Anchorage to LA

A trip LA to visit my mom has been waiting for a good time and cheap seats. I finally pulled out the mileage and got tickets, but the 10,000 mile legs were scarce (more 20,000 mile ones) so I'm in LA already. The cloud cover was heavy leaving Anchorage, but just out of Anchorage (minutes out) you could see glimpses of land and sky through the clouds at once. Here was a cloudy view of mountains flying out.

Then above the clouds, and really looked just like this. Flat white cloud out to the blue. I had a three hour layover in Seattle, but when I checked on the gate, I saw there were two earlier flights to LA. So I spent an hour in Seattle, saw enough of the debate to realize it was the same content from the previous ones. It was interesting to see it on CNN and watch the lines with the male (green) and female (yellow) real time reactions of Ohio undecided voters. Actually it was bizarre. I imagine they have to actually do something, but how could you keep dialing your reaction as you watch? But it did seem to go up when someone said no taxes.



I was expecting to see smoke and maybe fires flying into LA, but it was very clear. And comparatively warm. Low 70s at 10pm felt a bit warm after low 30s.

Good to see my mom. Good to be unconnected most of the day.

Peter's Sushi Fire "Undetermined After Investigation"

I got a copy of the Incident Report on the fire at Peter's Sushi Spot today. I've never seen one before, but after I posted pictures of the burnt restaurant last July and the cleared lot in August, I thought I should ask to see the report. But it wasn't ready then. It is now. For those of you who just want the gist, here's the conclusion:

CONCLUSION: Based on the fire scene examination and statements of the firefighters and witnesses we believe the area of origin is under the floor at the area near the SE corner of the office. We were unable to locate the point of origin so we were not able to identify the ignition source. The official fire cause classification will be pending until the lab results are received.[p. 15]

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On 10/13/08 I received lab results from the State of Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory for the items submitted for accelerant testing on 7/21/08. The testing did not detect any ignitable liquids in the samples.

Since the lab results did not detect any ignitable liquids the fire will be classified as "Undetermined after Investigation.[p.15]

The cover page is ... terse. Actually, I like that, just facts.
Then there are a bunch of narratives from the different firefighters at the scene. These are also terse and lots of jargon. The first one says:

CAD Master Incident Number 20082310000022268 Jurisdiction Incident #: 2310020080018069 Primary Jurisdiction Inc. #: 2310020080018069 [p. 2]

Whatever that means. The next one is mostly in English:

Assigned RIC by command along with E-1. Pulled 2 1/2" line and set up on C side for extinguishment.

Then:

Upon arrival E1 was assigned to RIC duties. EO1 did a walk around he [sic] building and opened the door on the C side of the structure. There was light brown smoke coming from the D side of the building and a light amount of smoke coming from the C side. The B side had no visible smoke. There was heavy brown smoke mixed with steam coming from the point of attack door on the A side. E14 was assigned to RIC. EO1 took RC duties for the B/C corner and E14 had RIC for the A/D corner. After Command ordered the evacuation of the building E01 was replaced from RIC duties by R04. E01 made a brief entry into the building before being ordered out by B division. E01 then set up a monitor on the C side and remained there until being put in-service.[pp. 2-3]

I'm not sure what the letters mean. The restaurant was on B street and C street is on the other side, but A and D don't fit. There are no pictures or diagrams attached to the copy I got. On page 10 it does say:

EXTERIOR:
a. (East) - Extensive fire damage with wall collapse.
b. (South) -Extensive fire damage from door and windows.
c. (West) - Extensive fire damage with wall collapse.
d. (North)- Fire damage from exterior openings
e. (Roof) - Complete collapse [p. 10]

Are these letters (a-e) related to the ones back on page 3?

There are about 18 more "narratives." Some a little longer, most done on July 12, but others scattered until July 22.

The most interesting part was the:

INTERVIEW with [redacted] [redacted] said that he, his wife, and the head waitress left the building at approximately 2330 hours. He said they did a final walk-through to ensure all the appliances were turned off and the doors were locked. [redacted] said he did not notice any unfamiliar odors, such as something burning, when he left. He said there were no electrical or mechanical problems at the restaurant. [redacted] said a fire department inspector had conducted an inspection prior to the 4th of July weekend and the hood and duct systems had been cleaned prior to the investigation.

