Live-Blogging the Discovery Gunman

Update, 9 pm: Police are still blocking the street. I guess they're still looking for other bombs.

Update, 5 pm: The Washington Post is reporting he's been shot and the hostages freed.

2 pm: A gunman stormed the Discovery Channel HQ in Silver Spring. He reportedly fired one or more shots; took hostages; and claims to have bombs. See the "DC Area Emergency Info" tab above for links to local media sources, including live video.

Turns out this guy is James Lee, who held protests at Discovery a couple of years ago.

Here are Lee's demands:

Wrath o' the Gods

Yesterday we had heavy rain, lightning, thunder, tornadoes, power outages...

"Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!" -- Bill Murray in Ghostbusters

Thankfully, our local alert system warns us of pending danger.

Hey, Hey, We're the Monkeys

News flash:

"Mexican authorities searching a man with a bulge under his shirt at the airport ... found 18 monkeys hidden beneath his clothes."

Will those terrorists stop at nothing? And why do monkeys hate freedom?

"Look, pilots, we know that times are tough, but when security asks you to remove your belt and shoes, you probably shouldn't laugh and drop your pants, ok."

Well, at least they could see he wasn't smuggling any monkeys.

Gaitherquake

At 5:05 a.m. Eastern Time today, Gaithersburg, Maryland was hit with an earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter Scale.

No word yet on whether chasms opened and vomited fire, but here's a picture of the wreckage:

Pain in the Ash

South African police have arrested four men allegedly trying to sell radioactive Cesium-137 that could be used in a "dirty bomb." Cesium-137 is commonly used in medical gauges, and is very dangerous if removed from its sealed canisters. In 1987 in Goiânia, Brazil, scrap metal scavengers unwittingly exposed such a source, and it resulted in 4 deaths and 249 other cases of radiation poisoning.

There's no danger of a nuclear bomb being made from it. However, it could be an ingredient in a "dirty bomb," which uses regular explosives to spread radioactive dust and soot. It wouldn't take much to create a very big problem.

We're All Going To Die!!!

Dum de dum... 3 am on July 4th. It'll be a busy day, but right now everyone's nestled all snug in their beds, and the region's Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) are closed. Just for the heck of it, though, let's take a look at WebEOC. Yep, nothing much in the logs, let's look at the "Incident Scene" map...

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does This Smell Oily to You?

"An expressive bouquet, sassy and complex, with elements of slate, sea breeze, and benzene."

Federal seafood inspectors are checking fish and shrimp for oil contamination by smelling them. Um... 'Kay.

"We train people to ... fine-tune their sense of smell to the oil and dispersants from this particular spill ... A panel of 10 expert assessors will smell each of the raw samples and record the odor. The samples are then cooked, and the process is repeated so that the experts may smell and taste the fish in its cooked state."

Fish that passes these tests does get sent for further chemical testing, so we don't have to worry about being poisoned if an inspector has a cold. Still... That must be a heckuva job: professional fish sniffer.

Update: I just noticed in that last line, "smell and taste the fish." So even without crude oil issues, they're eating fish to find out if it's spoiled. Yep, a heckuva job.

Sit-Along Cassidy

Just finished my sit-along at the Montgomery County 911 call center. Interesting and educational, but just my luck, no chases or fun stuff.

[Thick accent, barely intelligible English] "My neighbor won't let me park in front of his house. But I'm on the street." "Sir, what is he doing to stop you from parking there?" "He says I can't." "Sir, the street is county property, so you can park there." "But what if he calls me poopy-pants?" "Then you say, 'sticks and stones...'"

OK, I made up that last bit.  But people arguing (quietly & w/o violence) was a significant percentage. "I need you to send an officer. The towing company won't give my son his car, and they're being sarcastic and obnoxious..."