We are having a winter storm in Lubbock, and one of the absurdities of the situation is what is being broadcast on TV. People are being instructed, on TV to contact Lubbock Power and Light http://www.lpandl.com/ if they are experiencing power outages. This is ludicrous. I understand that some people may be able to access this information on their smart phones, by accessing the TV channel apps, but what about the people who do not have smart phones, and do not have power? How are they supposed to contact Lubbock Power and Light? Come on, this is not a sane instruction for people who have power outages. Let's face it, if they do not have power, are they going to be able to watch TV? Duh! LP& L needs to be a lot more responsible than this.
Showing posts with label common sense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label common sense. Show all posts
Monday, December 28, 2015
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Training
I work for a large bureaucracy, and so many things do not make sense, and so often it would seem that one hand does not know what the other is doing.
So it was recently at work. My department was scheduled to attend a specialized training for 5 hours. Then, the notice came out that in addition to the specialized training, we had to attend a 2 hour mandatory general training on the same subject. That made no sense. In spite of our protests, we were told we must attend the 2 hour training.
My supervisor fought hard to resist this. To the point where she went to the first of multiple sessions of the 2 hour training and spoke to the trainer. Who told her, indeed, that the longer specialized training would include all the elements of the general 2 hour training. Yeah!
Sometimes people in bureaucracies are so literal. They understand the letter of the law but forget the spirit of the law. I am so thankful my supervisor's good sense prevailed. (And, she skipped the part of the 5 hour training that duplicated what she had already attended.)
So it was recently at work. My department was scheduled to attend a specialized training for 5 hours. Then, the notice came out that in addition to the specialized training, we had to attend a 2 hour mandatory general training on the same subject. That made no sense. In spite of our protests, we were told we must attend the 2 hour training.
My supervisor fought hard to resist this. To the point where she went to the first of multiple sessions of the 2 hour training and spoke to the trainer. Who told her, indeed, that the longer specialized training would include all the elements of the general 2 hour training. Yeah!
Sometimes people in bureaucracies are so literal. They understand the letter of the law but forget the spirit of the law. I am so thankful my supervisor's good sense prevailed. (And, she skipped the part of the 5 hour training that duplicated what she had already attended.)
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
The Urban Heat Island
Many, many years ago, in the late1980s and early 1990s, a friend and I used to walk our dogs in the park almost every day. During the summer, we would start our walks a little later, when the air was cooling. And sometimes stay till dusk, which in Lubbock, Texas, in the summer, is quite late.
We used to comment on the heat effect of the city on the weather: Although sometimes rain would move towards the city, it would evaporate over the city. We are both well educated, intelligent women, and we could reason that the heat reflection from buildings and pavement would unnaturally heat the air over the city, and by doing so, allow it to absorb more moisture than it did in the surrounding fields and countryside. But there was no scientific proof to this, as far as we knew.
I am also a NASCAR fan. Some years ago, one of the regular announcers, Darrell Waltrip, talked about "the heat vortex" over a race track. His contention was that the highly heated air from the race track: the tarmac absorbing heat from the sun and the vehicles, the heat from the vehicles, and to a lesser degree, the heat from the human bodies in the race track confines (sometimes up to 250,000 bodies) had an effect on the moisture in the air, and when there were light showers in the area, "the heat vortex" evaporated light moisture.
Tonight as I was watching The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/, they commented on "The Urban Heat Island." As they described this phenomenon, it was the same phenomenon, scientifically proven, that my friend and I had identified anecdotally, and that Darrel Waltrip had identified anecdotally.
It is amazing how science catches up to common sense and folk lore.
We used to comment on the heat effect of the city on the weather: Although sometimes rain would move towards the city, it would evaporate over the city. We are both well educated, intelligent women, and we could reason that the heat reflection from buildings and pavement would unnaturally heat the air over the city, and by doing so, allow it to absorb more moisture than it did in the surrounding fields and countryside. But there was no scientific proof to this, as far as we knew.
I am also a NASCAR fan. Some years ago, one of the regular announcers, Darrell Waltrip, talked about "the heat vortex" over a race track. His contention was that the highly heated air from the race track: the tarmac absorbing heat from the sun and the vehicles, the heat from the vehicles, and to a lesser degree, the heat from the human bodies in the race track confines (sometimes up to 250,000 bodies) had an effect on the moisture in the air, and when there were light showers in the area, "the heat vortex" evaporated light moisture.
Tonight as I was watching The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/, they commented on "The Urban Heat Island." As they described this phenomenon, it was the same phenomenon, scientifically proven, that my friend and I had identified anecdotally, and that Darrel Waltrip had identified anecdotally.
It is amazing how science catches up to common sense and folk lore.
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