Facebook's Prineville, Oregon Data Center.
Now I can finally tell everyone what’s been going on… what all those cryptic status messages I’ve posted on Facebook & Twitter over the past several weeks have meant:
I’ve taken a position with Facebook in their Technical Operations group as the Lead Datacenter Technician at their new Prineville, Oregon facility, working for Ken Patchett. I’ve talked often about the migration of the datacenter industry into rural areas, and now I’m living up to that conclusion. Facebook is a rapidly growing company and performs technical operations on a scale I never could have experienced at digital.forest, so I’m very excited about this opportunity. In the decade I’ve worked at d.f I was immersed in every facet of the datacenter business except scale, as our largest project ever topped out at ~2MW/10,000sq’. Day One at Facebook for me will exceed that scale by a wide margin. I can’t wait to meet my new colleagues and be a vital part of building and operating the best facility on the Internet. I start at Facebook on Monday, August 2nd.
Sue has found a position as a Public Defender in Crook & Jefferson counties. This move will something of a homecoming for Sue as she was born in Prineville and grew up in various small towns in central and eastern Oregon – her dad worked for the USFS. We’ll be close to family now too, as Sue’s dad and two sisters still live there. When I first heard about Facebook’s choice of Prineville for their new facility I joked to Sue about her birthplace being suddenly thrust into the limelight… then a few months later they called me! It was like fate or something. She’s very excited about being able to move back to Oregon. Due to the Oregon State Bar process she can’t start practicing law until early October, but we hope to be all moved down there by early September at the latest to have Nick ready for school.
Nick is mildly apprehensive about all this, as he’s really settled into a good spot in life here in Arlington. He has all those things teens need: great friends, good grades, and a passion (running X-C.) As much as we tell him that he’ll be able to find all that in Oregon, he doesn’t know that … yet. We hope to find a place where he can fit in, so we’ve been emailing the coaches of the various X-C teams in the area.
We’re currently shopping for a home down there (dictated by Nick’s terms above, and of course with some good shop or barn space to build my “Garage Mahal”) and will update everyone with our new address as soon as that process comes to a close.
It is of course tough to say goodbye to our home of the past eleven years here in Arlington, and our friends, family, and colleagues. But we’ll still be in the region. Come visit us at hit the slopes!
This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the Goolsbee’s life. As always stay tuned to follow along!
I’ve mentioned the odd tandem trucks that Boeing uses to move large aircraft assemblies between plants here in the Seattle area on Twitter before, and people there have asked me to snap photos. I finally snagged one recently so here it is. Not great photos, but they do capture the essence of these odd wing-movers for the big lorry fans out there:
Seen from the rear.
Basically the tractor is a standard-issue truck, but the trailer is supported by an independent rear tractor unit as well. This one is low-slung with a driver underneath the covered wing section. The whole parade is completed by pilot vehicles.
Here is a blurry close up of the rear tractor:
Note the driver.
Now I’m not certain that these rear units are actually powered in some way. They could be merely steerable, but without any motive power. I never get a chance to look them over very well as I always encounter them in traffic. Not the best environment to perform in-depth analysis of adjoining lane vehicles!
“Rain rain go away, big boys want to play (with cars)”
We awake to typically Northwet weather: light rain and solid overcast skies. Thankfully the buffet breakfast is excellent and puts me in a good mood, though my back does not relish being folded into the cramped cockpit of the E-type all day, despite the promise of a short one. I head down to the garage while Chris takes his time getting packed up to go. I check the car’s fluids and vital running bits, and head up to the front of the lodge for the checkout for the first stage.
The cat's resting spot for the night.
Jaime & CeCi Melodeon's 989 Ferrari 400i leave the garage.
It is very wet, and I park the 65E off to the side and pull out my telephoto for some shots of cars leaving the checkout.
Car 29, the Stoning's 005 Morgan handing receiving their Rally Card from Gerry Brooks.
...and hearing the countdown to their checkout time from Jean Taylor.
Navigator Andrea Terry holds up their Rally Plate for the timekeepers to note their number. 1995 Ferrari 355 GTS.
Navigator Melissa Hussey waves as the 2005 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG departs on the penultimate TSD segment of the rally.
Jean Taylor counts down for Patricia Wells in a 2006 Ford GT.
Christopher finally emerges from the Lodge and we’re one of the last cars out. The segment is very straightforward, north towards Eureka, MT, then down Lake Koocanusa on the famed “Better Than Sex Highway” along the lake towards Libby. The segment ends at the boat launch parking lot at the south end of the lake. I’ve driven this road many times, almost always in conjunction with the Going To The Sun Rally, so Chris doesn’t really have to do any navigational work, so he just chills out on his iPod, keeps an eye on the clock, and tries to stay warm and dry.
