Stupid Motorist Law

Well, we had to have another flooded wash rescue over the weekend--a Pizza Hut delivery man crossed a wash despite "do not enter when flooded" signs, and his teeny tiny little car was swept off the road into the wash, where he had to be rescued by firefighters.

Apparently, he had already successfully crossed the wash, where a couple of inches of water ran across the road, and delivered the pizza. On his way back, though, he was hit by what he referred to as a "wall of water", and his car was swept off the road. According to the experts, it doesn't take much water to float a car off the road (which makes sense. If you've ever hydroplaned while driving, you'll know that to be true).

Fortunately, this guy wasn't hurt. Unfortunately, his car is still stuck in the wash. Whether it's salvageable is one thing. Whether he has $2,000 to pay for his rescue because he ignored the signs is another.

Monsoon season in Tucson. Brings out the stupid in even the smartest people...



"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe." ~Albert Einstein

Deliciously Naughty Monday

Come on over to the Deliciously Naughty Writers' blog and read an excerpt from my latest book, Claiming Hannah. And say hi while you're there! :)

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"Any time you've got nothing to do--and lots of time to do it--come on up." ~Mae West

Lazy Saturday

*Yawn* Think I'll just head back to bed...



"An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises." ~Mae West

Humans And Their...Er, Resources

There was much excitement at work Wednesday afternoon. Seems the rumors about the boss and one of his employees is true. He was in California. She went to California, too. The way we knew? Someone from the airline left a message on our work voice mail confirming her tickets.

Within a matter of half an hour, just about everyone at work knew about it. (It's a small company--only about 30 or so people in the office at one time.) One person in particular--let's just call him our resident drama queen--made it a point to tell me, since I'm the Human Resources person. While he told me to put me in the middle of it, there is a concern here. It's called sexual harassment. If the romance goes sour, the employee could allege that the boss coerced her into the relationship. Or if she's perceived as getting disparate treatment (better opportunities/benefits, etc.), someone else who isn't getting those opportunities could file a sexual harassment charge.

Oy. So yesterday morning I talked to the boss (who's also my boss) and told him people knew. (I thought he and the employee should at least know they could quit trying to cover it up. That just makes it worse.) I also reminded him of the risk he's putting the company in. And I told him I was very uncomfortable having to talk to him about the whole thing, which he seemed to appreciate. He acknowledged he's held to a higher standard than others, but went on to say he's only human.

And, apparently, he's putting his human, er, resources to good use.


"Give a man a free hand and he'll run it all over you." ~Mae West

A Little Bit About Monsoons

Usually when people talk about monsoons, you think of India. But did you know that southern Arizona around the Tucson Basin is one of the only true monsoon weather patterns to occur outside of India? (The definition of monsoon is "seasonal wind shift".) Both areas experience a seasonal wind shift, both occur in the summer, and from the south. Both areas occur in warm climates, with large, warm bodies of water to the south-southwest and southeast–-the Indian Ocean near India, and the Sea of Cortez and Gulf of Mexico for Arizona. Both areas also have large mountain ranges to the north (India's Himalayas, and our Sky Islands), which interrupt the moist southerly air flow, thus dumping more precipitation.

Sometimes a lot of precipitation.

Microbursts sometimes occur during monsoon storms. (A microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging winds at the surface that are similar to tornadoes--the term is defined as affecting an area 2.5 miles in diameter or less and are capable of generating wind speeds higher than 168 mph.) They generally are formed by precipitation-cooled air rushing to the surface, but they perhaps also could be powered from the high speed winds of the jet stream deflected to the surface in a thunderstorm. Every monsoon we have multiple microbursts which uproot trees and snap wooden telephone poles as if they were toothpicks.

And, of course, there's the danger of flash flooding. Even if we stay dry in the valley, it could have rained in the mountains, and gravity does the rest. We have what's called a "stupid motorist law"--if someone drives past barricades or enters a low-lying area that has "do not enter when flooded" signs, and they have to be rescued, they have to pay $2,000 for their rescue. People who do this with children in the car are also charged with child endangerment. It's that serious.

But it's spectacular, too. We actually have water in our rivers...

Tuesday Treat

Ain't he fine? Makes me wanna join him on that sofa...



"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it." ~Mae West

Deliciously Naughty Monday

Come on over to the Deliciously Naughty Writers' blog and chat with me about vampires and why we find them so compelling.

See you at DNW!




"A dame that knows the ropes isn't likely to get tied up." ~Mae West