Frankenstorm....seriously?

So there is this category one hurricane heading for the northeast, and we are being subjected to a nationwide news blitz about how there will be death and destruction. I pointed out that there is a bit of hyperbole going on here, and I see comments about how the central pressure of the storm makes it a cat 4. You Yankees are smoking crack. It isn't the minimum central pressure that is important in a hurricane, it is the sustained winds. As of this writing, Sandy has maximum winds of about 90mph. That makes it a Category One on the Saffir-Simpson scale. At Cat1, all we do here is evacuate trailer parks and beach fronts. New York panics and closes elevators, mass transit, the Stock Exchange, and tunnels.

In Orlando, when Hurricanes Charley (CAT4) and Frances (CAT3) made landfall in 2004, Walt Disney World closed for half a day. I thought New Yorkers brag about toughness! What does this mean? Why is this a bad thing?

In 2004, the fire department that I worked for had just hired a new chief. He was from New York, and as Hurricane Charley neared, the chairman of our department's hurricane committee wanted to meet with him to discuss our disaster plan with him. His reply was that they got hurricanes in New York all the time, they were not any worse than a nor'easter, and he then left to attend a conference in New Orleans.

The town had major damage, power was out for two weeks, and he was unable to get a flight back. He had to rent a car and drive back. Making such a big deal out of a minor storm puts a false sense of security the next time a REAL hurricane nears, and that endangers lives.

No cops here

This is what happens when citizens decide that they can do the jobs of the police: The cops, of course, claim that policing should be left to the professionals.

Answer

The answer to yesterday's post:
If you look, every other complex has a different shape to the 'P' wave, and is followed by a compensatory pause, making them PACs. This means that the rhythm is Atrial Bigeminy.

For you medics

Here is an interesting strip. This is an unusual find, and the first time that I have ever seen this particular rhythm. (Hint: It is NOT an AV block.)

Amazon fail

Amazon's customer service is horrible. I pay for Amazon prime. This costs $80 a year, and you are supposed to get free two day shipping on in stock items. On Thursday the 4th, I ordered two books that I need for work, and the items were listed as being in stock. I expected them by Monday the 8th. They haven't even shipped yet, and the expected delivery date is now showing up as next Friday the 12th. I tried to cancel the order, and a reply by automated message said that I could not, because the items had already shipped.

So, I contacted customer service, and they said:

We normally obtain the books from a supplier who can usually send it to us as soon as possible from the time your order is placed; however; in this case, the supplier has taken longer than expected to make this item available.

Our reliance on suppliers and manufacturers for information about their stock means that, occasionally, our database will not reflect all changes.

I've checked and it looks like we’re waiting to receive more inventories for your book. Though we're unable to give exact date when we can obtain stock or ship your order at this time but rest assured that we're working with our suppliers so that we can try to have your order shipped as soon as possible. I hope you'll understand that we do our best to ensure that all of our customer orders leave our fulfillment centers as fast as we can.

 In other words, the item is not in stock and never was. They are merely a middle man, and don't have anything in stock. In the meantime, I can't cancel, so I am stuck waiting. Maybe Amazon is slipping, and I will have to go back to buying from brick and mortar stores.

Enemy of the state

It seems like the ATF is a bit angry at the 3D handgun printing project. They are giving the folks a hard time about it, and claiming that manufacturing a pistol without a manufacturers license is against the law, even if you have no intention of selling it. That is not in keeping with longstanding regulations.

In related news, the manufacturer of the printer has revoked the printer lease. I wonder if the ATF had anything to do with that.

The comments on the article are pretty stupid: this is all necessary to prevent terrorists from printing guns. As if you can't already buy full auto AK47s made by hand in a cave in Afghanistan for $15.