COMMUNITYNET — Lost Hills Public Message Board // moderated by D. Wakeman, City Clerk  ·  archive restored 199? from citynet03/B12

Hey all — was out Saturday with a new Garmin depth finder, the 240. Works great everywhere else on the lake, but whenever we got within maybe 150–200 feet of the monitoring buoys near the south pier it threw an error code and then just displayed dashes. Powered off, back on, same thing. Soon as we moved away from that area it came back fine.

Anybody else had this? Wondering if it's a product defect or if those survey buoys put out some kind of interference. I'll try a return if nobody else has seen it, but figured I'd ask first.

Same issue, different unit. I've got an old Humminbird — the analog one — and the needle goes to max and stays there when I'm near the south buoys. I've been out there maybe a hundred times and it never did that before the survey equipment went in.

Talked to the Benthic overnight guy about it and he kind of changed the subject. Gave me a free coffee though so I didn't push.

The monitoring array does put out a low-frequency acoustic signal as part of its survey operation. This is a known thing and it can interfere with some consumer depth finders. Nothing to worry about. The buoy placement will be adjusted after the survey wraps up and everything should go back to normal.

Permits are still valid. Fishing from the south pier is fine. Just give the buoys some room.

Went back this morning before the access restriction went up. The whole south end of the pier had survey tape around it now. Didn't think much of it until I got to the end of the dock and looked down.

Water is very clear. Clearer than I've ever seen it. Usually you get a few feet of visibility from the pier, maybe ten on a good day. This morning I could see down a long way. I couldn't make out the bottom. I stood there for a while and eventually just left. Didn't feel right.

Not saying anything is wrong, the acoustic explanation makes sense. Just something about it.

Writing this up while it's fresh. During the opening keynote this morning there was a slide on screen behind Dr. Ewing before he began his remarks. I assumed it was a title card or a city photograph. It wasn't. It was an aerial photograph of a mountain ridgeline. Nobody at my table recognized it. Dr. Ewing stood at the podium without speaking for approximately thirty seconds — I counted — before the slide advanced and he began.

He didn't acknowledge the silence and nobody in the room said anything. The rest of the keynote was normal. But that photograph was there for thirty seconds and I've been trying to place where it was taken ever since. Steep, heavily forested ridge. Some kind of cleared survey line running up the slope. I can't find it in any of the conference materials.

Did anyone else catch that?

I recognized it. That ridgeline is in the Cascade foothills east of Skykomish. I saw the same image in a restricted session packet from earlier in the day — the label on the image there was "Monitoring Zone 4 — Elevation Profile." The cleared survey line you're describing runs roughly northeast along the ridge crest. I won't say more on a public board but if you were in the Horizon Mapping demo on Tuesday you'll know what I mean.

I was in the back row so I couldn't make out the slide clearly. What I did notice: every clock in the conference hall stopped at exactly 3:17 PM yesterday. All of them, for about four seconds. I was watching the wall clock on the east side because I was bored. The second hand just stopped. Then it started again. I counted four seconds.

Nobody else seemed to react. I mentioned it to the woman next to me and she said she hadn't noticed. I don't know if that's normal behavior for the clocks in that building or if it's related to what's been happening in town this week.

Found an unlabeled door on the lower level of the Sezzler conference wing — it was propped open and there were people going in, so I followed. The room was not on any conference map I had. Maybe eight seats, six occupied, and none of the six had conference badges.

The session was showing a depth-resolved terrain map of what looked like a lake or reservoir. The resolution was unlike anything I've seen from commercial systems. You could see subsurface layering, topology detail at maybe one-meter resolution. The presenter — no name tag, no introduction — kept returning to a specific set of coordinates near the center of the map. He referred to it as the "contact region." I stayed for about twenty minutes. Nobody spoke to me or asked me to leave.

The room was labeled "Pavilion B12" on a card taped above the door. That pavilion is not listed anywhere in conference materials.

