Philosophy in Action: NoodleFood : Page 626

More Scorched Acres

Posted by Diana Hsieh on 19 June 2002 at 11:29 am Uncategorized

Jun 192002

The Hayman fire is now estimated to have burned 135,889 acres. According to the noon news, the fire is burning one mile from Rampart Range Road, a trigger point for evacuation of some of the towns southeast of the fire. Fire crews have been pulled off of the north side of the fire to help out those battling the more active eastern edge. Also, another Type I team has been added, bringing the total up to three now. (I understand that just having two Type I teams on one fire was pretty unprecedented.)

Thankfully, winds are calm and the air is fairly clear here, which is good news for us!

The Douglas County web site hasn’t been updated since last night. Augh. But looking at the evacuation page most locations listed have now been evacuated.

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Old Hags

Posted by Diana Hsieh on 19 June 2002 at 8:52 am Uncategorized

Jun 192002

I watched David Letterman’s monologue last night, as I was avoiding going to bed. Oh man, is Letterman ever old! And he’s just about as in-touch and funny as Bob Dole. So I say: Get rid of the old hags! I want to see Jon Stewart versus Craig Kilbourn battling it out for top late night comedian!

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Perry Park Evacuated

Posted by Diana Hsieh on 18 June 2002 at 10:54 pm Uncategorized

Jun 182002

At the moment, the people in the Perry Park area have another 5 minutes or so to evacuate. They were given two hours notice, as well as an announcement this morning that they would likely be evacuated (blogged here). I wish them all the best.

At the moment, my horses are with Mike Paul, just two miles or so north of this new evacuation area. But I have no worries about them, as he can evacuate them quickly as needed. Plus, I suppose that he could evacuate them here if needed, as the hand line on the north side of the fire has held today.

The Hayman fire has now grown to about 120,000 acres. The containment has gone from 47% down to 40%. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be similar to today. Let’s just hope the fire doesn’t get too out of control.

Stay safe, firefighters!

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Terry Lynn Barton: Evil Psycho Arsonist?

Posted by Diana Hsieh on 18 June 2002 at 12:47 pm Uncategorized

Jun 182002

9 News reports:

Federal investigators are beginning to question the story of the U.S. Forest Service worker accused of starting the Hayman fire. Recreation technician Terry Lynn Barton, 38, appeared in federal court Monday morning to be advised of the charges against her. Barton told investigators she was enforcing the fire ban in the Pike National Forest on June 8 when she started burning a letter from her estranged husband within a designated campfire ring. She said she then tried to put out the blaze. Prosecutors now believe Barton made up the story. They say based on evidence gathered at the fire’s starting point, it appears the fire was deliberately set and staged to look like an escaped campfire.

Hooray for forensics! Now I really hope Terry Barton gets the maximum penalty! She could spend many, many years in jail for deliberately setting a forest fire.

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Science Quiz

Posted by Diana Hsieh on 18 June 2002 at 11:49 am Uncategorized

Jun 182002

I guess that getting a BS degree from MIT doesn’t help pass a basic science test for 4th, 8th, and 12th graders. Unlike Paul, I got all the questions correct. (He got the insanely easy #7 wrong.) Funny how Paul didn’t mention his own scientific illiteracy in his blog entry about the quiz.

When I read him the above, Paul retorted, “I took it again last night and got them all right!” Good for you, dearest, good for you…

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Douglas County Evacuations

Posted by Diana Hsieh on 18 June 2002 at 6:47 am Uncategorized

Jun 182002

The Douglas County website says as of 1 am this morning:

Due to yesterdays rapid southern fire expansion, residents living in the below areas, who are already on a “Stand by” evacuation status, are being alerted that a strong possibility exists that mandatory evacuations may occur as early as this afternoon, Tuesday, 06/18/02. Those areas that are advised to prepare for possible mandatory evacuation include: Areas west of Hwy. 105, bounded by the current mandatory evacuation area of the Pike National Forest boundary on the west, Tomah Road on the north, and the El Paso County line on the south, including: Perry Park, Indian Head, Wauconoa Lakes, Echo Hills, Echo Village, Douglas Park, Hidden Valley, Valley Park, Vaux Ranchette, Mountain Ranch, Woodmoor Mountain subdivision, Split Acres, Emily Griffith Youth Center. This “Stand by alert’ is announced because fire officials expect the fire to advance rapidly today, with winds blowing north/northeast, creating the opportunity for the fire to spread very quickly.

That’s a few miles south of us.

Oh, and wind is now predicted to be from the S and SW today, picking up to about 15-20 mph this afternoon. So right now, we’re covered in smoke again.

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Two Bits of Bad News

Posted by Diana Hsieh on 17 June 2002 at 10:09 pm Uncategorized

Jun 172002

Trivial Bad News: My sore throat has returned. *swallow* Ouch! *swallow* Ouch! *swallow* Ouch!

Potentially Significant Bad News: Tomorrow is shaping up to be the worst day for the Hayman fire since that explosive Monday of last week. It’s going to be a “red flag day” tomorrow, which means high temperatures, low humidity, and gusty winds. However, for those of us northeast of the fire, there is good news.

First, the prevailing winds are predicted to be from the north and northwest, so not towards us. (I hate to be so unbenevolent as to even wish such winds towards those south of the fire, particularly given that more people on the south side of the fire were evacuated today. But such is the nature of emergencies.)

Second, I learned in the informational meeting tonight that the firefighters have made great progress these past few days in creating a hand line around the north side of the fire. That narrow line won’t protect us against a crowning fire, but it is an important barrier.

The southeast side of the fire did grow substantially today, as you can see from the red outline in the map below (current as of this evening):

Thankfully, there is some good news for everyone: Rain is forecasted for later this week.

I wish all firefighters and homeowners the best of luck tomorrow. Stay safe!

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Rorschach Bullshit

Posted by Diana Hsieh on 17 June 2002 at 8:29 pm Uncategorized

Jun 172002

Thanks to Paul, I now know that the Rorschach Test is the biggest load of psychological crap since phrenology. Tarot card reading with Cleo would probably yield more scientific results! But don’t take my word for it, go take the ultra-secret test for yourself. You’ll see what I mean.

The scary thing is that such ludicrous tests can do great damage to people’s lives, as this article “Misuse of Psychological Tests in Forensic Settings: Some Horrible Examples” details.