Aftermath of our mini snow storm

As you all on the east side know about our snow last week, I just thought I would do a round up on what all happened as a result of the event. I call it a diminutive snow storm because what we had or experienced was nothing compared to what happened in upstate New York. We hardly got a couple of inches whereas upstate got an average of 11 feet. So you get the idea.

Everyone on the east side faced the snow fall last Tuesday, followed by sleet on Wednesday. As a result all the snow was compacted and what we had to deal with was a sheet of ice. Everywhere we stepped on was as if we were on an ice rink. Some had difficulty in clearing the driveways or parking space, getting the car out and getting out to work, so most of us stayed home Wednesday and Thursday, enjoying until cabin fever got old. Kids stayed home because schools were closed. Every day was a stagger for them to find out that schools were closed for the day and they could do a little something to relish. Of course, many went sledding (that is what most of us do when it snows right?), but we did have accidents that took the life of a couple of sledders when they hit a tree while sledding. This was not like a regular snow where we can sled, build snow forts and have snow ball fights. This is ice we are dealing with. We literally had to dig and break the ice, so we can clear the pathway, driveway, parking lot and such. So no snow balls, no snow forts.

Lot of flights were canceled or delayed last week as a result of the snow. Case in point is the case of JetBlue having to deal with the ramifications. We all know that it is difficult enough to drive on ice, so why would the airlines jeopardize their expensive aircrafts. Many airlines canceled most of their flights but JetBlue wanted to provide better service for their customers and was trying to get the flights out of JFK. They had good intentions but bad business skills I must say. It is true that they had passengers in the flight for more than ten hours, waiting to take off, only to send them back and cancel the flight because of inclement weather. If the flight crew sent the passengers out, while they were figuring out a take-off strategy and if that had worked, they would have to spend the next couple of hours trying to get the passengers to board again. Try doing this for hundreds of customers who would be out in the airport getting coffee, eating something or using restrooms and such. I can understand why the flight crew didn’t send them out.

All the passengers were angry because they were locked up in the aircraft without food and proper sanitary requirements. This week JetBlue is airing their sorry notes in their press release to their customers with refunds and free round trip tickets to anywhere. They could have just canceled their flight and cut their losses to a minimum just like other airlines or provided free food for the passengers while they were locked inside the flight. This would have quieted the angry mob and the airlines would not have to show a sorry face to their customers.

Other problems we have are the roads. This year we had warmer weather in January, followed by cold weather in February with this snow storm and all and now again warmer weather this week. As a result we have potholes everywhere. This is a perfect time to show your driving skills in making that quick swirl to avoid those potholes without losing your speed. This will train the budding NASCAR drivers for this season. Now that the ice is melting this week, we see huge puddles with water. We don’t know the depth of these puddles until you land your car in one of them. If you fell for the advertisements you saw about SUVs and what that vehicle can do in snow or big puddles of water and ended up with one, now is the perfect time to try it out yourself. Just make sure you are a member of AAA, have their number handy with fully-charged cell phone, in case. All these experiences are a result of one mini snow storm. Are you not glad that you are not in the upstate?

What can we eat now?

I have seen kids grow up eating PBJ sandwich or chicken nuggets as their staple lunch item along with some fruits to give them the nutrition. Even adults have these for lunch sometimes. I have packed PBJ sandwiches for my son and myself, for lunch and am still doing so. But with what is going on lately in the arena of food department, one has to think twice as whether to have these items anymore.

For those of you who may not know what is happening, these past few weeks, there has been Salmonella related illness in peanut butter. This has been found in Peter Pan and Great Value variety of peanut butter. Nobody knows what the cause for this outbreak is. People and children were also affected by this similar sickness by consuming Oscar-Meyer chicken, cantaloupes and organic baby foods and such. A couple of months back, there was an outbreak of E-Coli illness as a result of spinach consumption which came from the farms in California, with no real reason for the outbreak. Though it is not fair to blame the food industry for such causes, consumers now think twice before consuming any produce for that matter.

Lately there have been so many incidents such as these that it is not safe to eat anything or so it seems. Practically, there is a problem in eating anything, be it vegetables or meat. Producers should be careful in packing such food items. Whatever the cause is, I hope it is corrected so people can eat without having to worry about what the ramification might be. In this modern day and age, technology has advanced so much but not so much that we can skip our meals, change our eating habits and just pop-in a pill when we are hungry like the astronauts. Who knows, those days may be right around the corner.

Which side of the fence do you belong?

I will just discuss and comment on various topics in this blog and let you decide where you fit in after you read it with an open mind. These topics are all related to each other in some way and it may apply to you as well.

Performing at work is in itself a challenge with the competition to rise up and be the cream amongst your work group. You are required to finish work on time and effectively, be there to support your team, motivate and help the group perform as a whole. You are always doing something or the other to impress your boss, so that when the time comes it pays off, I mean literally see that chunk of cash come your way in the form of bonus. Some can call this ‘sucking up to your boss’ and can very bluntly say ‘I am not that kind’, but come on, everyone does it in some way or the other.