I was there briefly on Tuesday. At what point did the system alarm go off for you? When I was there, the alarm triggered when the cursor moved near coordinates 47.3 north, 121.1 west. The presenter acknowledged it and said it was a "calibration artifact." He moved the cursor away and the alarm stopped. On the screen at those coordinates there was a shape at depth I could not identify. Not geological. Not equipment. I couldn't say what it was.

They asked non-badged attendees to clear the room about five minutes after that. I left.

Went back Thursday morning to find it again. The unlabeled door now opens into a supply closet. Shelving, cleaning products, a mop. The closet is shallow — maybe four feet deep. There is no way the room I was in on Tuesday fits behind that door.

I asked the Sezzler front desk about Pavilion B12. They said the lower conference level has always had three rooms: Ballroom A, the Media Suite, and a storage closet. No Pavilion B12. I described the card above the door. They said there has never been a card above that door.

The Shadewater conference brochure I received at registration lists three divisions: Applied Systems, Civic Integration, and a third entry that appears to be cut off mid-word. My copy reads "A. M——" and then the column ends. I assumed it was a printing defect. I've compared with four other delegates and all four copies have the same truncation at the same point.

I asked at the Shadewater information booth what the third division was. I was told there are three divisions: Applied Systems, Civic Integration, and Research. But the brochure clearly has a fourth entry that's been cut. Does anyone have an uncut copy?

I asked a junior Shadewater staff member directly — not at the booth, just someone in the hallway after the morning sessions. He said it was a discontinued program that was "folded into Applied Systems" and that it shouldn't be in current materials. He used the name "Signal Research" without me asking for it. Then he seemed to realize he'd said something he shouldn't have and walked away fairly quickly. I tried to ask someone else later in the day and was told there are three divisions and the brochure is correct.

The "Signal Drift" session listed in the Thursday afternoon schedule has been removed. Room 4 now shows "Closed — Setup in Progress." I still have the printed schedule I was given at registration Monday morning. It lists a 90-minute session by "Dr. A. Morrow" described as "applied resonance mapping in a distributed signal environment." Session time was 2:00 PM, Room 4.

I cannot find any reference to Dr. A. Morrow in any Shadewater literature I've received this week. The name does not appear in the speaker index. I've asked three Shadewater staff members. All three said they're not familiar with that name.

Tower 2 elevator at the Sezzler. I've been up and down it maybe a dozen times this week. Tonight I actually counted the buttons on the panel instead of just pressing my floor. There are fifteen. The printed floor plan of the Sezzler that was in our conference packet shows fourteen floors.

The extra button sits between the 11th and 12th floor buttons. It has no label — just a blank metal surface where the number would be. The metal around it is room temperature. The button itself is noticeably warm. I'm not imagining this. I pressed it twice with my thumb to confirm. Warm to the touch.

I've ridden that elevator twice today and I counted 14 buttons. I'm on the 9th floor so I was looking right at the panel. No extra button between 11 and 12. Are you sure it was Tower 2 and not Tower 1? They look identical from the lobby and I've taken the wrong one twice.

Went back at 11 PM to be certain. Confirmed Tower 2 from the lobby signage. Rode it from ground floor. Counted fifteen buttons. The unlabeled button between 11 and 12 is there. Warm, same as before.

I pressed it this time. The elevator did not move. The button did not illuminate. The floor indicator above the door displayed a character I didn't recognize — not a number, something else, like a symbol in a seven-segment display that doesn't correspond to any digit. It was there for maybe two seconds. Then the display cleared and showed my floor. I pressed the lobby button and rode down.

I did not press the unlabeled button again.

I'm here as a delegate for Northwestern Interstate Bank, first time in Lost Hills. The conference printed schedule lists "Continuity Grid (Power & Records Failover)" as a Tuesday session but the abstract in the packet is only two paragraphs and both paragraphs say essentially the same thing, which is that it provides "system-level continuity for civic infrastructure in the event of disruption."