[redacted] said he has owned the restaurant for approximately 2 1/2 years and the only electrical or mechanical problems he has had occurred during the initial remodeling. He said a HVAC unit had caught fire and damaged a portion of the roof and attic approximately two weeks prior to opening the restaurant.


[redacted] said he has had employee problems and he is currently involved in a law suit filed by two former employees. He said the court recently ruled in his favor but there was still some issues being litigated. He did not believe the former employees would be responsible for the fire..


[redacted] said some employees did smoke near the east side employee entrance, but they usually smoke near the garage door or along the outside north wall of the garage. [redacted] said they usually extinguished the cigarettes in various buckets filled with water.


[redacted] said he had recently received two offers to purchase the property. One was from Alaska USA Federal Credit Union (AKUSA FCU) and a second was from a private investor who wanted to keep the structure as a restaurant.

Then,

INVESTIGATION CONTINUED: I instructed [redacted] to contact his insurance company and we discussed what would be needed to secure the property for the pending origin and cause investigation.

A short time later I was approached by [redacted] from AKUSA FCU, who is the insurance broker for [redacted]. We discussed what would be needed for the pending origin and cause investigation, and he confirmed AKUSA FCU had made an offer to purchase the property. However, AKUSA FCU had been out bid by the private investor who wanted to keep the structure as a restaurant.
[redacted]said he was meeting the private investor on Monday to discuss his
[redacted] previous profits, etc. [redacted] said the property was not advertised to sell, he was just made offers from people interested in the property.

[redacted] did not know how the fire might have started.

Then there is a section called ORIGIN AND CAUSE INVESTIGATION. Here are some excerpts:

From Day 1 July 15:

An examination of fire movement and intensity patterns indicated the area of origin was under the floor at an area near the SE corner of the office. The patterns indicate the fire moved upwards through the exterior deck, which created a hole; and upwards through the east wall of the office and then into the attic area. At that point the fire moved through-out the attic space, which eventually caused the roof to collapse.

"Accelerant Detection K-9" Jodi seemed to think there was something suspicious.

Proceeded to "employee entrance" on the east side of structure. Structure sustained major damage - with roof collapsed. Proceeded to search deck/entry area which faced east. K9 first alerted on burned edge of rubber matting adjacent to an appx 3 foot hole furned [sic] through to the crawlspace. K-9 then alerted on burned edge of hole on the deck. Investigators secured water from crawlspace below the deck. K-9 alerted on water from crawlspace. K-9 alerted on charred wood from structural members in crawlspace. All alert areas were marked and photographed. All alert area samples were secured as evidence and placed into evicence [sic] containers.

As I said at the beginning, this is the first fire incident report I've ever seen. These are just bits and pieces of the report. The whole report is 16 pages long. Since I really know nothing about this, I'll just leave it at this - with the parts I found interesting excerpted - and leave it for others to figure out what it all means.

Aravind Adiga Wins Booker Prize

I listed the Booker Prize Finalists September 10. From the Booker Prize website:

Now in its 40th year, the prize aims to reward the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. The Man Booker judges are selected from the country's finest critics, writers and academics to maintain the consistent excellence of the prize. The winner of the Man Booker Prize receives £50,000 and both the winner and the shortlisted authors are guaranteed a worldwide readership plus a dramatic increase in book sales.

Today Aravind Adiga was announced as the winner for "The White Tiger."

From the BBC:

The chairman of the judges, former politician Michael Portillo, said: "In many ways it was the perfect novel."

The White Tiger, a tale of two Indias, tells the story of Balram, the son of a rickshaw puller in the heartlands, one of the "faceless" poor left behind by the country's recent economic boom.

It charts his journey from working in a teashop to entrepreneurial success.

Announcing the winner at a ceremony in London, Mr Portillo said: "My criteria were 'Does it knock my socks off?' and this one did ... the others impressed me ... this one knocked my socks off."

You can watch a brief video with the winner on the BBC site.

Sarah Barracuda

Local Anchorage artist, Mariano Gonzales, shared his latest creation with me. Part of me wants to enjoy this privately and not add this to the political free for all going on. But Sarah has been proud of her barracuda nickname and I suspect that she'll want to frame this one.

Disclosure time: Mariano is teaching the computer art class I'm taking and I asked him if I could post the fish.

Who is that Masked Man?

