JoshPaul

Well, we can finally see the hills nearest our home again. The smoke has finally cleared, plus it's begun to rain. From what the news is reporting, most of the fires are under control at this point.

While unpacking/cleaning up tonight I found my camera. Good to know I had it when I needed it.

We're in the process of fighting off an ant invasion…it's that time of year again.

The house is still in a state of unpacking, but we're getting our lives back to “normal.” The silver-lining in all of this is we gathered the items that meant most to us. Some of those items were still packed from when we moved almost a year ago!

There's a smile on my face and I wish everyone health and happiness as we approach the holiday season.

Whoa. The last 12 hours have been a roller coaster.

We left our home around 9am. Driving down to my mom's, visibility was poor (maybe 1/2 mile) and helicopters were literally overhead. The Fire Dept. was setting up what turned out to be a water-filling station for the helicopters.

Carrie went to work and I stayed at my mom's, watching the news throughout the day.

I don't recall when, but at some point in the early afternoon they closed the streets around our home. People were allowed to leave, but not enter. I heard about the “voluntary evacuation” on the news. I decided to come up for a quick peek around the house to see if there was anything we missed.

My step-father (a retired Sheriff and rescue/fire helicopter pilot) drove up with me. We “snuck” around the road block by using an exit from a local shopping center that drops onto a street leading to our home. There were about 6 fire engines and an RTD bus (I assumed to transport fire fighters to various locations) in the shopping center.

Helicopters were literally 25 feet away at times. The water drops were too close for comfort. However, the smoke was blowing in the opposite direction. We got to the house and picked up a few things.

We then drove back to my mom's house to watch the news and hope for the best. A few of the developments around us were threatened. The fire was within 1-2 miles at most.

Whatever the Fire Dept. did, along with Mother Nature, worked. The homes in our area were all spared. A good friend of the family, Judy, has extensive smoke damage to her house (estimated around $30,000 damage).

Most people have returned home at this point. I know a couple of neighbors are staying away for at least another day. Our only worry currently is that the winds might change and blow the fire back our direction. I can only hope and pray that it doesn't.

I would have taken pictures at some point (in hind sight, I really should have), but packing was the priority and my camera is somewhere in the chaos.

Even though they'll probably never see it, I want to thank every man and woman who helped save our community today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

We are now in the area affected by the Simi Valley Fire. The local evacuation center is Granada Hills High School.

We packed a good amount of our valuables and went to stay with my mom (a few miles away). Most of my family was there, some under “mandatory evacuation” and others because the smoke became too much for them to handle. My mom had a great HEPA air filter, which filtered out the smoke really well.

After dinner, Carrie and I went out to a Target about 5 miles away and bought 3 of them. We set up two of them in our house and one in the bedroom we were going to stay in. We also made sure our air conditioning was on throughout the night.

As we left our home, we were caught in a good amount of traffic. A lot of people had come up from parts of the city to take pictures and videos. There was a eery glow coming off the hills just behind our house. It was a little surreal…

We spent the night at my mom's house.

I woke up this morning around 6a. I turned on the news; after a while they keyed in on Porter Ranch/Chatsworth. The fire department managed to keep the fire “at bay” most of the night. The PIO (Public Information Officer) stated that as day broke they were going to conduct an ariel assault with 18 (?) helicopters and airplanes.

They have every intention of not letting the fire reach this area.

There is ash falling from the sky. Our cars are covered with a thin layer and it's noticeably visible. When I walk along the street, I can see the ash move out from under my foot.

We're at home right now. The house still smells like smoke, but it's getting better (hey, the filters work!). I may take some pictures today. If I do, I'll post 'em.

I did find one other person blogging about this here. I'm sure there are others, I just haven't had the time to find them.

I hope they manage to get this under control…soon.

Sure enough, our home is very smokey. I've looked out the window and a lot of our neighbors are packing up. Many cars are starting to leave.

We're in the process of packing…

My wife and I just went to lunch. Sure enough, we can now see the fire. It has crested the largest of hills nearby. Traffic is getting more prevalent in the area.

Well, my wife has come home from work and we've started to collect our valuables. We haven't been given an evacuation order yet, but plenty of friends and family have. The news is now reporting from just down the street, maybe a couple of miles, so the fire is moving our direction.

We can see (and hear) the various planes and helicopters from our home. The local fire department has taken up a “defensive position” just up the street. We're hoping the winds work in our favor.

The news is on in the other room…

I just finished watching this week's The West Wing…

they've ruined a great show.

That's all I had to say.

Out of the ordinary for topics, but here goes…

The idea of an omniscient and omnipresent being.

Based on energy flowing through everything, couldn't that being (energy) see everything? To put it another way, what I currently see and what you currently see are both “available” to this energy. As would our thoughts, feelings and experiences…

Can something be all knowing, yet be completely oblivious to it's knowledge?

Alright, so I took a few meta-physics courses in college and they messed me up.

I finally got around to adding a Code Section to our website. It's been a long time since I made our code easily accessible. I've just been lazy getting everything up to date (working on the company, for other people and holding a job can kind of absorb some time).

I actually placed the Radio application in my dock, so maybe I'll start using it a little more…

I updated our WebObjects component for handling Quicktime components. Since Microsoft has to change IE next year, due to their patent infringement, our Quicktime integration obviously has to change. Apple graciously distributed a JavaScript to help with the transition, along with instructions.

I've placed a sample project online, which integrates Apple's JavaScript. There are two reusable components…hopefully someone will find them useful. The project is distributed under the MIT license.