When Lightning Strikes Twice

The monsoon this year has been a very interesting beast. They say that it comes in quietly and goes out with a bang yet we seem to be having a lot of bang and no end.

A few weeks ago there was a feeling in the air that the rain was about to end and skies were clearing up. Besides, the monsoon this year has been very mild so it seemed it would go out unnoticed. Then the storms came.

For the first time since we've been here we experienced the full fury of the monsoon. Torrential downpour, ominous dark red clouds, and the feeling that Zeus and Thor were having a fight to the death right above our heads. If you have ever been in an east-coast or mid-west thunder storm you can get a close idea of what was happening except that I have never heard thunder that was that steady and with such a constant rumble. And the lightning....oh the lightning.

With so much humidity and cloud cover and pollution the lightning is very bright and touches down quite easily....especially on building rooftops....namely our rooftop.

Now for those who haven't had science class in a long time, when lightning strikes the air around it is superheated causing an enormous change in pressure which translates into a sound wave which is heard as thunder. So longer lengths of lightning or strikes that branch several times create many different waves which gives that rolling thunder effect. This is what we usually hear during a storm because of our distance away from the strikes. You might also remember the fun trick of counting the number of seconds between the light and the sound to tell how far away the strike was. Five seconds is a little over a mile away, one second is 1125 feet away, and zero seconds.....

Now this is actually my third time getting "hit" by lightning (some say it's my electric personality, I say it's my animal magnetism) and if you've never been that close to a bolt of lightning you can imagine that the light and sound would come at the same time....and boy do they. The big difference is you don't hear the rolling echo of a sound wave, you just hear a "crack" as the air around you explodes outwards. This happened to our apartment twice during this particular storm resulting in some hair standing on end, shivers down the spine, and the loss of a number of electrical appliances including a couple tv's and pretty much everyone's internet router.

Lucky for us that we have the most friendly and reliable internet company around so they came right away and fixed everything. Oh wait....we have You Telecom.....I forgot. They actually denied that there was any problem with our connection and refused to send anyone out until we got the entire apartment and the school involved to yell at them and force some action.

What I meant to say was lucky for us that we have the most friendly and reliable IT staff in the country who volunteered their evening to come over and babysit the incompetent You Telecom service people as they went room by room fixing everyone's internet. Our IT guys are amazing and I just want to go on record saying that I think ASB should buy some server space and set up an internet company because I know they would be miles ahead of the other ridiculous companies out there.

Most of the electronics around the building were fixed no problem but there were some casualties so we are now very cautious every time there is a thunderstorm to unplug all the important stuff. After the big strikes were over, the storm moved out over the water and a few of us went up to the roof to try to catch a look and get some pictures. Our buddy Dave brought his fancy camera up there and took some shots with long exposure and ended up getting some really nice results, like the image above.

As I mentioned in the beginning, we thought this would be the big finale to monsoon season but we have had at least 5 more big rain/thunderstorms since then so we're not really sure what to think. One day is beautiful clear skies and the next is a crazy storm. We had another storm last night and it has been raining non stop all day. We can't complain though, the city needs it since the rest of the monsoon has been so mild. Hopefully the reservoir is getting full enough to sustain everyone for the rest of the year.

I just hope it gets it out of it's system before next week when we head back to Matheran for Week Without Walls (although to view a thunderstorm from the hill station would be pretty sweet). So next time someone says that lightning never strikes twice you make sure to tell them that it sure can and you better unplug your appliances if it does.


क्या कहाना
K&E

Ode to the Swine Flu Security Guard

To the brave and partially trained men who stand behind the thermal scanner in our entry way each morning who's sole duty is to watch 800 men and women pass by and stop those with high temperatures...we salute you.
_____________________________________________________

Twoscore and five days ago this author brought forth on this blog a new post conceived in frustration, and dedicated to the proposition that all types of flu should be treated equal.

Now we are engaged in a great temperature war, testing whether that school, or any school, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a testing place for those who here gave their temperatures that that school might live.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate...we can not consecrate...we can not hallow this ground. The brave men behind the thermal scanners have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we post here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the symptom-free, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who stood here have thus far so nobly advanced.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored guards we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these men shall not have stood for hours in vain—that this school, under Paul, shall have a new birth of freedom from flu—and that academics: of the student, by the student, for the student, shall not perish from the earth.


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K&E

Hello?...Anybody Home?...

Yes....it's been about a month and a half since our last post and yes...we are still alive. We avoided the swine flu and survived distance learning and now it appears that my calendar says October and it still feels like school just started. I have been significantly busier this year with new responsibilities and new committees which has meant less time for planning and school work and more time spent in meetings and working on projects.

Things are starting to calm down a little bit now as we gear up for Week Without Walls and Diwali although with two weeks out of the classroom it is going to make October go by even quicker. Before we know it, Christmas vacation will be upon us and the first semester will be over. Crazy.

It is currently Sunday of our first 3 day weekend of the year which means the first real weekend that we have spent relaxing and taking a break from work (although Elizabeth is still working on her grad school assignments as I write). So as a result, you get the treat of our first real posting of the school year. I've been keeping track of all the things I've wanted to post about over the last month and I bring them to you in a few separate entries. Enjoy.

क्या कहाना
K&E