I sort of got mentioned in the Bangkok Post today. There's a story about Somprasong Mang-ana, headmaster of a school in a remote rural Thailand village. (From an Alaskan perspective it isn't all that remote, since you can drive to it, but that's a lot of other stories.) Here's the reference:

Somprasong himself knows first-hand of the perils of being poor and lacking in opportunities. While growing up in the northern province of Kamphaeng Phet in the 1960s, he studied English thanks to a Peace Corps volunteer.

I'm the English teacher. I posted about Somprasong when we visited Umphang in 2007. He's done incredible things with this school and is the Northern Thailand teacher of the year. This is the sort of thing that makes teaching so worthwhile.

The story begins this way:

Rare dedication

English in the hills of Tak at the Umphang Wittayakom School

Story by NIKI THONGBORISUTE

It is the daily roll call in one of Thailand's most remote schools. Khaiwan stands in front of her fellow students and announces:

"There are 15 in our dorm, but today there are 14 because Lata has gone home. Thank you. Please sit down."

This is not a translation. The shy 16-year-old has just stood in front of 325 of her classmates and spoken in English.

Yes, that's right. Daily roll call in the remote school is in English, which is not bad considering these are students whose first language isn't even Thai. In fact, 11 dialects are represented at the school, and the students come from all 26 hill tribe communities in the region.

Niki contacted me because she saw my posts on Somprasong - blogging has its rewards too. For the full story go to the Bangkok Post.

DELTA Meeting - Working to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence

I spent the afternoon at a steering committee meeting for DELTA. Don't ask about the acronym, the group is working on developing a plan for prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV). The link takes you to a post on a previous meeting, and it has links to earlier ones even. The project is funded by the National Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Alaska is one of 14 states to have such a grant.

Coming up with a state plan on something like this feels a bit presumptuous, but actually, I'm the only member who isn't closely involved in the field of IPV. I'm supposed to be contributing with my public administration expertise. For the last two years we've been trying to inventory how the state tracks intimate partner violence and what ways people and agencies are trying to prevent it. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the CDC is strongly interested in prevention rather than intervention. (Intervention being defined as reaction by authorities AFTER IPV.)

We're also trying to document what programs exist, where, and how one determines whether they are effective. A current buzzword in the field is "evidence-based programs" meaning that there are studies to test whether things work not so that money is spent on the most effective programs. As a guiding principle, that's great, but there are many obstacles. What works in Philadelphia may not work in rural Alaska. If you strictly follow the idea of evidence-based programs, you could never have a new program because there'd be no evidence that it will work. And measuring what hasn't happened (we're about prevention) is also tricky. Statistics has lots of sophisticated techniques for doing all this, but collecting sensitive data about people in small communities can increase risks for people as well. It's all pretty tricky, but there is so much to do. So we have to do what we can. Like most things, the more you learn about things, the more complex it gets.


But what little data there are tend to focus on incidents of IPV and there is little funding for prevention and measuring it is also elusive. We've worked hard over the last two years to let others in the field know what we're doing, mostly by talking about it with people members meet professionally who are in the field one way or another and through putting on workshops at professional conferences of people who are in positions to do prevention work (community health people, social workers, teachers, law enforcement,etc.)

[While the chart might look messy, making it helped us communicate our different understandings of the root causes of the problems and to focus on the areas and levels that would be most fruitful. And someone has transcribed it all so we can see it neatly.]


I continue to be impressed with the professionalism, knowledge, enthusiasm, and dedication of the other steering committee members. We're hoping to have a draft plan ready in January 2009. The idea is to have done a significant amount of work, but not have it so far along that it is a done deal when people get to look at it. We know that, despite our efforts, there are people who should be involved but haven't been. We just don't know who they are.



We'll have plenty of time next year to move it along to something the state can adopt to minimize the incidence of IPV through prevention rather than deal with victims and perpetrators AFTER things have gone wrong. Some of the committee members are working with people dealing with prevention of other health and social problems (alcohol and drug abuse for example) since there is considerable overlap.

We'll meet again tomorrow morning.

As You Like It Sheds Light on Sarah Palin

We went to see As You Like It this afternoon. Basically, I wanted to hear Philip Munger's songs. You can listen here. And you really should have this playing while you read the rest of this.

Sitting through a Shakespeare play, even a relatively light one like this, I was reminded of why we still put on his plays 400 years after he wrote them. If only more Americans would know the characters of Shakespeare the way they know the Desperate Housewives, perhaps this election season would be less contentious. While I would particularly like the people flocking to cheer our governor to have been schooled in Shakespeare, it would also be good for those who are Obama supporters, so that their expectations for his possible Presidency will be realistic.