I asked at the Shadewater booth and was given a brochure that also just says "system-level continuity." I asked the person handing out the brochures what that meant specifically and she said it depends on the level of disruption.

Does anyone who actually lives here know what this is? Has it ever been used? Is it just backup power?

I've lived here twelve years and I can tell you that nobody really gets a straight answer on the Continuity Grid. The council voted to approve it back in ’91, I think. The vote was unanimous, which is unusual because Councilman Redd never agrees with Councilwoman Park on anything.

What I've been told informally: it connects the city's power substations, the hospital's systems, the dispatch network, and the CityNet server infrastructure into a shared failover ring. If any one node goes down, the others maintain continuity. Think of it like a circuit that stays closed no matter which part you cut.

What I've never gotten a straight answer on: what the third relay in the ring is. Everyone says "and the Shadewater campus" but the campus is outside city limits and shouldn't be part of the civic grid.

Hi folks — I work in Public Works. Happy to answer what I can.

The Continuity Grid is real and it works. It keeps civic services running through power events, infrastructure failures, and (in its full configuration) certain communication disruptions. It's been tested in partial configuration several times since ’91. No full activation has been necessary.

The third relay is the Shadewater campus — it has a large independent power generation and storage capacity and is a logical choice for a failover node. The specific details of the relay architecture are under a standard civic infrastructure nondisclosure.

Full activation is scheduled to coincide with the SASC closing session on May 21. Mayor Cordell will say a few words. It should be routine.

Thank you both. One follow-up: the packet says "full grid activation is planned for the SASC closing session on Friday." It also says the Grid will be activated "in its full configuration" — which suggests there's a partial configuration that's been running. Does the partial configuration cover the Shadewater relay as well?

Also: I asked someone from Shadewater today about the Grid and they looked at me for a moment before answering. The pause was noticeable. They said the Grid covers "everything that needs covering." I wrote that down because it seemed like an odd thing to say.

Not trying to be dramatic but: my kitchen clock has been stuck on 3:17 since Tuesday. I swapped the battery. New clock does the same thing. My wall clock in the living room (electric) reads 3:17 when I check it in the morning even though it shows the right time all day.

Phone is fine but my sister called me Tuesday and I missed it — except it doesn't show up as a missed call. She has it in her call log, I don't. She tried again Wednesday and same thing. We eventually connected but I have no record of the call on my end. She says she talked to me for nine minutes. I have no memory of it.

I know this sounds like too much. I'm writing it down so I have a record. Anyone else?

Yes. My daughter's watch stopped on 3:17 on Monday. I didn't think anything of it at first. Bought her a new one at Megabyte. That one also stopped on 3:17. Different brand.

The payphone outside North Plaza has been ringing randomly. Twice a day sometimes. I've picked it up twice. Both times there was a tone like a fax, then what sounded like a recording of someone reading numbers. Not a voice I recognized. I hung up.

I called the Clerk's office. They said they've received "a number of reports of a similar nature" and that Shadewater is working on it. They sounded tired.

Adding mine: the clock in my truck has been fine, but my truck is new and digital. My parents' clock radio and their microwave are both 3:17. My dad has a pocket watch from the ’60s that he says has never missed a minute. It reads 3:17 and the stem won't turn.

I live on Catfish Lake Road, about a mile from the pier. My neighbor called me Tuesday night and said there were lights in the water he hadn't seen before. Said they were below the surface. He's not an excitable person. He went inside and didn't call back.

Walked past 210 Commerce Street this morning and Zevi's is gone. Not a "closed" sign, not boarded up — the whole storefront is a dry cleaner called Central Clean. It looks like it has been there for years. The sign is weathered, the window decals are faded. It does not look like it opened last night.

I was at Zevi's on Monday. Four days ago. Leon was behind the counter. I bought a Chronicle and a Snapple. I have the receipt somewhere.

Is there another Zevi's? Am I thinking of the wrong street?

