The Daily Tweets, 2010-02-04: Fata morgana, & new pipes

Downtown Anchorage with Mt. Foraker (left), Denali (middle), & fata morgana (right) in the background. Fata morgana are a type of mirage particularly common in polar or other cold regions, especially on cold days like today was in Anchorage; there really aren't really any mountains north of Denali visible from Anchorage, except with fata morgana. BTW, click through on the photo to my Flickr page, then select "All sizes" to get a larger view of the mountains & fata morgana.

• @nethenekhthon I have character names other characters mispronounce. Lemminkäinen > Lemon-kind. Helvetti > Helvetica or Velveeta. in reply to nethenekhthon #
• RT: @livetechdocs: @yksin Oh, come on! Give it a chance // I did! All day yesterday! Technical writing is EEEEEEVIL! #
• RT: @Inked_Tigress: I’m at Sizzlin Cafe (523 West 3rd Ave, Anchorage). http://4sq.com/al9HBq / That sounds nice. I’m at work. (glum face) #
• Saw fata morgana today — mirage extension of Alaska range north of Denali as seen from the 15th floor of one of the Denali towers. #fb #
• New pipes in my living room ceiling. Now just holes in ceiling patched. May my two winters of leaks into my apartment be ended. #fb #

Here’s another illusion I call “New pipe mirage.”

Well, no, the pipe is really there, but it’s an illusion that I’m pointing at it. I was actually pointing downward, but perspective made it look differently, just like how they made the full-size human beings in the Lord of the Rings look like hobbits when standing “next” to Gandalf or Aragorn or Legolas, just by playing games with perspective. Whoa, I’m a regular FX wizard.

Actually, it’s an illusion that that was new pipe, too. In fact, both these two holes in the ceiling have been there for a few weeks, & so has the new pipe.

But this pipe, & the hole to go with it, are new today.

I was up until 2:00 this morning moving stuff all over the place in my apartment (again) in order that it not be entirely impossible to move around the place after moving my computer desk, which usually occupies the floor space below this hole. Had to move it, you see, in order to accommodate the maintenance guy who created this eensy weensy hole in order to replace the last bit of pipe running across my living room ceiling.

Now, the other guy just needs to come in — this weekend, one hopes — to put sheetrock back over the holes & restore my ceiling. And then I can put stuff away where it belongs. And then, I devoutly pray, may my two winters of dealing with leaks from old pipes into my apartment be finally, definitively over.

Amen.

Related:

1. The Daily Tweets, 2010-02-11: Another leak in my ceiling, more gnashing of teeth
2. A real post, for once, because I need to rant
3. The Daily Tweets, 2009-12-16: Dealing with leaks
4. The Daily Tweets, 2009-12-15: Steger Mukluks Appreciation Day