July 09, 2008

It was an ordinary day, not unlike most days in the peaceful environs of H-Pi Instruments headquarters; ordinary, that is, until premature twilight descended, bringing with it an overture of rumbling thunderheads, howling winds, voluminous rain, and scattered broken tree limbs everywhere, wreaking havoc with the power lines for miles around. This marks the third curious natural disaster to strike the vicinity in recent months, coming close on the heels of the attack of the neighbor's tree in June.

After the power had been off for an hour or so, and the rain had subsided, I saw from the back porch, the majestic canopy of the back alley light up with repeated blasts of electric fire, as a power main shorted through contact with a rather unsubstantial looking branch which burned nearly all to ash. Words don't quite do justice to the sound this made…