That's strange. I was at Zevi's on Tuesday for the grocery run. Bought milk, bread, and the Chronicle. Leon was at the counter, same as always. Are you certain it's 210 Commerce? There's also a small grocer on Millbrook that I sometimes confuse with Zevi's from the outside.

Checked the 1993 Business Directory on CityNet. No listing for Zevi's Grocery at 210 Commerce or anywhere else. Searched by "grocery" and "Zevi" — nothing. I have a 1992 Pennysaver from March that lists Zevi's at 210 Commerce Street with a phone number. Same Pennysaver also lists Central Clean Dry Cleaner at 210 Commerce Street. Different phone numbers. Same address.

Both listings are in the same issue. I'm looking at it right now.

My USRobotics Sportster has been waking me up at 3:17 AM for the past week. Every night, exact same time. I hear the dial tone, then it dials out — seven digits, then a connection handshake, then it disconnects maybe a minute later. I haven't touched the autodial settings. I checked the terminal software and there's nothing in the scheduled task queue.

I tried unplugging the phone line before bed on Tuesday. Wednesday morning the line was plugged back in. I live alone.

Hi, L. Tashiro from Megabyte. We've seen this with a couple of USRobotics units on the CityNet access number. There's a handshake bug in firmware revision 3.4 that can trigger a spontaneous dial cycle when the line is idle for more than six hours. It's a known issue and there's a patch coming at the end of the week. In the meantime, powering the modem off overnight will stop it.

Regarding the phone line being plugged in — I'd suggest checking if a family member or someone with a spare key might have reconnected it, or whether the plug wasn't fully out. The firmware bug doesn't allow the modem to physically reconnect a cable.

Mine did the same thing. I recorded it last night on my cassette deck — held the mic up to the speaker. Played it back this morning. The connection handshake is there, same as always. But underneath the data tones there's something else. I've played it back maybe a dozen times. The clearest part sounds like a voice reading a sequence of numbers. Not a real voice — more like a recording of a voice, compressed and distorted. I can make out some of it. I'd rather not post what I heard here.

I'm not going to sleep with the modem on again.

Both payphones at the Benthic Gas station were off the hook this morning at 3:17. I noticed because they usually ring overnight when someone's lost on Catfish Lake Road — it's the only landmark people can describe — and the ringing woke me up. By the time I got outside both receivers were hanging.

I put them back. The plastic on the receiver was warm. Not room-temperature warm — warm like someone had been holding it for a long time. Both of them. The same temperature.

I don't have an explanation for that.

This is stupid but my living room couch was outside this morning. Cushions and everything. Door was locked. My husband thinks kids did it but there are no drag marks and it was facing the street like someone set it there.

It's back inside now.

I know this is not funny but did it at least pick a good spot?

It was facing the house like it was watching.

My nephew says there is an upright piano on the Blackpine service trail about a quarter mile past the old timber gate. I assumed he meant someone dumped it, but he says it is standing straight up with the bench tucked under it. Has anyone else seen this?

It was not there yesterday. Also it was dry and it rained all night.

He says there are sheet music pages in the mud but they're from our church choir cabinet.

Both payphones are ringing at the same time and nobody is on the line. We unplugged the inside one and it kept ringing. Can someone from Evergreen or CityNet call us?

It's not the phone making the sound now.

I have one that says CITYMAP.EXE handwritten in blue marker. Is that yours?

It opened by itself.

Does anyone know where the Shadewater final demo is? My badge has a blue sticker but the schedule just says "credentialed attendees only."

The registration desk sent me to the hotel tower. Hotel tower sent me to Shadewater booth. Shadewater booth told me to wait for the tone.

What tone?

Downtown is already packed. Anyone know somewhere that isn't full of people in badges? I tried Fat Boys and the line was out the door.

Saigon Sisters. Always Saigon Sisters. Get the lemongrass chicken and don't tell the conference people.

Dum Dum's still has coffee and maple bars. We are not lunch but we are emotionally lunch.

