Never count on technology

On the eve of the media seminar in Spokane, my printer elected to quit 3/4 of the way through an innocuous job (Google maps) and left me with no way to print out the one document I really needed: the media interview sheet.

I suppose I should have looked up the old 1970's pseudoscientific biorythms instead of directions from KHQ to the hotel: yesterday I shelled out $1,300 to replace the tie rods and wheel bearings on the front of my car. The tie rods in particular were needful: there's nothing so unpleasant as having a catastrophic failure in the no-man's-land between Wenatchee and Spokane in the middle of Winter, when the weather outside is indeed frightful.

To put these frustrations into perspective, it's entirely possible that all  my classmates on the west side of the mountains are dealing with catastrophe of a much higher order.  Snow over the weekend gave way to heavy rains and sudden flooding. The major north-south corridor, I-5, was closed around Centralia after the freeway was submerged in 10 feet of water.

I sure do hope that my classmates are safe at home and on the road, and may well hear horror stories much worse than my petty concerns tomorrow.