, which are programmed to analyze traffic conditions in order to dispatch elevators in the most efficient manner. With these computer controls, it is possible to get the greatest amount of service with the least number of cars.

When installing a new elevator, installers and repairers begin by studying blueprints to determine the equipment needed to install rails, machinery, car enclosures, motors, pumps, cylinders, and plunger foundations. Once this has been done, they begin equipment installation. Working on scaffolding or platforms, installers bolt or weld steel rails to the walls of the shaft to guide the elevator.

Elevator installers put in electrical wires and controls by running tubing, called conduit, along a shaft’s walls from floor to floor. Once the conduit is in place, mechanics pull plastic-covered electrical wires through it. They then install electrical components and related devices required at each floor and at the main control panel in the machine room.

Installers bolt or weld together the steel frame of an elevator car at the bottom of the shaft; install the car’s platform, walls, and doors; and attach guide shoes and rollers to minimize the lateral motion of the car as it travels through the shaft. They also install the outer doors and door frames at the elevator entrances on each floor.

For cabled elevators, these workers install geared or gearless machines with a traction drive wheel that guides and moves heavy steel cables connected to the elevator car and counterweight. (The counterweight moves in the opposite direction from the car and balances most of the weight of the car to reduce the weight that the elevator’s motor must lift.) Elevator installers also install elevators in which a car sits on a hydraulic plunger that is driven by a pump. The plunger pushes the elevator car up from underneath, similar to a lift in an auto service station.

But if anyone knows for certain, please let me know.

Why do I want to know this?

The North side of the building has permamently closed elevators. The elevators have not worked for as long as I can remember, but the signs on the elevator doors are different at different floors. On one floor “Out of Order” is spray painted onto the doors. On another floor there’s a sign taped to the door. On the ground floor lockers have been put up in front of the doors, solving the need for signs entirely.

But recently they’ve been working in the old shafts. It looks like they’ve pulled out all the cables and tracks, and put a grate floor in, although the doors are still elevator doors. (Whenever the doors are open, I try to get a glimpse into the shaft to see what is happening, but typically someone is working there (and I don’t want to bother them), or there are no lights and so I can see nothing in the windowless shaft.

I’ve even considered prying the door open some evening to get a better look, but my guilty conscience has so far gotten the better of me.

And I’ve always wondered whether the elevators are still sitting at the bottom of the shaft. Which led to the question, “if the elevators are gone, how did they get them out?” which naturally led to the question, “How did they get in there in the first place?”

So, I think I have an answer–they elevators are built in the shaft.

But I still want to get a good look at the empty shaft.

Just because.

So Cirque Dreams is NOT part of Cirque du Soleil. We finally figured that out looking at the program last night. It was still good, although not great, and we did enjoy ourselves, so I would recommend it. Especially since our tickets were $27 apiece as opposed to the $70-something our tickets for Cirque du Soleil cost.

But I definitely like this type of circus–all humans and no animals.

What we liked best were the contortionists, the “trapeze” act, and the strong men. They had a guy who did an act with silk scarves, which I normally like, but this act wasn’t as impressive as acts I’ve seen before. So that act was just okay.

The contortionists were incredible. They were sisters and it wasn’t just that they contorted themselves, but that one sister would contort herself on the platform, then the other would so something similar, but balanced on her sisters foot or knee or whatever. It was just amazing. And for a similar reason that I liked the “trapeze” act (it was just a single swing, so I’m not sure what it would be called.) They would dangle from each others legs or arms or whatever, but what I found so amazing was to consider not just how much you’d have to trust your partner, but how comfortable you’d have to be with your partner, because there was not as lots of space to maneuver.

Amazing.

So we had a lovely evening, and now more than ever I can’t wait for April when we see Varakai in Pittsburgh.

Well, like it or not, we’re back in the swing of things. Work is busier with the semester now in session, and I’m back to class.

Which means little time for reading for fun. (sigh)

However, fun will still be had. For instance, tonight we’re going to see “Cirque Dreams”.

And on a completely random note, I heard on the radio, but can not find an article to support, that WV had more rain in 2004 than any other state. Now I know for certain that Morgantown gets more inches of rain and more days of rain than Seattle, but I can’t find anything to verify that I didn’t completely dream up the rain totals for 2004.

Finally downloaded the software for my new camera. I need to delve into it a little more deeply however, because it looks like there are fewer export options than my old camera has.

But the pictures are great! If you’d like the see family pictures, they’re available here.

If you have no interest in seeing my family pictures, you can still see the really cool gift my brother got me for Christmas.
(more…)

Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword And Sorceress XXI edited by Diana L. Paxson

I wasn’t sure that I was going to get the 21st edition of Sword And Sorceress. MZB died, and so I wasn’t certain whether the books were going to be continued because they were a quality anthology, or because they were looking to sell on her name.