My son's red bike is missing from our garage on Juniper Road. It has a silver bell and a cracked reflector. Please call if anyone sees it.

Is it a Schwinn? There is one near the tree line off Blackpine but it looks wrong.

What do you mean wrong?

Like the tree grew around the middle of it. Maybe it's not yours.

Does anyone know if the Lost Hills Tunnel is down to one lane today? The sign at the west entrance says EXPECT DELAYS, but the radio said it was clear.

Same sign was facing the wrong direction at 6 AM. It was pointing back into town.

Does anyone know a place in Mercer County that rents bouncy castles? My sister used one last summer but the number she gave me is disconnected. Need it for a family thing Friday afternoon, preferably delivery to Sezzler if they allow it.

Try Summit Sky Shop. They did party rentals for the school carnival.

If this is for a kid party, we do donut holes by the box. Just saying.

The public terminal at the library keeps showing an older city map. It has the old hospital wing and no North Plaza expansion. I restarted it twice.

I did. Now it shows streets I don't recognise.

I saw three direction signs nailed to trees near the Catfish Lake turnout. One pointed to Downtown, one to Hospital, and one just said HOME. None of them looked official.

I saw one that said SEZZLER POOL and it was pointing into the woods.

There are more now.

I don't understand half of what they're showing but the Horizon Mapping demo is the most impressive thing in the hall. The room model updated before the presenter moved the chair.

The imaging demo they're doing with our gallery archive is impressive but I do not enjoy seeing paintings correct themselves on screen.

Correct themselves?

I'm sure it's just the scanner.

Does anyone know if Sutter Gorge Bridge is open? I picked up a closure notice at work, but the radio said it was open. The city map at Megabyte shows both.

The road status page keeps reverting to yesterday's version.

The printed notice says DO NOT CROSS AFTER FRIDAY. That seems specific.

Is the pool actually closed Friday afternoon? My kids have been talking about it all week.

Is that why the conference map has us routed around the pool level?

Anybody else hearing something out near East Service Road? Not a cougar. Not coyotes. It sounded like a person trying to be an animal or an animal trying to be a person.

I didn't see anything. The trees moved though.

"City partners" means Shadewater, right?

That's a yes.

The yellow line on East Approach Road swerves left and just stops. Almost drove off because I was watching it. Any crew out there today?

There aren't any posted signs. There are signs nailed to trees but I don't think those count.

It changed behind me.

Anyone else's elevator skipping floors? I pressed 3 and it went to B12. Is there a B12?

I was using the main elevators.

Has anyone else noticed KLHL has been running the same civic bulletin since Tuesday morning? It's the Children's Care Wing ribbon cutting notice. Every top of the hour. I called the station and got a hold recording.

I thought it was a loop for the conference. They did something similar for the centennial.

I got through to someone at KLHL this afternoon. She said the automation was running fine. I asked her what it was broadcasting right now. She put me on hold. Nobody came back.

We put Body Snatchers on the board Tuesday. Came in Wednesday and it said TONIGHT in different lettering. Nobody on staff changed it.

I'd still go. What time?

That's the thing. The time on the marquee keeps changing. It said 9:00 when I arrived this morning. Said 11:30 when I left. I locked the building.

My kids are asking. What is actually showing?

I went in Friday morning and the projector was running. I didn't recognise the film. I turned it off and left.

Found an EMS oxygen tank standing upright off the east service trail, about halfway between the Catfish Lake turnout and the old gate. Tank looks full. A portable bench is set beside it. Nobody around.

There's a second one now. Further up the trail.

My conference pamphlet has an extra section near the back titled "Recovery Procedure." Same fonts, same layout as the rest. Nobody else I've shown it to has this section. Has anyone else seen this?

I've shown it to four people. None of them have it. One has a pamphlet with a different pagination entirely — his page 12 is a map of Pavilion B12 that isn't on the conference floor plan.