I see boss as a guide, a navigator, and an adviser, who trains you, chisels you, pushes one out of the comfort zone, so one gets to know their strength and learns to perform under pressure as well. In this regard I have been very lucky for I have a boss who is very understanding and motivates me in all possible ways and guides and trains me for the job I do. Ok folks, cut that smile, all right. I have a good team with who I work and have fun while working. After all, I spend more time at work than at home and I am sure you do the same.

Why I say all this is because of an article I read in the ‘Post’ about how understanding your boss is in various regards. If you have any problems, May it be physical or mental, discuss it with your boss, if it affects the work you do or your performance at work. In the article, it does focus on having mental illness and how employees can discuss this with their boss depending on how good a rapport they have with their boss and the likes. But is that not applicable to any issue you might have that impedes your work, to be discussed with your boss to find alternatives, instead of the boss seeing a down shift in your performance? So, how good is your boss? Give it a thought.

OK, so your job is great but you are stressed here and there. Add another job to it. What do I mean? More than 5 percent of U.S. workers hold more than one job, to maintain good living conditions, to support their family and for various other reasons. It can all be exciting at the beginning, to do two jobs, seeing that big check at the end of the month but also remember that it does double the pressure. If the second job you take on is for learning and to have fun, to get extra cash to buy something in the near future or flexible or in some cases, just plain old – ‘to keep you busy’, then it is ok. When you grow out of it, you can let go of the second job. Don’t do a second job if it takes your time away from the family; instead see how much you can save off of the first job to keep you going. Spending time with your near and dear is more precious than those extra $$$$.

Are you ready for this?

How often have you driven your sports car on the highway and suddenly had the urge to race a bit, to make that perfect turn? How often another car zoomed by yours leaving you wonder ‘what is wrong with that driver?’ How many times were you tailgated, giving you a hint to drive faster than you are? The answer is everyone experiences this one time or the other. With the state of driving and traffic these days, one experiences road rage during their commute and all these might lead to accidents. As a result, you see an increase in your insurance payment.

To avoid these situations, DOT, law enforcement and insurance companies should come up with a device installed in every car that would record the speed limits if exceeded, to record if the car is tailgating and such and would transmit this information to the officials. The idea is already in the making amongst these officials. When you start the car, one should insert the driving license, so the information about who is driving the car is registered and transmitted. With the advent of this device, road rage, speeding and high-risk driving will be curtailed tremendously.

I am all for this scheme. At least, the next time I am on the road, I can drive safely without worrying who is behind my back or who is going to me cut me off. Everyone has this inner urge to drive fast; the adrenaline rush and the kicks they would get in the speed but not at the cost of endangering others who drive along with you. One ludicrous move is all it takes to jeopardize your driving records and to bring on discomfort to your fellow drivers. I can speak for it because I have been the victim of such a mishap, where I ended up breaking my left arm. It is just not my left arm because I am left-handed. So drive safe!

Fear of the unknown

This Wednesday I was scheduled to go for my appointment at 1pm in a Federal Building in Alexandria (let me spare the details). As you all know that in Virginia we had snow on Tuesday, followed by sleet and wintry mix on Wednesday. By late morning on Wednesday, the snow and sleet was packed into thick ice sheets all over the place. As far as our eyes could go, we saw a pristine blanket of snow …… err…..ice. So this time, it is ice we are dealing with in cleaning. My driveway was covered with a thick layer of ice and we had to clean the driveway before we can take the van out to go for my appointment. If it was snow, you shovel it and you are done. If it is a thick sheet of ice, what do you do? Shoveling does not work. You have to break the ice and then remove it. You get the idea as to how the cleaning process would have been. After cleaning the driveway, I made sure I had all the necessary papers for the appointment, took the van out and off I went.


While driving, all I was hoping was that I reach for the appointment on time. I barely saw any cars on the road, given the fact that there was sleet and ice all over the place. The few cars that I saw was either in an accident or pulled over, stuck in ice, waiting for the tow truck to pull them out. My first dose of fear kicked in. All I was hoping for, is to be safe while driving, not getting stuck on ice or in traffic and getting there on time. I lucked out on driving safely and traffic and I got there on time at 1pm. Now there was ice and snow piled all over the parking lot and it is time for me to look for a spot to park. After getting a spot to park, I was happy to park and walk to the building entrance, only to see a long line formed outside the building. I enquired amongst the people who were standing and found out that it was the 1pm appointment line. Well, I had an appointment at 1pm which meant that I get to go in and do what I had to at 1pm. That time was reserved for me. As Seinfeld will put it, ‘they knew to make an appointment but didn’t know to hold on to it’.


