Comments on: Interesting times in the Monash home

By: Somebody is spreading Teradata acquisition rumors again | DBMS2 -- DataBase Management System Services

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:43:02 +0000

[...] an April Fool’s Day prank going on (not by me — after my bizarre March, I’m recusing myself from April Fool’s pranks this year) Share: These icons link to [...]

By: Curt Monash

Curt Monash — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:28:12 +0000

Dan,

That must have been terrible!!

Our situation is much more mild. We only spent 3 nights in a hotel. Not the same thing at all …

By: The grand discussion on the future of journalism | Text Technologies

The grand discussion on the future of journalism | Text Technologies — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:34:29 +0000

[...] states of the newspaper business in particular and journalism in general. Having been a little busy, I haven’t found the time to chime in seriously. That said, my views [...]

By: Dan Conway

Dan Conway — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:30:57 +0000

Curt,
I can feel your pain. I lost a house in the 2003 Cedar brush fire that destroyed 3,000+ homes in San Diego County.

Just, the rebuilding process involving the paperwork is stagering.

Good luck to you and your wife.

Dan

By: Pervasive DataRush today | DBMS2 -- DataBase Management System Services

Pervasive DataRush today | DBMS2 -- DataBase Management System Services — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:49:53 +0000

[...] my first post-fire briefing, I had a long-scheduled dinner with the Pervasive DataRush folks. Much of [...]

By: Curt Monash

Curt Monash — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:00:57 +0000

Ack, Steve. Fire extinguishers are much too complicated and/or under-documented. When things calm down, I’ll research them a bit and post the results.

By: Steve Graves

Steve Graves — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:46:51 +0000

Sorry to hear about your ordeal, Curt.

I don’t know about the current state of fire extinguishers, but it used to be that if you discharged them even a little, they had to be completely recharged. The powder would prevent the valve from sealing completely and the remaining pressure would dissipate shortly. So unless you’re sure, don’t go buy one, try it to make sure you know how to use it, then put it in a cabinet. It may not work when you need it to.

By: Curt Monash

Curt Monash — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:43:52 +0000

Good thoughts. Keep ‘em coming, please!

By email, it was pointed out to me that one can also smother a fire with a blanket or whatever. In the kitchen, I doubt this would often prove practical. But should a fire for some reason start in, say, a bedroom or family room (sofa cushions would work too), and a fire extinguisher not be to hand, that could be a house-saving gambit.

By: Lori Roets

Lori Roets — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:26:51 +0000

And when you replace your fire extinguisher, take the old expired one out in the backyard and discharge it to make sure all family members know how to use one. Using one in a non-pressure situation will make it that much easier to handle if a true emergency comes.

Sorry to hear of your ordeal Curt – hope you are back to the status quo soon.

By: Curt Monash

Curt Monash — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:02:46 +0000

I think the one big public-service message of this post is just the one you glommed onto — make sure that you can use your fire extinguisher. We are losing weeks off of our life for not having done that — figuratively for sure, and quite possibly literally given all the extra carcinogenic gunk we’re breathing.