In any case, I was struck by this early conversation between Oliver - hero Orlando's older brother who has kept Orlando from gaining his inheritance - and a wrestler Orlando has challenged.

As You Like it By William Shakespeare, George Lyman Kittredge:

Oliver: "... I tell thee, Charles, it is the stubbornest young fellow of France; full of ambition, an envious emulator of every man's good parts, a secret and villainous contriver against me his natural brother: therefore use thy discretion; I had as lief thou didst break his neck as his finger. And thou wert best look to't; for if thou dost him any slight disgrace, or if he do not mightily grace himself on thee, he will practise against thee by poison, entrap thee by some treacherous device, and never leave thee till he hath ta 'en thy life by some indirect means or other; for, I assure thee, and almost with tears I speak it, there is not one so young and so villainous this day living."

The wrestler Charles agrees to take care of Orlando should he show up for the match.

Oliver: Farewell good Charles. [Exit CHARLES] Now will I stir this gamester: I hope I shall see an end of him; for my soul, yet I know not why, hates nothing more than he. Yet he's gentle; never school'd, and yet learned; full of noble device of all sorts; enchantingly beloved; and indeed so much in the heart of the world, and especially of my own people, who best know him, that I am altogether misprised. But it shall not be so long; this wrestler shall clear all; nothing remains but that I kindle the boy thither; which now I'll go about. [Exit]"

I dare say we know of those who knowingly lie about their rivals in hopes that their 'wrestler' friends will dispatch them. And, sad to say, were the wrestler to know the truth, I suspect he'd dispatch him anyway.

Oliver lies to Charles, totally misrepresents Orlando's character, knowingly. Why? Because Orlando's goodness blocks Oliver's ambitions. Of course, we know no one like this. No one who speaks untruths about rivals who block their path to power.

But in As You Like It, this sort of jealousy of another who makes oneself look bad in comparison comes up again. Soon after the scene above, Duke Frederick, who, has housed Rosalind after he expelled her father years ago, has decided Rosalind too must go.

[Enter Duke FREDERICK with Lords]
Duke F: Mistress, dispatch you with your safest haste, And get you from our Court.
Ros: Me? uncle?
Duke F: You, cousin:
Within these ten days if that thou be'st found
So near our public Court as twenty miles,
Thou diest for it.

Rosalind, appealing to logic and reason, asks what she has done to cause this.

Ros: I do beseech your Grace,
Let me the knowledge of my fault bear with me;
If with myself I hold intelligence,
Or have acquaintance with mine own desires;
If that I do not dream, or be not frantic, --
As I do trust I am not, -- then, dear uncle,
Never so much as in a thought unborn,
Did I offend your Highness.

The Duke then basically says, I don't have to answer your questions, I'll just start another line of attack. Oh, my, this starts sounding so familiar. You are a traitor he tells her. Your words are pretty, but no one can trust your words.

Duke F: Thus do all traitors:
If their purgation did consist in words,
They are as innocent as grace itself;
Let it suffice thee, that I trust thee not.

Rosalind, still using reason, responds:

Ros: Yet your mistrust cannot make me a traitor
Tell me whereon the likelihood depends.

Duke F: Thou art thy father's daughter there's enough.

Does this not sound terribly familiar? How is it that Obama is a Muslim if not because "he art his father's son"? How do Reverend Wright's words make Obama a traitor?

Ros: So was I when your Highness took his dukedom:
So was I when your Highness banish d him:
Treason is not inherited my lord;
Or if we did derive it from our friends,
What's that to me? my father was no traitor.
Then, good my liege, mistake me not so much
To think my poverty is treacherous.

Oh dear, poverty is very near community organizing. Now Duke Frederick's daughter, Celia, pleads on behalf of her dearest friend.

Cel: Dear sovereign hear me speak.

Duke F: Ay Celia; we stay'd her for your sake,
Else had she with her father ranged along.

Basically, we kept this traitor because of you, her father tells her. But she disputes this lie.

Cel: I did not then entreat to have her stay;
It was your pleasure and your own remorse;
I was too young that time to value her;
But now I know her: if she be a traitor,
Why, so am I; we still have slept together;
Rose at an instant, learn'd, play'd, eat together;
And, wheresoe'er we went like Juno's swans,
Still we went coupled and inseparable.

