July has brought the normal nasty summer back to Jacksonville. On Saturday the fourth, it roasted so bad that I didn't feel cool until 0230, with full a/c blasting in the Barco.
We discovered a fault in the ignition system on Saturday evenong, the Port engine would not turn over. Batteries were strong but the alarm would sound and the familiar one turn and vroom was conspicuously missing.
We applied a screwdriver to the solenoid and the motor fired as usual, so I think it will be a flaw in either the ignition switch or some safety lockout has engaged. This is one of those annoying maintenance deals, not even a worry.
Like everything in a person's small solar system of orbiting concerns, one must be constantly touching or operating each of the little widgets that make life interesting, otherwise they cease operating for what we feel are unknown reasons. The same for family, friends and acquaintances; Lose contact and you lose the benefit and opportunity that each person brings to you personally.
But in the Barco Crew, we have our tentacles stretched from Southern to Northern Hemispheres, Eastern to West. Thankfully, we have Skype and the Internet to help bridge those gaps. This morning, we spoke to family members in Eastern Russia via Skype.
Wow.
At five minutes to eight, literally five minutes to "late" for work, we are talking to people in Russia.
Fifteen years ago, I spent an hour trying to explain a friend from Helsinki to the Naval Investigative Service, when I was in the process of getting an advanced security clearance. Seems I didn't mention that I had friends in non-Communist countries.
Today, I show Russians two of my Siamese kittehs via a web cam to two kids who speak three words of english, just like it was nothing.
And it was.
I promise to get back on the trip to Calais.
Have a nice day!
1 comment:
Technology IS truly an amazing thing and it moves so quickly, too.
A little less than 15 years ago I spent about a month in Moscow on bid'niz. Trying to get a phone call out of that godforsaken place took a small act of God himself at the time. Given that I was working with the newly privatized Russian telecom company... the ONLY one... I could go to the director's office and place a call to the US without much trouble on his private line, but I had an audience. Not private at all and not good. The Second Mrs. Pennington, OTOH, could dial IN to my hotel (relatively) easily and we set up a schedule for those all-important morale calls. I did the same thing with work related calls from the US.
And these days you just dial 'em up using Skype and parade the kittehs on the webcam. Amazing.
re: the WX. Summer will begin tomorrow in these parts... we're forecasted to get our first 100-degree day. O, Joy.
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