“The side view mirrors were melting.  Anything that was plastic on the car was melting.”

Toyota confirmed that nothing was wrong with the plastic, and after she replaced the mirrors, she noticed the same type of damage on the car parked in an adjacent space.

Apparently an energy efficient window in a neighboring building was concentrating reflected sunlight onto the parking spaces of both cars.  Energy efficient windows allow visible light to pass through them, but reflect infrared light — CBS, Los Angeles, put a thermometer in the beam of reflected light and the temperature quickly rose to 120° (F), on an overcast day.

But, for me, the most troubling part of the story is that CBS says that they checked with the Los Angeles City Department of Building and Safety, “Even if the window is the culprit, there are no code violations here because it’s not against the law to own a window that reflects the sun” and insinuates that there is nothing that can be done about it.

I find this difficult to believe.  Regardless of the legality of owning such a window, it is still against the law to cause damage to other people’s property.  It might end up being a civil matter against the owners of the window, or perhaps a small claims issue, but I would think there are options available.

Link: CBS LOS ANGELES – Woman Claims Neighbor’s Energy Efficient Windows Are Melting Her Toyota Prius (w/video)

During my regular day-to-day duties, I provide technical support services for a number of folks.  Sometimes when they call, it’s an issue that has to be handled immediately.  Such as these, today. 

I was away from my desk and without my laptop when I got a call that a VPN connection was down.  No problem, I used my phone to get a secure shell terminal session with the server to double-check the connection, found and fixed the link, and reset the VPN connection — problem was handled in 5 minutes when it would have easily taken a half hour to get back to my desk and my computer.

While at lunch, and without my computer again, I received another call that required me to view what was on the user’s desktop to help them debug a problem.  No sweat.  Using ssh and vnc apps, I was able to connect and view their desktop from my phone and assisted them immediately without having rush through my lunch and hustle back to my computer. 

Late in the day, after I was “off the clock” and out doing things with family, another call came in with a very urgent need to have a Windows server rebooted.  Rather than having to brush them off until later, I used my phone to get a remote desktop on the Windows machine, answer a number of pending pop-up prompts, then performed a clean shutdown/reboot.  All without having to leave the car (no, we were parked at the time).

It sometimes amazes me how much can now be accomplished, just from my phone.

But it also leaves me feeling a bit uncomfortable as well.  It reminds me too much of the science fiction or thriller senario where some very old individual (a witch, wizard, alien, or ancient relic of humanity) attempts to stay young and live forever by consuming the life-force, or essence, of the young.  This may sound too far-fetched to be concerned with, but it is what Countess Elizabeth Báthory was attempting to do in the early 1600′s when she began bathing in the blood of virgin girls.

Unsettling.

Link: NEWSCIENTIST — MS damage washed away by stream of young blood
Link: WIKIPEDIA — Elizabeth Báthory

Looks like I made it just barely over a week before crapping out on making daily posts.  So in order to make amends to myself, I’m tacking these missing three days on to the end of my month — until February 4th.  (sigh)

Somebody That I Used to Know

by Walk off the Earth

I’m sure the failure to see much was a location problem.  We were standing on our back porch, and although the light from Phoenix was subdued by both a small mountain and the house behind us, there is a major road in the direction we were watching and headlights can be a real killer that early in the morning.  If we do this again, I hope we go a bit farther out where there won’t be as much light polution.