Every lie the Duke constructs is torn down, and finally, he tells her the truth. It is similar to Oliver's truth about Orlando: Stupid Celia, Rosalind is so good, she makes you look terrible in comparison. That's why she must go.

Duke F: She is too subtle for thee; and her smoothness,
Her very silence, and her patience,
Speak to the people, and they pity her.
Thou art a fool: she robs thee of thy name;
And thou wilt show more bright and seem more virtuous
When she is gone. Then open not thy lips:
Firm and irrevocable is my doom
Which I have pass'd upon her: she is banish'd.

Fortunately, Palin and her right wing spewers of hate (I got another email pointing me to another racist anti-Obama YouTube video today) cannot decree McCain's election as easily as the Duke can banish Rosalind. They can only hope that they can con enough Americans to feel the same fears about Obama, that they willingly buy into their lies and vote for McCain.

A lot of Kings, Dukes, Emperors, etc. (no Presidents in those days) are murdered in Shakespeare's plays and Sarah Palin's speeches have been getting people to say those sorts of things out loud. If Obama were harmed by anyone, this country's future would be grimmer than grim. The only people who would 'win' are those who would rather be dead than see a Black man President.

So, go see or read Shakespeare. Yes, it takes a bit to get used to the old words. If you don't read an annotated version, you won't recognize all the references that Shakespeare's contemporary audience would have understood. But he is much more understandable than Jon Stewart will be in 400 years, and has lots to teach us about human beings.

Well, maybe someone more familiar than I with the characters in Desperate Housewives or some other relevant TV show can figure out which characters would help get the undecideds to understand what is going on.



The pictures: The poster. (You can buy tickets before the performance in the Theater and Arts Building at UAA. Free parking on Fridays nights and weekends. There's a discount for 15 or more people. How about a bloggers' night at the theater to hear Phil's music?)

Some of the cast after the performance.

Walking home.

Art in Motion - West High Dance Performance

This is a follow up of yesterday's post about interesting stuff going out of sight that having kids helps you to find. In the evening we went to West High's Dance Department's show. Wow! This was good stuff - original choreography, interesting music, great lighting, and some fine dancing. I've seen little kids from Barbara's School of Dance to the Martha Graham Dance Troupe at West High. This was closer to the Martha Graham in quality and interest.




I didn't get going with the video until the first three pieces were over, but here's a hint.

The video does give you a good sense of the variety and quality of what we saw last night. Lori Bradford, I'm told, is the Dance teacher who is basically responsible and she's listed as the director for the show. Leslie Kimiko Ward choreographed several of the pieces and danced solo in Spectrum. Michael Alfaro is listed as a guest artist in Moving Statues, and if he's the dancer I caught in that one, you can see why I highlight him. There were lots and lots of talented students and it was good to see that they had various shapes. They were all good dancers. It reminds me of some of the great things going on in the Anchorage School District.

The program says you can buy a DVD of the performance if you email creativemotionproductions@gmail.com.


[Video has been closed to public access at request of Lori Bradford. Recognizable faces on photos have been blurred also.]



In the hallway after the performance.

Breaking Bad Habits Through TaeKwonDo Kickathon

Today was one of those days that reminded me

• how much I'm missing because my kids are grown up and gone
• how much is happening, but invisible
  
  
  
  
  

I got invited to see some friends at their TaeKwonDo Kickathon. If you drive, even walk or bike, by this mall, you'd have no idea of the excitement going on inside. In other cultures much of what is going on is much more out in the open and the whole community is at least aware if not involved. But here, lots of things are going on, well hidden from the rest of the world.




Malls like this aren't built for bikers. The positive spin would be this is a "natural and recyclable" bike rack. There are a lot of these in Anchorage, but not enough near destinations if more people start biking.




But what could be more fun for kids that breaking things and making noise. I have to say they were also very quiet and attentive when they were supposed to be, but they were also given time to break boards and make noise. All in the framework of breaking boards as an inspiration to break bad habits. (The only actual bad habit I heard about that someone was breaking was biting fingernails.)

So, here's the video.



Here's S taking his kindling home.

Fall or Winter or Fall?

First it snowed. Then the cottonwood lost its leaves. This was yesterday.


The Steller Jay came by to see what he could scavange. The snow's all melted and there are a lot more leaves on the deck. (I raked them later.)



Today in the front, there are mostly mountain ash leaves on the ground. Some birch.

This evening we walked around Goose Lake.