I’m pleased to say it was the former. Diana L. Paxson, who was chosen as the as the editor, is not only an author I like, but has also edited several anthologies that I have read and enjoyed.

Read More about Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword And Sorceress XXI

US army reserve a ‘broken’ force

US reservist Frank O’Farrell, who left for the Gulf last year just after getting married
Part-time soldiers form 40% of US troops in Iraq
The commander of the US army reserve says it is rapidly degenerating into a “broken” force.

Lt Gen James Helmly, in a leaked memo to the Pentagon, says the reserve has reached a point where it cannot fulfil its missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reservists provide a large share of US troops in Iraq. The army says Gen Helmly’s concerns are being addressed.

But analysts say they will fuel criticism that Pentagon policies are harming the US all-volunteer military.

The army reserve is a force of about 200,000 part-time soldiers who chose not to sign-up for active duty but can be mobilised in time of need.

Together with National Guard troops – who also serve part-time – reservists account for about 40% of US troops in Iraq.

Why does this not surprise me?

I went on the mental equivilent of a drinking binge last night. I stayed up to finished Robin Hobb’s Liveship trilogy. As a result I skipped exercise this morning, because I cannot function on four hours of sleep.

Saddest part, is that I didn’t particularly like the series, which is why I had to finish it. So I could hurry up and read something else.

Michael and I were talking about resolutions this morning as we walked. I did not make a resolutions this year, nor have I made one in previous years–in fact I don’t ever remember making a New Year’s Resolution.

It made me think about how strange they are, New Year’s Resolutions. Why? How did they come about? How many people really make them, mean them, and keep them?

The other day someone was saying something about making a change in their lives. “I’ll start in January; it’ll be my New Year’s Resolution,” they said. If it’s that important, why wait? Why not start right now? What is so special about the New Year that one would have to wait until then to make a life change?

It seems to me that the best time to resolve to do something is when you think about it: When the doctor tells you your cholesterol is high, or you get on the scale and realize that you’ve gained more weight than you thought, or when you decide you want something different for yourself.

I would think that far more important than making a resolution is finding someone to help you keep it. Tell people you’re trying to quit smoking. Let people know you’re trying to lose weight. It should do two things: It gives you people to support you in your decision (and maybe they’ll bring healthy snacks to work instead of doughnuts) but it also sets up expectations. You said it. You’ve made the pronouncement. Now if you go back you’ll be letting other people down, not just yourself.

But you don’t need the New Year to do that. We can make those changes whenever we think about it.

And maybe that’s why New Years is the time for resolutions. We take stock of where we’ve been and where we’re going. But is this too not something that we should do more than once a year?

My husband, Apprentice of the Obvious.

The answer to today’s pressing question:

How Do Sprinklers Work To Save Lives?

Each sprinkler has its own individual heat sensitive element whose only job is to detect a fixed temperature of approximately 68°C/155°F. These heat elements are not affected by smoke, but by heat only. As the temperature reaches a fixed temperature of approximately 68°C/155°F the sprinkler element is activated. The element used in this sprinkler, for example is a glass bulb filled with a fluid consisting of a non-toxic proprietary glycerin solution.

As the fluid is heated it expands and shatters the glass bulb enclosure. Sprinklers are extremely reliable and do not activate without heat and only the sprinkler closest to the fire will operate, thus the phrase “One-At-A-Time Activation”.

Q: How do fire sprinklers work?

A: The water in UCSD’s sprinkler system pipes is constantly under pressure. At each sprinkler head, the water is held back by a little plug. When sufficient heat reaches a sprinkler head, depending on the type of mechanism used, one of the following occurs:

* The special solder that holds the sprinkler head together melts
OR
* The fluid in a glass vial in the sprinkler head expands enough to break the glass

In either case, the plug is released and the water begins to flow. Water will continue flowing until the system is mechanically turned off by an emergency responder.

The only remaining question is how hot does the flame of a cigarette lighter get?

Addendum the First: If any sprinklers in this building go off unexpectedly, I know nothing about it.

Find your name in Tolkein Elvish!

MICHELLE (f.) – feminine form of MICHAEL (q.v.), thus Manveri

Jason has made a resoultion to read 52 books in 52 weeks, which lead me to wonder just how many books I’d read last year. I worried that I hadn’t made 52 (I have to restrain my reading during the semester, or I won’t get any school work done), until I remembered that I’d read all the Robert Parker Spenser mysteries (All 28 of them).

So just to satisfy my curiosity I went back and counted.

Not including textbooks, I read 117 books last year. Not all of them were new books that I hadn’t read before, but still, not too bad.

And I’ve read three (new) books already this year!