I left it with the desk. The staff member read it without expression and put it in a drawer. She did not give me a receipt.

Does anyone have a direct line for Shadewater Labs? Their main number puts me in a phone tree. I've been forwarded three times and ended up back at the start.

I tried 9. Mine said "please proceed to your assigned location." I don't have an assigned location.

I called the same number this morning and got through fine. Regular hold music, someone picked up, gave me a real person. Normal call.

The floor plan in my room (Tower 2, floor 6) shows different room numbers than the map at the front desk. My room map also has a corridor off the east end of the floor that the lobby map doesn't include. The corridor on my map leads to a room labelled B12.

The corridor exists. I walked down it. The door at the end has a keycard reader. My room key opened it. I did not go in.

Same corridor on my map. Tower 2, floor 7. I went in. There's another corridor.

Conference starts Monday so the weekend is a bit chaotic but — anyone doing anything for Memorial Day? I know Catfish Lake is usually packed that weekend.

We're doing a family barbecue Saturday. If the Sezzler conference people haven't booked every grocery shelf by then.

Going fishing at the lake Sunday morning. Permits are still available at Benthic. Come early — the conference crowd will figure out where the lake is eventually.

Noise Records is having a listening event Saturday evening. Bring something to trade. I'll bring whatever the unmarked tape in the new stock is — nobody at the shop can figure out what it is.

Silver Dream is running Cliffhanger. Anyone seen it? My brother-in-law says it's good but he also liked Striking Distance so I don't fully trust him.

It's good if you like Stallone doing Stallone things on a mountain. The Saturday 7pm show is almost sold out, the conference people saw the posters. Friday night is still available.

Go Friday. Saw a group of SASC delegates trying to buy tickets for all four showings. They were very excited about the helicopter scenes for reasons nobody explained.

Went Friday night. Good film. The man behind me kept saying "that's not how rope works" at the screen. The conference badge on his lanyard said SHADEWATER LABS.

Anything new in this week? Planning to swing by after the conference stuff settles down.

New imports in, some good stuff from the Pacific Northwest small labels. Also a pile of stuff from an estate sale that's being sorted. And the tape.

What tape?

Cassette, no label, came in the estate lot. We played it on the shop deck. It's music but none of us can agree on what it sounds like after listening. Mike says jazz. I heard choir. Tony heard something we can't figure out how to describe. We've been leaving it on repeat and people keep asking us to turn it down even when it isn't playing.

Tried to grab subs at Fat Boys around 7 PM last night and they were closed. Sign on the door just said "CLOSED - BACK SOON." Is this a conference thing?

I think they're doing early close during the conference to catch the lunch rush and then give the staff a break. Or they ran out of bread. Both have happened before.

Dum Dum's is open until 8 during conference week. We have donuts. They are not subs. They are better than subs.

Walked past again this morning. Sign is still up. Lights are off. The sign now says "CLOSED - BACK SOON" on both sides, including the side that faces the wall.

The Jeff's delivery truck has been parked in the same spot on Commerce Street since Monday morning. Motor off, cab empty. Jeff's is open and restocking normally. Nobody seems to know whose truck it is.

I asked the manager. He said it's not their truck. The name on the side says JEFF'S SUPERMARKET in the right font and colours. He shrugged.

Still there this morning. Someone has left a cup of coffee on the running board. It's still hot.

Following up on the city advisory. My kitchen clock showed 3:17 for about an hour Tuesday morning then corrected itself. Quartz. Anyone else tracking theirs?

Mechanical wall clock, living room. Stopped at 3:17 AM on Tuesday. Running again by morning. Gained two minutes by the time I got home from work.

My watch stopped at 3:17. My car clock did not. My car clock now reads a time I can't reconcile with the current time. Both hands are at 3:17 but it's not 3:17.

The clock at Megabyte — the big one on the wall — was fine Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday morning it showed the right time. When I walked past again at noon it was back to 3:17. By 3:00 it was normal. I have no explanation.