Chris with his Rally clock (in the dash) and iPod.
This time the highway issn’t all the great, and nowhere near “better than sex”, as the rain combined with my tires make for dull driving. I run on some Pirellis that are fine on dry pavement, but frankly lousy in the wet. Spirited driving is off the menu until the water stops falling from the sky. So instead of roaring along this road enjoying Sir William’s Sixth Symphony reverberating off the rock walls we’re crammed into our leaky compartment like twin baby turtles still in the egg, and moving about as fast southbound on MT 37.
We arrive at the stand-off for the second-to-last checkpoint of the rally and it is an odd one. It stands at the bottom of a large campground complex at the south end of the lake. The start cone sits in an odd choke-point and the route snakes around a stand of trees and back behind to the final cone & checkpoint. It is really hard to judge the distance and estimate a run-time because you can not see the whole thing from any perspective… least of all out the small side window of an E-type with the top up!
An incomplete view of this odd stand-off. The start cone is just visible above the driver's side of the Ferrari on the left. The route circles around the stand of trees on the left.
Chris & I are able to watch a few cars go through the final run at different times, so we calculate a 45 second run and go for it when our time came. Chris provides a perfect countdown for me and we once again zero.
The boat launch and bait store has high-octane, ethanol-free gas available for sale (The reason I suspect that Rich Taylor picked this sport for a checkpoint!) so we take advantage and fill up the tank. The Jag does indeed run better on the 98 Octane stuff! No pinging at all.
We get our checkout time and commence the final timed stage of the rally with a run through Libby Montana, to Hope, Idaho. This one takes me on the only other road I have yet to travel, Montana Highway 56. It is a north-south cut-off between US 2 and Montana Highway 200 that roughly parallels the Idaho border, but first, we follow US 2 through Libby with our Ferrari escort:
Mr. Bouchier waves as he passes
...and we pass them back.
The navigation is pretty simple, but as we’re on the last inning of a perfect game so to speak, Chris is serious about getting it right.
Chris looking serious.
More rain on Montana Highway 56
See it? If so call it out in the comments.
We arrive at Montana Highway 200 take a right, soon find ourselves at the Idaho border, and take a quick roadside “bio-break” and photo-op.
Udaho! Get it?
The checkpoint is out of a peninsula of Lake Pend Orielle a bit beyond the town of Hope, Idaho at a restaurant named “Beyond Hope” (get it? Idaho is just filled with jokers!) Chris guides me there with good directions and we arrive at the standoff with plenty of time to spare. The scenery would be awesome if it weren’t for the low clouds and rain.
Not long after we arrive we get to watch my folks go through the final checkpoint.
300sl leaving lunch as we arrive.
Our time comes and once again Chris guides me in with a well-executed countdown and we zero the final checkpoint. A perfect rally! I park the car and grab my cameras for some parking lots shots of many of the cars I haven’t had much chance to capture until now. Being at the back of the pack has meant many of them I’ve only caught glimpses of…
As we drove in an Alfa drove out. It was easy to spot where it was parked though!
The oldest car on the event is Keith & Adine Kretschmer's 1952 Morgan Plus 4. Always great to see them, as we first met at my very first Vintage Rallies event back in 1998 in New England.
An old Whale Tail P-car.
The rain-splattered gas cap of the Apollo GT.
One of the Ferraris hit a small deer on the last segment. Thankfully the damage was quite minimal., especially given the size of some Montana deer!
I bet this is the dirtiest example of this model ever.
Gary Kay and his 2009 Aston-Martin V8 Vantage.
A prancing horse in the rain.
Lunch is awesome. I'll have to remember to visit this restaurant next time I'm driving through. Really the best lunch we've had on this rally! They have huge pitchers of both iced tea and lemonade, which despite the very un-summerlike weather is still very refreshing. By the time Chris & I settle in to eat most of the rally has departed or is departing, so it becomes nice and quiet with just a few of us and most of the rally staff, who almost always follow behind.
The Beyond Hope restaurant.
Rally Wranglers Wayne Brooks and Don Gibble check out the dessert tray.
From lunch we have a simple transit stage to Coeur d’Alene, the spot where we started just a few days ago. Chris checks into our room while I tend to the car. I’m really proud of this car. It has performed near flawlessly this whole event, and has represented the Jaguar marque very well! Chris sends me a text to let me know the room number, and I amble over. This time we’re on the 14th floor with an even better view than before!
Chris relaxing above Lake Coeur d'Alene.
All that’s left is the final dinner, and drive home…
