Harrisburg Flood – September, 2011
Following are images I took today (September 8th, 2011) showing the city of Harrisburg as the Susquehanna floods it’s banks. Crest is supposed to be around 29 feet and occur sometime tomorrow night.
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Jonathan Smith is a web designer, graphic designer, and photographer in Harrisburg, PA.
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2011 BMW Finger Lakes Rally
This weekend was the 37th annual BMW Finger Lakes Rally at the Hidden Valley campground in Watkins Glen, New York. The weather was calling for showers and thunderstorms all weekend. But I decided it was worth going.
Last year’s Finger Lakes Rally was the first rally I attended. This year I would be travelling two-up with Erica riding pillion. We packed our gear into the two system cases, tank bag, and a U-Pac. Photos of this setup can be found on this previous post.
Friday morning we met up with my friend Jon and his friend Doug and Chris at the Summerdale Diner for breakfast. After breakfast we hit the road and headed north on route 15 towards the New York border. We arrived at the Hidden Valley Campground in Watkins Glen, NY in the early afternoon in time to find a good camping spot and set up the tent.
After setting up camp and unloading the bike, we headed to the Village Marina Bar and Grill for dinner. I chose the fish and chips and we ate our dinner overlooking Seneca Lake which was quite beautiful as the sun was setting. After dinner we retreated back to camp with a bottle of local wine to enjoy while hanging out with friends.
Saturday morning we woke up to more warm and humid weather. My friend RJ asked if we were coming with him. He mentioned something about the world’s largest pancake griddle, the letters “USA” mowed into a field, and a trip to Monica’s Pies. We decided to join him and some others and head off to see what RJ had planned.
The group stopped to have breakfast at Angel’s Family Restaurant in Penn Yan, NY.
While waiting for the group to have breakfast (we had breakfast back at camp), we enjoyed socializing the local vendors who were selling goods on the sidewalks of Penn Yan.
After breakfast we headed to the next block to see the world’s largest pancake griddle hanging on the side of a building. Note Erica standing at the bottom for scale of this thing.
Following the pancake griddle photo opp, we rounded the corner to check out the Penn Yan Diner. The diner was closed but it was interesting to see how low the ceiling was on this diner. It looked like it was designed for fun-size people!
We left Penn Yan and headed out in search for the letters “USA” which were supposedly mowed into a field nearby. A few miles out of town we found it.
Finally, we headed to Naples, NY to visit Monica’s Pies for a blueberry pie. I had made a trip to Monica’s last year with Elsie and a few others. Now I think it has become a tradition. I bought a blueberry pie which was brought out by Monica herself. We grabbed some forks and headed outside to enjoy the pie before heading home. RJ bought an apple pie which we enjoyed for dessert after dinner Saturday night.
A thunderstorm blew through Saturday evening drenching everything. Luckily we were already at camp. By morning all seemed fine but at breakfast Sunday morning people were discussing the weather in the area. It looked like some storms were heading in from the north and west. We were originally going to stay until Monday. But with the forecast I had decided it was probably best if we headed out Sunday morning for the best possibility of making it home and avoiding the rain.
We packed up the tent and gear and started loading up the bike. We were being slowed down by some fellow rally participants who wanted to chat about the R1100S and our gear. This may have been a blessing in disguise. Heading out on our way south we travelled through Horsehead, NY, then to Towanda, PA. Many times the sky looked like it would open up and rain at any moment. Some of the roads were wet from a recent rain. Pushing forward we wound our way to Williamsport, then Sunbury where we stopped for fuel and a late lunch. The sky to the west looked almost black and it is my guess that the storm had recently passed through the area and was heading east. We made it back to Harrisburg, PA safely and without a drop of rain which in my mind was a successful trip.
BMW R1100S 2-Up Touring
I bought my BMW R1100S as a step up from the BMW F650GS. The bike offers much more power and smoothness for touring. The downside is that even though the bike is considered a “sport-touring” bike, it’s more “sport” than “touring”.
The BMW Finger Lakes Rally is just around the corner and this year I’ll be going 2-up with Erica riding pillion. This means packing the bike with gear for two people, three nights, and four days.
Here I have the R1100S loaded with the BMW tank bag with it’s middle extension zipped in, BMW system cases with touring lids, Corbin seat with back rest, and a U-bag thanks to my friend Norm from the BMW Dutch Country Riders.
My plan is to store gloves, DSLR, and other quick-to-reach accessories in the tank bag. Erica will have one case for her clothes, rain gear, and essentials, and I will have the other for my gear.
The U-bag will hold our tent, sleeping bags, pillows, and hopefully sleeping pads. This has not yet been tested and I think it’s going to be a tight fit with the sleeping pads but we will just have to wait and see.
Roomba 440 Cordless Robot Vacuum Unboxing
I broke down and bought a Roomba, a robot vacuum. I’ve seen these Roomba robots appear on deal sites over the last few years and they always peaked my interest. Reading the comments and reviews on these gadgets I see some people say they are a waste of money and prone to issues. Yet other reviews praise these cleaning robots for their ability to clean floors while you carry on with your day.
The Roomba 440 came up on Woot and I decided to take the plunge and buy it. It showed up at my door a few days later.
Following is the un-boxing of the Roomba 440.
Finally, after a nice charge I set the Roomba 440 loose on my living room and dining room which consists of wood floors and a large area rug. The Roomba shipped with “virtual walls” which each take 2 C-size batteries. These “virtual walls” can be setup in a doorway which creates an invisible barrier in which the Roomba will not pass when enabled. I didn’t have any C-size batteries so I wasn’t able to test this feature.
The above photo shows what the Roomba 440 captured from my floors. Even though my dog Terry is of a non-shedding variety (cockapoo), he still leaves little tufts of hair around the house. The Roomba easily crossed the floors and under the dining room table cleaning hair and dust with ease.
Finally, here is my video of the Roomba cleaning my floor as Terry watches.
How to contact the police in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
A rainstorm pushed through the city yesterday which had some high winds for about 10 minutes. I stepped outside to enjoy the scene when I heard a cracking noise. Looking down the street towards the noise I watched as a large tree limb fell into the street. My first instinct was to call the city police. The number I had in my phone for Harrisburg City Police was 717-255-3131. I called that number and heard a message that the mailbox was full. A few minutes later I called back and after several phone menus was prompted to type in the name of the officer I was trying to reach. This didn’t help as I was simply trying to reach ANYONE.
Taking a look at the Harrisburg City website you’ll notice first that the URL goes to http://pl1462.pairlitesite.com/, not http://www.harrisburgpa.gov as it once did. But that is the least of our worries. We’re looking for a phone number for the police department. If you have an annoying popup that asks you to come enjoy Kapona festival, just close it.
There is a link to the right of the site for the City of Harrisburg Police Bureau. I would expect to at least find a phone number there so that I can call the police to let them know a tree is down blocking a street. But no, there is no phone number listed.
Being the geek I am, I resort to Twitter and ask the Harrisburg Twitterati for help. The response was to call 911. Seems odd to me as this was not an emergency. But I resorted to dialing 911 and explained that this was not an emergency and that I was simply trying to reach the Harrisburg Police Department. The person on the other line told me to dial 717-558-6900 which is the Dauphin County Dispatch phone number. Sure enough that did the trick and a few minutes later a police officer arrived on the scene.
That’s not to say the police officer did anything while he was there. He sat there for a few minutes, then drove away. The neighbors cleaned most of the tree limbs off the street themselves.
All I ask is that the city of Harrisburg make their website more accessible and list phone numbers for ALL public departments. You’re leaving the citizens in the dark here!