Both hands on my watch are now at 3:17 and I cannot move them. The watch is running. I can hear it ticking.

What does "activation" mean exactly? The grid has been installed for two years. What was it doing before Friday?

Out at the south pier around 2 AM. Lake was totally flat, no wind, no sound. Something large passed under the boat. Slow, deeper than anything I've fished here. Not a log. It had direction. I packed up and left.

Catfish Lake can run deep in spots. Big sturgeon have been reported. Probably nothing unusual.

I've been fishing this lake for twenty years. I know what a sturgeon feels like. It changed direction when I moved the boat.

Is the heating in Tower 1 being worked on? My room (1117) has had the heating cut out twice. Goes cold for about twenty minutes then comes back. Maintenance came and said everything looks fine.

Happened again. I checked the clock when it went out this time. 3:17 AM. Came back on at 3:38. I'm going to check again tonight.

3:17 again. Exactly. I set an alarm. I was awake. The room doesn't just go cold — it goes quiet. The hall sounds, the ventilation, everything. For twenty minutes it's like the building isn't there.

Found a Sezzler keycard in the plaza this morning. Gray, no room number printed. The magnetic strip is on the wrong side compared to my hotel key last year. If it's yours, describe it and I'll return it.

That might be mine. Lost it Tuesday. No room number — they said it was a blank for testing the elevator system.

Also might be mine. Same description. I lost one by the conference hall Wednesday.

I lost one too. Tower 2, near the elevators, Thursday morning. Was warm when I last had it.

Went to the Shadewater exhibit at MOFA this afternoon with my daughter (she's seven). She was fine for the first few rooms. In Gallery 4 she asked to leave. She said one of the paintings was "showing her what was going to happen."

Kids pick up on things. The exhibit is a bit intense for a seven-year-old — the work is quite abstract. Which painting was it?

Number 7 in the catalogue. "Study for Distance, III." It's a landscape — hills, treeline, what looks like a road. She said it showed "where things go when they stop being here." I don't know where she got that phrase.

Work 7 has generated several unusual visitor responses this week. The artist's statement says it depicts "a site visited in anticipation." I asked the Shadewater imaging team about the source material. They said it was algorithmically generated. No source photograph.

My daughter drew it from memory when we got home. I don't know how. She's never been able to draw.

My home phone rang this morning. Caller ID said it was my own number. I picked up. There was a sound like the inside of a room — ambient, like a recording of silence. Lasted about thirty seconds, then the line went to a tone I don't recognise. Not a busy signal. Not a fax.

Pacific Coast Telephone is aware of loopback routing errors affecting some exchanges. These are related to the CityNet infrastructure testing. If you receive a call from your own number, do not stay on the line. Do not attempt to record it.

Why shouldn't I record it?

It's a routing artifact. Recording equipment can interfere with the diagnostic process.

Found a flashlight on the south pier this morning. Good condition, Maglite, initials scratched on the barrel — W.R. Still works. Contact me through Benthic if it's yours.

Not mine but those initials might be W. Rusk. He was a regular out there. Haven't seen him this week.

Someone called about it. They described it exactly, including the initials. Said they lost it eighteen months ago. I asked when they'd be in to pick it up. Long pause. They said they didn't know if they could get back.

I don't know how to write this. I was looking for the final demonstration. I followed a hallway I haven't been able to find on any map. There was a room at the end of it. Large. Very quiet. Equipment I can't describe if I try — I know what I saw but the words for it aren't coming. I came back out the same way. The conference was still going. I don't know how long I was in there. A Shadewater staff member saw me come out of the corridor and asked if I was feeling alright. I said yes. She nodded like she was writing something down, but she wasn't holding anything.

My badge has a mark on it now. It wasn't there this morning. Blue. Like a stamp but nothing printed on it, just the impression.

Still at the conference. Everything looks normal. I think I can find the corridor again. I think I'm supposed to go back.

"City partners" means Shadewater, right?