I joined the horde and waited for my turn to get into the building. While waiting, I noticed the board saying ‘no cell phones, no food, no drinks, no cameras …….’ And I was thinking to myself as to what I was getting into. So my second dose of fear kicked in, not knowing what would be next, only to find out that all 1pm appointments were cancelled because of bad weather and servicing personnel not being present. I came back home that day after I rescheduled my appointment to Friday - today, not knowing where that trip was taking me, not knowing what my unknown fear was.


Today, I went again to the same building at 1pm. No parking hazard, no lines outside. So I walked in and showed my appointment letter to the receptionist. She checked my papers and IDs, gave a form to be filled out and made me sit in a waiting area. While waiting there, I was wondering where I would go next. After I filled out the forms, I was taken to another waiting area with a token in my hand. In that large waiting hall, I was holding a token and waiting for that number to show up on screen, so I would be attended. During my wait, I was anxious, eager and dreading to see what the end would be like, to know what it was all about. After an hour of wait, I was called upon and my job was done in less than ten minutes. For that small job, the amount of eagerness I had, the amount of ‘what would happen next’ was spell bound. oh well...If one has that fear of the unknown, they just have to wait it out.

Airport security

We have always had some sort of security or the other at the airports. Post 9/11, securities were tightened everywhere, especially at the airports throughout. The routine that any traveler would experience would be as follows: Put the carry-on on the conveyor for screening, put all your keys, metals, shoes, wallets, handbags in a tray and send it for screening, take the laptop out of the bag and put it in a tray for screening, go through a metal detector and get your self scanned as well. If you look wary or draw the attention of the security guards there, you will get a personalized inspection as well. Once cleared, you are free to move on to your gates for boarding.

Lately, you are not even allowed to carry any drinks or liquids with you beyond the security checkpoint. These are all the security measures that they carry out, so you could travel safely with the state of the world we are in today. I personally think it is a good thing to have these measures, because at the end of this trying experience you could board that plane with a sigh of relief that it is all going to be safe; safe from what? Oh, from the things others carry with them. You really think you are safe now?

With the added security and scanning that they have, how anything could pass beyond the security points, one might awe. But there have been incidences lately where a scorpion had gotten in the plane and stung Mr. Sullivan; a terrier dog managed to dodge security personnel; a stowaway squirrel on the no fly list in an American Airlines flight – So much for security. When the movie ‘Snakes on a Plane’ came out, I was dumbfounded with the idea. I was speculating how snakes could get on a plane, surpassing all the tight securities we have in place today. But I let it go thinking that anything could happen in a movie.

All these incidences only prove the fact that the security is not all that tight. They can check the deep recesses of our baggage; they can strip us out and scan all they want but still, animals can still make their way onto the plane. Of course, some animals are allowed to travel with their owners but in the cargo section, secured in a cage. What about the other animals that made their way on the passenger side? How did they pass the security? Maybe the security agency has got something to learn from these animals so they can be better at their job. I am just hoping that the bad people out there don’t learn anything from these animals, as to how to sneak in what they want. Maybe it is time to appoint Ace Ventura, our good old pet detective at the security checkpoints at the airport!

Watch out, here I come

Who do you look up to when you loose something valuable, when someone breaks into your home or if something goes legally wrong? Of course, the cops! If cops cannot solve the crime, then it is passed on to FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation, no-brainer there. FBI investigates crime scenes and solves the cases with its skillful and intelligence agency. They have the best trained team to solve those cases. What if someone is able to outsmart them and steal their belongings?

FBI has reported that they have lost 160 laptops and 160 weapons in the last four years. This includes incidents where the laptops were stolen from the FBI’s laboratory. They have no clue as to what kind of information was in that laptop. It could be the so-called “classified” or information about all the FBI employees itself, but nobody knows exactly what the laptop had. How very staggering? Laptops belonged to FBI personnel and they don’t know what information they had in their own laptop that they used on a day to day basis! I work with my laptop everyday and at the very least; I have a general idea of what data is in my system.

They also have lost the same number of weapons in the same period as well. Since these weapons were not entered into the National Criminal database, there is no way to trace them either. Is this a coincidence that the same number of laptops and weapons were stolen? I think that the particular group in FBI didn’t like the model of the laptop and weapon given to them. So they came up with a strategy to lose them for a better replacement, by carelessly leaving them around, where they worked and hence the result. Otherwise, how could someone walk into the FBI lab and steal their laptops and weapons?

Similar incidences of stolen laptops have occurred in the past with Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce and such. Government personnel losing laptops with classified information is risking the National security into the hands of the unknown. Our valuable information is out there somewhere and maybe someone is using that information to plot something against us. Who knows? They have to do a better job at securing their belongings and in turn securing our data from getting loose. And they go about with their security measures in airports and other government buildings like Immigrations and such, by not even letting you take your coffee inside. Security should start with them locking their laptops physically and holding on to their weapons.